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For the newspaper in New Zealand, see Sunday Star-Times.
StarTimes
Native name
四达时代
Company typePrivate
Industry
Founded1988
FounderPang Xinxing
Headquarters
Beijing
,
China
Area served
Africa
Products
Number of employees
5,000
Websitestartimestv.com Edit this at Wikidata

StarTimes is a Chinese electronics and media company in Sub-Saharan Africa.

StarTimes offers digital terrestrial television and satellite television services to consumers, and provides technologies to countries and broadcasters that are switching from analog to digital television. As of July 2020, StarTimes operates in 30 countries, serving 13 million DVB subscribers and 20 million OTT users.[1]

History

StarTimes Office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

StarTimes Group was founded in 1988 by Chinese engineer Pang Xinxing,[2] who is also the company's current chairman. In 2002, StarTimes began to expand its business to Africa. In 2007, it became the first digital television operator licensed by Rwanda.[2] Since then, StarTimes has established subsidiaries in 30 African countries.

In 2009, StarTimes and the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation formed a joint venture to roll out digital migration.[3] In February 2016, StarTimes was awarded a DTH license in Ivory Coast.[4] Operations began in October 2016.[5]

On 23 November 2016, StarTimes was one of the three companies selected by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to establish and operate DTH distribution services in Pakistan for 15 years.[6] On 2 September 2017, the Government of Chad and StarTimes signed an agreement on digital migration. After a lengthy process, StarTimes was chosen to build a Digital Terrestrial Television network that will include digitization of national infrastructures, television broadcast and reception.[7] In 2018, StarTimes began to implement "Access to satellite TV for 10,000 African villages", a China-Africa cooperation project aimed at giving rural areas of Africa access to digital media.[8][9]

In 2017, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and StarTimes launched TopStar Communication Company Limited, a public signal distributor and Zambia's official digital migration agent, as a joint-venture.[10]

In June 2018, StarTimes launched ON, a video streaming service (OTT) giving access to dozens of channels in Africa.[11]

In 2020, StarTimes e-shopping platform, StarTimes GO was launched. This interactive online shopping platform is supported by TV, Online and Phone call services and available across Africa.[12][13][14]

Seminar

In 2011, StarTimes hosted the first African Digital TV Development Seminar, which has been held for seven consecutive years; it is a talking shop for African countries to discuss digital migration in Africa.[15] The 8th edition of the Seminar held in Beijing in June 2018 had over 400 delegates, dignitaries, heads of broadcasting corporations and guests from 48 African and Asian countries.[16]

Sports broadcasting

In 2015, StarTimes signed an exclusive broadcasting contract with the Bundesliga for five years in all sub-Saharan countries, on its StarTimes Sports channels, becoming Bundesliga's partner in Africa.[17] This resulted in StarTimes and DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga organizing the StarTimes-Bundesliga Legends Tour where Bundesliga players like Lothar Matthäus, Jay-Jay Okocha and Sunday Oliseh visit African countries every year. In December 2015, Jay-Jay Okocha and Sunday Oliseh visited Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.[18]

In 2015, StarTimes obtained the rights to televise French Ligue 1 and Italian Serie A in Sub-Saharan countries.[19] In July 2015, it signed a five-year broadcasting contract for the International Champions Cup (ICC).[20] In June 2016, StarTimes also signed a three-year exclusive broadcasting contract with the Chinese Super League for Sub-Saharan Africa.[21]

In November 2016, StarTimes Group signed a media agreement with Ghana Football Association to promote the Ghana Premier League in Sub-Saharan Africa and the infrastructural development of the game in the West African country during the coming decade.[22] In January 2020, one month after losing the franchise, StarTimes won the bid and was named as Television Rights Holder of the Ghana Premier League and the FA Cup.[23]

