By Omar Mohammed | From Quartz Africa

MultiChoice’s DStv used to be the powerhouse of Africa’s pay-TV market. Not anymore.

The South African media company finds itself being challenged for supremacy by a new and cheaper option in the form of China’s StarTimes.

In Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, StarTimes, as measured by subscribers, has reportedly knocked MultiChoice off from its top spot as the biggest provider. And with the migration to digital, which is happening across east Africa, the market is set to grow even bigger.

A region with a population of almost 150 million people, TV penetration stands at a little under 34 million households in east Africa, according to Dataxis, a global business intelligence firm.

While the pay-TV market is growing, close to 80% of people are still reliant on free-to-air channels. Overall, Tanzania leads east Africa with the highest number of subscribers, boasting 36% of the region’s 1.6 million viewers.

StarTimes has 39% market share in East Africa, edging out the once market leader MultiChoice, which, through its DStv offering, controls 38% of the market. The rest of the space is occupied by the likes of AzamTV, owned by one of East Africa’s wealthiest individual Said Bakhresa, and Zuku TV, another East African brand.

They are all tapping into a growing consumer market in the region that increasingly has money to spend on such things as pay-TV.

Read more at Quartz Africa