StarSat denies it will be shutting down in September after South Africa's broadcasting regulator Icasa revokes On Digital Media's pay-TV licence.

by Thinus Ferreira

StarSat says it will not be shutting down – this despite South Africa's broadcasting regulator that has not renewed the Chinese-run pay-TV service's licence.

The 14-year-old pay-TV service headquartered in Midrand, Johannesburg started out as TopTV and is run by On Digital Media. 

On Digital Media is 20%-owned by the Chinese pay-TV service StarTimes – the maximum allowed for a foreign company of a South African media business – following a business rescue process a decade ago, after Top TV came to the verge of collapse following controversy and public outry over its eventually abandoned plans to carry a bouquet of pornographic TV channels.

Run under the StarTimes brand in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa and as StarSat in South Africa, the company competes with MultiChoice's DStv in the traditional pay-TV space. 

It however has far fewer subscribers in South Africa than MultiChoice's DStv where it offers a Special, Super and Max package with a lot of Chinese TV channels.

An insider told TVwithThinus that South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has not renewed On Digital Media's broadcast licence for StarSat, with the pay-TV operator that has apparently been given until 18 September to close down.

"There's been no notice to staff and StarTimes is still selling StarSat decoders to new customers," the person said.

Icasa, in a letter in mid-March about the non-renewal of its individual broadcasting service licence which was sent to On Digital Media's CEO Debbie Wu as well as Ronald Reddy, ODM's general manager for legal, risk and compliance, the regulator states that it "does not have the legislative or regulatory mandate to consider a transfer application and/or renewal application an expired licence".

In the letter that TVwithThinus has seen, the regulator says "Take note that Icasa may publish a notice on its website and/or in the Government Gazette advising affected subscribers, content providers and stakeholders about the winding up of ODM's broadcasting services."

Icasa asked ODM to provide it with a plan on how and when it will tell StarSat subscribers, content providers and stakeholders on the winding up of its broadcasting services.

Three weeks ago TVwithThinus reached out to Icasa about On Digital Media broadcasting licence situation in a media query, asking for clarity from the regulator, whether StarSat indeed has to cease broadcasting on 18 September and several other specific questions around the case.

Two weeks ago, when asked again in a follow-up, Milly Matlou, Icasa spokesperson, said "the response is still being prepared and due to internal processes, there's a delay." 

Following multiple further attempts over multiple days to source comment from Icasa on the case, Matlou on Tuesday last week suddenly said "Thank you for your query, we think ODM is best placed to assist with your query" with no responses to any of the questions posed.

Debbie Wu, ODM CEO, told TVwithThinus last week in response to a media query about the non-renewal of its broadcasting licence that "ODM/StarSat is currently engaging with the regulator and cannot provide any public comments in that regard". 

 "Our engagements are such that we are exploring all the regulatory and legal issues regarding our obligations and licensing."We can assure you and the public that ODM/StarSat will not be closing its operations anytime."

"Should such an event materialise, which we doubt will happen, we will respect our obligation in terms of the law to notify all interested parties."Please note that ODM/StarSat will not be able to provide any further comments until this matter has been finalised."

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 15 September 2015

SABC fires Sammy Sosa.
"Sick" Sammy secretly used her time to film Vuzu AMP (DStv 114)'s hip-hop reality show The Hustle.


India gripped by murder mystery of the TV executive who allegedly murdered her sister - who was actually her daughter!
India's numerous 24-hour TV news channels are all going insane with lurid live coverage, panel shows, discussions, gripping satire and commentary of TV executive Indrani Mukerjea, Indian's first TV mogul, who allegedly strangled her sister Sheena Bora to death ...
... only for the shock revelation that Sheena Bora was actually ... her daughter!
... with the irony that her husband was a pioneer of satellite TV 24-hour TV news!
... going from setting up 24-hour TV news, to be covered by it incessantly!
... who now claims his domineering wife abused him!
... viewers across India are gripped - just like South Africa's Oscar Pistorius trial, by the surreal, real-life crime drama about rich and famous people engulfed by murder, hidden identities and a body burnt in a forest!
... it's a sensational TV news moral fable about materialism, media and motherhood.


Tumultuous exodus underway at Bloomberg Television (DStv 411).
A dramatic string of TV executives are out at the business news TV channel. Also went through one of its biggest firings last week when 80 Bloomberg editorial staffers globally were shown the door.



