On Digital Media Poised to Challenge Multichoice

By Emmanuel Kizito Kasozi Posted 23 July 2008 @ 07:47 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

Johannesburg (IBTimes.com) - ON DIGITAL Media (ODM) had received a pay-TV licence from communications regulator Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), the group said yesterday.

ODM is the first company to go through the Icasa process and be issued with a licence. It is now the only serious challenger to MultiChoice, although director Vino Govender says he does not see it that way.


Icasa said last year it would award licences to four new players: e.sat, a division of e.tv ; Telkom Media; niche Christian network Walking on Water (WOW); and ODM. But they would have to meet Icasa and satisfy its conditions.

Telkom Media's future is still uncertain and e.tv has pulled out to offer its 24-hour news channel to DStv.

"Our market is not big enough to handle more than one serious player, and MultiChoice has that market sewn up in terms of content and subscribers," an analyst said yesterday.

MultiChoice is now aggressively covering the lower end of the market with cheaper offerings and Premier Soccer League broadcast rights.

A delay in issuing licences, expected in February, stalled ODM's launch from this year to next May. Govender said the licence would enable the company to proceed with its business plan.

ODM was targeting Living Standard Measures 6-9, and needed 340000 subscribers to be profitable. It planned for a profit after 33 months. The company had made no big changes to its original plans for channels and subscription fees. It would offer news, sports programming, music, movies and children's and family programmes .

ODM subscribers will pay only for the channels they watch, and will be able to create their own bouquets.