Thanks to Chinese TV project, rural residents of 25 African countries can watch World Cup

Beijing. Jul 10. Silkroadnews - Thanks to a Chinese company that aims to provide satellite TV services to 10,000 villages in Africa soccer fans in rural areas in Kenya and Zambia can watch live World Cup broadcasts for the first time, the Global Times writes.
Students from Zambia’s Mbozi Primary School, who have been watching the World Cup since late June, say they are no longer "mbulis," meaning they are now equal to their counterparts in town as they can watch TV as urban dwellers do, reported the Zambia Daily Mail.
“We are glad that primary school students in Zambia’s remote regions can now enjoy watching the World Cup thanks to this program,” the agency quoted China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang.
Lu also said, a wide range of cooperation projects help support the diversified development of Africa’s economy and its sustainable development.
The satellite television project, which started last August, aims to provide digital television signals in 10,000 villages in 25 African countries.
The program is aimed at helping African countries accelerate the modernization of agriculture and realize independent and sustainable development.
The service helps rural Africans keep up with current events and news. According to the Zambia newspaper, rural farmers will also be able to monitor weather patterns and market prices for agricultural products. Locals will be able to watch members of parliament during live broadcasts, the report reads.
According to Deng Yanting, an assistant research fellow at the West-Asian and African Studies in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the program is an example of how Chinese companies, especially those from the private sector that operate overseas, can make profits and be socially.
Broadcasting in Africa is in the process of moving from analog signals to digital, which allows for new investments in a sector that is likely to become profitable within two or three years, Dan noted.
The company offers more than 480 channels, including news, movies, sports, music and religion. The channels are broadcast in 10 languages, including Chinese, English, French and local African languages.
In addition to providing satellite equipment and services, the company also has its own channels that broadcast Chinese television programs such as talent search, soap operas dubbed into local languages, and other programs that help to introduce Chinese culture.
The company said that it already has about 10 million customers in Africa and subsidiaries in more than 30 African countries.