GOtv claims dominance of the local market

 

GOtv Uganda Brand Segment Manager, Ms Patricia Kiconco. COURTESY PHOTO 

In Summary

GOtv Uganda is a product under service provider of MultiChoice which offers a variety of interesting programmes to its viewers across the continent. Ms Patricia Kiconco, the brand segment manager, MultiChoice Uganda, spoke to Daily Monitor’s Yoweri Maganda

You seem to be enjoying a rich market for GOtv Uganda services in the central region. What is your opinion about the Kabaka’s 20th coronation anniversary?
Traditional and cultural heritage are values that we respect at MultiChoice because we consider them to be the essence of our identity.


As an African company, we fully understand and respect the value that tribes such as Baganda give to their king. We know he plays a very important role in uniting people with other groups both within and outside the country.

Comment on the pay TV sector in Uganda
The industry is relatively small but growing very fast. Currently, about 15-20 per cent of all the television users in the country have access to pay television services. As MultiChoice, we have tried to stimulate demand for Pay TV services by improving on the quality of our content, introducing new bouquets and lowering the charges. Our GOtv decoders have been priced at Shs79,000 and this includes a decoder, external grid antenna and one month subscription.

What GOtv packages are you offering in Uganda?
We are currently offering three bouquets namely GOtv, GOtv plus and GOtv Open. GOtv, which is our basic package costs Shs18,000 per month and comes with over 20 channels, GOtv plus comes with over 30 channels at Shs25,500 per month, whereas with GOtv Open, which costs Shs84,000, the customer pays a one off lifetime fee and is able to access all local channels available on our digital terrestrial platform.

Recently, GOtv Uganda made two years of operations in Uganda. What are your major achievements?
GOtv Uganda has managed to become the market leader on the DVB T2 DTT (Digital Video Broadcasting second generation terrestrial Digital Terrestrial Television) platform, which is the digital standard that the Uganda Communications Commission adopted for Uganda’s digital migration.

We managed to reach this position because right from the beginning, MultiChoice made a conscious and deliberate decision to invest in the latest digital technology DVB T2, which is a much more advanced and stable technology compared to DVB T1, a standard that has been phased out in most parts of the world. We have also managed to provide quality content to our customers.

What is the current market share and portfolio of the GOtv Uganda brand?
Currently, we account for over 95 per cent of the DVB T2 market, the standard that the country has decided to adopt in its migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.

What challenges have you faced since the inception of the brand in the country?
Our biggest challenge has been taxation, which has made our products a little bit expensive for many of our potential subscribers. We have also faced the problem of unstable power supply which has made our customers fail to purchase our services.

You are set to commemorate two years of operations in Uganda. How are you planning to reward customers who have supported you this far?


We have started the celebrations by offering the most affordable DTT DVB T2 STB ever to be sold in Uganda at only Shs79, 000 with one full month of subscription and includes an external grid antenna.