2022 Year in Review

In Tanzania and Kenya, StarTimes has partnered with state broadcasters to
upgrade the countries’ analogue technology to digital networks. The company
holds such an important position that some observers, such as Dani Madrid-
Morales from the University of Houston, have commented that “if StarTimes
pulled out of some countries…the country’s TV stations would stop working.
Essentially, StarTimes has the power to black out some countries’ TV networks, if
it wants.”
In Zambia, StarTimes has likewise collaborated with Zambia’s state broadcaster
ZNBC to create a joint venture called TopStar. Under this agreement, StarTimes
holds a 60% share in ZNBC for 25 years, drawing accusations that the company
has effectively taken control of Zambia’s television network. Further, China’s
state-owned Export-Import Bank provided the loan for the US$271 million
needed for the Zambian government to seal the joint venture contract – a prime
example of how Beijing benefits while StarTimes profits.
Building its operations and total reach off the back of the 10,000 Villages Project,
StarTimes as the sole provider of television through the initiative has significant
control over the content broadcasted on its network.
A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
Although StarTimes is officially a private corporation, it is the only private
enterprise with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce authorisation to operate in
foreign countries radio and television industries. It has also been designated as a
“key national cultural export company”, and many of its projects in Africa,
including those part of the 10,000 Villages, have been noted to be “key national
cultural export projects”, indicating state subsidies.
The current scenario where a private corporation with a close relationship with
Beijing has such a high level of leverage and control over many African nations’
television networks naturally draws concern. Haggai Kanenga at the University of
Zambia echoes this concern: the “loan shows the money for this project is
coming from the Chinese government itself, so these two – StarTimes and the
Chinese government – cannot be separated. In Zambia, they are widely viewed
as one.”
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