MTN inks content deal with music channel TRACE

As the African telecom players innovate to beat their competitors, South Africa’s MTN Group has pulled a first by announcing a brand and content licensing agreement with TRACE, an entertainment television channel.
The agreement is the first between a telecom company and an entertainment media network. TRACE is largely a music video channel that promotes urban contemporary music videos and is available on various cable and satellite pay television platforms.
As Africa’s internet speeds go up and prices come down, courtesy of fibre optic cables as opposed to expensive satellite connectivity, one of the major challenges facing Africa is lack of locally relevant and available African content to bring more people online.
MTN and Trace have entered their partnership at a time when mobile internet has been leveraged by the falling prices of Smartphones and the entry into the Smartphone arena by Chinese and South Korean electronics manufacturers like Huawei and Samsung.
Both Samsung and Huawei have recently launched onto the market especially Android-powered Smartphones that are much cheaper than types like the iPhone, the Blackberry and high-end Nokia types.
This deal will enable MTN offer what they have called innovative entertainment services to the fast-growing youth segment within the African mobile market.
On Monday, MTN launched the offer in Cameroon and it is due to be rolled out in multiple locations. Launches are planned in Ivory Coast, South Africa and Nigeria in the next few months.
“MTN youth subscribers will benefit from the unique entertainment experience around the TRACE brand, including exciting local and international content on entertainment and sports, live events and television,” a press statement issued by the MTN Groups reads in part.
Christian de Faria, MTN Group Senior Vice President: Commercial & Innovation said: “Our partnership with the multiple award-winning TRACE enhances the unique value that MTN currently provides to the youth segment.”
He said it is a great opportunity to propose an innovative, interactive and entertaining experience to millions of young Africans. A mobile phone he said has become a personalized universal remote control to permanently access content, listen to music, play, learn, interact and share.
Olivier Laouchez, the TRACE Chairman and chief executive officer said the partnership with MTN will enable his media network provide the African youth their major entertainment interests, which is music and sport via the mobile phone.
“With MTN, we are proud to be pioneers in such a venture on the African continent,” Laouchez said. “With this agreement, MTN and TRACE reinforce their position as the first movers and leaders of the youth segment with solutions that fit the specific needs of this segment.”
Wairagala Wakabi, a researcher at Collaboration on International ICT Policy in Eastern and Southern Africa (CIPESA) was happy about this deal.
“Any initiative that works to raise the local content that African people access and consume is most welcome, regardless of whether this content is delivered via traditional TV, mobile phone or the internet,” Wakabi said.
He said many African countries have an aspiration to have their media, specifically radio and Tv, deliver a bigger proportion of their programming as local content, but due to logistical and capacity problems, these aspirations are not translated into reality.
However he was quick to add that Africa also needs innovations and content that can impact on the livelihoods of the ordinary man on the street. Wakabi said that includes content on maternal health, on preventing malaria, farming practices and education.
“States, including through their universal access funds, obviously have a big role to play here, but it will be a happy day when MTN, TRACE, and others leverage on the successes they score within the entertainment sector to also get into innovations that directly impact on the livelihoods of our people in ways entertainment would never,” Wakabi said.