BBCChinese President Xi Jinping may have something to talk about as African rulers gather in Beijing this week for the quarterly China-Africa mountain.
President Xi promised to provide access to digital TV to over 10,000 remote villages in 23 African nations almost nine years ago to the heads of state present at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation ( FOCAC ) in Johannesburg.
With over 9, 600 settlements having received dish system, the initiative is now nearing conclusion.
The optimistic commitment, revealed during a period of hot China-Africa relations and funded by China’s support budget, was entrusted to StarTimes, a secret Chinese company currently operating in many African countries.
It appeared to be a show of kindness and a chance for China to exercise its soft power in a crucial place.
The BBC visited four settlements in Kenya to find out if this” sweet power” action had worked. China’s economy is struggling and Beijing is re-calibrating its Africa plan.
In the town of Olasiti, about three hours ‘ drive north of the money, Nairobi, Nicholas Nguku gathered his friends and family to enjoy Kenyan runners running at the Paris Olympics on tv.
” I’m very glad to see the Olympics, which for many times we had not been able to see before we got StarTimes”, he said, speaking of the company’s installation of dish meals about four years ago.
He is not the only one who has benefited from StarTimes ‘ presence in Africa. StarTimes, one of the largest private digital TV services in sub-Saharan Africa, was first introduced to the globe in 2008, and has grown to more than 16 million users.
According to analysts, low initial costs first helped to secure its hold.
In Kenya, monthly digital TV packages range from 329 shillings ($ 2.50, £2 ) to 1, 799 shillings ($ 14, £10.50 ).
In contrast, a regular package for DStv, owned by MultiChoice, another key player in the American digital TV business, costs between 700 and 10, 500 pounds.
While StarTimes largely relies on membership for its main profit, the” 10, 000 Settlements Project” is funded by China’s state–run South-South Assistance Fund.
The satellite dishes all feature the StarTimes brand, Kenya’s Ministry of Information icon, and a purple” China Aid” brand. During the installation of these dishes, StarTimes staff said that this was a “gift” from China, many people recalled.
The task had the ability to convey a positive message about China to African viewers, according to Dr. Angela Lewis, an intellectual who has written extensively about StarTimes in Africa.
Villagers under the job basically received anything for free, including the system, such as a dish food, power, and installation, as well as a subscription to StarTimes ‘ content.
According to Dr. Lewis, this changed the game because previously remote African communities were primarily served by choppy and unreliable analogue TV.
For many, this was their first access to satellite dishes, altering the way villagers interacted with the outside world, she said.
Subscriptions are still free for Ainomoi village in western Kenya’s community centers like hospitals and schools.
A digital TV in the waiting area at the neighborhood clinic makes it easier for patients to pass the time. And at a primary school, pupils enjoy watching cartoons after school.
” After we finish schoolwork, we’ll all watch cartoons together and it’s a very enjoyable and bonding experience”, said Ruth Chelang’at, an eighth-grade student at the school.
However, the BBC spoke to a number of Kenyan households who claimed the free trial unexpectedly only lasted a short period of time.
Many people thought expanding subscriptions was a significant financial burden despite its relatively affordable cost.
With that, the initial excitement has waned among some of the project’s beneficiaries, 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”, said Rose Chepkemoi, from Chemori village in Kericho county. We stopped using it because it was too much, so we did.
Without a subscription, only certain free-to-air channels, such as the Kenyan Broadcasting Cooperation, are available, according to those who no longer subscribe to StarTimes packages.
Many villagers in four different villages where StarTimes dishes were distributed by the BBC reported stopping using StarTimes after the free trial ended. The Ainamoi village chief claimed that many of the 25 initial households that had the satellite dishes in his village opted not to subscribe.
The BBC contacted StarTimes to ask for opinion on the free trials, but they did not receive a response.
China’s influence extends to the content broadcast on StarTimes channels, with mixed results. Channels like Sino Drama and Kung Fu, which primarily feature Chinese films and series, are included in even the cheapest packages.
In 2023, over 1, 000 Chinese movies and TV shows were dubbed into local languages, Ma Shaoyong, StarTimes ‘ head of public relations, told local media. In Kenya’s case, in 2014, the company launched a channel called ST Swahili, dedicated to Swahili content.
Many villagers who have seen Chinese television said they found the programming to be uninteresting because it depicts Chinese characters in a one-dimensional way, with shows frequently centered on stereotypical themes.
A quick glance through the guide will reveal a number of romance- or dating-focused programs, including a well-known reality series called Hello, Mr. Right, where contestants seek to find their perfect match. The format was based on a Chinese television program called If You Are the One.
For some at least, that content is a reason to continue the subscription. Ariana Nation Ngotiek, a 21-year-old from Olasiti village, is “obsessed” with certain shows, like the Chinese series Eternal Love, which is dubbed into English. ” I wo n’t go to sleep without watching it”, she said.
Football is the real crowd-puller
Football is still the main draw for African audiences, though. 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.
According to Dr. Lewis,” StarTimes got its name from sports broadcasting.”
Competition is fierce, however, and SuperSport, a subsidiary of MultiChoice, reportedly pays over$ 200m ( £152m ) annually for rights to broadcast the coveted English Premier League.
StarTimes took the opportunity to build massive billboards in Nairobi that read” Feel the full thrill of La Liga,” followed by the StarTimes logo, after French football megastar Kylian Mbappé made the announcement that he was joining Spain’s Real Madrid.
However, this does not work for everyone.
One football fan claimed to “rather enjoy the thrill of Premier League” and told the BBC.
” The majority of Kenyans are not into La Liga, it’s the English Premier League that draws the audience”, explained Levi Obonyo, a professor at Nairobi’s Daystar University.
While China’s international-facing state broadcaster CGTN, is included in its cheapest package, unlike the BBC and CNN, it does not draw in the viewers.
” Yes, we also have Chinese news, but I do n’t watch it”, said Lily Ruto, a retired teacher in Kericho county. ” What’s it called again? N something C? T something N”” she laughed as she shrugged her shoulders.
Dr Dani Madrid-Morales, a lecturer at the University of Sheffield, echoes that StarTimes has not revolutionised the]African ] news environment.
Local media outlets are preferred by the majority of the population. That is something StarTimes is aware of. 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 was trying to prevent a repeat of what has happened to the likes of TikTok and Huawei, whose overt Chinese-ness have drawn a lot of attention in the West, according to a consultant to Chinese media companies in Africa.
Dr Lewis ‘ study of news stories from 2015 to 2019 reinforces this, noting that most news stories mentioning StarTimes did not reference China or China-Africa relations. The business appears cautious to avoid making an overt mention of its Chinese roots.
From talk of the town to a footnote
The” 10,000 Villages Project” has helped the private company StarTimes reach new heights of fame and has had significant success over the years.
However, as Beijing hosts yet another FOCAC, the image-building effect of the project that China had hoped for has failed to materialise.
” There was an attempt for the government to rebalance the information flow that would put China under a positive light, but that has not materialised”, said Dr Madrid-Morales. The amount of money invested in this has not actually had a positive impact on the Chinese government.
The majority of the villagers we spoke to were concerned about content and costs. As rusty as several of the satellite dishes themselves, the project, once the talk of the town, has seemingly been relegated to a footnote in China’s soft-power outreach.
” Yes, we know it comes from China, but it makes no difference if no-one is using it”, said Ms Chepkemoi, who has cancelled her StarTimes subscription.