by Thinus Ferreira
StarSat subscriber Sonja van Graan Wright in Durban had no idea why her pay-TV service on Wednesday morning went dead in South Africa, with the loss of several TV channels for thousands of subscribers to China's StarTimes operating elsewhere across the African continent.
An avalanche of angry StarSat subscribers now demand refunds, want to know why StarSat kept them in the dark and how they can get their money back since StarSat went down and turned their decoders into bricks just after they paid and debit orders went through for October.
On Digital Media's unlicensed StarSat was axed after South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Wednesday morning at 09:00 in a raid, confiscated equipment and shuttered ODM's operations.
It comes more than a year after the Chinese-run StarSat's pay-TV licence in South Africa expired in July 2023 which ODM failed to renew in time despite repeated warnings.
Icasa told ODM in March to warn StarSat subscribers that StarSat was ordered to stop broadcasting by 18 September.
ODM ignored the shutdown order and kept broadcasting and also ignored the regulator's instruction to tell TV channel providers, StarSat subscribers, installers and agents, as well as its own rank and file staff.
The Icasa shutdown likely spells the end for the only competitor to MultiChoice's DStv in South Africa's traditional satellite pay-TV space since angry StarSat subscribers will now withhold further monthly subscription fee payments - the lifeblood of a pay-TV operator.
Meanwhile, South Africa's thousands of StarSat subscribers who just paid and already saw debit orders go through for October without any consumer warning from StarSat that its service might very likely go down this month, are entitled to a refund.
For the past two weeks TVwithThinus called StarSat's customer call centre daily and was told that nothing was wrong ("since we are answering the phone"), is selling decoders and packages and won't shut down. By Friday morning StarSat didn't answered the phone.
Elsewhere in Africa, from Tanzania and Uganda to Kenya, Rwanda, and Nigeria, StarTimes wasn't honest with furious subscribers in these various countries who complained about the loss of certain TV channels and who are unaware that it's the shuttering after the raid in South Africa that's impacting the uplinking of TV channels to a satellite transponder.
In Ghana, StarTimes Ghana for instance told subscribers that it is "working on resolving the signal interruption due to a faulty cable from our main station".
On social media like Facebook, an avalanche of StarSat subscribers asked StarSat what happened, how they should go about cancelling, why they were not told beforehand, and what they need to do to get a refund for their October money paid. By Friday StarSat failed to respond to their questions.
Veteran consumer expert Wendy Knowler says "It's amazing that StarSat got away with it for a whole year. StarSat subscribers who have paid in advance, through for instance a debit order for the month of October and there is no way they're getting a pay-TV service for their spend, then StarSat's subscribers in South Africa are absolutely entitled to a refund".
"StarSat can't say what happened is beyond its control because they were knowingly operating without a licence, so sooner or later that axe had to fall. I anticipate that StarSat won't leap to refunding that debit order run but they're definitely not entitled to hold on to that money," Wendy Knowler explains.
"The worst case scenario would be for the company not to cancel the debit order run and then this time next month they are debiting again and still not providing any service in which case their customers would be well-advised to get hold of their banks and make sure that those debit orders are cancelled."
Chose silence to not to cause 'alarm'
TVwithThinus asked On Digital Media what it is doing about StarSat subscribers who are demanding refunds, are complaining that they were not warned and what the exact procedure is for customers who have just paid for October to get a refund of their subscription fees.
Through ODM's crisis communications PR firm Eclipse Communications, ODM says "StarSat is committed to adhering to all relevant regulations
regarding customer compensation".
"We are currently working on a solution to
address this issue and will communicate the necessary steps in the coming days.
ODM was also asked for comment on why it failed to inform and warn StarSat subscribers specifically beforehand, after Icasa warned ODM that it was going to be shut down, that they pay-TV service will likely be cut.
"The removal of StarSat's equipment by Icasa on Wednesday was both
unforeseen and abrupt," ODM claims.
"StarSat had every intention of maintaining its
operations and chose not to communicate this potential disruption to
subscribers, as we were confident in our appeal and did not wish to cause
unnecessary alarm."
"We are currently engaged in legal proceedings with Icasa regarding this matter, and believe the shutdown of our service prior to a court
ruling is premature."
With questions swirling about ODM's shareholding and whether changes in shareholding contributed to the lack of a licence extension, ODM told TVwithThinus "StarTimes Group, through its subsidiary, holds a 20% share in ODM,
with the remaining shares owned by a range of South African institutions and
individuals".
"StarTimes Media (STM) is the service provider to ODM and is not a
shareholder in ODM. Yes, the changes in the shareholding structure contributed to
delays in ODM/StarSat obtaining its licence renewal from Icasa."
ODM was also asked for confirmation of its pay-TV subscriber base and active 90-day subscriber count after saying it had 500 000 StarSat subscribers in South Africa. A veteran industry insider said the number seems inflated.
"StarSat currently has 500 000 yearly active subscribers. StarSat
does not track its subscriber base using a 90-day metric. Our subscriber data
is regularly reviewed in line with industry standards," ODM said.
Asked about what equipment Icasa removed on Wednesday from its Midrand office, ODM says "Apart from the equipment owned by ODM being confiscated during the
operation, the majority of the broadcasting equipment removed by Icasa belongs
to StarTimes Media (STM), which provides services to ODM and transmits signals
for StarTimes Group's pan-African broadcasting".
ODM says its management team "is actively working on addressing the
situation and exploring all possible legal and operational solutions".
"We are
committed to resolving the matter as swiftly as possible and will continue to
engage with all relevant stakeholders, including media, subscribers and its
employees."
An Icasa spokesperson confirmed to TVwithThinus by telephone that the regulator told ODM that StarSat needs to be shut down and that "Icasa went ahead with a search and seizure operation which took place on Wednesday".
