Digital TV Livens Up Village Life

IN August， residents of the small Nigerian village of Hulumi got switched on to a level of entertainment they had never seen before. Digital satellite TV had arrived and its launch was celebrated with much fanfare and a feeling of inclusiveness.

The launch was part of an ongoing 10，000 African Villages Satellite TV Project agreed at the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in South Africa in late 2015， in which China pledged to provide satellite TV to 10，000 African villages in the most remote parts of the continent. It is a massive undertaking by any stretch of the imagination and one that indicates Chinas efforts in breaking down barriers for cultural exchanges between China and Africa.

The project is being undertaken by StarTimes， a Chinese company providing direct-tohome pay digital TV services. This grand vision to replace analog TV with digital means that rural Africans can now watch high quality current affairs and entertainment content at affordable prices. The aim， according to StarTimes Vice President Guo Ziqi， is to enable “every African household to afford digital TV， watch good digital TV programs and enjoy the digital life.” In essence， the content will meet the needs of each particular audience group.

StarTimes already serves close to 10 million subscribers across Africa and has established subsidiaries in more than 30 African countries. Apart from just being a content provider， it is also a job provider， with its comprehensive distribution network of 200 business halls， 3，000 convenience stores and 5，000 dealers employing up to 75 percent local staff.

The digitization progress has even reached as far as Zambia. Speaking at the StarTimeslaunch of the 2017 Beijing TV Dramas and Movies Broadcasting Season in Africa in Lusaka， Zambia in August， Wang Yefei， Deputy Director General of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press， Publication， Radio， Film and Television， said the city attaches great importance to cultural exchanges between China and Africa and hoped that their content will help African audience get a more panoramic view of China. Much of the StarTimes content is dubbed into English， French， Portuguese， Swahili， Hausa， Yoruba and Luganda， making it increasingly accessible to a wider African audience. Yang Youming， Chinese Ambassador to Zambia， said Chinese TV dramas， kungfu shows and movies have become an important new cultural bridge in building relations between the two sides. Judging by the popularity of Chinese shows， African audiences are using the opportunity to cross this cultural bridge and gain more understanding of Chinese life. This understanding goes deeper than the generally known story of Chinas economic miracle， and delves into what makes the people tick. Its a cultural dynamic that forms part of the people-to-people exchange concept， which is the bedrock of many aspects of the China-Africa relationship. Areas of culture， education and sports are intrinsically linked to government cooperation on other levels， making the StarTimes broadcasts a vital cog in the friendship wheel.

As African audience content continues to be digitized by StarTimes， it must be remembered that not only are people viewing shows from China， but more international content. This is especially important for Africas large young population in the rural areas， who can gain a bigger picture of the world they live in as well as have access to global information that can help improve their lives.

Perhaps in the near future， a similar project could be undertaken to take African TV content and present it to audiences in China. It would be educational， informative and entertaining to have users of this cultural bridge moving in both directions. THE EDITOR