In April 2017, StarTimes secured media rights for 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and the other 2017-2018 FIFA events in all 42 territories of Sub-Saharan Africa (except for the World Cup 2018 and the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 in South Africa).[24] StarTimes also signed a partnership with Ivoirian football club ASEC Mimosas.[25] On 19 July 2017, StarTimes acquired exclusive media rights in Sub-Saharan Africa for FIBA's national team competitions from 2017 to 2021, including the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.[26]

On 9 August 2018, StarTimes and Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) announced that StarTimes acquired both the naming and broadcast rights of the Uganda Premier League and FUFA Big League for a 10 years period.[27] In September 2018, StarTimes launched a live telecast of UEFA Europa League. StarTimes will broadcast UEFA Europa League in all Sub-Saharan Africa except South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. It has been awarded exclusive rights for English, Portuguese and local languages in English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking areas until 2021.[28] In November 2018, StarTimes acquired exclusive media rights to Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in Sub-Saharan Africa, ending in the 2020/2021 season.[29]

In August 2019, StarTimes announces it acquired UEFA National Team Football broadcasting rights between 2019 and 2022, including UEFA Euro 2020 as well as Qualifiers to Euro 2020, UEFA Nations League 2020/21 and European Qualifiers to 2022 FIFA World Cup. All national friendlies are also part of the contract.[30]

Early August 2020, StarTimes acquired Spanish top league LaLiga Santander broadcasting rights until 2024 across sub-Saharan Africa.[31]

Later the same year, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) unveiled StarTimes as their official broadcasting partners for the FKF Premier League, while the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) signed a tripartite broadcast sponsorship deal with ZNBC and TopStar (StarTimes) resulting in National Division One matches being shown live on TV.[32][33]

In January 2021, The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) officialized the signing of an agreement by which StarTimes obtains the broadcasting rights for the Total African Nations Championship, Cameroon 2020 (Total CHAN Cameroon 2020).[34]

Products

Solar Home System

StarTimes Solar Home System includes a suit of solar panel and battery, 4 LED lights, a digital TV set, a suit of satellite TV access equipment, and two years of pay-TV subscription.[35]

Digital televisions

In 2016, StarTimes launched a digital television that supports signal inputs of both terrestrial digital television (DTT) and satellite television (DTH) without a decoder.[36] Africa is going through digital television migration.[37]

Decoders

StarTimes developed 2-in-1 combo decoders or Dual Mode Decoders that can support both DTT and DTH services which were not common in some decoders.[38]

Projector TV

StarTimes Projector TV can project a greater-than-120 in (300 cm) picture onto a wall using DLP technology and LED light source. External devices like DVD players, decoders, and computers can be connected.[39]

Philanthropy

Ebola epidemic

During the Ebola epidemic in 2014, StarTimes launched several operations in Guinea and Nigeria to raise awareness among local population. In Guinea, StarTimes made a video about Ebola virus and precautionary measures, and distributed sanitation materials to the local communities.[40][41] In Nigeria, StarTimes produced educational materials, distributed gloves and masks, and put Ebola prevention info on its website and Facebook account.[42]

StarTimes-UNAIDS cooperation

On 12 May 2017, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and StarTimes signed a memorandum of cooperation that made official a cooperation that started a year before "to reduce the impact of HIV across Africa by disseminating messages to the general public to increase awareness of HIV and UNAIDS’ work and reduce stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV and populations affected by HIV".[43] The first act of this cooperation was on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2016, when StarTimes broadcast UNAIDS' HIV prevention videos on its African networks in English and French until the end of the month.[44][45]

SOS Children's Villages International

On 14 May 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya, StarTimes and SOS Children's Villages International signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will see the organizations partner towards supporting vulnerable families and children, with an emphasis on empowering youth in light of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).[46]

