New pay-TV player readying for launch

[rpm]

New pay-TV player readying for launch

Pay-TV newcomer On Digital Media (ODM) announced on Monday that it had received its broadcast licence, paving the way to go on air in the second half of 2009.

 

[Lydon]

Any competition is good competition

 

[brixton tower]

New pay-TV player readying for launch

Second half of 2009? That would be almost two years after they "won" their licence from ICASA. Why can't they do it quicker? Initial talk was that those four companies would start operations by the second half of THIS year. By the time everyone starts offering services, DStv would have locked down the market for subscribers and content leaving the new players with little to choose from.

 

[Pilgrim]

Second half of 2009? That would be almost two years after they "won" their licence from ICASA. Why can't they do it quicker? Initial talk was that those four companies would start operations by the second half of THIS year. By the time everyone starts offering services, DStv would have locked down the market for subscribers and content leaving the new players with little to choose from.

Pay-TV newcomer On Digital Media (ODM) announced on Monday that it had received its broadcast licence, paving the way to go on air in the second half of 2009.

They got their licence yesterday. Sure they should have "won" it long ago, but this is ICASA.

"ODM management are engaged in advanced negotiations with numerous content and technical service providers which they could not conclude until the pay-TV broadcast licence was issued.

You cannot sign multimillion rand deals with content providers "in the hopes that we really do get that licence that ICASA promised us". Would you?

I agree second half next year is a long time from when they should have started, but all thanks goes to ICASA for its "speedy" resolution of the licence applications.

 

[ToxicBunny]

Well then !C@SA need to be dragged over the coals for dicking around for so long.

 

[Rynomster]

haha it seems that ICASA ruins everything in this country.. oh wait they do...
Atleast competition is on its way YAY

 

[brixton tower]

@Pilgrim: If this was the US, ICASA would've been dragged off to court for dragging its heels. At the end of the day the consumer suffers as Multichoice entrenches itself ala Telkom.

 

[nfbs]

Pay-TV newcomer On Digital Media (ODM) announced on Monday that it had received its broadcast licence.

One year. Haven't ODM learnt from the post office's Amazon debacle.

They should have used a courier service instead to send the license from ICASA to ODM.

 

[Moederloos]

*yawn*

Only good news to me is that mono!choice have canned sci-fi channel.
Still open to a new entrant.

 

[zerofocus]

From their website...

...service will be launched to viewers in the second half of 2008...

This is so much fun

 

[Ou grote]

So they'll hopefully get Rugby and Cricket rights in around 2017 then?

 

[riaan_pta]

lol - I have followed their launch announcements:

2nd quarter 2008, became sencond half 2008, which became early 2009 and now it is second half 2009.

I very much doubt we will see these guys launch anything in the next 2 - 3 years.

 

[mibloem]

different satellite

An to crown it all, ODM will be using a satellite over the atlantic, which means a dish aligned for DSTV will not be usable. Switching will entail either repositioning of an exising dish, or a second dish......

 

[defcomk]

An to crown it all, ODM will be using a satellite over the atlantic, which means a dish aligned for DSTV will not be usable. Switching will entail either repositioning of an exising dish, or a second dish......

Or You Could Get On of Those Multiple Lnb thingy it has like 10 lnb across the dish

 

[ToxicBunny]

If your dish isn't aligned to the satelite you could have 400lnbs and still not receive anything from the satelite you want.

 

[Tns]

monochoice will most likely try to kill them

 

[neiliid]

Apparently these guys were meant to launch end of June...Website is still "under maintenance" and nothing further...Perhaps the reporter could file a follow up story on On Digital Media.

 

[porchrat]

wow. That is a LOT of maintenance!