As South Africa delays digital terrestrial television migration, imported multi-functional set-top boxes are already on sale in the country.

With South Africa's long-stalled switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) - a process known as digital migration - going nowhere, South African TV viewers can already buy imported, yet illegal, multi-functional set-top boxes (STBs).

South Africa's TV industry is supposed to flip from analogue to digital broadcasting but the country, due to multiple delays, have fallen behind countries such as even Zimbabwe and Rwanda as manufacturers, broadcasters and law makers continue to bicker.

As South Africa can no longer make and will miss the international agreed upon deadline of June 2015 from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) by which to switch of analogue TV broadcasts, the country has also become profitable for sellers of imported - yet illegal - STBs with which viewers can already watch digital TV channels.

Not only can South African viewers watch free-to-air digital TV channels with these STBs, but the boxes also allow viewers to record TV shows, and to even save that programming to external storage like USBs and external hard drives.

These STBs are already on sale in South Africa and cost cheaper and can now be bought long before the locally manufactured STBs which will cost around R800 per box are produced and sold.

The South African government has failed to award tenders to local STB manufacturers in a request for tenders which was issued last year, lapsed, and will have to be reissued.

Meanwhile broadcasters and manufacturers are fighting and deadlocked over the inclusion - or not - of what is known as a Conditional Access (CA) system.

A CA system is built-in hardware and software with which broadcasters and manufacturers would be able to "lock" or encrypt digital television signals. While e.tv wants a CA system in STBs, the SABC, MultiChoice, M-Net and community TV stations in South Africa are all against it.

A CA system would make the STBs more expensive. A CA system would also "protect" a South African STBs industry, since only boxes made in South Africa would work, imported STBs wouldn't be able to decrypt signals, and boxes taken outside of South Africa's TV broadcasting borders would be "turned off".

"There is little to stop pirate set-top boxes from flooding the South African market and destroying the local manufacturing market because South African manufacturers will comply with the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) but won't be able to compete with cheap, low quality, foreign STBs," says Bronwyn Keene-Young, the group chief operating officer (COO) of e.tv.

Keene-Young says the illegal STBs already on sale in South Africa in large metropolitan areas from Johannesburg to Cape Town do not meet the SABS specifications.

"With a lack of copy-protection mechanisms on the HD output to the TV, and into the personal video recording (PVR) functionality on these boxes, the broadcast and manufacturing industry would need to rely on the already heavily-burdened law enforcement agencies to stop these boxes from entering the country," says Keene-Young.

"Having the broadcast signal protected at the commercial launch of DTT will go a long way to make sure that these boxes become redundant and therefore pose no threat to the local manufacturing industry".

ALSO READ: Stalled digital terrestrial television (DTT) migration in South Africa "hijacked" for job creation - leaving behind the one thing which should be first: the TV viewer.

Early Friday morning MSNBC has a new documentary, Why We Did It, looking at what how America sold going to war in Iraq to the world.

Friday morning 7 March at 04:00 (South African time) Rachel Maddow on MSNBC (StarSat 410) will present Why We Did It, a follow-up to last year's Hubris: Selling the Iraq War.

The new Why We Did It documentary reveals new documents and interviews with those involved in planning the Iraq War. MSNBC calls it "the never-before-told story of what was happening behind that public case".

BREAKING. Confusion, uncertainty of whether the Royalty Soapie Awards will actually be broadcast on SABC1 on Sunday.

There is ongoing uncertainty and confusion regarding whether the Royalty Soapie Awards will be televised on South African TV or not. While the organisers are adamant that the awards show will go ahead and be shown on television, the SABC says there is no contract and that it will not.

After multiple delays, e.tv's soaps being pulled from consideration, zero information regarding who the judges are and backstage drama between the organizers which saw venture partner Lala Tuku back out, the Royalty Soapie Awards was moved from its November 2013 date to March 2014 at the Durban International Convention Centre.

The Royalty Soapie Awards organised by Winnie Modise is finally set to take place on Saturday 8 March in the same city as this past Saturday's 13th Metro FM Awards which was shown on SABC1 on Saturday as a live broadcast and which suffered from terrible production values.

The Royalty Soapie Awards takes place on exactly the same date and time as M-Net and MultiChoice's continental 2nd AfricaMagic Viewers' Choice Awards.

According to the organisers the Royalty Soapie Awards with hosts Michael Mol and Hlomla Dandala, will be shown on SABC1 a day later on Sunday 9 March at 20:30.

