Zuku estimated to have 172,000 subscribers at end-2013

Wednesday, May 7th, 2014
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DTH platform accounted for 76% of total subs

PARIS — A new report published by Dataxis estimates that Zuku, the East African pay-TV platfom, had a total of 130,000 DTH subscribers across three markets at the end of 2013 – plus further 42,000 cable TV subs on its triple-play offering in Kenya.

The report, “Zuku TV: Operator briefing”, claims that Kenya alone accounted for over 55% of total satellite and cable TV subs at the end of 2013 with 97,000 paying customers.

The Wananchi Goup-owned operator launched its triple-play service in Kenya in 2008, and went on to launch pay-DTH services in Kenya and Uganda in 2011, followed by Tanzania in 2012.

Zuku TV content is also available from Seychelles-based Intelvison after the cable operator signed a three -year licensing deal in October, 2013, to broadcast Zuku’s channels.

Dataxis estimates total DTH subs rose around 93% during 2013 with Kenya claiming approximately 42% of total satellite TV subs at the end of the period, followed by Uganda with 35% and Tanzania with 23%.

On April 1, 2014, Zuku also started providing DTH services in Malawi – raising the total number of TV households across the region that could access its service from 13 million to 14 million.

Dataxis expects Zuku to launch DTH services in Ethiopia and Rwanda by end-2014,followed by Burundi, Eritrea, South Sudan and Zambi.

About “Zuku TV: Operator briefing”

This report was completed in April, 2014, and comprises research and analysis across the platform’s three operational markets at the end of 2013. Content covers Zuku’s satellite TV and triple-play strategy, content and programmig, carriage and hardware, subscribers and revenues.