Sentech shuts down E-tv’s digital TV transmissions

Sentech has reportedly switched off E-tv’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) transmissions, leaving only its analogue TV and streaming services available to viewers.

In a support message seen by MyBroadband, Sentech said it switched off the service because E-tv has yet to agree on the DTT Master Transmission Agreement (MTA).

“Kindly be advised that DTT E-tv services have been switched off as E-tv has not yet reached an agreement on the DTT MTA with Sentech,” the state-owned electronic communications network provider said.

“For more information, please contact E-tv, or you can purchase an OpenView HD decoder to continue receiving E-tv services.”

A MyBroadband reader contacted Sentech for support as they have not received an E-tv DTT signal since February 2024.

“E-tv’s support seems unaware of the issue, simply advising me to rescan the channels on my TV,” they told MyBroadband.

The reader said they first lost the signal in February 2023 before it returned again for a few months from December 2023. “The channel names still appeared, but there was no signal,” they added.

MyBroadband asked eMedia for comment, and it said all broadcasters had opted not to switch on uneconomical DTT transmitters.

We also asked the South African Broadcasting Corporation and Sentech to confirm the above, but they hadn’t answered our questions by publication.

E-tv owner eMedia has been in an ongoing dispute with Sentech and Icasa for several years regarding Sentech’s dominance in the country.

In a June 2024 presentation on eMedia investments, the company said broadcasters lack equal bargaining power because of Sentech’s dominance.

“Sentech needs to amend agreements to ensure that terrestrial broadcasters do not pay expensive prices,” it said.

“The Authority needs to take urgent steps to ensure that the anti-competitive conduct of Sentech ceases.”

eMedia added that E-tv cannot enter into meaningful negotiations with Sentech regarding tariffs without tariff regulation.

“Terrestrial television is here to stay and will continue to be dominated by Sentech,” it said.

South African residents with older TVs require a set-top box to receive DTT transmissions

Coincidentally, E-tv recently told the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) that DTT’s future in South Africa is rocky.

“eMedia would like to bring to the attention of the Authority that the future viability of DTT is threatened, due to the low number of DTT decoders that have been installed,” it said in a submission to the authority on 13 June 2024.

“The future of DTT in South Africa appears to be precarious at best or doomed to failure.”

It added that it believes analogue TV will remain alongside DTT for the foreseeable future.

Its comments relate to the broadcast digital migration in South Africa, which will require the distribution of DTT decoders, or set-top boxes (STBs), for many South Africans to continue accessing important information.

Many South Africans cannot afford an STB, and despite the government’s attempts to address these challenges, eMedia described its efforts as “dismal failures”.

“These attempts have been dismal failures as is evidenced by the litigation which ensued between the department and, amongst others, E-tv,” it said.

eMedia added that the litigation led the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) to further attempts to distribute STBs.

“However, even these further attempts have been unsuccessful given a variety of factors relating to the registration and installation processes as well as the availability of STBs,” it said.

“These challenges remain, and eMedia holds the view that they will never be resolved.”

As a result, eMedia believes the existence of analogue terrestrial television alongside DTT needs to be considered in both the policy and regulatory environment.

It also believes that the DCDT’s deadline of 31 December 2024 for the analogue switch-off is unrealistic and premature.

“By 31 December 2024, it is likely that more than four million households will still be reliant on analogue television to receive free-to-air channels,” it said in its submission to Icasa.

“The announcement of 31 December 2024 as the analogue switch-off date is premature as it will deny these millions access to television.”