What Has Daarsat Got To Offer?

It is more than nine months since Daar Communications launched its satellite decoder. As usual, it was accompanied by the buzz and razzmatazz that normally follow the company’s rollouts, only that this time the results are not coming in as fast as Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of Daarsat Communications, is used to. However, Daarsat has the capacity to play at the highest level of the game and  Dokpesi is hoping that if he gets the EPL rights, things will move in the right direction. Joseph Ekeng Writes.

Try telling a friend that you intend to acquire a Daarsat decoder and you might get a wry chuckle accompanied by a rude question: What do you need a Daarsat for.  The reason is not far fetched. Nine months after the direct-to-home digital satellite was launched in Abuja amidst a round of fanfare, with all the promises about world class facilities, unrivalled pictures and countless channels, it is yet to get a firm grip on the Nigerian market. Though, Daarsat is making some progress, and recording some level of acceptance, it is not going as fast as the company is used to. AIT and Raypower, two of the outfits on the Daar Communication stable, recorded instant acceptance. Less than six months after they came on air, they became household names in Nigeria and standards in the industry. But this time, the gimmick that worked then is producing at snail speed.

At the moment, acceptance is coming only in trickles, as most buildings still dorn the Hitv and DStv dishes, and majority of the new subscribers have carefully avoided Daarsat, according to some dealers. Indeed, some of the facilities on offer in Daarsat are world class and cannot be matched even by DStv. According to Raymond Dokpesi, Daar Communications chairman, Daarsat comes with the latest compression technology – MPEG4 – which gives it the capability to introduce real High Definition programming to Nigeria as it will air Nigeria’s first High definition broadcast content. This facility gives it a technological edge over it competitors, HiTV and DStv. As a matter of fact, the technology employed by Daarsat is far superior to HiTV’s, whose standard version platform is said to be four times lower than Daarsat’s HD. At the moment, Daarsat offers 57 channels, almost twice as much as Hitv’s 30, and is built with a capacity to accommodate 120 channels. The magnitude of Daarsat’s technology is definitely a shock to DStv, which is still hoping to upgrade to HD

Daarsat’s array of channels is not just an accumulation of numbers it also offers popular channels like BBC world, MGM channel, AL-Jazeera, Fox Sports and a host of religious channels and others that spread across all sphere of interest including entertainment, sports, movies, lifestyle, news, fashion and music.

But Daarsat is not just about an array of latest technology and a collection of channels; it is much more. It is packaged as a made in Nigeria brand for global consumption. This is adequately reflected in the number of strictly Nigerian channels on the decoder including local terrestrial channels. “We have made a deliberate choice of the channels to align with the expectation of the Nigerian viewing public,” Dokpesi says, adding that Daarsat has a focus to Nigerianize the pay TV industry in Nigeria. The vision is predicated on the need to make every Nigerian have a sense of belonging in the new pay TV. Some of the strictly Nigerian channels like Gamzaki, which broadcast in Hausa language and Faaji TV, a Yoruba channel, have been hailed as innovative.

If technology, depth of channels and afro centrism alone could attract needed subscription base in Nigeria, then Daarsat should be the number one pay TV company in Nigeria, but it is not, at the moment based on acceptance. It is lagging far behind DStv and HiTV and there is little chance that it would catch up any time soon.

But where exactly is Daar getting it wrong? One of the dealers that spoke to M2, Frank Emeka, gives an insight. “DAAR has very good content, but no premiership or Spanish league,” Emeka says. Frank’s view is not restricted to him alone. Many subscribers and potential subscribers feel the same way. In Nigeria, based on past precedent and market observation, it is obvious that most subscribers would rather have the English Premier League and the European Champions league in the place of other channels. The only reason why most subscribers buy cable TV most times is so that they could catch up on the EPL and the Champions League. “The English Premier League draws more African viewers than any other genre of programming,” confirms Toyin Subair, MD and CEO of HiTV.

