StarSat says the Fashion TV (StarSat 282) channel which it yanked from its channel line-up with barely any advance notice to its subscribers due to "capacity problems" will be back - probably in the next three months.
StarSat, run by On Digital Media (ODM) and StarTimes Media SA, removed Fashion TV - still available on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform on channel 178 - telling StarSat subscribers in an on-screen message over the weekend that "Fashion TV will be suspended for a brief period due to satellite capacity. It will be re-introduced once these issues are resolved".
Fashion TV is the first TV channel going dark on StarSat in 2015.
StarSat on Tuesday told TV with Thinus in response to a media enquiry that "satellite capacity problems apply to all satellite distributors, not just StarSat".
"As a pan-African distributor, StarSat faces demands for satellite capacity which do not always relate directly to South Africa. In balancing the interests of channel provision across such a complex territory, sometimes adjustments need to be made in the best interest of the overall space utilisation".
"In this case Fashion TV was chosen for temporary suspension since it is one of the few channels whose capacity would provide the required solution".
StarSat tells TV with Thinus that "this removal is not permanent - it is a temporary suspension for a brief period. Fashion lovers are still able to appreciate our other fashion programmes on Fashion One which features both local and international fashion events".
StarSat says it doesn't have a fixed date as to when the channel will be returned "but we expect it to be within the next three months".
Fashion One from Michael Gleissner can be found on channel 283 on StarSat.
