Telco opts for back-to-basics TV shows

Viettel believes a wholesome schedule of education and healthcare programming will win rural viewers   Photo: Le Toan

After a successful trial providing cable TV services to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the northern province of Ha Nam, Viettel will roll out the service in other 15 cities and provinces from April before extending the services countrywide.

Viettel aims to serve customers in rural and mountainous areas who mostly use a no charge, simple analog system. Only a fraction of them are able to afford using digital equipment to satisfy their diverse entertainment needs.

With a comprehensive fibreoptic cable network of over 200,000 kilometres, Viettel possesses the ability to reach over 95 per cent of villages nationwide.

According to ViettelTV director Nguyen Minh Phuong, the firm will focus on promoting education and healthcare knowledge. By providing users in rural and remote areas with a range of educational programmes, cable TV accessibility will help people in the country’s less advantageous areas by improving intellectual standards and living conditions.

Viettel’s general director Nguyen Manh Hung said the group would bring cable TV to every family household and invite the best teachers to join e-learning courses on TV, helping to provide equal access to learning for every child in the country.

Viettel also wants to create a specific TV channel devoted to history which will be aired all day, helping children to study even when they remain at home.

According to ViettelTV, a subscription fee would cost VND30,000 ($1.4) per month. At the moment, the lowest subscription fee belongs to Saigontourist Cable TV (SCTV) at VND60,000 ($2.8) per month while the most costly fee packages are offered by Vietnam Television Cable TV (VTVcab) at VND110,000 ($5) per month for the first TV and VND33,000 for the second.

Currently, there are few specific TV programmes covering social welfare issues while there are multiple entertainment programmes with more than 90 per cent of them adapted from foreign formats.

Therefore, by offering practical programmes on life issues such as education, healthcare and nutrition industry experts have regarded ViettelTV’s approach as a wise measure amid a highly competitive market.

Pay TV services in Vietnam are forecast to grow by 25-30 per cent per year from 2012 to 2015. During 2016-2020 this will drop to between 10-15 per cent. According to the Ministry of Information and Communications’ National Institute of Information and Communications Strategy, pay TV revenue is expected to hit $800 million to $1 billion by 2020.