SABC1 says it will not broadcast the Royalty Soapie Awards and has the movie Lake City scheduled.

With three days to the actual event and four days to the would-be broadcast date, the SABC on Wednesday told TV with Thinus that "we are waiting for the agreement to be finalised between the SABC and the organisers". The SABC said that a statement will only be made "once the agreement is in place".

A spokesperson for the Royalty Soapie Awards organisers told TV with Thinus that they however have confirmation from the SABC that the Royalty Soapie Awards will be shown on SABC1 on Sunday at 20:30.

Sindile Xulu, Royalty Soapie Awards project director says the organisers are "thrilled to have the awards show broadcast made accessible to the widest possible audience" on SABC1.

BREAKING. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey starting in South Africa on 16 March at 19:10 on National Geographic Channel and FOX.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey will start on 16 March in South Africa at 19:10, a week after the United States launch date.

ALSO READ: Eye-popping new documentary series, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, coming to South African viewers in March on the National Geographic Channel.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey will be seen on multiple South African TV channels - including high definition (HD).

The first episode of the new National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) series will be shown on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 130) and National Geographic Channel at the same of 19:10 on 16 March. At 23:00 the same night, the first episode will also be shown on Nat Geo WILD (DStv 182).

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey will however not be shown on Nat Geo GOLD (StarSat 300), I'm told.

After the first episode, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey's other 12 episodes will continue on National Geographic Channel.

"The vision of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey inspired us to create a launch across all of our National Geographic Channels and FOX channels that will reach an unprecedented 400 million homes outside the United States," says Liz Dolan, the chief marketing officer of FOX International Channels (FIC) and National Geographic Channels International.

"Not only will the show premiere in 400 million homes, but in many of those homes it will be on two, three or four channels," says Liz Dolan.

Seth MacFarlane, a big fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation (and the creator behind Family Guy and The Cleveland Show) is the executive producer of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey together with Brannon Braga of Star Trek fame.

 The 13 part, remarkable and eye-popping new documentary series serves as a visually, scientific and special effects rich update of the 1970's landmark series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage - you can almost call it Cosmos: The Next Generation.

In Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, presenter and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson boards a futuristic, teardrop like spaceship with the ability to go anywhere in the universe and in time, and then takes viewers on a dazzling, dreamscape-like journey through time and space.

Following Leigh Bennie, Jen Su is now also chiming in; reporting and commenting on the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

Similar to the former Big Brother South Africa contestant Leigh Bennie who is reporting and commenting on the Oscar Pistorius murder trial as a presenter on DStv's Oscar Pistorius trial TV channel (DStv 199), is now suddenly Jen Su - usually more at home at polo events in hats and being a social butterfly at red carpet events.

Jen Su popped up on HLN, CNN's more tabloid-skewed sister TV channel in America, weighing in on things like the South Africa's justice system and even the judge in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

Jen Su, like Leigh Bennie has zero history of crime or court reporting. Neither has a legacy of hard news reporting or investigative journalism. I'd frown the same way if a Christiane Amanpour suddenly did red carpet celebrity coverage - there's better people than her, more suited and better qualified to do that.

It doesn't that Leigh Bennie and Jen Su can't comment or talk about something like the legal system or aspects like the Oscar Pistorius case - it's a free world and we have freedom of speech and anyone can say whatever they want.

It does mean that they lack credibility and the necessary deep insight for a murder case in court.

They are unsuited - in my opinion - to weigh in or appear on television to talk about this or be a presenter for the Oscar Pistorius murder trial - unless it involves the more lighter, frivolous aspects of the case ... maybe what judge Thokozile Masipa is wearing?

The second season of The Haves and the Have Nots on Mzansi Magic abruptly jettisoned to April after the non-arrival of tapes.

Lord, have mercy: SABC disease is (cough, cough) proving infectious and contagious: Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) yanked and jettisoned the second season of the primetime soap The Haves and the Have Nots which was supposed to start on Mzansi Magic this past Saturday due to the "non-delivery" of tapes.

Mzansi Magic made no announcement to the press, didn't inform TV critics or viewers, and will now try to show the new second season of The Haves and the Have Nots from sometime in April.

The truly delicious drama which is simultaneously glitzy glamorous and slutty sensational set in Savannah, Georgia, is oddly also scheduled on Saturday evenings in South Africa, and is getting very little promotional push from the M-Net packaged channel. 

Viewers who have discovered The Haves and the Have Nots on their own though, are utterly hooked by the soapy melodrama and twists and turns. 

