- Build it and they will come. Liquid Telecom built the digital infrastructure that is facilitating digital transformation that is attracting players in the market to come and layer services on top of it
Liquid Telecom Zambia has signed a broadcasting agreement with CBC that will see the broadcaster’s content streamed on the internet service provider’s rapidly expanding network, according to a statement from the Chief Executive Officer of the telecom.
“Liquid Telecom Zambia and CBC TV signed a Significant and Historic agreement to broadcast CBC TV through the Liquid Telecom digital channels and bring amazing content to the Zambian public”, read a LinkedIn post published by Mark Townsend, Liquids CEO on 6 August 2020.
The signing ceremony, which aired on CBC TV DSTV Channel 277, Topstar Channel 105 and GoTV Channel 93, is the first collaboration between an internet service provider and a television station, according to CBC TVs CEO Rose Sibisi.
The collaboration is only the beginning. “Today marks a milestone of many firsts and new beginnings, appointed about a week apart in the same month, myself and my counterpart Mark Townsend are new on the job but seasoned captains of industry and such an occasion is but a glimpse to further collaborations on various projects”, read an extract from Rose’s speech.
What makes this collaboration unique is that the companies will continue to leverage on what they are good at doing: internet service provision and broadcasting. “From getting news reports from the field to the station quicker and to the masses at light speed, the world class service provided by Liquid is game changing as the dynamics of journalism and the times have changed”.
Liquid Telecom, which offers bundle packages that allow it to deliver NETFLIX to its subscribers, is now giving its consumers a taste of what the future looks like through this deal. Since the advent of COVID 19, content has never been more important, and this deal secures that path to the new normal where a citizenry can stay connected and be informed. “News in Zambia begins with CBC as our digital future is now with Liquid Telecom in the new future we exist”.
Through this deal, the two CEOs have answered the quintessential make or buy decision. With capital intensive projects being shelved by some industry players, a collaboration such as this one makes sense. “Working together works, and now more than ever in the times of working through a pandemic, it is imperative that solutions such as the ones Liquid provide that allow people to work safer at a distance but still connect to the world are an accessible tool to our staff at the station and in the field”.
From Mark’s perspective, strategic alliances cannot be overemphasized as it was echoed in a recent Stanbic Bank Zambia Anakazi banking show where he featured alongside Yaza Kara – Head of Digital innovation. In that show, Mark and Yaza discussed the importance and impact of strategic partnerships in building a digital future. This CBC-Liquid collaboration underscores Liquid Telecom’s Management belief system around partnerships and the significance of symbiotic relationships going forward.
