NewsDay Friday November 27 2015 M1
MultiChoice Zimbabwe
MultiChoice Zim help usher in the world of satellite TV to the mass market
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HE rapid growth and development of technology in the past half-century has created an amazing array of products and services for people all over the world. Among these is access to satellite broadcasting, which allows a person in his or her own home to link directly into every part of the world to gather information about every topic under the sun – as it happens. Now forgotten for many Zimbabweans, are the days when television meant black and white sets offering programming from about 5pm to 11pm. Today’s TV offering is so far removed from this scenario, that it is similar to comparing the technology of sea-going vessels from Roman times to the spacecraft that take astronauts into space and carry cameras to the furthest reaches of our solar system. Today’s television viewer expects instant access to news from across the world, as well as access to the widest possible amounts of information, education and entertainment possible. This is delivered 24/7 and is in full colour, high definition and of the best quality in terms of sound and photography. What happens in our ever-changing world is that, we quickly become accustomed to what is new and within a short space of time, we take it for granted and start to ponder on what is coming next, hoping for it to be even bigger and better. MultiChoice Zimbabwe helps bring access to this world of satellite technology to Zimbabweans, linking viewers in this country with the supplier of the DStv service, MultiChoice Africa. In doing this, MultiChoice Zimbabwe is the appointed and authorised representative of the MultiChoice organisation in the territory of Zimbabwe and it facilitates local viewers’ access to subscriptions and to the services and products that relate to the overall DStv service. Back in the early 1990s, a sister company of the current MultiChoice Zimbabwe had the exclusive M-Net /MultiChoice agency for Zimbabwe. At that time, the broadcast signal was on C Band and viewers needed a 4m to 6m dish to obtain the satellite signal. Subscriber numbers were limited because of the cost of the equipment. In the mid-1990s, Skynet (Pvt) Ltd trading as Multichoice Zimbabwe, was registered and appointed as the franchise holder for MultiChoice Africa in Zimbabwe – the first franchise holder appointed in Africa. In the same year, the Ku Band became available and this made it possible to view the satellite programming with a smaller dish, this was the 1,2m dish and it helped reduce the cost for equipment. The launch of the Pas 7 satellite in 1998 allowed the use of a 90cm dish, which is now the norm. Decoders also became cheaper, helping widen the subscriber base through affordability. Skynet is a Zimbabwean company and, as such, pays all the required taxes to the State, which benefits the country. Over the years, the staff complement has grown to 160, spreading across four branches in the country – at PaSangano building in Avondale and at Joina City, both in Harare, as well as branches in Mutare and Bulawayo. There are also a number of MultiChoice accredited installers and agents, who complement the branch network with related services. Anyone wishing to make use of these suppliers services can obtain them from MultiChoice, where a full list of authorised and acceptable suppliers is available, so that viewers do not go in the direction of unauthorised, self-appointed “service providers”, whose work and ethics cannot be guaranteed. As MultiChoice Zimbabwe celebrates its 20th anniversary, it acknowledges the support it has had from all stakeholders, especially from custom-
ers, regulatory authorities, payment partners and thanks them for their co-operation.
DStv Avondale Customer Care Centre
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NewsDay Friday November 27 2015
MultiChoice Zimbabwe
DStv — Africa’s foremost provider of information, education, entertainment
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CAPRI AIR COOL AIR CONDITIONING / REFRIGIRATION AND CAR AIR CON
CAPRI AIR COOL management and staff congratulates
ZIMBABWE
on its 20th Anniversary
28 Mcilwaine Cres, Belvedere, P.O. Box BE 536, Belvedere, Harare TEL: 741191 OR 740591, FAX: 740641, CELL: 0733 401 658 / 0772 285 125 Email:aircool@zol.co.zw AUTHORISED DISTRIBUTORS
LG
Carrier
Stv is a digital satellite television service broadcast throughout Africa by MultiChoice Africa. It was launched in 1995 and now provides various bouquets offering general entertainment, sport, films, lifestyle and culture programming, documentaries, news, commerce, children and teenagers’ programmes, music, religion and consumer information. With their huge populations, the largest customer bases are in South Africa and Nigeria, but a subscriber base in many African countries makes the DStv service well-known and popular among growing numbers of people across the continent. Zimbabweans have long regarded DStv as an important source of the entertainment, news and educational content they need in their lives. Zimbabweans have access to DStv through several bouquets, designed to create access to the service at different levels of affordability. The bouquets are Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, Family and Access. Viewers also have access to the special Indian bouquet, which features programmes from throughout the Indian subcontinent.
