China mission to win African hearts wit satellite TV

As African leaders dey go Beijing dis week for di triennial China-Africa summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping fit get sometin wey e go take brag wey be satellite TV.

Na almost nine years don pass since President Xi promise heads of state wey come di Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) for Johannesburg say China go give ova 10,000 remote villages for 23 kontris for Africa digital TV access.

As ova 9,000 villages don get satellite infrastructure, di project don almost complete.

Dis ghen ghen promise, come wen China-Africa relations bin dey good and bin dey funded by China aid budget. Dem give di contract to one private Chinese company wey dem dey call StarTimes wey dey for plenti African kontris.

Na show of goodwill and way for China to flex im soft power for di strategic important region.

As China economy dey struggle and Beijing dey rearrange dia Africa strategy, BBC enta four villages for Kenya to find out weda dis "soft power" dey work.

For Olasiti villiage, wey be three hours drive west of di capital, Nairobi, Nicholas Nguku gada im friends and family to watch Kenyan athletes as dem dey run for di Paris Olympics for TV.

E tok say, "I dey very happy to see di Olympics wey we bin no fit see bifor we get StarTimes". Di company bin install satellite dishes for di area about four years ago.

E no be di only one wey benefit from StarTimes presence for Africa. StarTimes wey enta di continent of 2008, don become di one of di biggest private digital TV providers for sub-Saharan Africa wit ova 16 million subscribers.

Analysts tok say na di low pricing at first wey make am stand gidigba.

For Kenya, monthly digital TV packages dey cost from 329 shillings ($2.50; £2) to 1,799 shillings ($14; £10.50).

To compare am, monthly package for DStv wey Multichoice own, wey be anoda big player for di African digital TV market dey cost between 700 and 10,500 shillings.

Even though StarTimes dey partly make money from subscriptions, di "10,000 Villages Project" dey funded by China state run South-South Assistance Fund.

Di satellite dish get di StarTimes logo, Kenya Ministry of Information emblem, and red "China Aid" logo.

Wen di installation of dis dishes dem bin dey happun, StarTimes representatives call am "gift" from China, according to wetin plenti villagers remember.

According to Dr Angela Lewis, academic wey don write wella on StarTimes for Africa, di project get potential to leave positive picture of China for African audience.

Villagers, for dis project bin collect everitin for free, wey include satellite dish, battery and installation as well as StarTimes subscription.

Dr Lewis call am "game-changer" as remote villages for Africa wey bifor most wetin dem get na choppy and unreliable analogue TV.

For many, dis na dia first access to satellite dishesm wey affect di way villagers dey interact wit di outside worl, na wetin she tok.

For community centres like hospitals and schools for Ainomoi village for western Kenya, subscriptions still dey free.

For di local clinic, digital TV for waiting room dey help patients to wait. And for primary school, students fit enjoy cartoons afta school.

Ruth Chelang’at wey be eigth grade student for di school tok say, "Afta we finish school, we go watch cartoon togeda, e sweet die and na bonding experience."

But plenti Kenyan families wey BBC follow tok say di free trial bin only last for some time and dem bin no know.

Even wit di relative cheap price, na still plenti money for many of dem to pay.

Dat mean say di first excitement wey come wit di project don go among di pipo wey benefit from di project. Dis go put dent in China goodwill push.

Rose Chepkemoi, from Chemori village for Kericho county, "we bin happy wen we first get di satellite dish, but e bin dey free for only a few months and afta dat we gatz pay. E cost too much so we stop to dey use am."

Witout subscription, only free to air channels dey available like di Kenyan Broadcasting Cooperation dey available, na wetin di pipo wey no dey subscribed to StarTimes packages.

Wen BBC go di four villages wey get di StarTimes dishes from 2018 to 2020, many villagers tok say dem stop dia use of StarTimes afta di free trial finish. Di chief of Ainamoi village tok say many of di first 25 households wey collect di satelitte dish for im village no gree subscribe.

Di BBC contact StarTimes for comment about di free trials but we neva get ansa.

China influence reach di content broadcast for StarTimes channels. Even di cheapest packages get channels like Kung Fu and Sino Drama, wey dey show mostly Chinese movies and series.

For 2023, dem dub ova 1,000 Chinese feems and TV shows to local languages na wetin Ma Shaoyong, wey be di oga for public relations for StarTimes tell local tori pipo. For Kenya case, for 2014, di company start di ST Swahili cannel for Swahili content.

Among villagers wey watch Chinese shows, many of dem tok say di programs na old school.

Plenti dating or romance shows dey like popular reality show Hello, Mr Right wia contestants dey find true love. Dem do anoda one like dat for China wey dem call, If You Are The One.

For some, na dat kain content dey make dem continue dia subscription. 21 year-old Ariana Nation Ngotiek from Olasiti village love shows like di Chinese series Eternal Love wey dem do English dub for. She say, "I no fit sleep witout say I watch am".

Na football dey drag crowd pass

But football na still di main attraction for African audience. For 2023, di Confederation of African Football report say di Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) bin break records wit almost two billion viewers world-wide.

StarTimes don use dis kain data to invest wella to get broadcasting rights for football matches wey include Afcon, Spain La Liga and Germany Bundesliga.

Dr Lewis explain say, "sports broadcasting na wia StarTimes make im name".

But competition dey wella as SuperSport, wey be subsidiary of MultiChoice, dey allegedly pay ova $200m (£152m) yearly for rights to broadcast English Premier League.

Wen Kylian Mbappé announce say e dey join Real Madrid, StarTimes put up big billboards for Nairobi to advertise say dem get La liga but e no work for everibodi.

One football fan tell BBC say, e "prefer di thrill of Premier League".

Levi Obonyo, one professor for Daystar University for Nairobi explain say, "di majority of Kenyans no really feel La Liga. Na English Premier League wey draw audience".

Even though China international state broadcaster CGTN dey dia cheapest package but unlike BBC or CNN e no dey draw viewers.

Lily Ruto wey be retired teacher for di Kericho county laugh tok say, "Yes we also get Chinese news but I no dey watch am. Wetin dem dey call am again? C something N? T something N?"

Dr Dani Madrid-Morales wey be lecturer for di University of Sheffield tk say StarTimes neva change di African news environment.

StarTimes understand say most villagers prefer local news channels.

One consultant to Chinese media companies for Africa tok say StarTimes no want wetin do TikTok or Huawei wey di ova Chinese-ness bin attract ogbonge torchlight form di West.

Dr Lewis study of news stories from 2015 to 2019 note say most of di news tori dem wey mention StarTimes no tok about China or China-Africa relations..

From tok of town to footnote

StarTimes as private company don get some success ova di years, and di "10,000 Villages Project" push di company go anoda level.

But as Beijing dey host anoda FOCAC, di mega building effect of di project wey China bin dey hope for no really work.

Dr Madrid-Morales tok say, "attempt bin dey for goment to rebalance di information flow wey go put China for beta light no really work. Di amount of money wey enta dis no really benefit di Chinese goment like dat."

Many villagers wey China follow tok na only content and cost be dia issue. Di project don dey resemble plenti of di satellite dishes demselves wey now dey rusty for di China soft power outreach.

Chepkemoi wey cancel her StarTimes subscription tok say, "yes, wen o say na from China e from come but e no make any difference if nobodi dey use am".