Kwesé TV now available in Zimbabwe

Econet Media’s Kwesé TV has launched in Zimbabwe through a partnership with local player Dr Dish, obviating the need to acquire a separate licence of its own, according to local press reports.

According to various local reports, Dr Dish, which holds a licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe dating from 2012 that is valid until 2022, will distribute Kwesé’s content.

According to the reports, the deal between the pair was struck at the end of last year, but the launch was delayed due to the need to train installers and ensure that licence fees were up to date.

Dr Dish previously used its licence to distribute pan-African pay TV service My TV, which is no longer available in Zimbabwe.

Econet Media’s pay TV service has launched in a number of markets across Africa, and has been seeking to launch in Zimbabwe for some time. Econet Media’s parent Econet Wireless was founded by Zimbabwean businessman Strive Masiyiwa.

The company recently struck a deal with Asian Netflix rival Iflix to bring a new Iflix Africa streaming service to markets across the continent. Iflix said that, as part of that deal, it would bring its content to subscribers in Zimbabwe via Econet Wireless.

Rival African pay TV outfit StarTimes launched was reported to be launching a service in Zimbabwe earlier this year under the StarSat brand.