South Africa: OpenView HD on IS20 bird
October 9, 2014
OpenView HD, South Africa’s first free-to-view DTH satellite television platform, will soon also be available on the same satellite dish used to receive DStv, Vivid and Freevision services.
Platco Digital, the e.tv sister company which owns OpenView HD, has entered into an agreement with national transmission supplier, SENTECH, to lease space on the IS20 satellite. IS20 is the same satellite which carries DStv and SENTECH’s free-to-view platforms.
OpenView HD launched in October last year on the SES5 satellite with 15 channels, including SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, e.tv and a variety of entertainment, movie, kids and religious channels. Since the launch, OVHD has been pursuing various options to extend the free television channel offerings to all South Africans. To get OpenView HD, consumers are required only to make a once-off purchase in a decoder and satellite dish after which they can access the OpenView HD service for free without any monthly fees.
The latest development means that all South Africans who have existing satellite dishes which receive DStv, Vivid, Freevision or Top TV, will need only to buy and install a decoder to get OpenView HD. The OpenView HD decoder will work with any of these existing satellite dishes.