BROADCASTING
BOTSWANA
By John Churu, Gaborone, Botswana
Ovy Network is gearing itself to becoming the second TV channel to take on other operators head-on in Botswana and the region. According to George Kavwenje, the Group CEO for Ovy Network, his organisation will soon be operating pay TV in Zambia and Malawi, but would offer free view for Botswana viewers. This new project was mooted in 2014 and will be put to trial on the 17th of August 2015.
“We are starting trials in August and then we go commercial services on the 17th of October. We will be facing a satellite called E7B and with this, you will be able to receive signals at 7 degrees east,” explained Kavwenje. He added that they have so far acquired a full transponder from EutelSat which will enable them to carry 40 SD channels.
“These will be available in Botswana and all the other countries.” He said in order to be able to carry out the trials; they have to satisfy the relevant regulatory requirements. “We have satisfied the local Botswana Communications and Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) for the set-top-box (decoders) for this country and our decoder is very dynamic in that it is a PVR which enables you to watch satellite, DDT all in one.
Recently, OVY Network and Filmbox International which is a unit of SPI International Group have entered into a distribution contract. As per the deal, eight channels from FilmBox will be distributed across Africa through OVYtv in Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The channels include two movie channels, FilmBox Africa and FilmBox Arthouse; FightBox, a martial arts channel; Fast’nFunBox, sports channel; DocuBox, a documentary channel; FashionBox, fashion channel; 360TuneBox, a music channel; and MadscreenBox, a live, interactive game channel with family-oriented entertainment. “We are excited to expand our footprint in Africa,” said Berk Uziyel, Executive Director for Filmbox International.
“So far our channels have been performing very well throughout the region. This is why our partner OVY Network decided to carry eight of them on its OVYtv platform in multiple territories,” Uziyel added. OVY Network is a world-class Telecoms and Media Broadcast provider of comprehensive delivery, production, content management and end-to-end transmission services to TV, radio and data channels using its extensive integrated worldwide satellite, fiber and Internet communications network.
OVY Network is the world-class leading independent data, voice and IP provider in Southern Africa with offices in South Africa and headquartered in Botswana.
It supplies fibre optic, satellite and international carrier services to Africa’s mobile network operators, ISPs and businesses of all sizes. Through it other subsidiaries’, it also provides TV channels services through satellite, Direct To Home(DTH), Internet Services, Data and Voice, and has a Content generation company, satellite company as well as award winning data storage and communication solutions to businesses in Botswana, South Africa and across Africa and beyond. Put simply, connecting Africa.
