Advanced Television

South Africa ‘Freevision’ on Sept 30

August 21, 2013

By Chris Forrester

South Africa’s state-backed Sentech transmission company will launch a free-to-air satellite platform on September 30th.  Dubbed ‘Freevision’, the service is a rehash of its existing ‘Vivid’ service.

The launch will be a few hours ahead of a rival service, OpenViewHD, from e-TV and Platco.

Sentech’s scheme is, essentially, a gap-filler service to bridge the period between the end of analogue TV and the introduction of a much-delayed DTT service.  Any channel that is licensed to transmit on DTT will be able to use the ‘Freevision’ platform, says Sentech.

Intelsat (at 68.5 deg E) will provide the capacity for Freevision, while SES Astra will provide capacity for OpenView D.

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