Algerians mourn loss of free satellite TV

2009-05-15

Watching television is the most popular leisure activity for many Algerians, but the recently-activated encryption of the main digital packages has thrown them into a state of distress.

By Mohand Ouali for Magharebia in Algiers – 15/05/09

[Mohand Ouali] Algerian officials hope DTT service will reduce a national satellite dish infestation.

Saliha A. is at her wits' end. An Algerian housewife with a 15-month old daughter, she usually sits her daughter in front of the TV to watch children's programmes streaming through a satellite dish while she does the chores.

She is not alone in this habit. It seems that from the cities to remote rural areas, everyone has a satellite dish.

Algerians have long been successful at manoeuvring around having to pay for their beloved television programmes. But ever since January, when satellite channels were encrypted and Algerians had to begin paying for subscription packages, Saliha has been forced to spend more time watching the child.

"There is nothing to watch on Algerian TV," Saliha said, sitting in her now quiet living room. "There are no good programmes, especially for kids."

To receive the service again, the only option she has now is to buy special access cards. But they are expensive and her husband refuses to buy them.

Saliha's frustration is shared by many Algerians. Starting in the 1980s, Algerians, weary of the country's single national television channel, began "tracking" satellites to pick up programmes from French and Arab broadcast channels. This new openness to the media, seen as a symbol of the liberal aspirations of the political regime of the time, was a runaway success, despite the high cost of the equipment.

The efforts of integrist Islamic militants to persuade Algerians not to install a "paradiabolical" dish, or the apparatchiks who spoke out against the "cultural invasion" were useless against the will of the people to have their TV channels.

Satellite dishes sprang up all over the rooftops of Algeria and a whole industry developed around the technology: the import and then the industrial manufacture of dishes, master antenna systems, receivers, cables and installer networks.

With the advent of digital television spawned a new specialty: pirating of access codes for encrypted channels.

All that is about to change.

Algerians' favourite digital packages, where they could "top up" on news, films, football matches and documentaries, have been secured with access codes which have so far proved impossible to bypass.

Even worse for TV fans unprepared to pay for service packages is the government's just- announced pilot programme to rid Algeria of what officials see as an infestation of unsightly dishes covering rooftops and cluttering walls. The project will begin in the "1er novembre" neighbourhood in Algiers' 2 Oued Koriche district. Officials will visit homes to try and convince residents to get rid of satellite dishes and air conditioning units that hang outside their windows.

Faced with access codes and growing encryption, and tired of being cut off from their favourite programmes, some people have decided to pay the heavy price of buying service.

The Arab Radio and Television (ART) Network, owned by a Saudi millionaire, led the way with reasonable success, having managed to seize the exclusive rights to show major sporting events in the Middle East and the Maghreb. Since the latest World Cup, subscriptions have been available for around 7,500 dinars.

[File] Satellite dishes sprout like mushrooms across Algerian high-rises.

On January 21st 2009, Algeria became the first country in North Africa to market the CANAL+ package of 25 channels via a pre-paid card. One month later, a new sports package offered French league Sunday evening football matches and the best games of the Champions League.

In a press release, the company said that as "the first legal satellite French television offer in Northern Africa, subscribers will not be subject to inconveniences such as programme interruption". The service runs about 2,000 dinars (around 20 euros) per month.

Algerian operator EEPAD is also promoting an internet package (Assilabox II) with an ADSL connection and telephone line, which offers access to various pay-TV channels for 2,500 to 3,600 dinars per month, depending on the options chosen.

These packages are of interest to the better-off citizen who does not want the inconvenience of regularly "flashing" the receiver or using pirated cards which carry no guarantee.

The number of households signing up for the plan is still small, due to the limited coverage.

"I was interested in the package, but they told me I would be unable to receive the services because I live in the Bab Ezzouar district," Mr. Abderrahmane told Magharebia. The eastern suburb of Algiers is not yet served by the network.

In the rush to get round the problem, everyone finds the solution that best suits them.

Some desperate TV fans have pressed their old receivers back into service to catch the few channels which are still being broadcast in analogue format. Others, like trader H. Rédha, buy cards directly in France or else re-orient their dish towards satellites such as Nilesat, which broadcast unencrypted programmes.

"Nilesat is mostly for women, because they can keep up with all their favourite Arabic soaps," explains B. Amar, a taxi driver. "I can also pick up channels from the Thor satellite."

"I don't understand much English, but at least I can find some wildlife documentaries, which I love," he adds.

[Ouali] People unable to afford pricey service packages point dishes to unencrypted satellites.

Film buff Mohamed has taken another approach: "If I get a subscription, I'll pay something like 24,000 dinars a year. I've done my sums, and found it's cheaper to buy a DVD player. That cost me 5,000 dinars."

"There's no shortage of pirated DVDs on the market," the student tells Magharebia. "There are 6 of the latest films on each DVD that I can get for just 100 dinars. Not only can I get to see all the films I want, but what's more I've got a great collection that I can use for swaps!"

Mohamed is not alone in his passion for counterfeit movies. Industrial-scale bootlegging and attacks on intellectual property have reached significant proportions in Algeria. Piracy has grown to such a worrisome extent that the National Office for Copyright and Associated Rights (ONDA) suggested on April 14th that a special police unit be created to target copyright infringements.

"More than 600,000 counterfeit and illegally sold recordings were logged in Algeria in 2008," noted ONDA chief Hakim Taousar. He is calling for greater involvement by Algerian customs and the trade ministry.

In the meantime, ONDA experts are training police forces on how to counter the piracy epidemic. A new law on consumer protection, which will deal more severely with fraud, was approved last January.

The future for programmes on foreign channels is bright, thanks to the mediocrity of what is currently available. In addition to the three existing channels, two special interest channels have recently been launched: one in the Amazigh language, and another devoted to religion. All are publicly funded. This selection will be enhanced with other special interest channels as digital terrestrial television (DTT) is introduced.

The future may lie in opening national television broadcasting to private enterprise, but the government does not appear to be in a hurry to go for such an option.