What Kwese TV has Achieved So Far

It’s almost a year since this blog was updated, but anyway for most people one year is a lot of time to expect changes and fulfil their New Year resolutions. It’s not only individuals who have goals to achieve, but corporations and businesses have goals too. Over the last 12 months, KweseTV has made great strides in its pursuit to become a Pay TV giant to reckon with, and this is a good time to report the progress that Kwese has made.

If there is one company with well-known goals, then Econet Global is one of them. Those who follow Silicon Valley news know that innovative companies like Google, Facebook, Apple and Tesla Motors have well known goals which do not need to be discussed here.

So for all those who are keenly following KweseTV, here is a list of what has been achieved by the Digital Satellite TV Network over the past 12 months:

4 December 2015

Kwese TV Pre-launch Takes Place

The CEO of Econet Global announces the pre-launch of Kwese TV via Facebook. Kwese is a new Pay-TV service that is targeted towards viewers in Africa. Taking advantage of the company’s existing assets and infrastructure which covers most parts of Africa, Econet hopes to deliver exclusive digital satellite TV to African viewers at an affordable cost.

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15 December 2015

Liquid Telecom to Build a Faster Undersea Cable

Liquid Telecom, Econet’s subsidiary announces plans to build an undersea fibre optic cable which will connect Africa to Europe and the Middle East via the East African coast. It will be faster than existing cables connecting the same regions because it makes use of the latest technology.

20 March 2016

Kwese Sports Secures Free-to-Air Rights for English Premier League

Econet Media is awarded an exclusive free-to-air license to broadcast English Premier League games, including live matches. The agreement includes Agent rights to issue sub-licenses to other operators.

21 April 2016

Kwese Sports signs a partnership deal with NBA

Econet Media signs a partnership deal with NBA spanning many years. In this deal, Econet Media will be NBA’s official partner in Africa, with rights to broadcast all NBA games in the continent via KweseTV. This includes NBA TV, a 24/7 channel which will be available on the satellite TV.

The company also secured rights to broadcast WNBA, NBA’s women’s basketball league.

21 July 2016

KweseTV has already launched some sports programmes such as NBA, English Premier League, COPA del Rey, WNBA, EFC and Australian Cricket.

29 July 2016

Econet Media Acquires Exclusive Streaming Rights for Live US National Basketball Game

Econet Media is given the exclusive rights to stream the USA vs. Nigeria National Basketball game taking place on 2 August in Houston, Texas. The company is licensed to stream the game in Africa and will also have the rights to issue sub-licenses to various networks in Africa.

The live games will be broadcast on KweseSports.com, a newly launched sports website.

15 August 2016

Liquid Telecom Buys Neotel for USD$450 Million

The Econet CEO announces the acquisition of Neotel, a South African Telecoms network which was purchased for USD$450 million in June. This is not the first acquisition that Econet has made in its history. The company has acquired businesses in several countries in a drive to increase its footprint and network coverage. As an example, the acquisition of Neotel will expand its fibre optic network in Africa by more than 50,000 km.

26 August 2016

Kwese Secures Formula 1 World Championship Rights

Kwese Free Sports acquires rights to broadcast the Formula 1 World Championship for 3.5 years in Africa sub-Sahara region. South Africa is not on the list though.

20 November 2016

Kwese Free Sports gains the largest viewership in Kenya. The sports channel website goes through many makeovers.

16 December 2016

Econet Media Makes Acquisitions and Investments

The CEO of Econet Global announces acquisitions and expansions that have taken place in 5 African countries during the year. The investments have taken place in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa. The major one being the acquisition of Neotel, a South African Telecom company.

Econet Media buys Ghana’s MTG assets, including MAP (Modern Africa Productions) and VIASAT channel.

Kwese Free Sports in 19 Countries

The non-satellite TV channel Kwese Free Sports can now be accessed in 19 countries. The 24 hour broadcast is currently available in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda.

22 December 2016

Kwese Quiz Contest Winners Announced

Two participants win an iPad in Kwese Facebook weekly contest. A new quiz is published.

