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I can exclusively reveal that MultiChoice's DStv and the SABC have both flatly refused to air any TopTV TV commercials.
Although both MultiChoice as well as the South African public broadcaster have been approached by On Digital Media (ODM) with the request to air TV commercials worth millions of rands on their patforms - the various DStv TV channels as well as SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 - they have turned TopTV away. TopTV is starting its new subscription television service tomorrow, on Saturday, May 1, with a TopTV decoder that cost R499 and a monthly pay TV subscription fee of between R99 and R249 depending on the TV channels the subscriber wants.
TopTV's colourful TV commercials are now only running, and can only be seen, on e.tv as well as the community TV station, SowetoTV. ''We approached all the available TV platforms in South Africa,'' Melinda Connor TopTV spokesperson told me. ''For whatever reason some of them were not interested to broadcast any kind of TopTV TV commercials and they declined.''