This week there is good news for Zuku but very bad news for Multichoice Dstv.. Zuku announced that they have hit 35,000 subscribers since they launched 5 months ago.That is great compared to Multichoice which has been around for 15 years and has only 100,000 subscribers .. Yes 15 years, in around the block and with only 100k subscribers… I think it is just a matter of time before Dstv are knocked off from their comfort zone by not only Zuku but even with the other new entrants like SmartTV and Pay TV. The main reason is Dstv is damn expensive and basically for the elites.. Even the so called elites sometime meet in the bars to watch football matches and other sport channels.
It is not that simple but the fact remains, getting Dstv equipment like decoder is far above the reach for many. Zuku in the other hand has better pricing arrangement which allow many to acquire decoders and the prices for the packages are affordable. When comes to decoders Dstv talk of high taxes, MultiChoice Kenya general manager Stephen Isaboke:
Import taxes on decoders are a major discouraging element in the uptake of pay television services in the country,
That might be so, but the prices for their packages were criminally high until recently when they were forced by increased competition to reduce their prices. Even now the most watched sport channel SuperSport 3 is wrapped under expensive package going for around KES. 7,500 per month
So what next for Zuku vs Dstv?
Dstv has the advantage of being politically correct when comes to showing what Kenyans especially men like..Football, both the English Premier League and Kenya Premier League. Although as we have seen this has not taken them far in terms of subscribers, but for a long time they have been over charging their few customers to cover for the low numbers.Kenyans still love football and will continue watching the beautiful game and due to that Multichoice still hold significant advantage over Zuku. At the same time it should be noted that although Dstv only have 100k subscribers, over a million Kenyans watch football on Dstv every weekend in bars and restaurants. So we could have a situation where people watch the matches in pubs while have Zuku tvs in their houses for other form of entertainment.
Wananchi, which offers Zuku TV, on the other hand has friendly pricing which i believe will encourage many people to own the Zuku tv. , the prices for their products are pegged between KES.999 and KES.2,999.
