Gilbert Promotions, StarSat enter paytv deal
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Friday September 21, 2018 14:48
The Botswana channel is expected to be launched before the end of October 2018 and should be up and running in November. The renowned music promoter and founder of Gilbert Promotions, Gilbert ‘PP wa Pimp’ Seagile told Arts & Culture that the idea is to promote local talent internationally through a global television provider.
Seagile said that just like known channels such as Mzansi Magic, which airs on DStv, Botswana Channel would be available to all StarSat subscribers.
He said that the idea came up after realising that local talent is not exposed enough to the international audience.
“Botswana has talent, but we are unable to get a breakthrough because we do not have that channel that puts us out there and exposes us to the global audience. “You can get the likes of Vee Mampeezy getting deals out there, but it is not enough. “They are not getting the international recognition they deserve because their content is not exposed to the global viewership,” he said.
Seagile stated that while Botswana Television (Btv) has done well to expose local artists to the regional market through programmes such as Mokaragana and Flava Dome, it is still not enough.
He said that there is too much local content that could sustain the channel throughout the year, adding that the channel would start as a music channel and later add more content such as local soapies, drama and sport. “We have produced enough videos which the world out there is waiting to see.
“We once had a deal with Trace Channel, but the deal fell through because the standards they demanded for a music video were very unreasonable for us.
“We were starting and wanted us to provide music videos which production would cost over P50,000.
“But with StarSat, we will be the ones determining the content.
“We will do the vetting and feed StarSat because we are the ones who know the content.
“We want them as raw as they are because that’s how Niger and Mzansi Magic went big and popular,” he added.
Seagile said that they are just finalising the technicalities and logistics.
When contacted for comment, StarSat Botswana CEO Buca Matenge confirmed that indeed a deal has been reached with Gilbert Promotions to set up a Botswana channel on StarSat. “We are trying to aggregate local music so that it goes through our platform.
“StarSat is the biggest satelite television in China and has the biggest subscription in East, West and Central Africa.
“As owners of StarSat Botswana, we want Botswana content to be watched globally. We can do that by either taking Btv on StarSat or setting up a channel, which is what we are doing now,” he said.
Matenge said that StarSat has one of the most affordable bouquets with the premium subscription at P260 giving customers access to 80+ channels. The lowest bouquet subscription fee is P160 with over 30 channels.
He said that StarSat offers a lot of content such as sport, movies, news and entertainment. “We have the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Europa League and Fox Sport and Trace,” he added.