Free to Air decoders vs Pay TV decoders: which is the best alternative?

true
By Patricia Kiconco

With less than a month till Uganda joins the rest of the world and migrates to full digital broadcasting on the June 17, 2015 a key question that many Ugandan television viewers who haven’t yet migrated want answered is which represents the best option for them regarding the type of decoder they should purchase.

Should they buy a Free to Air decoder now being sold by a number of retail operators in Kampala or should they go out and a buy a set top box being marketed by one of the pay television companies which offers a lot more variety but attracts a monthly subscription fee?

Whilst this might seem like a simple decision to make for most people at the upper end of the market, towards the bottom this decision is very important because of their limited disposable income which will not permit them to migrate more than once.

On the cost side, the FTA decoder comes with the obvious advantage of a one off fixed fee that you pay once and never again, which should be perfect for the family or person with an unpredictable income pattern and therefore unable to pay a regular access fee, however because there is no subscription fee the initial price tends to be much higher typically 150-200% more than the Pay TV alternative which can be subsidized using the monthly fee.

A GOtv decoder for example being sold by MultiChoice currently goes for 60,000 inclusive of one month’s subscription this in comparison to FTA decoders which are being retailed at between 150,000 to 200,000 shillings.

This is quite a significant difference, additionally one must also take into consideration the fact that FTA operators are primarily concerned with selling the actual decoders and nothing more they do not offer any form of post-sales support or customer care services so once you have bought the decoder you are essentially on your own, this can end up driving the purchase price even further and present new challenges especially in a country like Uganda where the concept of DIY is still in its infancy.

As far as channels and content is concerned the differences are quite substantial, a FTA decoder gives you exactly the channels you don’t have to pay for which is a plus. In Uganda these include WBS, NTV, UBC, Urban , Bukedde etc while these channels are informative, entertaining and provide valuable local content they are relatively limited in their number in Uganda they currently stand at about 12 but are not all available countrywide.

The Pay TV operators on the other hand package channels into bouquets which provide varied content typically 30 channels and above, these include not only the FTA channels but many others as well that are more specialized, on GOtv for example these include SuperSport, AfricaMagic, Telemundo, International news channels Zee World, etc in short they provide a lot more content and variety, and the down side of course is that you actually have to pay for the right to watch this content but this is down to affordability and choice which is why they are known as discretionary services.

The correct decision on which is the best alternative between FTA or Pay TV decoders is quite difficult as both alternatives have their pros and cons. Three things however need to be considered before taking a final decision.

The first, where the person lives if they are outside Kampala the FTA option is a no go because the public DTT network infrastructure is not yet in place. The second, is how much variety they want or need?  Do the local channels provide the desired balance between information vs entertainment. Last, what can they afford initially as an entry cost and whether or not they can sustain this over time?

Perhaps the best solution, therefore, might be something in between.

The writer is the Business Segment Manager, GOtv Uganda