South Africans hoping to get their hands on new satellite channels will be pleased to hear that pay-TV newcomer On Digital Media (ODM) will unveil its commercial TV product on Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference today, ODM CEO Vino Govender stated: “This moment will change the face of South African TV.”
Govender said that from Saturday, all the major retailers will stock the Top TV decoders; and installation, which includes the satellite dish, labour and decoder, will cost R499.
According to ODM, the company will bring in 50 000 decoders for Saturday's commercial launch and by June it wants to bring the total to 120 000 for local customers.
ODM hopes to have 500 000 subscribers over the next few months. “That number will make our business work, but what we really want is the 5.5 million available households,” said Govender.
What you get
Top TV's 55 channels are broken down into four sections, starting with the low-cost bouquet, called Top TV Basic, which will cost consumers R99 per month. Within the bouquet, viewers will have access to 25 channels.
The flagship channel will be available on the basic bouquet and is called Top One. It will carry a variety of general entertainment, from children's TV to series and movies. The channel will likely be similar to etv's current offering.
Four of the basic channels are Christian-based services and five news channels, including the controversial right wing channel broadcast in the US, Fox News. Top TV Basic will also broadcast the other free-to-air channels, SABC 1, 2, 3 and etv.
The company has signed content agreements with some international providers, which will see Top TV basic subscribers given access to Hi Nolly, a Nollywood channel (Nigerian version of Bollywood); Zee Cinema, a Bollywood channel; and MGM, a channel featuring movies from MGM Studios.
There are also two sports channels available on this bouquet, Setanta Africa, broadcasting primarily European football, and Eurosport news. Alongside these, the company has included a documentary channel, Current TV, owned by former US vice-president Al Gore.
Welcome competition
The company's shareholders, including SES, Astra, the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), all expressed their excitement at the prospect of competition for MultiChoice.
The NEF has invested R100 million in Top TV. Chief investment officer Frencel Gillion explains that the new satellite provider creates an ideal platform for local development. He expects that the new TV channels will immediately create 150 new jobs.
Bazil Ford, the IDC's head in the TV space, said it also creates a platform to build South African products and possibly even promote those products outside of SA.
Astra, 20% shareholder in Top TV, said if the company had been allowed it would have invested far more in Top TV; however, it is limited by the regulator.
The company has also planned and purchased additional satellite capacity for Top TV, which is expected to be opened for commercial use sometime next year.
Top TV is researching the possibility of including more local content; however, it will not indicate what genres viewers can expect.
For a full programme list, click here.
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