Criticism and controversy

See also: Debt-trap diplomacy

On 8 October 2018, British newspaper Financial Times reported increase in Zambia's monthly television levy that funds the country's state broadcaster Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), allegedly a result of a joint venture between StarTimes and ZNBC, which established a joint venture named TopStar, of which StarTimes owns 60%, to operate multi-channel television services in the country, and was backed by the Export–Import Bank of China. ZNBC borrowed US$273 million from this bank, but it is rumored it could not repay the debt and it was alleged that the broadcaster increased the monthly levy to clear its debt.[47] The Financial Times has also reported about other practices related to China's debt-trap diplomacy and the Chinese Embassy in the UK have since issued counterclaims.[48]

Multiple outlets have also claimed that StarTimes is promoting news content that favours the Chinese government by placing China Global Television Network channels on the platform's most cheapest package, while other international news channels, such as BBC World News, cost even more.[49][50][51] On many of its in-house channels, regardless of genre, the platform airs programming about the Chinese Communist Party and its activities in China, offering prizes to entrants who answer questions about China and its history.[52]

See also

  • StarSat: StarTimes owns 20% of stakes of the South African satellite television provider.

References

  1. ^ Appiah, Samuel Ekow Amoasi (10 July 2020). "StarTimes Ghana Donates 10,000 PPE's To Ghana Police Service". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Rwanda's ICT Highlights in 2014". Rwanda News Agency. 3 January 2015. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  3. ^ "STARTIMES MAPS AFRICA INTO THE DIGITALIZED WORLD". Corporate Digest. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  4. ^ "L'identité des trois nouveaux opérateurs de réseau de distribution de bouquet télé dévoilée". Agence ivoirienne de presse. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Lancement des activités d'un nouvel opérateur de télédistribution en Côte d'Ivoire". Abidjan.net. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  6. ^ Umair, Rasheed (24 November 2016). "Three Direct-to-Home Satellite Transmission Licenses Auctioned for Rs 4.9bn Each". MIT Technology Review Pakistan. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Tchad : Le Gouvernement accélère le passage de l'audiovisuel analogique vers le numérique". Tchadinfos.com. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  8. ^ Li, Zhihui (7 September 2018). "New Chinese TV 'star' rises across Africa". China Daily. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  9. ^ Mo, Yelin (24 January 2018). "China Woos Guinea with Satellite-TV Deal". Caixin. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  10. ^ Nkole, Nkole (4 October 2017). "What digital television switch-over entails". Zambia Daily Mail. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  11. ^ "StarTimes unveils VoD service app". Content Nigeria. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Sponsored: 'StarTimes GO', An E-Shopping Platform Launched In Rwanda". KT Press. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  13. ^ Ssebwani, Javira (31 May 2020). "StarTimes e-shopping platform 'StarTimes Go' is now able to serve entire Africa". PML Daily. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  14. ^ "A Quick Guide To StarTimes' E-Shopping Platform". Ghetto Radio. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  15. ^ "African digital TV devt seminar starts in Beijing". The Nation. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  16. ^ Onwuaso, Ugo (30 June 2018). "StarTimes Holds 8th African digital TV Development Seminar in Beijing". Nigeria Communications Week. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  17. ^ "STARTIMES CONFIRMS BUNDESLIGA DEAL". Sport Industry Group. 10 June 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Okocha and Oliseh to join StarTimes & Bundesliga Legends". Goal. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  19. ^ "StarTimes proposera les championnats allemand et italien de football en exclusivité africaine". Agence Ecofin. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  20. ^ "StarTimes to broadcast International Champions Cup LIVE and Exclusively". Goal. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  21. ^ "StarTimes acquires Chinese Super League exclusive rights". Telco TV News. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  22. ^ "StarTimes acquire Ghana Premier League Media Rights". Ghana Football Association. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  23. ^ Teye, Prince Narkortu (9 January 2020). "StarTimes gets Ghana Premier League TV rights again". Goal.com.
