China’s mission to win African hearts with satellite TV 

As African leaders gather in Beijing this week for the triennial China-Africa summit, Chinese president Xi Jinping may have one thing under his belt to boast about – satellite TV.

Almost nine years ago, Xi promised the heads of state attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) in Johannesburg that China would provide over 10 000 remote villages in 23 African countries with digital TV access.

With over 9 600 villages having received satellite infrastructure, the project is now nearing completion.

The ambitious pledge was entrusted to StarTimes, a private Chinese company already operating in several African countries.

‘SOFT POWER’

It was an apparent show of goodwill and an opportunity for China to flex its soft power in a strategically important region. 

As China’s economy struggles and Beijing recalibrates its Africa strategy, the BBC visited four villages in Kenya to find out if this ‘soft power’ initiative had paid off.

In the village of Olasiti, Nicholas Nguku gathers his friends and family to watch Kenyan athletes running at the Paris Olympics on television.

“I’m very happy to see the Olympics, which for many years we had not been able to see before we got StarTimes,” he says, referring to the company’s installation of satellite dishes about four years ago.

First introduced to the continent in 2008, StarTimes is now one of the largest private digital TV providers in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 16 million subscribers.

Analysts say that low pricing initially helped to secure its foothold.  

While StarTimes partly relies on subscriptions for its core revenue, the 10 000 Villages Project is funded by China’s state–run South-South Assistance Fund.

The satellite dishes all feature the StarTimes logo, Kenya’s ministry of information emblem and a red ‘China Aid’ logo. 

During the installation of these dishes, StarTimes representatives said that this was a ‘gift’ from China, several villagers recalled.

GAME CHANGER 

Angela Lewis, an academic who has written extensively on StarTimes in Africa, says the project had the potential to leave a positive image of China for African audiences.

Villagers under the project ostensibly received everything for free.

This was a game changer, according to Lewis. 

For many, this was their first access to satellite dishes, altering the way villagers interacted with the outside world, she says.

For community centres like hospitals and schools in Ainomoi village in western Kenya, subscriptions remain free.

At the local clinic, a digital TV in the waiting room helps patients pass the time. And at a primary school, pupils enjoy watching cartoons after school. 

However, several Kenyan households interviewed by the BBC say the free trial unexpectedly lasted for only a limited period of time. 

Despite its relatively cheap price, extending subscriptions was considered a significant financial burden for many.

With that, the initial excitement has waned, putting a dent in China’s push to build up goodwill.

“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,” says Rose Chepkemoi, from Chemori village in Kericho county. 

‘TOO MUCH’

“It was too much, so we stopped using it.”

Without a subscription, only certain free-to-air channels, such as the Kenyan Broadcasting Cooperation, are available. 

During the BBC’s visit to four different villages that received StarTimes dishes from 2018 to 2020, many villagers reported stopping their use of StarTimes after the free trial ended. 

The chief of Ainamoi village says many of the original 25 households who received the satellite dishes in his village opted not to subscribe.

The BBC contacted StarTimes for comment on the free trials, but did not receive a reply.

China’s influence extends to the content broadcast on StarTimes channels, with mixed results. 

In 2023, over 1 000 Chinese movies and TV shows were dubbed into local languages, Ma Shaoyong, StarTimes’ head of public relations, has told local media. 

In Kenya’s case, in 2014, the company launched a channel called ST Swahili, dedicated to Swahili content.

Among villagers who have watched Chinese shows, many say they find the programming outdated. For some at least, the content is a reason to continue their subscription. 

Ariana Ngotiek (21) from Olasiti village is “obsessed” with certain shows, like the Chinese series ‘Eternal Love’, which is dubbed into English. 

“I won’t go to sleep without watching it,” she says.

THE FOOTBALL CROWD-PULLER

But football remains the ultimate attraction for African audiences. 

In 2023, for example, the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) had a record number of nearly two billion viewers globally, according to the Confederation of African Football.

Aware of this business opportunity, StarTimes has heavily invested in securing broadcasting rights for football matches, including Afcon, Spain’s La Liga and Germany’s Bundesliga.

“Sports broadcasting is where StarTimes made its name,” Lewis says. 

Competition is fierce, however, and SuperSport, a subsidiary of MultiChoice, reportedly pays over $200m annually for rights to broadcast the coveted English Premier League.

After French football megastar Kylian Mbappé announced he was joining Spain’s Real Madrid, StarTimes seized the opportunity and erected huge billboards in Nairobi that read ‘Feel the full thrill of La Liga’, followed by the StarTimes logo.

However, this does not work for everyone.

One football fan told the BBC he would “rather enjoy the thrill of Premier League”.

While China’s international-facing state broadcaster CGTN is included in its cheapest package, it does not draw in the viewers.

“Yes, we also have Chinese news, but I don’t watch it,” says Lily Ruto, a retired teacher in Kericho county. 

Dani Madrid-Morales, a lecturer at the University of Sheffield, echoes that StarTimes has not revolutionised the [African] news environment.

Most villagers say they prefer local news channels. StarTimes understands that. In fact, with over 95% of its 5 000-strong African staff being local, according to a company spokesperson, it aims to present itself as prioritising African voices. 

StarTimes as a private company has seen substantial success over the years, and the 10 000 Villages Project has pushed the company to a new level of fame.

However, as Beijing hosts yet another Focac, the image-building effect of the project that China had hoped for has failed to materialise.

“The amount of money that has gone into this hasn’t really benefited the Chinese government all that much,” says Madrid-Morales.

Many villagers the BBC spoke to were mostly concerned about content and costs.  

The project, once the talk of the town, has seemingly been relegated to a footnote in China’s soft-power outreach. – BBC