"The Bigger Picture": ICASA's Anger With StarSat Explained

Earlier in the week, it was reported that StarSat was set for closure in the South African market by 18 September but this never happened as they mention an active presence by on social media and continue selling their decoders. ICASA made the call for On Digital Media who serve as license holders in South Africa to shut their services.

So corporates at StarSat would rather resolve their matter in court which again didn't work out with the company that is engaging themselves in an another ongoing case with ICASA. This whole thing with retrenchment and also loss in consumers to some appears to be desperate attempt at them antagonising the situation.

With the affects of COVID-19 and the current economic climate StarSat was facing financial constraints or as they would put it "owing to challenges in securing new investment in a competitive market". So where was StarTimes in all this as they got TopTV out of financial turmoil and also was ICASA aware of this.

Regardless of how StarSat wants consumers and the media to perceive this they were operating illegally for over a year as their license expired by July 2023 and a new application was filed by November of that year. What might have got ICASA infuriated by all this was the fact they were promoting and distributing a service without a license.

If you drive on the road without supervision or a license you get penalised for that and imagine if you had caused fatal accident the punishment is more severe for the unlicensed vigilante. What's more baffling about this is employees are being left in the dark and blindly serving as accomplices to this whole ordeal.

If StarSat had shuttered its doors by July 2023 and applied for a new license it's likely that ICASA would have granted them a new license. But these things tend to take time which is what StarSat didn't have and by the time they would have gotten one they would have to build their consumer base again which similar to DStv has been under siege.

Another scenario would be the local content viewed on ST Rise and One Freestate Televisual how would the latter survive if ICASA manages to shut down the pay-tv platform while TLC and Discovery Channel can be accessed on DStv. StarSat would most likely have to start these local endeavours from scratch and compared to other players they've been invisible.

Openview launched several years down the line and are close to hitting the 4 million milestone while StarSat has a half a million subscribers. If they are given the greenlit to continue operations one would imagine ICASA fining them millions another with them still operational they could have their signals cut off and imagine how many angry consumers would fold their socials.

Why Openview Consumers Are Now Able To Watch Games Exclusive To SuperSport And DStv?

A few years ago, SuperSport which serves as one of the largest sports broadcasters in Africa offering a wide range of sports ranging from football, rugby, tennis, boxing and wrestling formalised an agreement with the SABC for Betway Premiership. Initially, these games could have been viewed on rival broadcasters like Openview alongside SABC:s DTT.

In recent years, SuperSport decided to add some restrictions to these agreements when licensing them to the SABC that included blocking transmission from being received to Openview consumers. This benefited the SABC as they would be paying much less for these rights and it prompted eMedia Investments to take legal action.

Several punches were thrown during this time with eMedia Investments accusing SuperSport of an abuse in power while they accused them of "free riding". eMedia Investments' didn't need to pay for these games as they were being broadcast on SABC 1 so this was basically burdened to the SABC at the time eMedia Investments lost this battle.

They built up another case this time pertaining to the restrictions put up by SuperSport and they took this matter to the Competition Tribunal who deemed such agreement "unlawful" or "unethical" and requested both SABC and SuperSport make their games accessible to Openview. SuperSport did warn in advance that if this were to be the predicted outcome the whole agreement would be scrapped which is exactly what happened.

Several months later, both broadcasters are able to hold hands and announce a new agreement for PSL but what caught the media's attention is the number of games being offered on the table. When SuperSport would offer 240-260 PSL games SABC would offer almost half of that but that wasn't the case here as the offering was lessened to 51 games.

In short, when SuperSport and SABC were told to lift the veil from Openview these matches became expensive and following increased pressure by several governing bodies SuperSport couldn't just refuse to sell the matches to the SABC. So rather whatever amount SABC was willing to put on the table would determine how many games they'd get being 51.

In light of this one could say that SuperSport's free-to-air rights had been limited to the amount of games a broadcaster can carry of course they can't oppose who can or cannot use the exact platforms for the same offering.

October 2024 On DreamWorks Channel Across Africa | Channel Premiere: Doug Unplugs | Returning Shows Including Spirit Riding Free | More

NEW EPISODES (40-52)

Spirit Riding Free

From Monday, 7th October

Weekdays at 8.30am, 11.50am

Weekends at 8.30am

Big adventures canter into Lucky’s life in all new episodes of DreamWorks Spirit Riding Free. Together with Pru and Abigail, Lucky and Spirit journey to the rescue in new wild expeditions, including saving a missing girl and even their own dads! Join the PALs when Miradero gets pranked on April Fool’s Day or when Snips pretends to be Lucky’s little brother for the day. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned, and the BFFs learn to overcome life’s challenges through the strength of friendship and teamwork! In the final season 2 episodes, Lucky does a lot of growing up. She becomes a big sister and takes on brand new responsibilities like babysitting! During a career day, she realises that she wants to be a veterinarian,

and most notably, Lucky visits the big city for an interview at a boarding school a long way from Miradero!

