Kenya’s pay television channel Gotv has slashed the monthly subscription prices of its offerings.
GOtv bouquet will now retail at KSh599 (US$ 7.13) from KSh720 (US$ 8.57), while for new users, it will cost KSh4,999 (US$ 59.51) from 5,500 (US$ 65.48) inclusive of a decoder and 3 months package.
Gotv general manager Felix Kyengo said the objective is to offer great televisions entertainment courtesy of advanced DVB-T2 network by making it more affordable.
Kyango explained that the new offer will allow viewers to get access to the digital pay television services as well as enjoy existing local and international channels with immense picture and quality sound.
In this year’s budget, the Kenyan government through the finance ministry, exempted decoders from taxation making them more affordable leading to introduction of Smart Tv, Zuku and Star times respectively, according to Gotv reports.
Kyango said this kind of pricing would position GOtv as a leader in the digital sector and play a crucial role in spearheading digital migration in the country by the end of this year.
GOtv clients will have a wide option of channels comprising of different categories of contents such as news, documentaries, children’s programme, series and movies. This will appeal to wider range of tastes and family needs as reported by the channel provider.
Other channels available include local channels including KBC, NTV, KTN, Citizen TV Africa Magic World, Africa Magic Swahili, Select Sport, One Gospel, Channel O,E-entertainment, Channel O and etv Africa.
In January 2007, President Kibaki officially unveiled television migration from digital to analog and set 2012 as the deadline to comply with the International Telecommunication Union Regional Radiocommunications Conference (RRC-06) that recommends 2015, as the deadline across the globe.
The process has three phases, first phase will entail switching on to digital waves in Nairobi and its surroundings including Kajiado, Machakos, Naivasha and Murang’a .
The other phases will comprise of distributing the signal to other parts of the nation during the dual-illumination duration before paralyzing the analogue signals
Kibaki requested the Ministry of Finance to work with the Ministry of Information and Communications to offer tax relief on set top boxes to make it easily affordable.
The president noted that digital televisions in the country will facilitate better image and sound clarity in addition to data broadcasting. This will lead to interactive communication that will result to innovation and creativity increase in the industry.
The transition process is managed by Digital Television Committee managed by Ministry of Information and Communications to operate under the banner of Digital Kenya via Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).
GOtv is accessible in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
