ICASA to name pay-TV licensees

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 04 Sept 2007

The South African broadcasting market is about to undergo a major change as new players finally enter the pay-TV market.

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) will announce successful applicants for commercial satellite and cable subscription broadcasting licences on 12 September.

ICASA spokesman Sekgoela Sekgoela refused to comment on the number of licences that will be issued. ICASA previously stated it has no pre-determined number of licences, and approvals or denials will be based on the quality of the submissions.

The regulator received 18 applications following the request for applications issued late last year. Two applicants, Worldspace and Multichannel, subsequently withdrew their applications.

The contenders

Market speculation has previously been that Telkom Media, a subsidiary of fixed-line telecommunications operator Telkom, will be among the winning applicants.

Telkom invested R7.5 billion in the start-up broadcaster and the company has moved into new offices and begun to recruit strategically key staff. Telkom Media CEO Mandla Ngcobo said the company would provide broadcasting services through both satellite and the Internet.

Another strong contender is On Digital Media (ODM), which is owned by Kopano Ke Matla Investment Holdings (an investment arm of the Congress of South African Trade Unions).

ODM CEO Mergan Moodley said the company would invest about R1.7 billion in broadcasting should its application be successful. ODM spent three years planning a comprehensive satellite TV bouquet that would compete with MultiChoice, he noted.

Welcoming competition

MFP Logistics-owned MiDigital said it would invest about R500 million to start up broadcasting operations. MiDigital will provide niche programming for the urban youth, said MFP Logistics executive director Ken Modise.

"We plan to provide about 25 channels, some of them direct feeds and some commissioned and directed by ourselves, aimed at a contemporary market."

The SABC-Sentech alliance is also seen as a strong contender, as the SABC brings strong broadcasting experience and Sentech specialises in the use of satellite as a broadcasting tool.

MultiChoice, to date the lone player in the pay-TV space, is expected to be a "shoo-in" winner. While the company is operating legally in SA, it is not yet licensed as a pay-TV broadcaster.

MultiChoice previously said it welcomed the competition the other players will bring, as this will make consumers appreciate the quality of its own programming.