Media owners oppose move to revoke digital frequencies

Corporate News

NMG board chairman Wilfred Kiboro addresses a press briefing at the Nation Centre on January 21, 2015. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE 

By MUGAMBI MUTEGI AND NEVILLE OTUKI

Posted  Wednesday, January 21  2015 at  21:32

In Summary

• Nation Media Group (NMG), Royal Media Services (RMS) and Standard Group (SG) on Wednesday had their 21 frequencies cancelled following what the regulator claimed were misleading adverts by the three firms about their rivals.
• The three media houses had protested continued airing of their free-to-air programmes by the pay-TV channels.
• The Communications Authority of Kenya said the adverts had prompted it to cancel the temporary authorisation it had awarded the consortium on December 19th, a provisional licence which was awarded through an ongoing court case.

A consortium of Kenya’s three main media houses has come out to strongly oppose Wednesday’s move by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to revoke their digital frequencies and block the importation of their own brand of set-top boxes.

Nation Media Group (NMG), Royal Media Services (RMS) and Standard Group (SG) on Wednesday had their 21 frequencies cancelled following what the regulator claimed were misleading adverts by the three firms about their rivals.

The three media houses had protested continued airing of their free-to-air programmes by the pay-TV channels.

“Subsequently the Authority shall repossess the frequency spectrum resources allocated with immediate effect,” Francis Wangusi, CA’s director- general, noted in a statement sent to media houses Wednesday afternoon.

The three media firms, operating under the Africa Digital Network (ADN) banner, have been running campaigns cautioning Kenyans from being duped into buying Star Times and GOtv decoders that are being marketed as free-to-air devices, but are in fact pay-TV providers.

CA said the adverts had prompted it to cancel the temporary authorisation it had awarded the consortium on December 19th, a provisional licence which was awarded through an ongoing court case.

The consortium is now poking holes into the regulator’s arguments, saying that it was not only “abdicating its duty of being an independent body but also slowly turning the country into a pay-TV nation.”

Mr Wilfred Kiboro, speaking on behalf of the consortium, said that the three media houses fully stood by their decision to air the advertisements, saying they were truthful.

“We stand by the accuracy of the advertisements as Star Times and GOtv were and still are carrying our programmes without our consent,” Mr Kiboro told the Business Daily.

READ: Top media firms to stir market with free to air digital boxes

The CA had in a November 12, 2014 letter to Star Times and GOtv asked them to request the permission of the three media houses before airing their programmes.

Mr Kiboro revealed that GOtv had at no point attempted to seek ADN’s consent to broadcast their channels.

Star Times, however, did put in a request but the three media houses failed to give them the green light since the bid was being made in “bad faith as the company was already airing our content anyway.”

Another letter sent out by CA in the first week of December instructed that only Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) was regarded as a must-carry station since it was a public station funded by taxpayers.

“Therefore, not-withstanding the Supreme Court’s ruling about the must-carry principle, it is clear that only KBC that falls in this category and anybody wishing to carry other free-to-air channels must get their consent,” explained Mr Kiboro.