As of Monday, November 19, Southern Africa will have the ability to view MSNBC when it begins distribution on Free2View TV as its exclusive news provider. Free2View is Southern Africa’s only free-to-air, advertising funded DTH platform.
MSNBC Africa is a joint venture between Great Media Limited and MSNBC. The DTH platform will air MSNBC’s 16.00 to 24.00 ET programming in a block that will repeat twice (live for the first airing). It will also include regular Southern Africa weather forecasts from Weather Plus.
“Television advertising revenues in South Africa exceeded over a billion US dollars last year as the region has some of the highest CPT’s in the world, a result of the dynamic created by the South African broadcast monopolies dominance of the region. Free is priced right for the viewer and will deliver a lower cost route to a virgin audience, eager to adopt this affordable home entertainment,” said Elissa Wilding, COO of Great Media Limited in a prepared statement.
Great Media Limited’s CTO Malcolm Ramsay commented in a press release: “When the majority of Africa lives on a dollar a day, it is unethical to have the audacity to charge for television. The days of monopolies supplying and charging the privileged few for content are over. Southern Africa now has a window to the world, that will engage, entertain and empower.”
