Page 31 - IB Sept-Oct 2020

Fiji@50 Fiji@50

“There was some financial awkwardness about it – 17 cents set top box and dish—and pay no subscription. On top of that
on the dollar if you repatriated the money from PNG to Fiji,’’ it agreed to beam all Fiji’s rugby matches into homes on the
Clark said. free-to-air service.
“The Government took 17 cents on the dollar and that Communities which once trekked miles to erect an antenna
made it difficult to take that money and put it back in to the to watch sevens rugby on a hilltop each time the national
owning company in Fiji – EMTV was a subsidiary of Fiji TV – so sevens team battled for supremacy on foreign fields, could
that made it awkward. But it did well as a business, did well now do so in comfort.
serving the community.’’ “What we said was, if all you want is Fiji One, that’s fine,”
However in 2015 Media Niugini lost exclusive rights to the Clark said.
National Rugby League (NRL), which Papua New Guineans “There won’t be any subscription fee for that. You get
watch with a fanaticism rivalled by Fiji’s viewership of sevens your dish and set top box and if you want to watch Fiji One
rugby. forever, that’s fine.” But Fiji TV had to pay for satellite space
EMTV was on market within the year, with Nousab Fareed to a Dutch company.
declaring that intense competition in the PNG market made “And the way we decided we could pay for it was if we put
the broadcasting environment difficult. Eventually, Media a basket of pay TV services underneath that people could
Niugini was sold to Telikom PNG for Kina20 million, less than choose to subscribe to, and that would provide enough money
the initial Kina 27 million Fiji TV initially sought due to the over time to pay for the whole service. So that’s what we
loss of NRL exclusivity. did,’’ Clark said.
In June 2015, the Fiji Government approved a 12-year Walesi allowed the Fijian Government to put the FBC signal
licence for Fiji TV. But the saga was far from over. into every household, claiming this was the first time Fijians
The Board moved to sell Sky Pacific, which provided a plat- everywhere had access to television. The service was funded
form for Fiji to launch television into the region, in particular by the taxpayers of Fiji through a state subsidy to provide free
to Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Despite Walesi Set Top Boxes to households which earned $30,000 or
its potential as a source of revenue and soft diplomacy for less. In June this year, Walesi said over 109-thousand people
Fiji, Sky Pacific was sold for $FJD5.75million in March 2016 to had access to Walesi through the free set top boxes. A further
Digicel. 25.000 had purchased set top boxes. The service is also acces-
Ken Clark remembers the period until 2006 as one in which sible online.
the company was strong, until the company’s ownership
changed. Fit for the future?
“The company was healthy from a production, from a Over the past 13 years the revolving door at the CEO’s of-
service, from a financial point of view. We never missed a fice has seen Mesake Nawari, Tarun Patel, Geoffrey Smith and
dividend and that changed,” he says. now Karen Lobendahn enter and leave.
“EMTV Media Niugini was sold off, Sky Pacific was sold off, Each has been under immense pressure from the board to
the work we were doing in other places was discontinued, make profits from the carcass of a horse flogged to death as
and I respect the owners’ right to do what they perceive to be the Government tightens its control of the broadcast media
correct for them. That’s what an owner is supposed to do. So, space.
I don’t have a problem with them making that decision but Despite these pressures, shares in the company reached a
it’s not a decision I would have encouraged or made myself.’’ staggering F$5.50 in November last year before tumbling to
Fiji TV’s Board explained that the Sky Pacific sale would below $3.50 in August 2020. In February last year they were
reduce revenue by a minimum of 50%, but allow Fiji TV to trading as low as $2.30 per share. As we went to press, the
concentrate on what it described as its core business – free to share price had recovered to $4.90 (September 25).
air television. The roles of CEO and Manager Finance are yet to be ad-
Fiji’s media laws were subsequently amended to allow vertised but their challenge, as Lobendahn found, will be in
ownership by foreign companies of pay television services, finding profitability in the hardest of operating environments,
with the condition that Sky Pacific did not broadcast any local where the company’s potential has not been met. Instead,
programs. this slow, ignominious death has happened in plain sight with
The reason for this was to become clear in July 2016 when the active participation of vested interests.
the Government announced the establishment of what was
described as an innovative move to take television to every netrika66@gmail.com
household in Fiji – Walesi.
“By that time there were three over the air (free) TV Netani Rika worked at Fiji Television Limited from 2002-2007
stations – Fiji One, FBC and Mai TV – and they were all told, as Head of News and later as Manager Corporate Services
you’ve got to put your signal on Walesi and by the way, you and Head of Local Programmes. A regional communications
can’t put Fiji One on Sky Pacific,” Clark said. specialist, he is part owner of Islands Business and works in
“I didn’t see the logic in that.’’ the media space around agriculture – particularly kava. Rika
Sky Pacific introduced a specific package for Fijian custom- is an award-winning journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of
ers – take the Fiji One service by satellite for the cost of a The Fiji Times.

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