Only seven months in the game and satellite TV newcomer Top TV continues to maintain a steady growth path, and now has over 200 000 subscribers.
Upon market entry, Top TV sold more than 50 000 decoders during its opening weekend. The company had to adapt to the demand by increasing its initial 50-seater call centre to a 140-strong solution.
The company has continued this growth, reporting 50 000 new activations in December alone, and estimates it will eventually have more than 800 000 viewers.
Top TV maintains it will have 340 000 subscribers within three years to reach breakeven point as a business. The company is confident that, at its current growth rate, this will be achievable.
The greater goal, however, is to reach the 5.5 million available households in the market, it said.
“We always believed there was a need for an innovative and affordable pay-TV service in SA. Our subscribers confirm this every day,” says Top TV CEO Vino Govender.
Govender adds that 2011 will bring new additions to the Top TV offering, including a sports channel and new HD channels - at no extra subscription fee - and an HD personal video recorder.
Slow competition
Top TV expected to be competing with newcomer Super5Media by now, but controversy has plagued the company, which has yet to launch.
After Super5Media failed to meet its first go-live deadline, the Independent Communications Authority of SA granted the company another six months to prepare its offering.
However, speculation holds that the company is going under. Former employees, who prefer not to be named, say it has effectively closed down, and about 40 staff members have been retrenched. “We were given retrenchment letters from June already,” they told ITWeb previously.
Media reports say applicants for the liquidation of the company have confirmed that a liquidation application for Super5Media was submitted. Super5Media was initially expected to become operational by the middle of this year.
Related story:
Top TV continues to compete
Share