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''We're very proud to be a part of the TopTV family. TopTV is now introducing a form of competition to the pay TV market which hasn't been present in South Africa before.'' So said Al Gore, the former American vice president and chairman of Current TV (TopTV 406) at a press conference this morning for Current TV in Johannesburg that I attended.
''What you will find as a result, is the lowering of prices for consumers.'' As Al Gore said this, at the very same time MultiChoice was making THIS announcement about starting a brand new cheaper DStv Lite bouquet at R99.
''The effective monopoly in pay TV in South Africa – and I'm not criticizing them at all, it's just the way they pursued their business plan – illustrates why competition is good for consumers,'' said Al Gore. ''When there is no competition, prices are artificially high. Even in anticipation of competition – even one day before TopTV launched, the former monopoly was forced to lower their prices. I predict that you will see prices being forced to come down more.''