Emma Okonji
Digital TV network operator, StarTimes has reiterated its strategic commitment to ensuring quality nationwide signal coverage and innovative offerings both for content bouquets and decoder products. This is consistent with its renewed drive to improve digital TV entertainment services and viewing experience for Nigerians and further deepens the penetration and acceptance of digital TV across the nation.
Head of Public Relations at StarTimes, Mr. Israel Bolaji, who gave the assurance in a recent chat in Lagos, said the company was particularly interested in building and providing quality nationwide signal coverage and innovative offerings, which translate to pleasurable hours of digital television viewing with sharp images and stable signal for subscribers.
“We remain committed to developing and deploying technological infrastructure and roll out plans that guarantee very clear digital terrestrial and satellite TV signals to Nigerian TV households. Since 2010 we have demonstrated this commitment by consistently upping our game in terms of growing our signal strength, quality and nationwide reach. In 2010, StarTimes signals covered only four states, today, our signal coverage covers 35 states and extends to over 60 cities, including recent rollouts in some remote areas of Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu and Iyana Iba in Lagos,” Bolaji said.
“Our subscribers have through their consistent patronage fueled us to go the extra miles for their viewing pleasure. We are covering the whole nation with improved signals including all states, the federal capital territory, historical cities and even rural areas. Over the years, we have grown the quality of our signal by investing massively in world class facilities and technologies and we are fast spreading the coverage nationwide. With this we hope to connect every household in Nigeria to our digital TV platform and most desired content offerings, and also prepare the Nigerian masses for digital TV switch over era,” Bolaji added.
He further explained that as a public-friendly brand, which has changed the face of digital TV in Nigeria, StartTimes is excited about sustaining the company’s proud culture of offering quality and yet very affordable digital TV entertainment in line with a corporate mission that has earned us the trust and loyalty of many value-for-money subscribers growing in millions on our platform.
“We understand the Nigerian masses and appreciate their entertainment needs, hence, we are sustaining the culture of offering quality and yet very affordable digital TV entertainment in line with our corporate mission for our most cherished value-for-money subscribers who are growing in millions. From being a 40-channel platform in 2010 to offering over 100 channels in 2016, our value has increased steadily, our decoder and bouquet prices have gone down consistently from N9,000 DTT decoder to N1,990 presently,” Bolaji said.
The company highlighted that since it started operations in Nigeria it had since changed the face of digital TV in Nigeria offering very quality digital TV to subscribers with growing portfolio of life-enriching content, steadily growing signal coverage and innovative product and services.
For instance, through the introduction of Nova, its most affordable bouquet, StarTimes has forced the price of pay TV downwards in the market in a very unprecedented manner to the benefits of the mass market.
“Our innovation portfolio has also been remarkable. By pioneering the DTT model, which is a very mass market friendly and giving customers more options, we broke decades of pay TV for the rich jinx. Asides the introduction of the very innovative Combo decoder which combines DTT (Antenna) with DTH (Dish) seamlessly for the first time on a decoder device and offering channels on both for the price of one, we have also pioneered add-on bouquets which allows subscribers on lower-cost bouquet access channels on premium bouquets without changing bouquets amongst many others,” the company said.
StarTimes also offer different support systems to customers like 24hours customers care services, door to door after sales services and consistent channel reviews, and has invested heavy into content acquisitions in different genres to meet the yearnings of its esteemed viewers.
