South Africa’s government is supporting moves to build and launch its own satellite for broadband and internet. The proposal comes in a report from the ‘Africa in Focus 2020’ study backed by the Brookings Institute and its Fourth Industrial Commission (4IR). South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has already endorsed the idea, and says it would […]
Financially troubled South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in an attempt to cut costs has talked of reducing its staff numbers by about 600. The news saw staff and labour unions talk of a “full blown strike” at the national broadcaster. A letter sent to all members of staff on October 19th and quoted in the […]
South Africa’s government is contemplating opening up the country’s broadcasting rules. The idea is to permit foreign ownership – or at least shareholdings – in the nation’s broadcasting services. The government’s draft policy framework White Paper covers audio as well as audio-visual services. South Africa’s Department of Communications & Digital Technologies says that foreign ownership […]
South Africa’s MultiChoice is to offer subscribers an upgraded version of its Explora decoder and video recorder that can handle Ultra HD programming. The pay-TV broadcaster is also offering a separate set-top box, DStv Streama, that is good for web-streaming. The Explora Ultra box can handle third-party 4K material from the likes of Netflix and […]
MTN Group, in reporting its latest financials, told investors that it will exit its cellular businesses in the Middle East over the medium term in order to concentrate on Africa. Stage 1, it says, is that it is in talks to sell its majority 75 per cent stake in MTN Syria. MTN Group was previously […]
South African pay-TV giant DStv is implementing its price rises for subscribers. September 1st will see viewers in some key markets facing price rises of an average 14 per cent “to cover rising operational costs” says the broadcaster. Subscribers on the premium tiers will be spared the highest extra fees. For example, in Kenya subscribers […]
Sky Sports will exclusively show the British & Irish Lions’ three-Test series against the Springboks in South Africa in 2021, as well as their five warm-up matches. This agreement means Sky Sports will show its seventh successive Lions tour, a partnership that will enter its 25th year in 2021. The Lions will face the Springboks in […]
Financially troubled South African public broadcaster SABC says it has issued notices to some 600 staff warning them of possible redundancies. SABC is reorganising itself with the aim of dramatically trimming costs. It has been warned by the country’s government that there’s no more cash available for bailouts. A new set of financial conditions has […]
South Africa’s public broadcaster SABC is promising to completely restructure itself in order to avoid the frequent financial bail-outs from government. South Africa’s finance ministry is requiring SABC to create a new operating model and to work within the nation’s “new business requirements and market conditions […] as well as the need to effectively implement […]
South African pay-TV giant DStv has signed up Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video for its next-generation Explora set-top box. MultiChoice Group, in a statement, said it had already launched streaming trials in South Africa to boost consumer choice and improve retention of subscribers. MultiChoice has suffered churn over the past few years, not helped by […]