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While TStv stock in delay, another launches in Nigeria

TSTV2

It’s been nearly four weeks since the launch of TSTV, Nigeria’s first indigenous Satellite TV and Nigerians are already getting tired of the delay. Meanwhile a new TV service, Kwese TV launched in Nigeria yesterday which is positioning to cash in on the buzz created by TSTV.

Nigerians are becoming wary of the delay in the operation of the newly-launched Pay TV, TStv. The pay Tv multi-channel platform was launched on October 1, in Abuja. Apart from the ceremony which took place on that day, the company failed to start operations and distribute decoders as promised. Even the decoders the company said would be given to 5,000 Nigerians for free were obviously not available.

A week after the ceremonious launch, TStv announced that commercial operations would start on November 1. Anticlimax!

TStv’s entry into a market previously monopolized by DSTV was heralded with a lot of hype about the platform being the first pay-per-view Direct-To-Home satellite TV in Africa. Nigerians embraced the idea and joined the company in promoting the brand, online and offline.

Nigerians were excited that they would be able to subscribe with as low as N300 and they can pause the subscription while travelling out of town. In addition, the brand promised 20GB internet data for those booking the full month’s subscription. The government had to join the people in supporting the indigenous player by granting it a three-year tax holiday.

TStv promised a lot and it is still repeating those promises. However, Nigerians may be losing interest in the company. The postponement of commercial operation is a lag that has given Nigerians the chance to re-evaluate the promises rationally. The delay also gave competitors the chance to introduce additional value and consolidate their market territories.

In addition to these, the stories being peddled online about TStv are capable of damaging its’ reputation. There are unconfirmed reports that TStv is having issues with its content providers. All TStv has done is refuting the stories and assuring Nigerians that the company will launch operationally with exciting contents on November 1st 2017.

For now the buzz deflates day by day. As long as there is delay, Nigerians would keep speculating and detractors of TStv will always echo the news purportedly crafted by saboteurs.  Perhaps the narrative that those stories are coming from saboteurs is a cover for TStv’s negligence and inadequacies; we shall find out. Soon!

Categories: LATEST NEWS
Haruna Magaji: Haruna Magaji is a journalist, foreign policy expert and closet musician. He is a graduate of ABU Zaria and a member of the Nigerian union of journalists. JSA, as he is fondly called, resides in Suleja, Abuja. email him at - harunamagaji@financialwatchngr.com
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