23 December 2016

The Kwese Free Sports channel is approved in Nigeria and it goes live in the Nigerian cities of Abuja and Lagos. The company is also given the green light to launch KweseTV.

26 December 2016

Kwese Quiz Contest Winners Announced

Three participants win an iPad in Kwese Facebook weekly contest. A new quiz is published.

27 January 2017

Kwese’s Competitive Edge

Kwese explains how their service will be different from other Digital Satellite networks:

• People will be able to watch their favourite programmes on alternative devices other than TV i.e. on smartphones and tablets.
• Kwese will broadcast exclusive content that most networks don’t have.
• People will be able to watch premium sports content even if their paid subscriptions expire. You can watch EPL and NBA games on KweseFreeSports
• Viewers will be able to watch a local TV station for free if their paid subscription expires.
• Kwese will offer Set-Top TV Box viewers flexible payment options. Users can choose between the 3 day, 7 day and 30 day subscription plans.
• Kwese gives viewers an opportunity to watch content via the mobile app, allowing them to make a decision before buying a Set-Top TV Box.

The Pay TV service launches three websites to serve its users:

• Kwese.com
• Kwesesports.com
• KweseFied.com

Kwese Runs Quiz Contest.

A new Facebook quiz is published, this time 10 winners will be announced. The first 10 people to give the correct answer on Facebook will win a Kwese Satellite Dish including free installation. Winners in countries where Kwese Digital TV is not yet available will win an iPad.

30 January 2017

Kwese Free Sports available in 20 countries. This is a non-satellite TV channel which can be accessed on a TV set.

2 February 2017

Kwese Adds Revolt TV

The owner of Revolt TV Sean Combs aka P.Diddy announces the availability of his TV network on KweseTV.Revolt TV is a premium content provider in entertainment, music and lifestyle. This network has a viewership of more than 25 million Pay-TV subscribers in the USA. It is available on cable, iptv and digital satellite. The Revolt TV channel will be accessed on Kwese via TV, mobile app and streaming.

At this point, Kwese has launched 4 services:

• Kwese TV
• Kwesefied
• Kwese Mobile App
• Kwese Sports

5 February 2017

Kwese launches its Digital Satellite TV network in Ghana, Zambia and Rwanda, the first three African countries to access Kwese Television via a Set-Top TV Box decoder. The company has two options for customers – getting a decoder, average price USD$27.19 or getting a decoder plus dish (including installation) which is approximately USD$49.85

The company is in the process of training installers in different countries, and more than 2500 have been trained so far.

9 February 2017

The official Facebook Page of Econet Global CEO, Dr Strive Masiyiwa reaches a milestone of 2 million likes. The Mobile Telecommunications tycoon has used the platform to reach out to the African audience, especially entrepreneurs, the main theme being centred on the need for innovation, creative ideas, benefits of internet, entrepreneurship and business management. The valuable information discussed on the platform can be compiled into a premium book, but the CEO is happy to dish out his knowledge for free.

Internship Contest

KweseTV unveils an internship programme for two students who will be selected via a competition to spend a year at Kwese TV. The programme is currently under development.

13 February 2017

Liquid Telecom Acquires Neotel for R6.5 Billion Rands

Liquid Telecom, a division of Econet Global acquires Neotel for R6.5 Billion Rands. Neotel is a South African Telecommunications company previously owned by Tata Communications. It provides broadband internet, mobile data, voice calls, sms and VPN cloud services. Liquid Telecom which owns 70% of the shares bought the company in June 2016 and conclusions took more than 7 months to complete. At the time of purchase, Neotel had at least 1,000 employees whose jobs were maintained in the takeover.

16 February 2017

The CEO of Econet Global announces plans to buy shares in the Snapchat IPO, a web-based video chat application worth USD$26 billion in value.

19 February 2017

The Satellite TV Network announces plans to launch their Pay-TV service in Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Swaziland and Uganda in the month of March, followed by Namibia in April and probably Nigeria in June.

According to the company, there are currently more than 60 channels which are added on a weekly basis.

