Five new possible pay-TV services for South Africa, as the broadcasting regulator hands out 5 new provisional licences to pay-TV operators.

Possible new pay-TV competition is coming to South Africa with South Africa's broadcasting regulator which has granted five provisional licences for individual commercial subscription television services.

Pay for gay television, education television, local content for the lower and middle market, and club soccer matches from Southern Africa could be coming to South African pay-TV subscribers with provisional pay-TV licences granted by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to Close-T Broadcast Networks Holdings (CloseTV), Mindset Media Enterprises, Kagiso Media (Kagiso TV), Siyaya Free to Air and Mobile TV.

It remains to be seen whether any of the companies granted licences would be able to bring a successful pay-TV service to market in South Africa's second attempt to open up the country's pay-TV sector to more players since 2007.

Out of the previous round of pay-TV licences granted by Icasa to Telkom Media, On Digital Media (ODM), e.Sat and Walking on Water TV (WowTV), only the struggling On Digital Media (ODM) actually launched the TopTV, now StarSat, service which is in business rescue.

e.tv decided not to start a service, Telkom Media which became Super 5 Media collapsed and WowTV never got off the ground. 

The five companies who got provisional licences to start subscription television services in South Africa have three months to  respond to the regulator with various documents and proof that they're able to start pay-TV services before permanent licences will be granted.

The new companies all want in on South Africa's lucrative pay-TV market dominated by MultiChoice's DStv, M-Net's analogue subscription TV service, and ODM's StarSat while TV viewers and the industry are hamstrung by the government's ongoing shambolic delay to start digital terrestrial television (DTT) and the promise of more TV channels.

Close-T Broadcasting Network wants to show South African viewers pay for gay TV content in a service its calling CloseTV which includes a pay-per-view on-demand service.

Kagiso Media wants to start Kagiso TV with around 70 TV channels for a subscription fee of R240 per month and with channels heavily focused on local content driven by entertainment and news.

Siyaya TV with talk show host Dali Thambo as one of the investment backers, want to start its own local soccer league and broadcast those matches for a monhtly subscription fee of R70 with a PVR.

Mindset Media wants to broadcast educational content to public schools around the country. Mindset wants provinces to pay TV subscription fees per school. Mobile TV wants to start eight TV channels and four radio stations for mobile devices such as cellphones and tablets.

"Although the conditions imposed are specific to each of the five applicants, they generally relate to, among others, confirmation of equity ownership; funding requirements; further research; confirmation of local content; and programming content agreements," Icasa says in a statement announcing the provisional pay-TV licences.

The provisional licences are the result of a new set of hearings which the broadcasting regulator held in July 2013, following the new invitation to apply for subscription television licences in February 2012.

In February the broadcasting regulator announced that it is launching an investigation into subscription television in South Africa and the massive failure rate of licensed companies to start successful pay-TV operations in the country.

BREAKING. Gay TV coming to South Africa if CloseTV is granted a pay-TV licence by the country's broadcasting regulator.

Gay television in the form of "high-quality international and local programming" aimed at gay viewers could be coming to South Africa if South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) grants Close-T Broadcast Network Holdings a pay-TV licence to start a subscription service in the country.

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.