By 12 AM on Sunday, July 1, Ebony Life TV announced that they will be broadcasting on the StarTimes network (Satellite 191 and Digital Terrestrial 107), which means they have backed out of their exclusive arrangement with DSTV.
StarTimes is a leading multinational media company with a strong presence in Africa, operating in 30 countries and with over 10 million subscribers.
The partnership with StarTimes is a bid to provide premium, homegrown content to a larger audience across Africa.
In addition to the expansion of its linear television audience, EbonyLife has launched a global, digital video-on-demand (VoD) service, EbonyLife ON, that allows Nigerian subscribers, who cannot afford expensive satellite TV, to watch its high-quality content for as little as N500 per month.
Viewers in the diaspora have already been accessing the service for $2.99 per month.
Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife TV is thrilled about the global expansion.
“This is an exciting time for us. StarTimes is a force to be reckoned with in Africa. It is a privilege for EbonyLife to have an additional home with the network. Together with the global reach of EbonyLife ON, we will have the potential for millions more people to enjoy our gripping dramas, riveting talk and fun entertainment shows,” she said.
Justin Zhang, MD of StarTimes, shares similar sentiments with Abudu.
“EbonyLife TV is synonymous with quality, which is important to us. As one of Nigeria’s leading television networks, it made sense to include them in the StarTimes family and to continue delighting customers with engaging, original content,” he said.
This collaboration is a win-win for both parties – StarTimes will improve its offering by providing an additional, first-rate channel to users and EbonyLife TV gets an opportunity to broadcast to an even greater number of viewers. EbonyLife ON is now available online to viewers in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
