- author, Shun Yuan
- position, BBC Global China Unit
As African leaders gathered in Beijing for the triennial China-Africa summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping had one thing to brag about: satellite TV.
Nearly nine years ago, President Xi Jinping promised heads of state attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCEC) in Johannesburg that China would provide digital TV access to more than 10,000 remote villages and towns in 23 African countries. will do
So far more than 9600 villages have been provided satellite infrastructure and now the project is nearing completion.
During the period of good Sino-African relations, this ambitious project was entrusted to a private company called Star Times, which was already operating in several African countries.
While this project was being funded by the Chinese government.
This was apparently a goodwill gesture, while it was an opportunity for China to show its soft power in a region of strategic importance.
Now China’s economy is struggling and Beijing is reshaping its Africa strategy. The BBC visited four villages in Kenya to find out if this soft power has paid off.
In the village of Olasiti, about three hours from the capital, Nairobi, Nicholas Ngoku gathered his friends and family to watch the Kenyan athletes run in the Paris Olympics on television.
Speaking about the Star Times Company’s installation of a satellite dish about four years ago, he said: ‘I’m very happy to see the Olympics because we haven’t been able to see them for many years.’
He is not the only one benefiting from Star Times presence across Africa. Star Times was first introduced to the continent in 2008 and is now one of the largest private digital TV providers in sub-Saharan Africa. It has more than 16 million users.
Analysts say low prices helped it gain a foothold initially.
Monthly digital TV packages in Kenya range from 329 shillings (about US$2.50) to 1,799 shillings (US$14).
In comparison, DSTV’s monthly package ranges from 700 shillings to 10,500 shillings and is a major player in the African digital TV market.
The Star Times, on the other hand, relies partly on subscriptions for its primary income, while it is funded by the Chinese government’s South-South Assistance Fund under the 10,000 Village Project.
A gift from China
All satellite dishes have the logo of the Kenyan Ministry of Information with the Star Times logo, and the red logo of Chinese aid. Villagers recalled that during the installation of these dishes, Star Times correspondents said it was a ‘gift’ to them from China.
According to Dr. Angela Lewis, an academic who writes on trade in Africa for the Star-Times, the project has the potential to project a positive image of China to African audiences.
Under the project, villagers were provided with apparently everything for free. These include infrastructure, satellite dish, battery, and installation as well as subscription to StarTimes content.
According to Dr Lewis this was a ‘game changer’ as remote villages in Africa previously had mostly unreliable analogue TVs.
He said that satellite dishes reached many people for the first time and this change changed the villagers’ communication with the outside world.
Subscriptions are free for community centers such as hospitals and schools in the village of Ainomoi in western Kenya.
A digital TV in the waiting room of a local clinic helps patients pass the time. And in a primary school, children enjoy cartoons after school.
Ruth Chelangat, an eighth-grader at the school, said: ‘After we finish school, we all watch cartoons together and it’s a very enjoyable and bonding experience.’
However, many Kenyan households interviewed by the BBC said their free trial unexpectedly lasted only a limited time.
Despite the Star Times’ relatively affordable price, subscriptions were a financial burden for many.
At the same time, some of the beneficiaries of China’s project were not initially enthusiastic. This dealt a blow to the plan to promote China goodwill.
Rose Chepakmoi, from Chimuri village in Kiricho County, said: ‘We were all very happy when we first got the satellite dish, but it was only free for a few months, and after that we had to pay which was ours. It was too much.
‘That’s why we stopped using it.’
Only some free channels are available without subscription. These include the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. These things were told by people who are no longer subscribers to Star Times.
A visit to the BBC
During a BBC visit to four different villages that received Star Times dishes from 2018 to 2020, many villagers said they did not subscribe to Star Times after the free trial ended.
Mukhya of Ainamoi said that 25 households in his village avoided taking a TV subscription.
The BBC contacted The Star Times about the free trials but has yet to hear back.
