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Telkom Media's R7.5bn
plan
ADSL
South Africa (Broadband South Africa), 24 April
2007
The South African market will see the launch
of Telkom Media’s pay-TV offerings by next year if Icasa issues
an operating licence to the Telkom owned entity in time. The
launch will form part of a R7.5bn plan.
‘The new company, which is 66%
owned by Telkom, outlined its R7,5bn plan on Friday, saying it
would launch a satellite offering aimed at middle-income
earners as well as a more sophisticated product, internet
protocol TV (IPTV) — which would operate over a broadband DSL
line — to the top end of the market’ (Telkom aiming to launch
pay-TV service next year, Mclachlan, Business Day, April
2007).
In other words, the pay-TV
offerings of Telkom Media will come in the form of a satellite
offering to middle-income earners, and an IPTV offering to
high-income earners.
Is there room in the
market for another pay-TV broadcaster?
Yes.
‘…there was sufficient space in
the market that had been ignored by dominant pay-TV broadcaster
Multichoice’ (Telkom aiming to launch pay-TV service next year,
Mclachlan, Business Day, April 2007). This is according to
Rikus Matthyser, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer at
Telkom Media.
In other words, Multichoice left
enough room in the market for at least another pay-TV
broadcaster.
How much can we expect to
pay for Telkom Media’s pay-TV offerings?
Telkom Media’s entry-level
satellite product will cost R100 while the IPTV product will
cost ‘…about R320 excluding the DSL line rental from Telkom…’
(Telkom aiming to launch pay-TV service next year, Mclachlan,
Business Day, April 2007).
In other words, one will
be able to enjoy satellite TV for as little as a R100 per
month, or go for the more expensive option at R320 plus
per
month.
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