PAY TELEVISION

South Africa

The MultiChoice DStv subscriber base grew by 450 000, bringing the total households to 2,85 million at 31 March 2010. The Compact bouquet, which targets the emerging market, recorded growth of 245 000 to close the year on 716 000 homes. After a satisfactory festive season, MultiChoice experienced a slowdown of growth in new subscriptions in the last quarter of the financial year.

The popular personal video recorder (PVR) reached 364 000, whilst the number of homes subscribing to the XtraView service grew to 416 000. This enables subscribers to enjoy two independent viewing environments by linking two decoders. The high-definition PVR (one of the most advanced in the world) and XtraView capability were developed by South African engineers.

A variety of new channels and programmes were added to the DStv offering to ensure it remains exciting. New channels include Discovery World, Ignition (auto), Koowee (children) and Vuzu (young adults). New media elements such as SMS and SNS were incorporated into the Vuzu offering. The DStv service offering was further enhanced with the launch of two more high-definition (HD) channels, namely Discovery HD Showcase and SuperSport HD. Preparation is under way for Mzansi Magic, a new channel for the emerging market.

Local productions remain a drawcard. These include Carte Blanche and its two new spinoffs, Carte Blanche Consumer and Carte Blanche Medical. Also popular were All Access, I Wanna Be and the popular reality shows Big Brother Africa and Survivor South Africa.

The year under review started on a high note with the Indian Premier League cricket having been played in South Africa.

For the 2010 Fifa World Cup, SuperSport showcased five channels, with three broadcasting 24 hours daily. There were also four daily magazine shows: Chase the Makarapa, Woza Lunchtime, Supernova and Harambee. In May 2010 topTV launched a competitive subscription satellite television service in South Africa.

The regulatory environment remains uncertain. The anticipated broadband policy is yet to be published, whilst doubt surrounds South Africa’s standard for digital terrestrial television. Final regulations on the digital migration process have been published by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa). These are intended to pave the way for a migration from the current analogue terrestrial to digital terrestrial broadcasting. Regulations and the invitation to apply for radio frequency spectrum to provide mobile television have been issued.

Customer service remains a key priority and a number of improvements have been implemented. A new customer care centre was opened in Randburg to deal with increasing customer numbers, and the number of employees working in the call centre was boosted to manage call volumes.

More support was provided to the growing MultiChoice agency network to increase service. This includes adding counters and enabling the agencies to do immediate decoder swaps. The number of MultiChoice agencies increased by more than 10% to improve reach and ease of access. To ensure that MultiChoice services are readily available, the number of accredited installers was increased from 620 to 950.

MultiChoice takes its corporate social responsibility seriously. When launched in 2006, MultiChoice’s Phuthuma Nathi was the largest empowerment transaction in the media sector. MultiChoice also runs various projects that uplift previously disadvantaged people in areas such as preferential procurement, community development and social investment initiatives.

Further details of MultiChoice’s initiatives are included in the governance and sustainability section of this annual report and on its website (www.multichoice.co.za).

MWEB is being integrated into operations offering network services, delivering the group’s content and data services over the internet, whilst continuing to offer electronic communications and network services to subscribers and corporate users.

Recently MWEB pioneered an uncapped ADSL broadband service, with unmetered broadband at affordable pricing. This has started the long-awaited revolution of the internet in South Africa through which broadband access will become mainstream.