China’s influence extends to the content aired on Star Times channels. Even the cheapest packages include channels like Kung Fu and Sino-Drama, which mostly feature Chinese movies and series.
Star Times head of public relations Ma Shaoong told local media that by 2023, more than 1,000 Chinese movies and TV shows had been dubbed into local languages. In the case of Kenya, the company launched a channel in 2014 called ST Swahili, dedicated to Swahili content.
Many of those who have watched Chinese shows say that their programming seems outdated, with Chinese characters portrayed in superficial ways and shows often centered around stereotypical themes.
When you look through the guide, there are plenty of dating or romance shows. These include a popular reality show called ‘Hello, Mr Right’ in which contestants try to find their perfect match.
The format is modeled on a similar show in China called ‘Fur The One’ meaning ‘Kheen Wah Aap To Nah’.
For some people, this program is the reason they continue to subscribe. 21-year-old Ariana Nation Ngotek from Olasiti village has a passion for certain shows.
This is the Chinese series ‘Eternal Love’ (Eternal Love) and it is dubbed in English. They say they don’t sleep without seeing it.
Football matches attract crowds
However, football is the most attractive to African viewers. For example, according to the Confederation of African Football, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was watched by a record number of around two billion people worldwide.
Aware of this business opportunity, Star Times has invested heavily in acquiring broadcasting rights for football matches and has bid for Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga, including Efcon.
Sports broadcasting is the area in which ‘Star Times has made its name,’ Dr Lewis explained.
However, competition is fierce and Super Support, a subsidiary of MultiChoice, spends US$200 million every year to broadcast the English Premier League.
When French soccer megastar Kylian Mbappe announced he was joining Spain’s Real Madrid, the Star Times took advantage of the opportunity to put up giant billboards in Nairobi that read ‘Feel the Full Thrill of La Liga’. In other words, it was written ‘Enjoy the whole of La Liga’.
However, this does not work for everyone. One football fan told the BBC he would ‘enjoy the thrills of the Premier League.’
‘The majority of Kenyans are more interested in the English Premier League than La Liga,’ explains Professor Levi Obonio of Nairobi’s Daystar University.
While unlike BBC and CNN, state broadcaster CGTN, which presents China to the world, is also among the cheapest subscriptions. However, it does not attract viewers.
“Our channels also have Chinese news, but I don’t watch it,” said Lily Ruto, a retired teacher in Kericho County.
Dr Dani Madrid Morales, a lecturer at the University of Sheffield, says the Star Times has not revolutionized the (African) news environment.
Most villagers say they prefer local news channels. And the Star-Times understands this. With more than 95 percent of its 5,000 African staff being local, according to a company spokesperson, it aims to present itself as prioritizing African voices.
An adviser to Chinese media companies in Africa said Star Times is trying not to become like Tik Tik or Huawei because it has over-represented China, which is unpopular in the West and highly against it. Checked at the surface.
Dr. Lewis’s analysis of news coverage from 2015 to 2019 reinforces this point. It states that most of the news stories presented on Star Times do not refer to China or China-Africa relations. The company seems careful not to reveal its Chinese roots.
‘Positive reflection of China’
Star Times as a private company has achieved considerable success over the years and the ‘10,000 Village Project’ has taken the company to a new level of fame.
Beijing, however, is hosting another Phocak, but it has fallen far short of achieving the image it sought to project under the project.
Dr Madrid Morales said: ‘There has been an attempt by the government to balance the transmission of information in order to cast a positive light on China, but this has not yielded sufficient results.
‘For the amount of money it took, it didn’t really benefit the Chinese government that much.’
Many villagers the BBC spoke to were mostly concerned about materials and costs. Many of the satellite dishes themselves have become rusty.
The plan, once the talk of the town, appears to be coming to an end with China’s determination to demonstrate its soft power.
“Yes, we know it comes from China,” said one person who canceled the subscription. But it doesn’t matter if no one will use it.’