Samsung announced today at its annual Africa Forum event, in Cape Town, that it will partner with SES to provide free satellite TV services for six countries in Africa.
In an effort to drive digitalisation, the free service will be available on select Samsung LED TVs, and will provide access to 60 free-to-air TV channels (30 English and 30 French). The TVs are fitted with built-in satellite tuners and, therefore, do not require a separate decoder.
Samsung believes satellite is driving digitalisation, and as a result, the company has signed a deal with satellite operator SES (which already covers 40 African countries) to provide the new service in supported regions.
Senior director of marketing development and marketing for Africa at SES, Christoph Limmer, says: “The opportunity lies in providing a growing sophisticated African viewership with a significantly increased number of TV channels - a first for many African countries.”
The six countries in which the service will initially be available include Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Ghana. The service will become available in the third quarter, and Samsung says it will add new channels and more regions in the following year.
According to Samsung, in Sub-Saharan Africa one in three homes have a TV set, with less than 10% with access to digital TV. Samsung's director of consumer electronics for West Africa, Sunil Kumar, says it is important for products not to only “survive Africa”, but to be “built for Africa” specifically.
The free satellite TVs will also come with Samsung's LED TV SurgeSafe+ technology that Samsung says is suited specifically to the African environment, protecting against humidity, lightening and electricity surges.
Regional product manager at Samsung Africa, Dae Hee Kim, says: “The large investment by Samsung into the development of these products, so that they remain affordable and competitive within the market, while not compromising quality and performance, is a key indicator of our commitment to meeting the demands of the African people.”
Samsung did not reveal the pricing details for the satellite TVs, but said they would be “affordable and competitive”.
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