Icasa stifling pay-TV competition: report
·11 Aug 2013
Industry insiders argue that ineffective regulation from the Independent Communications authority of South Africa (ICASA) and the delay in digital terrestrial television (DTT) migration are helping MultiChoice, and hence DStv.
According to a City Press report, MultiChoice is trying to make it look like there is competition to avoid stronger regulation in the sector.
The concerns, the newspaper reported, stem from MultiChoice’s plans:
- Bail out its troubled competitor, TopTV;
- A deal to pay the SABC R553 million over five years for two new channels on DStv;
- MultiChoice’s alleged lobbying of the National Association of Manufacturers in Electronics Components (Namec) to contest the need for conditional access control in the DTT settop boxes.
MultiChoice denied the allegation that it is trying to stifle competition, arguing that there are plans to license new satellite broadcasters.
MultiChoice also highlighted that they face competition from new Internet based services.
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