Outrage over fallen DStv rival
StarSat subscribers have taken to the broadcaster’s social media pages to complain, frustrated with being unable to secure refunds and the company’s silence on whether it will broadcast again in South Africa.
The DStv competitor was shut down by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) and law enforcement during a raid on its premises in October 2024.
The update provided on 8 October 2024 is the last subscribers have heard from StarSat.
“Due to Icasa’s removal of broadcasting equipment, StarSat is experiencing signal interruptions,” it said.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will continue to work tirelessly to return your viewing pleasure.”
It added that it temporarily suspended all payments.
“Customers who have paid will not lose their money and will be rewarded with bonuses once the signal is restored,” it said.
According to a TV with Thinus report, customers wanting refunds were instructed to email [email protected]. However, many report that they haven’t received a response for months.
Calls to the StarSat customer support centre are also going unanswered.
Frustrated with the lack of information and feedback, StarSat subscribers have taken to the broadcaster’s Facebook page, particularly the post containing its latest update, to voice their frustration.
“StarSat SA can you please reimburse me now? It’s been months without any subscriptions. I can’t afford to lose my money. Please just pay back my money for the month of October,” one user said.
“Since your last communication with us on 8 October 2024, it’s now 4 months later, and you just went mute on us as if we don’t exist anymore,” another commented.
There are numerous other comments requesting refunds and demanding updates from the broadcaster.
MyBroadband asked StarSat marketing manager Jan Hendrik Harmse about its progress and the issues surrounding refunds, but he didn’t immediately respond to our query.
In January 2025, Harmse told MyBroadband that the pay-TV broadcaster was still fighting to relaunch in South Africa. However, he noted that it had restored its signal in other African countries where it operates.
“StarSat continues working diligently to relaunch its services. We will announce any changes,” he said.
“StarSat would like to thank everyone for their patience.”
Icasa, in partnership with law enforcement officials, raided the broadcaster’s headquarters in Midrand, Gauteng, on 2 October 2024, disconnecting StarSat’s South African broadcasts and those to the rest of Africa.
The raid followed StarSat’s failure to renew its broadcasting licence on time and its subsequent refusal to cease operations as instructed by the regulator.
The broadcaster’s licence expired in July 2023, and it only submitted its application in November of that year.
According to the Electronic Communications Act, broadcasters must submit their renewal applications “no earlier than twelve months and no later than six months prior” to the licence’s expiry.
However, StarSat continued broadcasting in South Africa, prompting the regulator to instruct it to shut down by 18 September 2024, which it refused.
Icasa explained that there is no mandate to consider renewals for applications that have already expired.
While Harmse acknowledged that StarSat was late to submit, he argued that the broadcaster had regularly engaged with Icasa and made it aware of its situation.
“We did have a deadline to meet, but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we couldn’t get the right investors in, there were shareholder agreements that still needed to be finalised, and we kept communicating the issue to them,” he said.
He said StarSat had warned Icasa that it would be late to submit if it required all the paperwork at the same time.
“So, we did submit late, but we submitted everything we needed to,” said Harmse.
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