Christ Embassy Pastor Battles Pay-TV with Infinity TV

As a number of direct-to-home (DTH) pay TV operators die on arrival, Infinity TV, promoted by Pathfinder Communications is stirring new waves of convergence of voice, data and video/TV, enabling the provision of triple-play services, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
Much as it is a wakeup call for dominant operators like MultiChoice Nigeria, operators of DSTV and Highway Entertainment Limited owners of HiTV, Infinity TV is also inspiring African nascent commercial satellite industry.
For the consumers, the entry of Infinity TV means avalanche of choices.  It is one of the immediate spinoff of the deregulation of the broadcast industry where monopoly has now given way for free market.
 Pathfinder Communications Limited is led by Tony Ikeokwu, pastor of Zone 4 of Christ Embassy, the ministry spanning over 25 years founded by Rev. Chris Oyakhilome.
Ikeokwu is however not new to the broadcasting industry. He had tried through Global Plus Communications Limited (GPC) in 2006 to revive Minaj Broadcasting International (MBI) Television owned by Minaj Systems Limited.
Within a year of the five year contract, GPC, a company with interest in media across the continent of Africa claimed it made investment to the tune of over N400 million in procuring state-of-the-art equipment, and studio, attracting best talents in the industry and altering the conditions of service as regards corporate culture and human capital.
To its credits, the result was that MBI under GPC won that year the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA) as Television Station of the Year and immediately became the toast of viewers with its array of youth and family programmes.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that some differences between GPC and the owners of MBI led to the collapse of the deal leaving Ikeokwu and his team to look for other avenues to further their dreams of building world class broadcasting station.
In putting together Infinity, Ikeokwu is trying to put the past behind him and learn from the mistakes that led to the untimely deaths of some indigenous pay-TV operators like Frontage Satellite Television (FSTV) and Trumpet Internet Television (TITV).
FSTV and TITV were frustrated out of business not only by competition but by government’s unfriendly policies.  TrendTV which managed to wriggle out of the roadblocks now operates in fits and starts.
Without pretending about its mission, Pathfinder Communications appears ready to meet competition head on and has signed a multi-transponder, multi-year deal to deliver its new Infinity TV package over the ASTRA 2B satellite to homes throughout Nigeria.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that Pathfinder has secured two full Ku-band transponders to deliver its premium DTH line-up, which offers 45 channels of movies, music, sports, lifestyle, news and children’s programming. SES WORLD SKIES is also providing satellite IP backhaul across teleports in London and Lagos, Nigeria.
The backhaul not only aids in the delivery of popular TV shows and content, it also supports feature-rich applications such as text messaging, telephony, broadband and shopping services.
The company’s website, http://www.infinitytv.info/infinitytvguide.html, describes Infinity TV as “the refreshingly new Direct-To-Home TV that is unleashing the power of Tevolution™ beyond the imagination. It is nothing like you have seen before on Television. We call it TV unusual.
Infinity TV is a proudly Nigerian and best-in-class Direct-to-Home television company that is set to paint Nigeria, Ghana and surrounding countries purple  by infusing the concept and experience of television viewing with an innovation and creativity that is beyond limits,” the site added.