The management and staff of AMH would like to congratulate
ZIMBABWE
on its 20th Anniversary
A ALPHA
HEAD OFFICE
Stand No17382, Graniteside, Cnr Bessemer/Strand Multiprint Road, Harare
TOWN OFFICE
1 Kwame Nkrumah Ave, 3rd Block, 1st Floor. 1 Union Avenue Building, Harare
M E D I A HOLDINGS
REGIONAL OFFICE
Amtec Building, Cnr Robert Mugabe Way/12th Avenue, Bulawayo
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Mr and Mrs Kelly receive their LED TV from DStv’s Liz Dziva (centre) during the DStv Rewards Competition According to Wikipedia, these were some of the milestones for MultiChoice and DStv over the years: l 1986, Pay-television came to South Africa when an analogue, single-channel service, M-Net, was launched by Naspers. For almost seven years, all M-Net’s operations were handled by a single company. l 1993, Naspers created a subsidiary company, MultiChoice, which was to handle the business arm of M-Net, such as decoder sales, subscriber services and account management. l 1995, MultiChoice launched a new digital satellite service in South Africa and on October 6 1995, DStv was officially activated to subscribers. The original video channel bouquet consisted of 17 channels: M-Net, MGM Channel, Turner Classic Movies, TNT Sci-Fi Universal, SuperSport, ESPN, SelecTV, Travel Channel, KTV, Cartoon Network, BBC World News, CNN International, Sky News, Rhema Network, MTV, VH1 and TV5Monde. l 2000, Launch of W4 Eutelsat satellite with Ku-band services to sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. l 2001, Launch of Indian and Portuguese bouquets. l 2002, Launch of Interactive Television. l 2003, Dual View Decoder launched. l 2005, The DStv PVR decoder and DStv Compact is launched. l 2006, MultiChoice launches BEE Share Scheme, Phuthuma Nathi.
l 2007, Channel Shuffle on October 1, moving channels around to 3-digit numbers and for them to be in their right genre groups. l 2007, Launch of DStv Select and of entry bouquet DStv EasyView. l 2008, Launch of DStv’s first High Definition decoder the HD PVR, XtraView and the first HD channel, M-Net HD. l 2009, HD channels - SuperSport 1 HD, Discovery HD Showcase are launched. l 2010, Digital Video Broadcast over Internet Protocol and DStv on Demand service launched, as well as the HD PVR 2P and M-Net Movies 1 HD. l 2011, DStv BoxOffice and DStv Mobile launched. l 2012, DStv launched a new satellite in August, Intelsat 20, shuffling the channel numbers and offering subscribers eight new HD channels from October 1: l M-Net Movies Premier l M-Net Movies Comedy l M-Net Movies Family l M-Net Movies Action + l M-Net Movies Romance l M-Net Movies Showcase l M-Net Series Showcase (is a dedicated Series Channel first Fresh HD Series ) l Studio Universal HD l 2 new Africa Magic channels l 2013, Multichoice adds FoxHD to (DStv Premium package only) and kykNET & Kie (DStv Family, Compact, and Premium packages). DStv Family launched. l 2013, Multichoice launches its next-generation PVR decoder, l TO PAGE M3
NewsDay Friday November 27 2015 M3
MultiChoice Zimbabwe
DStv gives subscribers EPL experience A
CHRISTMAS bonus is on the way to football fans on the DStv Compact Plus bouquet: England’s Barclays Premier League is return to SuperSport 3. Liz Dziva, publicity and public relations manager of MultiChoice Zimbabwe, said the return of live premiership games to DStv Compact Plus would start from December 1, from when subscribers could access the bulk of the EPL action for the rest of the football season, which ends in May. “All active Compact Plus subscribers will get the EPL experience on SuperSport 3, while SuperSport 5 will be made available for coverage of the Spanish La Liga,” she said. “We are sure this will help brighten the Christmas season, which will also be boosted by a range of additional family