Fuming Africans demanding "their" SABC back are clamouring at backstreet illegal technicians to "fix" their Chinese decoders and paying up to $40, while DStv decoder sales are skyrocketing following the encryption of the SABC and e.tv's signals outside of South Africa's borders.
On Monday the South African parastatal
signal distributor, Sentech, following protracted legal wrangling, finally
encrypted the broadcasting signals of SABC1, SABC2, SABC3 and e.tv.
That left
millions of viewers from Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar,
Angola and Zimbabwe suddenly with blue boxes on their TV screens and messages
saying the channels are encrypted on their cheap Chinese decoders such as
Philibao, Wiztech and Fortec Star.
Millions of viewers in Southern African
viewers outside South Africa for years illegally watched South African
broadcasters' programming and soaked up the aspirational faux glam
entertainment, news and the foreign yet extremely popular soaps such as
Generations, 7de Laan, Isidingo, Muvhango and Rhythm City.
DStv decoder sales have skyrocketed as
African viewers simply refuse to watch their local state and public
broadcasters whose programming and production values, according to viewers,
pale in comparison to what they get to see from South Africa.
MultiChoice has
been inundated by enquiries from viewers who are left disappointed and heartbroken to hear that
the SABC's channels are not available on DStv in these countries although the
pay-TV operator does provide better TV fare than what's available on free-to-air.
Meanwhile shops are left with worthless imported
decoders after signals were scrambled on Monday.
The past two days, from Zambia
to Botswana and from Mozambique to Malawi streetcorner posters are popping up
with backroom technicians promising they can "fix" decoders and bring the SABC
and e.tv back – but for a price. People are told to bring their decoders and
anything from $25 to $40 as technicians claim that they will "reconnect the
SABC".
African viewers, suffering severe withdrawal
symptoms from not being able to watch Isidingo, Generations and television news
on e.tv from South Africa which they consider far better than their own, are
now flocking to people who illegally attempt to circumvent the new signal encryption
protocols Sentech implemented.
In Zimbabwe for instance there's an estimated
three million satellite TV dishes but roughly 2,4 million of those households
who used it to receive free-to-air transmissions such as the channels from the
SABC and e.tv. Here the local state broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation (ZBC) welcomed the encryption.
The ZBC said Sentech is finally
complying with international laws not to beam pirated programming into other
countries. The ZBC said that Zimbabweans are quick to look down on their own
programmes, while indulging in South African soaps like Muvhango.
