Page 60 - AIB | The Chanel | Issue 1 2013

he idea for MTN
Play Mobile Radio
was born in 2006, at
a time when mobile
networks began
investing significantly
in faster networks.
Inspired by the SiriusXM radio
model in the US, Majota Kambule
(pictured left) and Nic Regisford
(below left) approached one of
Africaʹs leading mobile operators
with their idea of a music based
service that would give people
access to a multitude of genres of
music. The result: MTN Play Radio
launched in South Africa in
September 2012.
VIA THEMOBILE
Kambule stresses that this service is
the first of its kind on the continent.
Itʹs exclusively available via the
mobile – he mentions as reasons the
high cost of broadband and the fact
that broadband penetration has
been delivered predominantly by
cellphone operators in Africa. In
developed markets, listeners have
access to a number of streaming
radio services whereas on the
African continent the demand is
there but very few services actually
fulfil this demand. The product is
designed initially to target the
"high‐end iPod generation 21year
olds who are mad about music".
Current music offerings are
House/Kwaito, Hip‐Hop/RNB,
Afrikaans, Pop, Gospel – 50% of
music played is South African and
one of the aims is to unlock hidden
local potential.
At present the service is only
available to MTN subscribers.
Headquartered in Johannesburg,
multi‐national telecommunications
group MTN has GSM licences in 21
countries. Kambule points out that
for the users of MTN Play Radio
being tied to MTN is not a bad
thing as they are only paying the
equivalent of about £3 to listen to
the service for an entire month with
no additional data charges
whatsoever. This pricing makes the
service accessible and cheaper than
any other option.
GROWING TO 400M
Hitched to the MTN wagon, the
concept of MTN Play Radio can
easily transfer to any of the other
African markets where MTN is
active, tailored for each country.
MTN currently has 187m
subscribers in Africa and the
Middle East, and that number is
expected to grow to about 400m
subscribers by 2015. Tapping into
this growth and providing their
product to a growing market is an
opportunity that both Kambule and
Regisford clearly relish.
Kambule says the reaction to the
product has exceeded all
expectations. Numbers have gone
through the roof, without doing
any marketing. Diversification into
other content besides music seems
the logical next step. There is talk of
launching a sports talk station as
well as a 24/7 news talk station and
a comedy format. All will be audio,
bringing an increasingly
sophisticated and interactive
experience for the user.
PARTNERS
When asked about the potential for
working with broadcasters,
Kambule says they are in the
process of formulating partnerships
to create niche products linked to
major radio stations. TV brands
that want to create their own radio
product could also be potential
partners, and ad agencies wanting
to create unique radio station
brands for their clients ‐ for
example around a particular
promotion ‐ have expressed
interest.
The ultimate goal, says Kambule,
is to enter the vehicle market. When
you buy a car with the Play Radio
service pre‐installed it wonʹt matter
any more what cellphone network
you are on – this will liberate the
product by making it accessible to
users outside the MTN cellphone
network.
Through working with Nicolas
Regisford, who happens to be CMO
of African mobile brand Mi‐Fone
(Slogan: Aspiration…within reach),
Kambule has made an interesting
alliance. African start‐up Mi‐Fone
launched in 2008 and achieved over
1m units sold in its first four years
of trading as it successfully
exploited the gap in the market for
a mobile devices brand which
caters to the mass market. A David
among mobile giants, Mi‐Fone
operates in 14 countries across
Africa, now expanding into
Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.
MINI-SMARTPHONE
Typical users of the Mi‐Fone brand
are students, taxi drivers and blue
collar workers. In most markets the
low cost device is immediately
appealing to the low income users,
some of whom are connecting for
the first time while others maintain
three or four different lines with
different operators.
Regisford says: "Internet,
camera, music player and a good
battery remain what people want
from their phone, and of course
they want a good looking phone
too. Top of the list of all customer
feedback is Internet. Itʹs a bone of
contention because the demand
hasnʹt been sweetened by data costs
being affordable. We only sell data
enabled devices so we can say that
there is no such thing as a Mi‐Fone
that doesnʹt do Facebook Lite and
Google Lite. We have our own push
email and chat and messaging
services on our Sawa Type and
Sawa Power models. Both are
under $50 and would be considered
mini‐smartphones."
Both Regisford and Kambule are
excited about the opportunities for
taking their Play Radio concept
further: "Itʹs a tech project, the first
of its kind on the continent, and
weʹd like to think that we are at the
front of the curve." The remarkable
figures for growth month‐on‐month
show that they may be right. ■
T
South African radio
presenter/producer/DJ Majota
Kambule and Mi-Fone's CMO
Nicolas Regisford are the brains
behind MTN's new cellphone radio
service, MTN Play Radio, which is
seeing phenomenal growth
month-on-month across the
African continent. When The
Channel spoke to Kambule and
Regisford, we heard that non-
music content is on the cards, as
is entry into the vehicle market
PLAY
RADIO
ww
w.mtnplay.co.za
ww
w.mi-fone.mobi