response feom sk macharia
With grave concern, we wish to make reference to a
statement and a letter by the Communication
Authority of Kenya notifying us of the withdrawal of
the digital broadcasting license awarded to the
African Digital Network, a consortium jointly owned
by Royal Media Services, the Nation Media Group
and the Standard Group.
The CAK claims its decision is informed by an
advertisement sponsored by the three major houses
advising the public against purchasing set-top boxes
marketed by GoTV, Signet and Pan-African
Television to view Citizen TV, NTV and KTN. Having
carefully read the CAK statement, the allegations
therein and the withdrawal of the license, we wish to
respond as follows:
From the onset, we wish to state that we view the
CAK decision as the latest in a series of well
documented acts of hostility and economic sabotage
against the three media stations that collectively
command nearly 70 percent of local TV viewership.
We hold that the purported basis that CAK relied on
in deciding to withdrawal the license to ADN is not
supported by facts or by logical interpretation of the
said advertisement run by the media houses. We
wish to respond to specific CAK allegations as
follows:
1) That the Advertisement is Inaccurate and
Misleading .
It is a fact that Startimes and GoTV are currently
airing the content of Citizen, NTV and KTN without
authority of the stations. This act is in disregard of
CAK own instructions to the two pay-TV to seek the
authority of the content generators before airing it.
Besides, we wish to inform the public that Startimes
and Go-TV are essentially using our content to
illegally profit financially by using our stations to
lure viewers to buy their set-top boxes and thereby
increase their sales. This is a hard fact. It is also
instructive to note that Startimes disingenuously
wrote to us requesting our authority to allow it to air
our content when it was already it anyway!
2) That the Advertisement has Generated Confusion
Our advertisement seeks to educate the public on an
important fact that CAK in cahoots with Startimes
and GoTV have withheld from the public: that the
set-top boxes that they offer come with monthly
costs that the viewer must pay to access them. In a
country where majority of viewers are struggling
with life basics, it means many of them are
unknowingly being sold a critical service that they ill
afford to sustain
3 That the advertisement contravenes the must-
carry rule
The must-carry rule cited by CAK, does not explicitly
name Citizen, KTN and NTV but generally provides
for carrying the content of up to 5 local stations.
Why are Startimes and GoTV fixated with our content
in a market that has more than 11 stations? Is it
because they know our content is good because we
the extra mile to commit our own resources to
provide content that is appealing to our viewers and
that they now wish to run for free without our
consent to shamelessly make money?
4. That the Advert is Misleading
CAK has spectacularly failed to provide adequate
consumer education on what the implications of
digital migration involving its favoured implementers
of Startimes and GoTV among others will mean to
mwananchi. These two are essentially pay-TVs that
charge the viewer to access their service, a fact CAK
loves to downplay. By contrast, Citizen, KTN and
NTV are free to view stations that rely on
advertisement revenue to stay afloat. We reiterate
that it is immoral and illogical to expect us to spend
our resources to generate content and then hand it
over to someone to benefit from its sale.
5. That we do not have the necessary approval to
import and sell set-top boxes
By granting ADN a broadcast license, CAK implicitly
expected us to have our own set top boxes. Granted,
we acknowledge that we will need the authority of
the regulator for mass market. But it is also a fact
that the regulator will require samples to test that
they satisfy set requirements. ADN is in the market
for these samples and intends to submit them to CAK
for relevant scrutiny at an appropriate time. As we
stated in the advertisement, we are alive to the fact
that we are in a digital era. What we intend to offer
our clients is a superior product that will have,
among other added values, Wi-Fi and internet
hotspots to make the most internet access which is
no longer a luxury but a necessity of life. See also:
Uhuru, Nkaissery demand name of Langata school
land grabber Unlike what the competition is offering,
our planned product will be at least 30 percent
cheaper and will be a one-off buy without any
monthly charges or hidden costs.
6) Refusal to Advertise CAK Advertisements
The CAK advertisements that we have refused to run
are those that we believe are fail the test of sincerity
and full disclosure. CAK, for instance, has
deliberately neglected to inform the public that the
consequence of the digital migration process it has
presided will turn Kenya into largely a pay-TV
country that many viewers can hardly afford. What it
has being asking of us is to use our platforms to
relay misleading information to the benefit of private,
foreign companies at the expense of our loyal
viewers. We are determined not to make available
our platforms for manifestly dishonest advertisement
2) CAK threat to dissuade KRA, KEBS from
authorizing importation of set top boxes
As we have indicated earlier, this threat amounts to
jumping the gun by CAK. It is our intention to comply
with the specified requirements for set top boxes at
the right time. However, having duly noted its threats
and hostile tone in its statements, it is our prayer
that CAK will nevertheless accord our product a fair
consideration without prejudice
3...The Media Houses are Engaging in Cartel-like
Behaviour
CAK has indicated that it intends to petition the
Competition Authority over its alleged grievances
against our conduct. We believe this is the sensible
thing to do. We will wait for our day before the
relevant organ In conclusion, we note CAK has
moved with unusual speed and uncharacteristic
gusto to act on complaints raised by GoTV. This, of
itself, speaks volumes of alarming length the public
authority is willing to go to take care of foreign
interests at the expense of local media houses who
have painstakingly invested over the years
