Chaos, confusion, growing frustration - even pirated DVD disks with SABC soaps - as African countries are cut off from South Africa's TV signals.

Growing frustration and anger, together with chaos and confusion is reigning among TV viewers in several African countries surrounding South Africa, where people are now resorting to buying pirated DVD disks with episodes of South African television soaps, following the sudden end of the freely available SABC and e.tv TV signals in the rest of Southern Africa from the beginning of July.

Backyard technicians who at the beginning of July did brisk business by asking up to $40 for claims to illegally restore the SABC and e.tv on imported decoders from China and Dubai such as Philibao, Wiztech and Fortec Star have all suddenly disappeared.

Desperate viewers in countries ranging from Zimbabwe, Angola, Swaziland, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and even Madagascar who forked over money have found that the technicians who told them to pay up and wait for the signals to return are now nowhere to be found.

Frustrated TV viewers are left without their money and no available signals but those of moribund state-run TV stations which they say are not worth watching.

At the end of June the South African parastatal signal distributor Sentech finally turned off the free South African television programming bonanza when it encrypted the free-to-air TV signals from South Africa's broadcasters beyond the country's borders.

The unkind television cut and encryption is the result of eBotswana's court case in which the broadcaster successfully argued that it was losing viewers and revenue through the illegal availability and distribution of South African broadcasters' TV signals outside of South Africa.

eBotswana reportedly now has plans to try and secure some of the SABC's soaps such as Generations for the broadcaster which viewers in Botswana would be able to watch on eBotswana, instead of on SABC1 which shouldn't have been freely available as a TV channel in that country, and no longer is since the beginning of July.

While SABC bashing is a favourite passtime of South African television viewers who frequently and vocally criticise the public broadcaster for its shoddy and old programming, repeats and mismanagement while they're forced to pay for a TV license which will once again increase this year, viewers in other African nations look up to SABC programming which they say is far better than the poor production values and programming served up by local TV stations.

Millions of viewers - who for years have daily fed on a steady diet of South Africa's glam TV soaps ranging from Generations, Muvhango, Isidingo, Rhythm City and even the Afrikaans with subtitles soap 7de Laan - as well as wider choice of TV news and current affairs programming originating from South Africa, are going through severe television withdrawal symptoms.

As MultiChoice's DStv decoder sales are suddenly skyrocketing, shops which sold the now obsolete decoders have started closing down in droves.

Shop owners, left with thousands of dollars of worthless decoders, have been inundated with calls from TV viewers who want to know why their decoders are suddenly no longer working.

Viewers outside of South Africa are now also resorting to buying pirated DVD's with episodes of South African TV soaps. Street vendors are suddenly selling weekly "omnibus" DVD disks with illegally captured soap episodes. For just one dollar a buyer gets five Generations episodes on a disk, complete with a sleeve.

At the same time another debate has also flared up in countries such as Swaziland where shocked viewers are wondering why Swazi TV isn't for instance producing their own "soapies" but allowed viewers to get hooked on the glam weekly schadenfreude of Generations and Isidingo.

1st TV, a new private free-to-air TV station plans to start broadcasting from Friday in Zimbabwe on Wiztech decoders at the same time as Sentech and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) have started talks about how South African TV programming could possibly be shown on the ZBC in the form of a new "regional SABC channel" which could maybe offer viewers joint SABC and ZBC programming.

DStv decoders which cost $35 now sell for as much as $70 as desperate viewers cough up ever increasing prices to get access to better television and refuse to watch what public broadcasters in their countries offer up.

"A lot of people wanted the decoders after the switching off of SABC channels, so we then decided to increase the prices to get more cash. People are still coming," a shop owner told the Southern Eye newspaper in Zimbabwe. In just that country 3 million viewers watched the SABC and e.tv on free-to-air decoders until the signals were scrambled.

The end of pirated viewing of South Africa's SABC and e.tv in the rest of Africa as the free-to-air signals are curtailed.

For the rest of Africa it's the end of free, pirated viewing of the South Africa's SABC channels and e.tv after the broadcasters' signals emanating from South Africa to neighbouring African countries were shut down.

While South African viewers complain bitterly about the sad state of affairs and quality of public television and while growing numbers of them are pirate viewing overseas TV fare from the United States and Britain, the rest of Africa have in turn been turning to South Africa's SABC1, SABC2, SABC3 and e.tv whose signals have been beaming much better entertainment programming into the rest of Africa for years.

Literally millions of African viewers been watching South African broadcasters' signals on free-to-air Chinese decoders such as Philibao, Wiztech, Fortec and South Africa's Vivid decoders available from the South African parastatal signal distributor Sentech who've failed to properly encrypt the signals outside of South Africa's borders.

Southern African viewers have been clamouring to watch the SABC and e.tv and their more frothy, faux glam entertainment, finding the mix of South African public television and its soap, news and reality television offering better than what they're being offered by local public and state broadcasters on which they've been subjected to poor programming line-ups, low broadcasting and production standards and a lack of variety.