  24. ^ Mabuka, Dennis. "STARTIMES ACQUIRES BROADCAST RIGHTS FOR 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP". Goal. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  25. ^ "StarTimes Côte d'Ivoire et l'ASEC Mimosas se sont dit OUI". Abidjan.net. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  26. ^ "Africa's leading digital TV operator StarTimes acquires exclusive media rights for FIBA's 2017-2021 national team competitions". FIBA. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  27. ^ "StarTimes Take Over Naming And Broadcasting Rights Of The Uganda Premier League". FUFA. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  28. ^ "StarTimes launches live broadcast of UEFA Europa League". GhanaWeb. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  29. ^ "StarTimes secures exclusive rights for Coppa Italia". Ghana Soccernet. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  30. ^ "StarTimes to broadcast UEFA Euro 2020 and European Qualifiers". Ghana Soccer. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  31. ^ Easton, Jonathan (7 August 2020). "StarTimes picks up French La Liga rights in sub-Saharan Africa". Digital TV Europe. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  32. ^ Eshitemi, Rodgers (26 November 2020). "FKF unveils StarTimes as official Premier League broadcast partners, KTN acquires free to air rights". Standard Media. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  33. ^ "FAZ SEALS BROADCAST DEAL WITH TOP STAR, ZNBC FOR NATIONAL DIVISION ONE GAMES". Zambian Football. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  34. ^ "CAF and StarTimes announce an agreement to broadcast Total CHAN, Cameroon 2020 in Sub-Saharan Africa". CAF. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  35. ^ "StarTimes is a Chinese electronics and media company with strong presence in Africa. StarTimes offers digital terrestrial television and satellite television se". ww.en.freejournal.org. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  36. ^ Mugerwa, Sydney (19 January 2017). "What we know about Startimes HD TVs with in-built decoders". dignited. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  37. ^ Harverson, M. (1995). "Simulcast: The EUTELSAT proposal for a smooth transition from analogue to digital TV". International Broadcasting Conference IBC '95. Vol. 1995. IEE. pp. 564–569. doi:10.1049/cp:19951011. ISBN 0-85296-644-X.
  38. ^ Okonji, Emma (11 August 2016). "StarTimes Redefines Pay TV with 2-in-1 Combo Decoder". This Day. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  39. ^ "Startimes Projector TV, what you need to know". Techsawa. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  40. ^ "Lutte contre l'épidémie Ebola : La société Star times offre des désinfectants à deux mosquées de Conakry". Guinée Matin. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  41. ^ Xinhua (26 November 2014). "Guinée : une société chinoise de distribution d'images sensibilise contre Ebola". FOCAC. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  42. ^ The Guardian Nigeria (25 August 2014). "Nigeria: Ebola... It's CSR Time for Startimes". All Africa. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  43. ^ "StarTimes". startimestv.com. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  44. ^ Akpunonu, Stanley (1 June 2017). "StarTimes, UNAIDS partner to help Africa end AIDS epidemic by 2030". The Guardian Nigeria. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  45. ^ "UNAIDS, StarTimes Partner to Promote HIV/AIDS Prevention". This Day. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  46. ^ Naatogmah, Abdul Karim (16 May 2018). "StarTimes signs MOU with SOS Children's Villages to empower African youth". Citinewsroom. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  47. ^ Cotterill, Joseph; Pilling, David; Zhang, Archie (8 October 2018). "TV tax stirs Zambian fears over Chinese 'debt-trap' diplomacy". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  48. ^ "Embassy Spokesperson's letter to Financial Times on its unjustified comments of "debt-trap" diplomacy" (Press release). London: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  49. ^ Marsh, Jenni (24 July 2019). "How China is slowly expanding its power in Africa, one TV set at a time". CNN Business. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  50. ^ Lim, Louisa; Bergin, Julia (7 December 2018). "Inside China's audacious global propaganda campaign". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  51. ^ Kaiman, Jonathan (7 August 2017). "'China has conquered Kenya': Inside Beijing's new strategy to win African hearts and minds". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  52. ^ Olander, Eric (13 October 2021). "Chinese-Owned African Pay-TV Giant StarTimes Launches New Propaganda Show". The China Africa Project. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
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