This group of episodes introduce a lot of new locations outside of Miradero as well. The PALs travel to Sawtooth City where Pru and Chica Linda perform in one episode. In another, the PALs, Maricela, and Aunt Cora visit the Grand Aroo Hotel and learn to appreciate life outside the frontier. Through all of these big changes, one things for certain: Spirit and Lucky are best friends for life, no matter what!

NEW SHOW (1-13)

Doug Unplugs

From Monday, 7th October

Weekdays at 9.45am

Weekends at 6.25am

Doug Unplugs is an animated preschool series about a young robot with a lot to experience. While other robots 'plug in' every day for what and the how, Doug's curiosity can't help but jump to the why! And for that, Doug has to unplug. Sensing there’s more to life than just the facts, Doug journeys into the human world in search of experience. There, he enlists the help of his best friend, a human ball of energy named Emma, and the two embark on discovering all the simple wonders of the world. At its core, Doug Unplugs is about the intersection of technology and humanity, and how they both keep us truly connected.

NEW EPISODES (66-78)

All Hail King Julien

From Monday, 7th October

Weekdays at 6.25am, 1.05pm, 7.20pm

Weekends at 10.35am, 3.35pm, 8.35pm

Your favourite over-the-top lemur, King Julien, and his crew, Mort, Maurice and Clover are up to all new

hilarious shenanigans in brand-new party-filled episodes of DREAMWORKS ALL HAIL KING JULIEN!

King Julien decides it’s time for changes to the kingdom when he has a ‘do-over’ as Julien 2.0, creates a Julien-centric propaganda machine, and even finds himself a new entourage. But the squad festivities rock on when Maurice runs for Mango Prime Minister and Clover considers marrying Franken-Sage!

STUNT

Halloween Specials

Saturday, 26th Oct at 6.05pm

Sunday, 27th Oct at 11.25am, 4.25pm

Thursday, 31st Oct at 6.50am, 3.35pm, 7.45pm

Scared Shrekless

Halloween is Shrek's favourite holiday - and this year he's planning a night of frights, ogre style. Instead of

the usual tricks and treats, Shrek ups the ante and challenges Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots and the

other fairy tale characters to spend the night in Lord Farquaad's castle, telling scary stories. One by one,

they compete through the night, putting their own fairytale spin on infamous spine-tingling tales that

everyone knows and loves! The last one to be scared-Shrekless wins. "Scared Shrekless" is a half-hour animated special delivering fun for the whole family.

The Pig Who Cried Werewolf

Of the famous Three Little Pigs, Heimlich is the one porker who finds a conspiracy around every corner.

When The Big Bad Wolf moves in next door, Heimlich tries to warn his piggy pals Horst and Dieter that this may not bring a fairy-tale ending. Tired of hearing him 'cry wolf,' they ignore Heimlich's warnings until it's almost too late for them to live happily ever after. The chase is on! 

Night Of The Living Carrots

It's Halloween and a mutant alien pumpkin explodes on the Murphy's carrot garden. Now, zombie carrotsrise up to attack the town, biting the townspeople and taking over their minds. B.O.B., Dr. Cockroach and The Missing Link must join forces to take on the zombie carrots and somehow, someway find a way to defeat these denizens of the dirt if they are ever going to take back the night. 

The Ghost of Lord Farquaad

Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey are on their way to the hotel where Shrek and Fiona will spend their

honeymoon when they encounter Lord Farquaad's ghost! Farquaad sends his henchman, Thelonious, to

bring Princess Fiona to him where he will force her to become the queen of the ghostly world. Now, Shrek and Donkey must save the princess in this timeless tale that’s filled with spooky-good fun.

Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space

Susan, B.O.B., The Missing Link and Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D., are back to investigate a mysterious alien

presence on Halloween and innocent-looking pumpkins are revealed for what they really are – mutant aliens! Luckily, the Monsters smash the mutants’ wicked scheme to take over Earth in this action-packed adventure starring Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie and Kiefer Sutherland. 

