Kenya could experience an explosion in the number of digital TV channels, as the country’s communication commission is set to license 168 operators in the sector.

The Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) is opening up licenses for new providers, as the country switches from analogue to digital transmissions.

“We are going to issue the 168 applications on our waiting list with temporary broadcasting permits before the end of this week,” said Francis Wangusi, the acting CCK director-general.

The new operators will not be required to establish broadcast infrastructure like masts, but will be hosted by the two licensed signal distributors — Signet and Pan African Network — at a fee.

Regulators in the country hope to substantially reduce the issue of high costs as a barrier to entry in the sector, and instead put greater emphasis on content as a competitive tool.

Experts in that country say that high costs of operation have partly contributed to the dominance of Multichoices’s DStv, and the collapse of other entrants such as GTV and Smart TV.

A CCK competition study has also blamed the hot topic of exclusive content rights for stifling competition in the pay-TV market segment in that country.

DStv has largely been riding on the exclusive rights it holds on key content such as sports, including the English Premiership League.

Wananchi Group, the proprietors of Zuku, has lodged a complaint with CCK and the Competition Authority to compel the South Africa’s Multichoice to resell some of the rights to content it holds.

“If some subscribers choose a Pay-TV provider on the basis of particular sports content, those customers would be harder for competitors to tap into as some sports content is sold on an exclusive basis,” read the CCK report.