Despite Court Order, Communication Authority Insists on Kenya’s Digital Migration Deadline

Kenyan TV viewers might be slated for the biggest surprise of their lives as the regulator Communication Authority (CA) insists that the digital migration deadline is 31st December 2014 and not suspended as supposedly ruled by Judge Kalpana Rawal.

Analogue TV sets will go blank on Wednesday evening as the country migrate to a more versatile platform which the leading media houses have refused to embrace as it will sabotage their market dominance. With digital TV, the choice is wider and at a more affordable rate.

Don't get it wrong! Digital migration still on.Analogue switch off for Nairobi and environs remains December 31st .

— CA (@CA_Kenya) December 30, 2014

NTV, KTN and Citizen TV have all insisted on putting up their own platform which will be free to air unlike the GOtv, StartTimes, AzamTV and DSTV platforms which charges monthly subscriptions. Already one provider operating under the name of BambaTV has launched a Free-to-Air platform. Bamba TV is owned by Radio Africa, a smaller media player compared to the three dominant players resisting digital migration.

Not much sense is in the arguments of NTV, KTN and Citizens as they just seek to stall the migration process as they have refused to invest in superior content.

The broadcasters insist that they were never granted “digital frequencies” after being awarded license to operate digital terrestrial platforms. They claim that they require 3 frequencies to cover Nairobi and not one which was granted to them.

There is a major competition in the digital TV platform as GOtv has reduced its decoder price to just Ksh 99 while StarTimes has reduced theirs to Ksh 150 each with one month free subscription. Radio Africa’s Bamba TV doesn’t charge any monthly subscription fee.