Far Far Away Idol

Join Shrek and the rest of the Far Far Away characters in this hilarious spoof as they battle it out in a singers’ showdown! 

October 2024 On History Channel Across Africa | Channel Premieres Including American Godfathers: The Five Families | Returning Shows Including History's Greatest Escapes With Morgan Freeman | More

CRIME MONTH

 

This month, the HISTORY Channel Africa dives into crimes from the past with capti vati ng details 

surrounding crimes that made South African headlines, to stories on mafia exploits and daring prison escapes. Great African Crimes with Mandy Wiener uncovers gripping true crime stories that have captivated the nation. Then, discover the secrets of infamous mobsters and their rise to power in two new series and follow heart-pounding accounts of inmates who defied the odds to break free. 

Brand New & Exclusive

AMERICAN GODFATHERS: THE FIVE FAMILIES 

14 October

Mondays 19h25

American Godfathers: The Five Families is a three-part documentary series that explores the creation, rise and fall of New York City’s five mafia families who over a fifty-plus-year period had a hand in every facet of organised crime in America from bootlegging and drug trafficking to extortion and gambling. The series which traces the extensive history of the mafia, beginning with its ties to Sicily, is based upon Selwyn Raab’s New York Times best-seller “Five Families: The Rise, Decline and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires.”

Repeat: Next Day 11h45

Brand New & Exclusive

HISTORY’S GREAT ESCAPES WITH MORGAN FREEMAN S2 

15 October

Tuesdays 19h25

Hosted by Morgan Freeman, star of The Shawshank Redemption, this series profi les history’s greatest escape masterminds and their plans, from inspirati on to executi on through to the thrilling manhunts that followed. In the new season of History’s Greatest Escapes with Morgan Freeman famous escapes at Devil’s Island, during the Vietnam War, and at Sobibor Death Camp during WWII, as well as other prison locati ons, are recreated to place

Freeman at the site of the acti on. The series creates an up close-and-personal view of what the prisoners are faced with in executing their break outs along with interviews from some of the prisoners themselves, their families, their cell mates and the guards and prison employees involved in each case.

Repeat: Next Day 11h45

Brand New & Exclusive

GREAT PRISON ESCAPES WITH BILLY HAYES 

15 October

Tuesdays 20h15

Billy Hayes’ legendary escape from a Turkish prison was the basis for the Oscar-winning movie Midnight Express. Now, with his unique first-hand experience Billy takes us into the world of great prison escapes. Through enactments, we’ll experience audacious jail and prison breaks in dramatic form. We’ll meet the prisoners and hear intriguing interviews with the survivors, witnesses, historians, and law

enforcement of each event. The series will probe the effect of each escape and the marks left on the cultures and legal systems of the world, the implications, and the death or glory that sometimes occurs when desperate men and women risk it all, for freedom.

Repeat: Next Day 12h35

Brand New & Exclusive

THE MAFIA AND BRITAIN

16 October

Wednesdays 19h25

Goodfellas, Gomorrah, the Godfather trilogy - for most of us the ‘mafia’ is no more than a fantasy world in movies and series. For years it’s been assumed that Britain has no connection with the mafia, but the truth is far more sinister… incredibly mafia bosses, capo’s and hitmen have lived all over the UK – from caravan parks to shoe shops and newsagents. Britain is an estuary where the river of illegal money, drugs and mafi a meets the ocean

of legiti mate money and commerce. In this series, Ross Kemp will make an epic and extraordinary journey ‘up river’, travelling its length and breadth to locate the source (in the foothills of the Sicilian mountains). In doing so he will be travelling across multi ple nati ons and back in time to reveal the intricate path where history meets globalisation in the world of the mafioso.

Repeat: Next Day 11h45

Brand New & Exclusive

GREAT AFRICAN CRIMES WITH MANDY WIENER

22 October

Tuesday 21h05

Dive into the gripping world of Great African Crimes

with host Mandy Wiener. Join us as we unravel the

chilling tales of deceit, betrayal, and intrigue. From

the notorious case of Daisy de Melker, whose story

echoes with dark secrets and unanswered questi ons, to the daring Krugersdorp bank robbery that shocked the nation, and the brazen shooting of the legendary racehorse Sea Cottage, witness the crime narratives that have gripped South Africa’s collective imagination.