25 February 2017

KweseFreeSport, a channel that can be watched without a decoder launches in Gaborone, and it is expected to be available in the whole of Botswana in the coming weeks.

22 February 2017

Kwese Launches in 5 More Countries

The Digital TV service announces plans to expand their operations to 5 more African countries. Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Swaziland and Uganda are the latest additions to benefit from KweseTV licensing in their territories, and setup is expected in the following month of March. Kwese branded Television Set-Top Box decoders will be available for purchasing in these countries as well.

USD$100,000 Investment Prize for Internet-Based African Businesses

The Econet Global CEO announces an Entrepreneurship Competition to begin in June 2017, where the best African-owned online business chosen by viewers on Kwese Inc channel will win a prize worth USD$100,000 in investment.

9 March 2017

Newer Version of Kwese Mobile TV App Released

KweseTV network releases a newer version of their mobile TV app, which allows anybody around the world to download the app on their Smartphone, tablet or other compatible device, and start watching programmes. According to the company, this is an alternative way of accessing Kwese TV channels for viewers who don’t have a decoder. This plan relies on network data, and some suggestions to lower the cost include connecting your device to a WIFI hotspot. Although Kwese decoders are officially and legally available in three African countries, people in other countries have reported being technically able to use them to access Kwese TV. In countries where the network has secured a license to operate (Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia), Kwese has literally exploded with hundreds of businesses registering to become Kwese decoder vendors.

Kwese Launches USD$10,000 Cash Prize Competition

As part of their promotional strategy, Kwese has been running regular competitions on the CEO’s Facebook Page, with winners getting prizes, ranging from iPads to decoders and cash money. Winners are announced on Facebook as well as on Kwese website. The biggest prize to be won so far was a USD$10,000 cash prize to a contestant who posted the best response to a question posed by the Administrator.

Kwese Adds Religious Channels

Currently, there are 7 categories of channels that you can find on Kwese TV – (Series, Movies, Sport, Kids, Music, News and Lifestyle). Kwese is in the processing of another category based on Faith & Religion. The satellite TV network will add 10 channels to this category by 31 April.

15 March 2017

Kwese Sports Partners with ESPN

Kwese Digital TV network announces a partnership with ESPN, the biggest sports network in the world.ESPN has over 94 million pay TV subscribers, and the sports channel is available in at least 200 countries worldwide.

ESPN on Kwese is a dedicated ESPN Sports channel on Kwese TV.ESPN is also assisting in the development of the Kwese Sports website.

25 March 2017

The CEO of Econet Global (a company which owns Kwese Digital Satellite TV) is featured on the Fortune Magazine list of The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.

30 March 2017

KweseTV Secures Rights to Air FIFA 2018 World Cup Matches

Another big milestone for KweseTV as Kwese Sports acquires free-to-air exclusive rights to broadcast FIFA World Cup 2018 Finals in more than 40 countries in Africa Sub-Sahara region. Kwese will air the World Cup Finals simultaneously in all countries but South Africa is not on the list of featured countries.

There will be no charges to watch the Finals on the KweseTV sports platform, which will be broadcast in three languages English, French and Portuguese. An estimated 250 million viewers are expected to watch the Finals in Africa.

The rights to broadcast FREE World Cup Finals also comes with an agreement to air all FIFA matches on Kwese Pay TV channels, and viewers can access these matches via the Kwese TV set-top box  and mobile app. The roll-out of Kwese decoders has already begun and so far, these TV decoders are officially available in three African countries.

Kwese Sports is not the only broadcasting company that has been selected to broadcast FIFA matches which will start with the Confederations Cup in June 2017, but the Pay-TV rights are being shared with another broadcaster.

KweseTV Secures Rights to Broadcast NBA Game in South Africa

Kwese grabs the opportunity to become the exclusive broadcaster of the 2017 NBA match in Africa. Africa has been a host to NBA games in the past, and this time, a match comprising two NBA teams will be hosted in South Africa on 5 August 2017. Kwese Sports will be broadcasting this game worldwide, and viewers in Africa can expect to watch this game for free via the Kwese TV decoder and mobile app.

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