entertainment on various bouquets. We know many subscribers are experiencing tough economic challenges at the moment and we want to make the festive season bigger and brighter with more great sport, children’s programming, news and general entertainment.” The Barclays Premier League is considered the most popular ongoing sporting spectacle in the world, not only with top soccer action, but also with larger-than-life characters who thrill, infuriate, spread joy and despair in equal measure. Blockbuster matches coming up include Arsenal Vs Manchester City (December 21), Manchester United Vs Chelsea (December 28), Everton Vs Tottenham (January 2), Liverpool Vs Arsenal (January 13), Manchester City Vs Everton (January 13), Chelsea Vs Everton (January 16), Liverpool Vs Manchester United (January 17) and Arsenal Vs Chelsea (January 24). “We hope DStv Compact Plus viewers will be pleased with this development and we thank them for the feedback they have given us in this regard,” said Dziva. l For more sports news and live match fixtures on SS3 and SS5, please visit www.supersport.com.
MultiChoice Zimbabwe publicity and public relations manager Liz Dziva (right) hands over groceries to Harare Children’s Home representative Maria Sithole, as part of donations to mark MultiChoice Zimbabwe’s 20th anniversary celebrations
Business Premises to let
ALTOGETHER NOW . . . Musician and drumming maestro Blessing ‘Bled’ Chimanga and the Dreams Band partnered with MultiChoice Zimbabwe to bring a smile to the Harare Children’s Home with the sweet sound of music
DStv — Africa’s foremost provider of information, education, entertainment l FROM PAGE M2 the DStv Explora. l 2014, Africa Magic discontinues their old channels and replaces them with Africa Magic Showcase, Africa Magic Family and Africa Magic World. l 2014, The new channels, Lifetime, Nicktoons, Nick Junior, Vuzu Amp, M-Net Edge and Glow are launched l 2015, The new channels, Zee World (Hindi dubbed in English), Glow TV, M-Net City, BET, AMC, EVA, ITV Choice and M-Net Family, are launched l 2015, DStv upgrades its online customer experience, improving customer experience and adding features, which could only be done by contacting their call centre, giving their customers more self-service options. l 2015, BBC Worldwide announced the launch of new BBC channels on Multichoice Africa: l BBC Brit l BBC First l These run alongside the already-existing BBC World, BBC Lifestyle and Cbeebies.
Business Premises available at 1 Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, Block 3, Harare. Offices or full block available. For more information, contact: Kington on +263-772 499 039
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NewsDay Friday November 27 2015
MultiChoice Zimbabwe
MultiChoice Zim in pictures Supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign day at MultiChoice Zimbabwe
Ark of God Children’s Home charity visit and donation of blankets
DStv Summer Fun with Dora The Explora
NewsDay Friday November 27 2015 M5
MultiChoice Zimbabwe
MultiChoice celebrations in pictures
DStv Zimbabwe Head of Marketing, Gerald Ngonyamo (left), hands over the Disneyland, Paris, prize to the Manjeya family
The Manjeya family at Disneyland, Paris, courtesy of DStv Rewards Competition
DStv Mutare subscriber poping a balloon during the Pop-a-Balloon competition
ZiFM Stereo’s latest Craze; The ZiSquad, a convoy of three red Cherry Tiggos that not only amplify and edify the clout of your product or brand - placng it exactly where it should be. DStv Mutare staff, Collen Mangezi (left) with a lucky subscriber
ZiFM Stereo celebrates with DSTV on their 20th Annivesary and wishes them more years of the hottest shows on the small screen!
A happy DStv subscriber in Mutare
ZIMBABWE
DStv subscribers during the Ladies Pamper Day in Mutare