M-Net South Africa CEO Yolisa Phahle shares her story.
M-Net top executive who was raised in Britain with South African parents, tells CliffCentral how she got to the position and her music history in a wide-ranging 54 minute interview.
The relevant M-Net part starts at minute 22 until minute 46 where she talks about Mzansi Magic, reveals she was worried and panicked about the Channel O youth day mock-up ad, talks hit shows and scandals, transformation, reveals she was involved in casting the judges for The Voice South Africa and that they've been chosen and says M-Net wants to make "TV that people will talk about".


John Oliver forced to shut down his fake church.
After exposing some unscrupulous televangelist practices by starting his Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption "church", the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver host on M-Net (DStv 101) decided to shut down his church - because people mailed him sperm. It comes after he asked viewers to send him their seed (meaning money).


Isha Sesay is doing NewsCenter from Los Angeles
since she and John Vause will soon be doing a new, simulcast show on CNN International (DStv 401) and CNN.

Can Uzalo on SABC1 just bring Gxabhashe back already?
The character that was "killed off" is set to return (and fake, unsourced tabloid stories that there was friction between the actor and the production wasn't true).

Doctor Who needs a lot more kissing
Says Peter Capaldi.

A must-watch sneak peek at the The Unauthorised Beverly Hills, 90210 Story.
The Lifetime channel's unauthorised biographical film about the hit 90s teen drama is absolutely spot on.

Vanity Fair looks at why American late-night television is "better than ever".
But sadly completely excludes women and female comedians. It's "Manity Fair" and such a great unintended example of a "boy's club".


On Digital Media (ODM) and director and consultant Eddie Mbalo's fight continues in licence and shares battle.
Eddie Mbalo says its impossible to place a value on a company that was near liquidation.

The X Factor UK has long ago lost all credibility says Graham Norton.
The ITV star seen in South Africa on BBC First attacks the reality competition show seen on M-Net and says he "hasn't watched in years".

Public pressure group SOS Coalition slams parliament over the SABC.
Vacant positions for the SABC board remains unfilled and vacant.

Four key elements for over-the-top (OTT) television to survive and flourish.
The same elements hold true for South Africa's growing number of video-on-demand (VOD) players like Naspers' ShowMax, Times Media Group's VIDI, MTN's FrontRow and others.

e.tv has started moving to its new high-definition (HD) Cape Town building.

Orange plans to start a video-on-demand (VOD) service in South Africa.
Orange Horizons wants to launch it in 2016 and want to partner with a local player under the name Orange VoD.

Jon Farrar at BBC Worldwide explains new BBC channels
Is responsible for the programming and acquisition strategy for BBC Worldwide's new channels BBC Earth, BBC Brit and BBC First. He explains how the channels are different, what they're looking for and more context to the channels' alignment.

M-Net's ex boss in Africa starts her Grooming for Greatness project.
Former managing director of M-Net Africa Biola Alabi is starting a leadership development initiative.

Comedy Central (DStv 122) is taking a "multi-platform" ad approach to market Trevor Noah.

The real history of The Golden Girls theme song.
Which has traveled down the road and back again and is now 30 years old.

BREAKING. Court orders ODM and StarTimes Media SA's StarSat to stop broadcasting its pornography TV channels.

The Western Cape High Court on Monday ordered StarSat to stop broadcasting its pornography TV channels in South Africa when the court found that South Africa's broadcasting regulator, Icasa, erred in providing a licence to StarSat to show hardcore pornography on television.

Judge Lee Bozalek said the decision by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to grant a licence to StarSat, run by On Digital Media (ODM) and China's StarTimes South Africa, to broadcast pornography on television was reviewed and set aside.

ODM brought two applications to show pornography to Icasa, the first of which was rejected by the regulator, and the second a year later which was approved in April 2013.

Icasa admitted to court that the regulator had failed to appoint experts to consider StarSat's porn plan. On Digital Media also failed to register with the Film and Publications Board (FPB) as a porn purveyor.

The struggling StarSat which is in business rescue, rebranded at the end of last year from TopTV, has been showing hardcore pornography channels in a separate bouquet and the Woodmead based satellite pay-TV operator has since quietly substituted the Private Spice sex channel for the Brazzers channel.

Around 400 StarSat subscribers has since signed up for the sex channels according to court papers, with Justice Alliance of South Africa (Jasa), Cause for Justice and Doctors for Life who took Icasa and StarSat to court for allowing and broadcasting pornography on television in South Africa.

"The matter is remitted back to the second respondent [Icasa] for reconsideration," said judge Lee Bozalek on Monday. Icasa and StarSat also have to pay the legal cost of the court case.

