SES has signed agreements with the Association of Ethiopian Broadcasters (AEB) and the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) that will result in the creation of a dedicated Ethiopian TV environment.
In particular, the deal with the AEB will see the most popular Ethiopian TV channels migrate to a new TV neighbourhood hosted by SES’s NSS-12 satellite at 57 degrees East and launched this August.
AEB’s 14 members – the private broadcasters EBS, Fana Broadcasting, Walta TV, Arts TV, Afrihealth, OBS, LTV, Kana, JTV, DWTV, Asham TV, Ahadu TV, Ministry of Education and Nahoo TV – currently account fir over 50% of viewership in Ethiopia and the agreement will help the development of the country’s FTA market.
SES notes that Ethiopia currently has more than 4 million TV households that access television service via satellite. The majority of content is broadcast from an orbital location that also supplies content to Middle Eastern and North African countries, mixing local and international content.
It adds that Iin a separate agreement with SES, the public and regional channels including ETV News, ETV Entertainment, ETV Languages, OBN TV, Tigray TV, South TV and Amhara TV led by the public service broadcaster EBC will also be distributed via this Ethiopian-dedicated TV neighbourhood. The Ethiopian content via NSS-12 will be broadcast mainly in HD.
Given that 16 million homes in Ethiopia do not have a TV service today, the consolidation of broadcasting Ethiopian-only content to the people offers strong potential growth in the local media sector.
In addition to satellite capacity and video services such as content transportation and management, SES also will provide on-the-ground services to ensure the success of the new neighbourhood. SES’s local team will train local installers to correctly repoint the satellite dishes of each TV household, making the migration possible.
Commenting on the development, Amman Fissehazion, chairman of AEB, said: “We are at a critical juncture in Ethiopia. We want to harness the momentum for change and create a truly Ethiopian TV neighbourhood that will deliver local content to viewers in high quality, and fuel growth in the Ethiopian media sector.
“We are pleased to be working with SES and its local team toward this goal as they provide the dedication and experience needed to successfully implement such an ambitious project.”
Belete Esubalew Gemberie, deputy CEO and media technology cluster head of EBC, added: “We are excited for our channels to be part of an Ethiopian-only TV bouquet that is broadcast on SES’s East Africa video platform on NSS-12 at 57 degrees East. Over the last few years, SES has been working closely with all the key stakeholders in the Ethiopian media sector and building up their local presence with the opening of SES East Africa office in Addis Ababa. They have been providing excellent 24/7 technical support, and training locals how to install satellite dishes. These activities will intensify in the months to come, and can only benefit our economy and end consumers”.
Ferdinand Kayser, CEO of SES Video, said: We are honoured to be working with AEB and EBC on this endeavour, which recognises our full commitment to our customers.
“We are proud that the migration will bring a completely new television experience to Ethiopians and drive new levels of growth in the Ethiopian media industry.”
