Air local talent, Pay TV firms told

THE Ministry of Information has told Pay TV service providers to increase the screening of local content and talent. The ministry said the service providers should lower their pricing after the government did away with import duty on set-top boxes. Speaking at the launch of GoTV in Mombasa on Tuesday, Information minister Samuel Poghisio said Kenya is fast moving from analog to digital television. He said by the end of the year, more than four million people in the country’s major cities will have moved to digital.

Poghisio said the two signal distributors in the country, Signet and Pan African Group, should have the signal all over the country by the end of the year. He said there is a lot of young talent in the country that must be promoted. The minister said the best technology used in the country should go with the best content aired. “I am hoping you (Pay TV service providers) can choose mostly local content, that you can choose content created by our country including sports, drama and music,” Poghisio said.

The ministry's director of administration ambassador Bruce Madete, who represented PS Bitange Ndemo, told the providers to gauge the pricing of their services by considering urban and rural areas. He said they should take advantage of the rural electrification programme and ensure their services reach interior parts of the country but at a lower price.