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South Africa's free-to-air commercial broadcaster e.tv told South Africa's parliament today that digital terrestrial television (DTT) is the greatest challenge the 13 year old broadcaster has ever faced and that the DTT platform, due to multiple delays, has had its credibility damaged before it has even had a chance to launch.
''e.tv has had many challenges over its 13 years of existence, but we believe our greatest challenge lies before us - and that is the compulsory migration to DTT,'' Lara Kantor, senior e.tv executive told parliament's portfolio committee on communications today.
''South African DTT has already seen multiple delays since 2008 when we were first supposed to launch this service,'' Lara Kantor told parliament. ''There have been implications because of those delays''.
''The project has lost momentum and the platform has had its credibility damaged even before its had a change to launch and establish itself in the mind of consumers. The broadcasting environment in South Africa has become more competitive - especially in the area of pay TV which also has grown significantly and that will make it harder for the DTT platform to establish itself,'' Lara Kantor said.
''Three out of every four South Africans rely on free-to-air television. That means that three out of every four South Africans will need access to a free-to-air DTT set top box (STB) before analogue transmissions can be switched off. Given the growth that we've seen in the satellite market in the last few years, free-to-air broadcasters need DTT to succeed for our own future survival. We have an interest in ensuring that the platform is strong.''
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