TSTV: ‘Tax incentive to creative sector yielding results’

Th e Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that the recent tax incentive granted the creative sector is already yielding the expected results especially in the breaking of the monopoly in the Pay TV business terrain.
He said this at the unveiling of a new digital satellite pay television, TStv Africa, which was launched on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr.
Mohammed, who was present at the launch, said the tax reliefs granted the creative sector by the government was aimed at birthing initiatives such as the TStv.
Mr.
Mohammed said that TStv Africa is a wholly owned Nigerian Pay TV operator ”with refi ned off erings of novel Unclassifi ed Pay Per View subscription and complimentary internet services.
” He further disclosed that the federal government had granted a 3-year tax relief to TStv Africa, ”as well as taxfree TStv dividends to all investors in the company.
Th e minister while performing the offi cial unveiling of the new company and its products, said the tax reliefs were in line with the Pioneer Status recently granted to the Creative Industry by the federal government.
He congratulated the CEO of the company and his team for liberalising and breaking the monopoly of Pay TV in the country.
“Th e important thing about what Echefu (TStv CEO) has done today is that he has redefi ned the pay per view television industry and from today that industry will never remain the same again.
What he has done is to democratise the media and entertainment industry and make it possible for even a peasant farmer to have access to the best entertainment and news in the world.
“It is a great opportunity for me to be the one to unveil TStv because just like a Nigerian made history by crashing the cost of telephony in Nigeria, I am glad that another Nigerian is now coming forward to crash the cost of Pay TV,” he said.
Th e minister acknowledged the investors for coming from the Diaspora to invest in the country and for believing that the government is willing to diversify the economy.
Th e Chief Executive Offi cer of the fi rm, Bright Echefu, at the dinner to mark the offi cial unveiling said that TStv Africa had gone through a lot of challenges to make Pay TV aff ordable to every Nigerian with added values.
He said the television has 70 premium channels with a maximum subscription fee of N3,000.
”TStv Africa is not classifi ed and it has a model that accommodates subscription for as low as N200 and N500 for a period of time.
Once you subscribe to TStv Africa, you will also get complimentary internet service, enabled Wi-Fi, as well as video calls and video conferencing services.
It has an array of amazing TV channels with premium entertainment, educative programmes that cut across all genres.