The soap is produced by Tyler Perry for Oprah Winfrey's OWN TV channel in the United States and the second season of The Haves and the Have Nots started at the beginning of January.

If you haven't yet watched it, gladly do. You will be pleasantly surprised and instantly drawn into the unbelievable, yet cannot stop watching, storylines.

SOS Coalition holding a meeting on 7 March to try and save the 'dying' SABC; SABC 'lacks credibility, culture of censorship taking hold'.

The SOS Coalition, a civil society pressure group looking out for public broadcasting in South Africa, will be holding a mass meeting for the public on 7 March at Constitution Hill in Braamfontein to try and save the "dying" SABC from censorship, political interference and maladministration.

The SOS Coalition, a vast group representing major groupings from academics to trade groups and the South African TV and film producing sectors, was established in 2009 when the SABC came to the brink of financial collapse due to gross mismanagement.

"In 1994 we were building an SABC we could be proud of. Today our SABC is, yet again, unfree," says the SOS Coalition. "We are being denied an independent, credible and people-driven public broadcaster," says the group which is planning a mass meeting on 7 March at Constitition Hill (number 4 and 5) from 14:00 to 17:00. Anyone is free to attend.

The SOS Coalition will try to seek a course of action as to what is to be done. "Why is our SABC falling apart? Who benefits from a dysfunctional SABC?" asks the group. "We, the people, must act radically, and act now. Unspeakable bad maladministration is killing our public broadcaster".

Last year the entire SABC board resigned after intense infighting to be replaced with yet another new SABC board.

Just this year the SABC CEO Lulama Mokhobo quit barely two years into her five year contract without giving any reasons and becoming yet another CEO in and out in a revolving door of CEO's at the SABC fingered for maladministration.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released an independent and scathing skills audit report of the SABC which found SABC workers and executives lack critical thinking and found fraudulent and non-existing qualifcations and certificates and that a lot of SABC workers don't even have personnel files.

Then the Public Protector released a shocking report into abuse of power, irregularities and maladministration at the SABC.

The Public Protector's investigation of over a year found that the matricless liar and acting chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng admitted in a recorded interview to having committed fraud by claiming he had a matric certificate and that he made up symbols, and implicated him in irregular hirings and firings at the SABC, such as the firing of all the people who were involved in an earlier disciplinary hearing against him.

The Public Protector also questioned how Hlaudi Motsoeneng's salary grew multiple times per year. He currently gets a salary of R2.4 million.

The Public Protector said that Hlaudi Motsoeneng "should never have been appointed at the SABC". After two weeks the SABC and the SABC board has not suspended Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

The Special Investigative Unit (SIU) last week detailed in parliament further details of corruption, mismanagement and wasteful and irregular spending of more than R275 million at the SABC.

"The SABC lacks credibility," the independent and veteran broadcasting expert and researcher Kate Skinner tells TV with Thinus. "It isn't sufficiently trusted. This is worrying in an election year when people particularly need to get credible, balanced professional news and current affairs programming".

"Our public broadcasting post-1994 was excellent. There was a lot of excellent content but sadly this has deteriorated due to political interference and mismanagement of the institution. There have been significant financial crises, particular in 2008 and 2009".

"A culture of censorship and fear is beginning to take hold at the SABC," says Kate Skinner. "Journalists are not taking risks and pushing boundaries."

She says several examples of countries with great public broadcasting exist.

"Everyone always talks about the BBC but there is also the very powerful Japanese public broadcaster NHK that produces some excellent public service programming. It has done some innovative work with citizen journalism including citizen inserts at the end of its news broadcasts".

"Swedish public radio year after year is voted the most trusted institution, above parliament and the courts, in Sweden. It produces excellent distinctive programming catering for regional interests and dialects".

"Some public broadcasters however in Eastern Europe have started to shift back to being state broadcasters. We are seeing that in South Africa."

"All public broadcasters are under threat in terms of public funding costs. They need to produce more with less. Public broadcasters are generally not having an easy time but many continue to rise above these challenges," says Kate Skinner.

OPINION. eNCA apologises for Oscar Pistorius murder trial witness photo - but doesn't actually even have to. Here's why.

eNCA (DStv 403) just apologised for something which I as a journalist, a TV critic, a former news editor, and a media observer truly don't think eNCA needs to apologise for.

The South African 24-hour TV news channel in a statement, says it is apologising for showing a still photo of witness Michelle Burger (not even a photo taken of her in court) in the Oscar Pistorius murderl trial taking place in the North Gauteng High Court.

