On Digital Media (ODM), the company that operates StarSat (formerly known as TopTV), has revealed that it plans to offer its new high definition (HD) decoder, including dish and installation, for R599.
Subscribers who already have a dish in place can get the decoder alone for R399, ODM said.
The pricing information comes after ODM revealed along with StarTimes that it was rebranding TopTV to StarSat, restructuring its packages, and that it plans to launch HD channels in future.
China-based StarTimes put in a bid for a stake of ODM after the ailing South African satellite pay TV operator entered business rescue proceedings under the provisions of the Companies Act.
When questioned about its intentions after announcing an HD decoder, StarTimes president Pang Xinxing said they plan to start a gradual roll-out of HD channels “very soon”.
“For example, we have an HD feed of Discovery, NBA channel, and the Bollywood movie channel,” Xinxing said.
Other channels that ODM plans to offer which it says are brand new to the South African market are: StarSat Novella, StarSat Bollywood, StarSat Kung Fu, Fox FX, and a dedicated NBA channel.
The launch of StarSat will also see TopTV’s previous array of 7 bouquets reduced to 4:
- Star Sat Special [40+ TV, 25 audio channels]: R99/month
- Star Sat Sensation [60+ TV, 25 audio channels]: R149/month
- Star Sat Superior [75+ TV, 25 audio channels]: R199/month
- Star Sat Indian [7 TV, 25 audio channels] (add-on): R99/month
StarSat said that this new structure offers more channels per package at more competitive prices.
These new packages and channels will be available starting from 1 December 2013, StarSat said.

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