An urgent interdict submitted by pay-TV newcomer On Digital Media (ODM), in the South Gauteng High Court, to prevent rival Super5Media from operating has been dismissed.
Details of the judgement are still sketchy; however, ODM head of regulatory affairs Dimitri Martinis says the application was dismissed. The company would not elaborate on the matter until it has studied the judgement, which should be made available in two weeks' time.
While the legal battle did not go the company's way, ODM still has a case lodged with the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) to have Super5Media's licence reviewed. ODM is not happy with the way its rival received its licence, following a shareholder swap when Super5Media was sold by Telkom.
The application was brought to court in December, and heard this week, with ODM hoping to see Super5Media follow the same rigorous application process the other pay-TV hopefuls were put through.
Super5Media started out as Telkom Media, with the fixed-line giant being the primary shareholder in the operation. The company changed hands in the middle of last year, with the local arm of Chinese-based broadcaster Shenzhen Media buying out Telkom's share.
Super5Media has defended its licence, saying it had complied with all the stipulations set out by ICASA. The company has also noted in earlier interviews that the case was frivolous and opportunistic.
“We are happy to meet the obligations of the licence. All we want to do is bring competition and choice to South African viewers,” the company's director, Tian du Pisanie, told ITWeb late last year.
Super5Media did not respond to ITWeb's request for comment by the time of publication.
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