So after @Possicon, it’s Toyin Subair’s turn to tell us all that happened behind the scene at HiTv. Good read. Lessons learned 
Toyin Subair did not mention how EPL rights were rigged in his favor by Frank Nweke Jr. He did not mention how GTB bankrolled his firm until the bleeding got too much. He also did not mention just how few people subscribed to HiTV that when matched up against the cost of EPL rights and interest payments on debt and OPEX/CAPEX costs basically had his main sponsor (GTB) pull the plug.
The moral of the story is that PayTV is capital intensive and is typically funded by deep pools of finance. Naspers which is a South African media conglomerate publicly listed could patiently bankroll Multichoice, GTB could not. Had HiTV garnered finance from a major telco he would still be in business today.
Getting the EPL Tv rights is always what it is. A money-ball fight and bullying is allowed(ask @Jason_Igwe_Njoku) . A look at the Tv rights money to be shared by the 20 clubs this season(That’s excluding the FA cut), A whooping 8.3 billion pounds from last season’s 5.2 billion should tell you that enough pound sterling is flying in the air. The EPL is the most watched league in the world, and the rights acquisition process behind the scene involves the baddest of the baddest guys.
That said, I think if toyin had launched HiTv later than he did(let’s say 2015), he could have gotten the angels and funding pool that will sustain the business until profitability. It doesn’t matter whether it’s local or foreign investment. The tech community is buzzing now and investors are more willing to take risks especially for a business that had good traction at the time.
He should add the part where he bought…nvm. Carry on
Anyway, I hope these guys are coming to Nigeria - http://www.kwese.com
He said a lot of things. Things normally not said in this part of the word. He reminded us of:
a. Do it dangote style. you building big stuff. Court the Govt.
b. Don’t run your business on loans. Its too expensive, loans deal with what’s on ground. your business is more than that. He’s bleeding 1.1B yearly for 5 straight years. Don’t get too excited at a great opportunity and think borrowed funds can work. Having said this. Build your business model first, but you can run projects on borrowed funds. Dangote did this with the cement business that blew him.
c. Don’t be in a rush to also get into business with just about anyone. Your shareholders really do have rights, and when they choose to exercise those rights. You could get screwed. this is very similar to steve jobs 101 at apple. where he got kicked out. But fortunately for him, he could come back.
d. Due to our poverty mentality. Perception is everything. People use everything they see to judge you. In his own case it became more apparent cos, the company was on borrowed funds. Even jason had this problem recently, when employees he fired started talking crap, saying he’s spending money here and there… but fortunately for Jason, he’s an avenue to talk, but more importantly, he’s dealing with investors… or bankers…
e. Well, the people training aspect, since he didn’t reap the returns on those… that one na hin wahala.
Overall, I look forward to meeting him.
2 Likes
Dangote had the luxury of being given most of Nigeria s cement importing quota by the Obasanjo administration. He was importing over 500 million dollars worth of cement every year and selling it at double for eight years. He continued minting billions when he built his factories had cement imports banned and sold his cement at twice the world price while receiving huge tax breaks from Nigerian government.
3 Likes
I don’t deal in conspiracy theory. You seem to know all of the theories. Keep them to yourself. As it’ll continue to delude you from the possibilities available. Dangote is a just a name. Someone built that name, it could have been anybody. It could have been nwabu. If you believe that, then it’s what it’s… if you don’t… then, it’s what it is.
Subair stated clearly, it’s important to court govt. and policies. Dangote did and does that every time. And he’s remained relevant.
Even the biggest tech in SV. Continue to court govt. Apple, Google, facebook, their money is overseas, and they are courting the american policy makers to give tax breaks so they can bring it back home, this is been on for years… People are people… So, either you listen to words of wisdom. or you continue to not listen, and not learn and spend decades wasted and then come to realise that the sun that shone at the time of your fathers is the same sun that’ll shine when your grandchildren give their last breath, no matter what you call it… Gold… steel, cement, tv, mobile apps, whatever… People will remain as people.
3 Likes
You clearly need to grow up and save your silly low self esteem words of advice for yourself. Its gullible minds like yours that swallow Subairs argument off the pages of newspapers without engaging in basic research and critical thinking. Moreover that you can’t see that eight years of 6-9 million tonnes of cement import quotas allocated to one man helped Dangote create his cement monopoly is proof of your kindergarten level thinking.
-----ok sir.
1 Like
And this is how we ignore HiTV’s failure. Shey DMs still work?
You are punching the wrong brick. Your argument is pointless as you continue to ignore the reason for this thread. Why not take the lessons from subair and walk out the room?
More immaturity. This is certainly the kiddies discussion room thread. When you are ready to educate yourself about what HiTV start with:
http://forum.cybereagles.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=178245&start=46
http://bunmiobarotimi.blogspot.com.ng/2016/02/the-multi-billion-naira-dubious-loan.html
I highly doubt that. Our currency was already going to shit last year and those who knew what’s up already figured there would be less vanity spending in months to come.
Man, If you are fan of the EPL, Telemundo or even Urban music videos, no recession or common sense can stop you from paying. So, vanity product & services that have become a habitual part of users lifestyle will always sell.
For the business side, if the company gets investments in dollars, it’s only wise to keep holding the bulk of the investment in dollars to avoid depreciation in this times.
That said, investors who like the opportunity and see encouraging figures will always invest no matter the shit happening to our economy.
Waxing factual with empirical findings. Nice touch.
HiTV focused so much on hyping EPL forgetting that football is watched twice a week and occassionally 3 times a week. So what’s to watch the remaining days of the week? As a matter of fact people prefer watching football while socialising like in Bars, Lounges, Viewing Centre. TV isnt all about Football or EPL. DSTV invest a lot on original programming and thats where majority of Nigerian Networks are found wanting. A lot of people watch Africa MagiC (Epic, Urban, Family, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Showcase) with foreign Channels to add like Telemundo & Zee World. HiTV lacked in that capacity
3 Likes