For the rest of Africa it's the end of free, pirated viewing of the South Africa's SABC channels and e.tv after the broadcasters' signals emanating from South Africa to neighbouring African countries were shut down.
While South African viewers complain
bitterly about the sad state of affairs and quality of public television and
while growing numbers of them are pirate viewing overseas TV fare from the
United States and Britain, the rest of Africa have in turn been turning to
South Africa's SABC1, SABC2, SABC3 and e.tv whose signals have been beaming
much better entertainment programming into the rest of Africa for years.
Literally millions of African viewers been
watching South African broadcasters' signals on free-to-air Chinese decoders
such as Philibao, Wiztech, Fortec and South Africa's Vivid decoders available from
the South African parastatal signal distributor Sentech who've failed to properly
encrypt the signals outside of South Africa's borders.
Southern African viewers have been
clamouring to watch the SABC and e.tv and their more frothy, faux glam
entertainment, finding the mix of South African public television and its soap,
news and reality television offering better than what they're being offered by
local public and state broadcasters on which they've been subjected to poor
programming line-ups, low broadcasting and production standards and a lack of
variety.
Local African broadcasters and pan-continental
business units such as e.tv operating customised regional TV stations such as
eBotswana have complained for a long time about Sentech's failure to keep South
Africa’s TV signals, unencrypted, out of the rest of Africa.
They've been arguing that its
been having a debilitating effect on their viewership and ad revenue since viewers
are watching the SABC and e.tv’s TV content they're not supposed to.
Besides watching content not licensed to
be shown in other regional territories, multinational companies and brands have
opted to rather forsake TV stations in certain African countries to advertise
on South African television, knowing their TV commercials and products will be
seen by viewers across Africa through the TV signals of South African
broadcasters in those countries anyway.
Yesterday, 1 July, was the start of signals being cut, with
viewers across Africa from Zimbabwe to Botswana now forced to return to their
own state and public broadcasters or sign up for more expensive pay-TV options
such as DStv.
Upset African viewers outside of South Africa are now complaining
about no longer getting SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, e.tv and the "popular Christian
programmes" they used to watch.
Last year Sentech was ordered by the South
Gauteng High Court to encrypt South Africa’s free-to-air broadcasting signals
by the end of May 2012 after it found Sentech "wrongful, negligent and in
breach" for its failure to encrypt South Africa’s TV signals spilling over
outside of South Africa.
Sentech which appealed the decision eventually decided
to drop the case recently. eBotswana is however still pursuing its claim of
damages against Sentech. eBotswana last year claimed R8 million in financial
losses from Sentech's failure to keep South African TV content in South Africa.
