Tunatoka digital tunaenda analogue!

Tunatoka digital tunaenda analogue!

“Hutuwezi tukaweza”

“Sitanunua… kwa nini ninunue?”

“Nikona mahitaji mengi kama kulipa fee, rent na chakula”

“Hiyo sanduku nitatoa nje niwekee kuku itangie mayai”

“Utaenda kwa neighbor?”/  “La! Kwa nini niende kwake? Na akisema nadoea?”

“Wengine wetu tumeokoka na hatuwezi tukaenda kutazama TV kwa bar”

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

These are some of the reactions which Nairobians shot back at a popular local radio when they were asked if they will acquire a set top box in order to migrate from analogue TV to digital TV.

Apparently, the grace period to own a decoder had elapsed and the government moved in to implement the rule.

The wananchi clearly did not want such change. They saw it as an affront to their right to access information. They even cited Article 34 and 35 as a reference to their claims.

Parents said that their children were bored stiff by the closure of the three leading TV stations namely: KTN, Citizen TV and NTV. They made do with DVDs and CDs which offered limited choices of entertainment. Boredom can be really monotonous. The day stops growing and the sun stands still in the space.

There are genuine reasons why the local TV stations moved to court to seek justice. First, they were not given frequency and licenses to broadcast by the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK). This implied that their content (which I think is superior) will be carried by their competitors. KBC’s Signet and a Chinese firm called PANG (Pan-Africa Network Group) were given exclusive rights to implement the digital migration.

Now, tell me how logical is it to give an interested party the right to broadcast on behalf of its rivals. Is government to government tendering process the most transparent way of contracting? Why give a foreign firm the right to invade fragile local market yet the home media houses can do what a foreign firm wants to do?

The rushed migration also raises eyebrows. It makes the hair stand on the skin of the media practitioners. The world deadline to switch off from the old to new is two years away meaning we have all the way to 2015 to be considered last minuters.

Talking of the alien nature of the concept of time to Kenyans, let’s be frank-they never observe time. They are the crudest copy of African timers. They are neither disciplined nor reliable. They do not honor flexible deadlines leave alone tight ones. They will register for elections late, register their simcards late, wake up late for Monday job and idle around.

Thus, I was not surprised that Kenyans who were able to buy set top boxes were unwilling to buy the same. I can even extrapolate this theory and say that the 2015 deadline will catch us pants down. We will claim that we never saw it coming.

What I found pretty costly was the colossal losses that the media houses stood to lose if the impromptu migration took place. It was rude and unprepared. While I understand that this matter is still a subject of court and my comment should not amount to contempt of court, I am willing to set the record straight on some few lay and general implications of the switch over.

I appreciate the wise ruling of the Court of Appeal bench led by President Hon. Justice Kihara Kariuki. It gave the media owners a breather. The 45 day window of opportunity they are given should be used to consult among the stakeholders. It is important for the CCK and media houses to agree about the best way forward.

Senior Counsel Paul Kibungi Muite is the lawyer for the trio media. He said that the media does not oppose the migration. Actually, it supports the switch. What they pray for is the CCK to give them a license and a frequency. They are worried that the CCK is losing independence to enable it oversee the media houses impartially. This was after it emerged that the CCK acted on orders by the ICT Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i seeking an explanation why the leading TVs went off air without informing and explaining to CCK. Mind you the earlier High Court order by Justice David Majanja did not give the media houses stay orders. They then had to go off air since continued broadcast amounted to disobeying the court.

The government should subsidize the set top boxes to make them affordable to common citizens. This is the tradition in successful digital migrations such as in the US and Tanzania. The government also must arrest runway inflation that has eroded the purchasing power of ordinary Kenyans. The cartels and unscrupulous dealers need to be stopped in their tracks. For example where is the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) when the consumers are being fleeced?

The digital television offers a wide array of channels. It also gives crisp clear pictures and can be customized by the viewer. No one wants to remain in the past. It is taxing to watch “rice grains” on TV.

Whichever way you look at it, good things are not free. Let’s learn to pay the price for our own good. The broadcasters need the revenue from advertising. This cannot happen when the penetration of digital TVs is a paltry 10 per cent.  Viewers, if you love your favorite TV channel, buy the digital set top box. If you love it passionately, subscribe for the premium version. You will never regret. The benefits will give you the value for your money. Tunatoka digital tunaenda analogue!

The writer is a 3^rd year student of Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University. He blogs at musyokangui.blogspot.com

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