Close-T Broadcast Network Holdings, Kagiso TV, Siyaya Free to Air, Mindset Media Enterprises, and Mobile TV have all applied for new pay-TV licences in South Africa with the aim of starting brand-new subscription services in the country and is this week presenting their applications and plans before Icasa.
Close-T Broadcast Network Holdings want to bring South Africans gay TV content, including a pay-per-view on demand service and wants to become South Africa's first pay-TV operator servicing the viewing needs of what it calls the "thriving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex and asexual community".
CloseTV say it has already set up exclusive partnerships with global gay content providers such as the OutTV group, Logo TV and the OUT in Africa Film Festival. CloseTV programming will include independent and art house movies, cinema nouveau, foreign language films, cultural programming, travel and fashion events.
CloseTV says there are millions of gay TV viewers in South Africa with virtually no television-based programming for that community.
Close-T Broadcast Network Holdings also says subscribers to its service will be subscribing to what it has developed as "niche audience specific bundles" which "won't be made up of rehashed bouquets of older or lower quality programming, but rather high-quality international and local programming," says Mia Groenewald, director of Close-T Broadcast Network Holdings.
According to Close-T, the intention is that consumers will pay only for the bouquets that are of interest to them, as opposed to paying a monthly subscription for a premier service and then only watching 20% of the total bouquet.
Close-T Broadcast Network Holdings says CloseTV subscribers will "only pay for the bouquets that are of interest to them, as opposed to paying a monthly subscription for a premier service and then only watching 20% of the total bouquet".
Icasa's previous round of licensing for pay-TV operators in South Africa saw Telkom Media, On Digital Media, WOWtv and eSat apply. All besides ODM failed to launch a service and ODM's TopTV which eventually launched is now in business rescue.
