
Television in SA is on the verge of its biggest changes since its introduction in 1976. Two new pay-TV operators will finally launch soon to take on DStv, and the move to digital terrestrial television will change the competitive dynamics of the industry forever.

Two first-timers join the ZA Tech Show panel this week: stand-up comedian and co-founder of Thunk! Perspective Lab, Don Packett, and chief technology officer of the Johannesburg Area Wireless Users Group, Kieran Murphy, join Duncan McLeod and Simon Dingle to discuss:
Duncan’s experiences with the Nokia Booklet 3G
Wireless users’ groups
Rumours of MultiChoice preparing transactional video-on-demand services via [...]
March 1, 2010 | Posted in
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Video stores, watch out! MultiChoice, which operates the DStv satellite pay-TV service, is considering launching a video rental service.
However, instead of renting movies on DVD or Blu-ray disc, MultiChoice will provide the service — if it launches it, which appears likely — via satellite to users of its personal video recorder (PVR) decoders.
The content will [...]
February 24, 2010 | Posted in
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Good news for SA consumers who don’t have access to satellite pay-TV is that the country is set to get terrestrial high-definition channels. The bad news is that they’ll have to wait at least another three years to enjoy the crisper images served up by HD broadcasts.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), which regulates [...]
February 16, 2010 | Posted in
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Sports fans, rejoice! DStv’s high-definition sports channel, SuperSport HD, begins broadcasting 24 hours a day from this weekend to mark the launch of the 2010 rugby season in the southern hemisphere.
SuperSport HD, which has been broadcasting intermittently since mid-December, will show 52 Super 14 games between now and the final on 29 May.
The Super 14, [...]
February 12, 2010 | Posted in
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DStv has launched a second high-definition channel, Discovery HD Showcase. The new channel, which is available to subscribers with an HD personal video recorder (HD PVR), was launched on Monday, 21 December.
MultiChoice, which forms part of the JSE-listed Naspers media stable, plans to launch as many as three new HD channels in the next few [...]
December 18, 2009 | Posted in
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It’s almost the end of another year. It has become something of a tradition for me to use this column around this time each year to reflect on the 12 months past and to make some informed predictions about the technology year to come.
Last December, I made a number of predictions about what was likely [...]
December 9, 2009 | Posted in
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Glen Verran, host of the ZA Show, makes his debut on the ZA Tech Show this week, joining Simon Dingle, Duncan McLeod and Brett Haggard. We discuss, among other things, podcasting in SA, FarmVille, Twitter’s waning popularity and the Nokia N900
December 7, 2009 | Posted in
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Local sports fans will soon have a dedicated high-definition (HD) television channel on MultiChoice’s DStv bouquet.
The pay-TV operator this morning confirmed that it will soft-launch SuperSport HD on 26 December to coincide with the start of the test match between SA and England. The channel will launch officially on 12 February, the same day as [...]
December 2, 2009 | Posted in
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The pay-TV operator formerly known as Telkom Media has received the green light from the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) to begin operating, according to an article in Business Report.
The newspaper says the prospective broadcaster, now known as Super5Media, has received approval for its change in shareholding from the telecommunications and broadcasting regulator.
It’s been [...]
November 9, 2009 | Posted in
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