Monday's judgment means that, because the decision by Icasa to allow pornography on television has been set aside, that ODM and StarTimes SA will have to halt to broadcasting of the sex channels, until a new review of the StarSat's porn application.

South African TV critics across the country blast SABC1 for 'empty' EPG on DStv; calls SABC1 'incompetent', 'dismal' and 'embarrassing'.

South African TV critics across South Africa on Tuesday blasted SABC1 for the SABC TV channel's apparent unprofessionalism and inability to supply consistent, timeous and correct scheduling and programming information to pay-TV operators such as MultiChoice's DStv and On Digital Media's (ODM) StarSat.

The lack of programming information made it difficult if not impossible for DStv and StarSat to fill and populate their on-screen electronic programme guides (EPG's), which led MultiChoice to simply give up since yesterday.

TV with Thinus on Monday reported that MultiChoice finally decided to drop SABC1 scheduling information from the DStv EPG, telling DStv subscribers in no uncertain terms that the pay-TV platform "cannot provide EPG information for this channel as we are still awaiting schedule information".

Likewise StarSat's EPG for SABC1 is as bare bones as it comes, leaving StarSat subscribers accessing that pay-TV provider's EPG also clueless as to what is showing.

The EPG embarrassment is ironically happening as SABC1 shunted its entertainment primetime line-up to sister channel SABC2 creating a difficult programming maze for viewers to navigate to try and find their shows, and as SABC1 is broadcasting CHAN 2014 soccer matches - which viewers don't know where to find, nor which countries are playing.

The lack of EPG information made it impossible for viewers to plan their viewing or know what is on, or upcoming - but even worse made it impossible to record any specific programmes - whether soaps or soccer.

SABC1 is the most watched TV channel in South Africa according to viewership figures, making the missing programming schedule information mind-boggling and shocking.

Getting correct scheduling information and programming synopses from certain SABC TV channels has been an ongoing struggle for South African TV critics for years.

All of the TV critics TV with Thinus spoke to on Monday and Tuesday deeply felt, shared, and instantly had sympathy for MultiChoice's pain - they also publicly heaped scorn on SABC1.

The SABC remained silent on Monday and on Tuesday, and didn't respond to media enquiries made on Monday morning seeking clarification and comment from the South African public broadcaster's corporate communications office, as well as from SABC TV public relations executives, as to what is going on and why there is this problem.

While the SABC remains on mute, South African television critics however are not holding back their contempt for SABC1, ripping into the TV channel and calling SABC1 "incompetent" and "dismal".

The veteran TV critic Tashi Tagg from Cape Town, and editor-in-chief of TVSA, is blasting SABC1 with a "rock bottom alert!" on TVSA, noting that the worsening SABC1 programming scheduling information and now total lack thereof is "a meltdown that's been happening for months already" and which has now "plunged to a new all-time low yesterday".

Tashi Tagg called SABC1's EPG schedule "already very dismal last year" and "crammed with errors and last minute changes".

"Clearly the person at SABC1 who's responsible for submitting the info to DStv has gone on an extended holiday of epic proportions and has no intention of ever returning. If they care so little about what's happening with the channel on the PVR there's no ways they care enough to return to work," wrote Tashi Tagg.

The Johannesburg based TV critic and columnist and entertainment commentator Phil Mphela wrote on his site that he's "livid", and likewise blasted SABC1 on Tuesday, saying its "inexcusable, deplorable and downright incompetent for a number one channel in this country to still be experiencing these amateurish mishaps".

"This is beyond embarrassing for the channel, it is just pure lack of professionalism or care for the channel's viewers?" asked Phil Mphela in his column.

"What the heck is going on at SABC1? Get your act together and fire people who do not do their jobs. You are the channel for the people. The masses of Mzansi love you, they have made you number one. Do not be arrogant and disrespect them by offering mediocrity all the time."

"If you can't put on better programming then, for the love of God, provide better services with your channel broadcast. It is the least you can do," Phil Mphela wrote on Tuesday.

He also wrote to tell me: "It is disheartening to know that in 2014 a channel as popular as SABC1 would still be making such elementary blunders. It leaves one wondering if it is just a case of incompetence or a blatant disregard for respecting the viewers because the channel knows the masses will still watch."

"'If the SABC is to restore any sense of confidence from its viewers, it ought to start holding its stuff accountable. Someone is not doing their job and they should not be getting a paycheque."

"SABC1 lauds itself as the channel for the people. Well, we are the people, show us you care."