Multichoice is game for some competition

Of course he's not afraid of competition. Mr. Khumalo has spent 14 years trying to stifle it.

They've achieved it by owning the encrytion method (Irdeto) they use, and not allowing their competitors to share our existing DSTV decoders.

This immediately creates a barrier to entry, as the new MyTV company has found. In order to receive that package, you have to buy a box with the ability to decode Conax. Not many people are going to buy TWO set top boxes, even if they subsidize them as Multichoice do.

At least they don't own the satellite, but DSTV have gone out of their way to populate transponder space with their own channels, including half a dozen 'spare' ones.

So, now you see that Mr. Khumalo has the market well sewn up and with weak regulation in SA, he can sit at the top of the tree and charge the usual high prices for endless repeats.
 
As soon as HD is the norm on DSTV I am going to invest in a 3rd party PVR, not the monochoice junk and then I am going to get a smartcard on the black market. Great thing about being so big, the black market has options then.
 
I'm just glad Naspers gave us Multichoice to give us something better than SABC.

So what happened to Telkom media? I thought they were supposed to be the competition?
 
Multichoice / SABC / etv

I'm also very glad that there is multichoice, look at sabc, imagine if there was only sabc and etv to watch on tv. I'm gonna wait and see about the other channels if they have anything better to offer.
 
Telkom know how to stifle competition and realised that the shoe was on the other foot in the TV market! Knowing how difficult it would be to break into the market (from experience), they decided to dump Telkom Media...
 
MC aren't ready for competition in the slightest.... They can't even get basic things right imo....

They're going out of their way to make sure they never have to deal with a competitor because if a competitor is even VAGUELY competent, they'll sink MC so damn fast.
 
I really have one reason why im a dstv compact subscriber, its cause i am soccer fan.

When Odm launch, i hope they broadcast BET, and then they will have me as their customer.
 
MC underestimates the intellgence of their subscribers. They are incompetent in every imaginable way, and trust me, only ONE competent opponent in the market will kill them!
 
Illegal

Sackboy said:
They've achieved it by owning the encrytion method (Irdeto) they use, and not allowing their competitors to share our existing DSTV decoders.
Click to expand...

I have a suspicion that the Gov are going to decide that this is in fact illegal

( Forcing you to use THEIR STB as well as locking it to a specific smartcard )

This is DEFINITELY a case for Änti-Trust.

I have a feeling that you are going to be allowed to us ANY STB to receive DSTV / Multichoice. ( and any other provider )

In the International market you can already purchase STB's with multiple CAM's

Lets see if I am correct.

[ I am calling their bluff -- IF they REALLY do welcome competition then they will have NO objections -- :rolleyes:]


MW
 
I am not surprised that he is "welcoming" and not afraid of competition. They already have their subscriber base. Wonder how confident he would be if someone could magically wave a wand and say "ok no-one has a subscriber base you each have the same chance, starting from the beginning" Wont happen but nice to think of.
 
MidnightWizard said:
I have a suspicion that the Gov are going to decide that this is in fact illegal

( Forcing you to use THEIR STB as well as locking it to a specific smartcard )

This is DEFINITELY a case for Änti-Trust.

I have a feeling that you are going to be allowed to us ANY STB to receive DSTV / Multichoice. ( and any other provider )

In the International market you can already purchase STB's with multiple CAM's

Lets see if I am correct.

[ I am calling their bluff -- IF they REALLY do welcome competition then they will have NO objections -- :rolleyes:]


MW
Click to expand...
That isn't the whole story. DSTV have implemented an EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) that doesn't conform to any international standard. That means you either have to use their own STB (set top box) or 'scrape' their published listings and load it into another.

The DSTV STB has Irdeto built in to it. There is no space for another encryption decoder (CAM).

You could go out and buy a decoder from overseas with multiple CAM slots and it may work, but you would have to pay more for it. The individual CAM's can cost a few thousand Rand on their own. You would also likely forfeit the EPG. - As we all know, the EPG has become essential, even if it is often inaccurate.

There is also the little matter of the latest DSTV decoder that requires both smartcard and box to work. They call it a marriage. They claim they're doing this to avoid piracy, which is partially true, but it also helps them avoid competition.
 
MidnightWizard said:
I have a suspicion that the Gov are going to decide that this is in fact illegal

MW
Click to expand...

So what if they switch DSTV off tomorrow?

It's not an essential service, like telecoms, it's purely entertainment.

If you dislike DSTV so much, just watch SABC and ETV and don't give them your hard earned cash. :p
 
As far as Im concerned monochoice already has competition, its called torrents.
 
Kaleb said:
As far as Im concerned monochoice already has competition, its called torrents.
Click to expand...

+1000

I canceled my subscription a few months back purely due to news servers and the joys of cheaper local cap ;) No reruns plus it costs WAY less :D
 
Again, MC know they can charge what they want for the premium boquet, saffers pay for sport, even if it will mean cutting down on the biltong. :D

Me; I'll take the biltong.
 
This is looking more and more like the unbundeling sernario of Telkom...hopefully ODM will get a little bit more support..anyone know which bird they using(ODM)?
 
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