That was what drove him to challenge DStv’s monopoly of the programme in court and that was what inspired him to cough out an outrageous sum of $28 million (almost N4.5billion) for the Premiership rights. And, of course, it paid off. From a mere 10,000 subscribers, the figure rose to 100,000, and as at March 2009 it was on the verge of hitting the 200,000 subscriber mark, courtesy of the EPL addition. But the real gains showed up in Subair’s account books because, with an average subscription of 100 000 and subscription fee of N4 000, not less than N9.6billion has hit the company’s account within the two years the subscription has lasted. But, for sure, the figure is more.

While many subscribers are impressed with the long list of channels on Daarsat, the absence of the EPL is a major setback on the product. Most decoder dealers and cable subscribers confirmed that at the moment the cable market is determined by the EPL. It is more or less like ‘No EPL, no market for you’, they say. But Daarsat is not really without football. As a matter of fact, it shows more football league than HiTV and as much as DStv. “You can expect to see the Brazilian league, German league, French League, Turkish League, and a number of top international matches, including Brazil, Argentina and Portugal,” one of the managers tells M2. “The bouquet also has 6 delayed premiership matches a day, after they are played. But, obviously, they are not the same as live matches,” he notes. Another subscriber, while acknowledging Daarsat’s might, expressed worry about it not having the EPL or the Spanish league on it bouquet. “DAAR has very impressive channels, but no premiership or Spanish league. But one very interesting thing about Daarsat is that they have state-of-the-art equipment such that it will take DStv complete relocation from South Africa to Nigeria to match the Daarsat technology,” Hope Efese says.

That is why with the HiTV EPL rights due to expire next month, the three major pay-TV operators are in a desperate fight for the premier EPL package which allows its rights owner to broadcast 80 percent of the matches live. That package presently belongs to HiTV, while DStv has the rights to broadcast only 15 percent and NTA 5 percent. M2 gathered from a Daarsat staff that the company is seriously interested in the premier package. As a matter of fact, with the new rights owner yet to be decided, Daarsat marketers are already using it as a bait to get subscribers. M2 learnt that Dokpesi is tapping into his vast connections both in the political and business class to ensure that Daarsat gets the biggest pie. “We know that with the EPL on our bouquet, coupled with our other advantages we are sure to get more subscribers,” the company staff says.

Some media persons who spoke with M2 indicated that giving Dokpesi’s penchant to pull off major sport deals like he did in the exclusive right to Super Eagles matches and the forthcoming FIFA Under-17 Cadet World Cup, he is likely to get this one, or at least emerge with 15 percent right.

But given the desperation Subair has shown to retain the rights, Dokpesi will need to do more than call up his friend and partners to win the rights as HiTV has already formed a consortium with other major TV channels across Africa to win the African rights. The unprecedented move could see them secure the rights from 2010-11 to 2012-13 for the whole African continent. HiTV is also offering every country in Africa its own DTH platform. The companies leading the group are Yes TV, Star TV, Total Acces, Skyy Media, Kiss FM, Zuku TV, VOX Africa, Next Generation Broadcasting, Imanle Africa, and several former GTV representatives all across Africa.

“Our proposal will open up the market to individual countries to build and develop their own broadcast markets and drive investment. As football has such a global appeal, it only seems fitting that it is set to unite African broadcasting,” Subair says.

The English Premier League broadcast rights are currently divided between three of the leading pay-TV operators within the four African territories: North Africa (ShowTime Arabia), Nigeria (HiTV), South Africa and the rest of Africa (Multichoice’s DStv).

The consortium hopes that the continent-wide technology and content backbone that will be created will allow individual countries in Africa to develop their own independent broadcasting market, and tailor their cost, content and language to meet the demands of regional viewers. But, of course, that greatly endangers DStv’s interest and undermines Daarsat’s desire to dominate the Nigerian market by winning the EPL rights. But while these African businesses are scrambling for the EPL rights, there are fears that the EPL management could be forced to raise the mark and it could take more than N4.5billion to get it this time.

If Daarsat fails to get attention from the EPL management, then the struggle will continue or, maybe, it will find some other way to get the market. But if it does get the rights, then that will be the beginning of a new dawn it.