Witnesses in this sensational murder trial can decide whether they want to be seen on television or not.

However, this surely does not mean that a newspaper or a TV channel or any other publication or media outlet can't show a picture of Michelle Burger that they're able to find somewhere else?

What newspaper is just going to run a headline and a chunk of text if they cannot also add some kind of visual or photo to a story?

Any serious journalist knows you need something to break the text and need something visual to grab more reader or viewer interest. Any anyone's headshot is surely fair use in the reporting of a hard news story.

"This morning during court testimony by state witness Michelle Burger, eNCA showed a still photo of Michelle Burger which was sourced from the University of Pretoria's website. eNCA unreservedly apologises to the court, the parties and Michelle Burger for this unfortunate incident," says eNCA in a statement.

"No disrespect was intended.We did not understand the court order issued by Judge Mlambo to prevent this - we understood it only to apply to pictures taken of witnesses during the court proceedings," says Patrick Conroy, the group head of news at eNCA. "But, on reflection, this was a bad judgment call on our part and we accept that it did not accord with the spirit of the court order".

Judge Thokozile Masipa has now issued a further order that no photos be published of any witnesses who do not want to appear on camera, regardless of the source of those photos.

This is highly unusual, strange, and in my opinion wrong, as it seriously curtails freedom of speech in South Africa.

This is a public court case, with a global interest ... and you're not allowed to show an image - any image - of a witness when you do a story or report on public court testimony? Madness.

Please then possibly switch off the lights inside the court room so that the people who are able to get a seat to see the court proceedings for themselves in person, can please be as blind as lady justice, because currently they are able to see the actual and very public witnesses and how they look.

eNCA says it will "cooperate fully with any inquiry in this regard and deeply regrets the upset caused".

"eNCA has been at the forefront of working with the Judiciary for improved access to the courts," says the news channel.

"We would never consciously undermine our own efforts over the past 10 years. We should have been more cautious and sought clarity first. This has been an important lesson for everyone in terms of communication with the courts and the parties concerned".

M-Net turns Isibaya telenovela on Mzansi Magic into a weekday soap; adds new characters, new storylines, new backdrops.

One of those open secrets in the South African TV industry was just confirmed with M-Net finally admitting/revealing/confirming that the Isibaya telenovela on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) is becoming a weekday soap.

The pay-TV broadcaster commissioned and started Isibaya as a close-ended telenovela of 208 episodes but will now be exploiting the on-air property following strong viewership for the story about conflicting Johannesburg families set in Jozi's taxi industry where the Zungus and Ndlovus love and conspire in the vein of Shakepeare's Romeo & Juliet.

While Mzansi Magic's first telenovela iNkaba can now be considered a flop since it didn't prove a strong enough launchpad as a disguised soap in the making, Isibaya - produced by The Bomb Shelter - will start rolling out new episodes on every day of the week from 17 March.

The production has already added new characters to help flesh out the demand for new story and much more screen time.

"Mzansi Magic has decided not to leave Isibaya fans in the lurch and has now commissioned the series into a full-on soapie!" says the channel in a statement, exclamation mark included.

"The response to Isibaya has been fantastic," says Yolisa Phahle, the channel director of M-Net's general entertainment channels.

"Viewership exceeded the expectations we had when we launched in March 2013, with the show now consistently surprising viewers with fresh and interesting storylines. We are thrilled to now be able to offer our viewers a dose of Isibaya every weekday as the show enters a new era".

In a media enquiry made Tuesday and asked when Mzansi Magic took the decision to turn Isibaya into a soap and no longer a telenovela, Yolisa Phahle tells TV with Thinus that Isibaya has been on air for about three months "when we realised that the characters and the story had captured the imagination of our audiences in a way that was different to anything we'd seen before".

"It was a no brainer as our philosophy has always been to listen to the audience and try to produce more of the content they love. I am not keen of boxing the production into a genre, as I think it is different to anything that has been seen before".

How Isibaya will remian able to bring viewers those "fresh and interesting storylines", Yolisa Phahle says Isibaya has "a wealth of new storylines, new characters and new backdrops".

"We have actually had more time to develop this story than previous telenovelas as some of the key characters remain. Ultimately however the viewers will have their say, and we will respond to our audience".

Regarding the odd, lets-start-this-as-a-telenovela, lets-change-this-to-a-soap, Yolisa Phahle says "there are no hard and fast rules. At this point in time we were given an opportunity to take the story further which has resulted in it continuing".