Is live Internet TV the new way for Ghanaians abroad to connect to home?

Imagine my initial consternation when I tried to find a live telecast of the recent Ghana-Mexico World Cup friendly match in Dallas, Texas. Like most soccer-loving Ghanaians resident in the United States, I assumed local Hispanic TV stations would televise the match as they normally do. Unfortunately, the game was on the blackout list in many parts of the United States. Very eager to see the Black Stars in live action, I frantically scoured various Ghanaian web forums hoping to find online commentary of the match. The result: No luck!.

After several phone calls to friends, I was directed to the website of the U.S.-based AFRICAST TV, where the game was on live through its Internet TV offering. Although it required registration to be able to access all its other rich offerings including live TV programming from Ghana and Nigeria, I enjoyed the excellent video quality and the novelty of a live Internet TV match involving the Black Stars.

My initial predicament highlights the issue about the sustainability of Ghanaian-oriented websites and whether they have the mojo to take advantage of emerging Web technologies to broaden their offerings to Ghanaians abroad. Websites such as Ghanaweb, Joyfmonline, GhanaToday and Peacefmonline have been pacesetters in instant news dissemination to the Ghanaian abroad. In the medium of live radio broadcast, for example, these websites have lived up to expectations. The problem arises with live Internet TV, the icing on the cake in instant news communication. Previous or current forays into this medium by Ghanaian websites have been at best mediocre. And it?s not difficult to fathom the problem: The lack of financial power and the requisite skills for the broadband/bandwidth requirements that the big boys such as CNN and BBC take for granted.

The power of live Internet TV continues to reverberate. The recent hoopla generated by the American major network CBS to webcast national collegiate basketball championship tournament offers a vivid example. CBS drew millions of sports fans to its first-ever free webcast of the basketball tournament. Office productivity in US offices, according to news accounts, went down mightily as sports fans competed for available bandwidth space to watch their favorite teams play during the general office hours.

Live Internet TV can provide a better experience than television, in several ways. In a live Internet webcast of the upcoming World Cup for example, while TV viewers have to watch whatever soccer game the local TV station offers, Internet viewers get more control and choice. Ghanaian soccer fans can follow the Black Stars wherever they are playing and can even open two windows and watch how the Stars? group members are doing.

With Internet technologies aplenty for their picking, Ghanaian websites should be creative in their financial approaches and vision to harness the latest technologies and improve the online customer experience. Fortunately, there is a model they can follow. Africast.com offers a model that Ghanaian-oriented websites may seek to emulate or partner with. Africast prides itself to provide a global voice for Africans to tell their stories to the world. This is fulfilled by providing its viewers with programming and games that reflect the diversity of African culture and lifestyle. Africast clears the financial hurdle by forming partnerships with powerful technology and entertainment entities.

Its flagship, Africast TV, is a leading source for country-specific African news, sports and entertainment available online at www.africast.com and offers real-time television programming from African broadcasters. Through its exclusive partnerships with Ghana?s GTV and Metro TV, Africast plans to offer live Internet TV broadcast of the upcoming World Cup in June. Africast TV online subscribers can watch, real-time or on-demand, a variety of country-specific African news, sports and entertainment on any Internet-enabled device: from home computers and online-enabled television sets, to office laptops and mobile phones.

In addition to live country-specific TV broadcasts, the website also features the Africast Movies & Entertainment (AME) channel, featuring popular movies, dramas and documentaries from African filmmakers.

With live Internet TV fast developing as the new way for Ghanaians to connect to home, Ghanaian oriented-websites must step up to the plate and offer Ghanaians in the diaspora enhanced services. It?s a smart move that should eventually improve their own bottom line.