The last time a renowned tech company had something like ‘going under administration’ in the header, things didn’t turn out well and those that have stood the test of time, still find themselves struggling (Hi UTL). The likes of Vodafone Uganda went down like this but at least UTL is still surviving amid government support. One finding itself on this list is Econet Media, which is also coming under fire and is being put under administration according to news coming out of Zimbabwe, that happens to house its corporate headquarters.
Econet Media Owns Kwese TV, it’s payTV satellite arm that also shut down its operations in Uganda, in favour of the Free-To-Air TV Kwese Free Sports and digital services under the Kwese Play banner. On a sad note, Kwese Play also is under controversy as its customers have experienced hiccups on trying to watch content over it.
Econet Media can’t get money out of Zimbabwe
Econet Media blamed its inability to get money out of Zimbabwe for its woes as the South African country put a ban on foreign currency to curb black-market trading and surging inflation. Affected currencies include the dollar, South African Rand and other foreign currencies with the dollar playing a vital role in international trade.
The company under its CEO, Joseph Hundah reiterated that its in talks with its creditors to rescue its pay-TV business. However, its Free-To-Air service, Kwese Free Sports will operate normally as it is not affected by its troubled sister’s financial problems.
Not Ignoring the DSTV effect
However, what all this is missing is the effect of DSTV towards Kwese TV’s problems. DSTV has had a grip on the African PayTV market for over 2 decades mainly because of its exclusive rights to major sports and other premium content on the continent, which the African PayTV market appreciates. DSTV has had its fair share of struggles due to Netflix but not as big as Kwese’s.