Local African broadcasters and pan-continental business units such as e.tv operating customised regional TV stations such as eBotswana have complained for a long time about Sentech's failure to keep South Africa’s TV signals, unencrypted, out of the rest of Africa.

They've been arguing that its been having a debilitating effect on their viewership and ad revenue since viewers are watching the SABC and e.tv’s TV content they're not supposed to.  

Besides watching content not licensed to be shown in other regional territories, multinational companies and brands have opted to rather forsake TV stations in certain African countries to advertise on South African television, knowing their TV commercials and products will be seen by viewers across Africa through the TV signals of South African broadcasters in those countries anyway.

Yesterday, 1 July, was the start of signals being cut, with viewers across Africa from Zimbabwe to Botswana now forced to return to their own state and public broadcasters or sign up for more expensive pay-TV options such as DStv. 

Upset African viewers outside of South Africa are now complaining about no longer getting SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, e.tv and the "popular Christian programmes" they used to watch.

Last year Sentech was ordered by the South Gauteng High Court to encrypt South Africa’s free-to-air broadcasting signals by the end of May 2012 after it found Sentech "wrongful, negligent and in breach" for its failure to encrypt South Africa’s TV signals spilling over outside of South Africa. 

Sentech which appealed the decision eventually decided to drop the case recently. eBotswana is however still pursuing its claim of damages against Sentech. eBotswana last year claimed R8 million in financial losses from Sentech's failure to keep South African TV content in South Africa.

eBotswana wants over R8 million from Sentech in damages for failing to encrypt its broadcasting signal in the rest of Southern Africa.

eBotswana, a sister company of the South Africa's broadcaster e.tv, wants more than R8 million in damages from South Africa's signal distributor Sentech for the failure to encrypt e.tv's signal outside the borders of South Africa.

Viewers elsewhere in Africa are using decoders to view the e.tv signal as well as the SABC's channels which they are not legally permitted to do.

 In February Sentech was found guilty in the case before the South Gauteng High Court.

South Africa's parastatal signal distributor was ordered to immediately take all steps necessary to stop piracy viewing of SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 outside of South Africa (which is taking place in several countries but specifically inside Botswana).

The high court ruled that Sentech is ''liable in delict for its failure to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent pirate viewing in Botswana of SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3'' which the ruling said is ''wrongful, negligent and in breach'' of what Sentech is supposed to be doing.

The South Gauteng High Court in its judgement gave Sentech 3 months - in effect until the end of May - to cut off SABC1, SABC2, SABC3 and e.tv's signals to Botswana and the rest of Southern Africa through enacting encryption.

Sentech guilty of enabling pirate TV viewing; found negligent in test case over allowing people to watch SABC channels outside of South Africa.

Sentech, South Africa's signal distributor of broadcasters' TV signals such as those of the SABC and e.tv, is guilty of negligence of protecting broadcasters' content, of allowing piracy of content and pirate viewing, and failure to encrypt broadcasters' digital TV signals on it's Vivid satellite TV platform.

In a landmark judgement in a pivotal test case for not just South Africa's TV industry and broadcasters but with far reaching consequences for pan-African television viewership, the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg yesterday - in a case brought by eBotswana - ruled that Sentech is indeed negligent of protecting the broadcaster and is guilty of not preventing and curbing access to TV signals originating from South Africa.

The high court has ordered South Africa's parastatal signal distributor to immediately take all steps necessary to stop piracy viewing of SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 outside of South Africa (which is taking place in several countries but specifically inside Botswana).

The high court ruled that Sentech is ''liable in delict for its failure to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent pirate viewing in Botswana of SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3'' which the ruling says is ''wrongful, negligent and in breach'' of what Sentech is supposed to be doing.

What has been happening is that eBotswana - a sister company to South Africa's e.tv - has been complaining that viewers outside of South Africa get free access to SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 in other countries outside of South Africa because Sentech is not blocking or encrypting the channels on Vivid TV decoders as it should be doing.

Despite repeated requests by e.tv and eBotswana that Sentech resolve the problem, Sentech did nothing.

Therefore eBotswana as a specific business - a claim now endorsed by the court - said that it was  suffering lower viewership (leading to a loss of advertising income). In broader terms Botswana's TV industry, the local production and advertising industries are also suffering.

eBotswana said last year that it estimated that 70% of Botswana's population is watching pirated SABC channels. Despite numerous requests by e.tv and eBotswana, Sentech failed to act to actually upgrade its Vivid platform and enforce encryption as it should have been doing a long time ago.

The South Gauteng High Court, in its judgement gave Sentech 3 months to cut off SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3's signals to Botswana through enacting encryption. Sentech can apply for an possible extension. eBotswana can now file a damages claim for loss of income against Sentech and has 20 days to do so.

Sentech has also been ordered to pay eBotswana's legal costs. Vasili Vass, e.tv's group head of corporate affairs, tells me eBotswana is ''considering the order'' handed down early yesterday morning.