South Africa’s new Minister of Communications, Mondli Gungubele, has updated parliament on the latest plans for digital broadcasting in the country. The new date is that analogue frequencies must be vacated by July 31st and ready for digital transmissions as well as an ending of any remaining dual illumination by the end of 2024. The […]
Independent South African broadcaster e.tv is accusing the nation’s regulator ICASA of permitting the State-owned transmission company Sentech to abuse it monopoly. The row emerged during a public meeting organised by ICASA and where e-tv’s and eMedia executives severely criticised the ICASA regulator of ignoring for the past 12 years to correctly manage the situation […]
South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled in favour of independent broadcaster e.tv in its dispute with the country’s Communications Ministry. The court’s unanimous ruling means that South Africa’s switchover to all-digital TV broadcasting is again delayed. The court said there must be more consultation before analogue transmissions are abandoned. e.tv’s analogue transmissions reach millions of South […]
South Africa’s pay-TV operator DStv has dumped four e.TV channels. eMedia, owner of the channels, said the channels were dropped without warning. The decision comes after the country’s Competition Tribunal ruled against eMedia’s appeal to keep the channels on MultiChoice’s satellite TV platform. “Viewers were left in the dark with no programmes as they tried […]
Despite a plethora of OTT offerings as well as the well-established DStv pay-TV services in South Africa, it is clear that there’s plenty of life left in free-to-air commercial broadcasting, at least as far as eMedia and its e.TV broadcasting station is concerned. eMedia saw its share price rocket earlier this week when it said […]
South Africa has again delayed its digital switchover, which was scheduled for March 31st. This latest postponement has been ordered by South Africa’s High Court which ordered communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni not to complete the analogue television switch-off as she had planned. The Court had sat in Pretoria on March 28th and ordered a delay […]
South Africa’s ongoing cellular spectrum auction has already raised more cash than was expected. The session on March 11th ended with bids of more than 8 billion Rand (about €484m). “ICASA is pleased to announce that the auction is proceeding very well and can confirm that we have gradually passed estimated R8-billion in proceeds. The […]
eMedia Holdings, which owns the popular e.tv channels and Openview services in South Africa, is taking the government to court over declaring March 2022 closure of all analogue TV services. Indeed, the nation’s communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has ordered that analogue TV end their broadcasts by January 31st. eMedia has filed papers with South Africa’s […]