Repeat: Next Day 13h25

Brand New 

FIELD OF VAMPIRES 

30 October

Wednesdays 20h15

A terrifying discovery. A skeleton buried with a sickle across her neck and a giant padlock on her toe – double protection against her rising from the dead. Whoever buried her was petrifi ed of her returning from the grave. All the evidence suggests she was buried by people who believed she was a vampire. But this is just the start of the mystery. She is wearing a silk cap. A gold headdress. A sign of high status. Inside her mouth is green. Is it a sign of poisoning, or att empted cure? Then they discover…she is not alone. More deviant burials are dug up, men, women and children buried as vampires. Archaeologists have now discovered there are 100

bodies buried beneath the surface. Using cutti ng edge DNA and forensic techniques, combined with the latest facial reconstruction, Field of Vampires brings them back to life.

Repeat: Next Day 12h35

Brand New

UFO ENCOUNTERS UK

5 October

Saturdays 19h25

Never before broadcast UFO and alien stories are told directly by the people who experienced them. We are taken through the events as they unfolded

while UFO experts and ‘debunkers’ offer their opinions as to what they may have seen or experienced. From individuals with corroborating stories, people with photographic evidence of their encounters and hypnotic regression to unlock lost

memories of missing time, this series will explore convincing accounts of one of the world’s biggest questions… are we alone?

Repeat: Sundays 18h40

THE ORIGINAL BLACK PANTHERS: 761ST TANK BATTALION

20 October

Sunday 20h15

Executive produced by and featuring Morgan

Freeman, this powerful documentary reveals the

true story behind the first Black tank unit to serve

in combat during World War II. The documentary

explores in depth the major battles the unit faced

both overseas and back home in the United States.

Repeat: Saturday 21h05

ALIEN CORRIDORS 

26 October

Saturdays 20h15

Are we being watched? This isn’t about the existence of UFOs. It’s about why they frequent certain routes. And if they do…what could that mean? Whether it’s an inexplicable flash or something strange hovering amidst the stars, every sighting makes us believe we’ve spotted them…But what if we’ve got it wrong? What if they’ve been watching us all along? Over the years dedicated UFO watchers have been keeping track of sightings and creating a worldwide grid of where our possible galatic neighbours have landed or skimmed the planet. When you take a look at these records – patt erns emerge; too obvious to dismiss. What could they want with certain areas?

Repeat: Sundays 20h15

Brand New & Exclusive

TRIUMPH: JESSE OWENS AND THE BERLIN OLYMPICS

27 October

Sunday 20h15

Narrated by award-winning actor Don Cheadle,

this documentary explores the dramatic tale of

Jesse Owens’ athletic dedication, perseverance

and triumph over Hitler’s Aryan supremacy agenda. The documentary features archival footage, animation and first-hand interviews from family members, journalists, historians, and reputable athletes including former track and field athlete Carl Lewis.

Repeat: Saturday 21h05

eMedia Investments Acquires Broadcasting Rights To New Italian Drama "Viola" For eExtra

Viola Vitale, a gorgeous and magnetic woman who has always worked in the field of fashion journalism, moves from Paris back to Palermo, armed only with optimism and trust, to search for the father she never knew.

There, Violet starts working for an online publisher, covering the crime beat, collaborating with Inspector Francesco Demir. He’s charismatic and seductive, with top investigative talent, but little faith in humanity…in that, the polar opposite of Violet. Highly intuitive on the job, Demir is also impulsive and given to bending the rules.

The pair work side-by-side on homicide cases, she as a reporter, he as a cop. Hugely difficult at first, given the clash of opposites, in time they learn to collaborate successfully. In part because Violet can count on her special gift: synesthesia.

Synesthesia is not merely a figure of speech, but also the actual spontaneous and uncontrollable blending of multiple senses – sight and hearing, for example. In Violet’s case, she associates emotions with colors. When she looks at a person, she sees a color they give off, allowing her to read their deepest, possibly hidden, feelings: fear, joy, pain…

Violet develops the ability to grasp the true mindsets of people she encounters. Behind her synesthesia, however, she guards a bigger secret, to do with her real reason for returning to Palermo.

According to insiders, eMedia Investments is looking to allocate the drama on eExtra in the coming months so we can only assume that it will most likely air by Saturday or Sunday as Viola consists of 26 episodes divided between two seasons. Another scenario would be having the show take up a weekday timeslot either where Pad Na Die Hart or Jeyran resides.

Compared to most other shows curated for eExtra's Kuiertyd, Viola was filmed in Italy so it joins the rankings of Jeyran and Sommerdahl Moorde as one of the few non-Turkish shows on the channel. Although Can Yaman (Droomvelore) is one of the lead actors and joining him is lead actress Francesca Chillemi.