16 April, 2019 - 07:47
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has just published its draft findings on competition in the pay-TV market. The regulator is worried about DStv owner Multichoices dominance of the market - despite competition from the likes of Netflix. By Phillip de Wet
Among Icasas plans: letting DStv buy the rights to only half of Hollywoods movies, and making big sporting matches available on both TV and online streaming from different providers.
Broadcast regulator the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) is considering restrictions on MultiChoice, the owner of DStv, intended to break its stranglehold on South Africas pay-TV market.
Those could include limiting the number of Hollywood movies for which MultiChoice is allowed to buy the rights, and stipulating that the right to broadcast major sporting events must be split so that an online streaming service can carry it at the same time it is broadcast on DStv.
Multichoice recently listed on the JSE after being unbundled by former parent company Naspers.
Icasa published the draft findings of its inquiry into subscription television broadcasting services after three years of occasionally hard-fought battles between the likes of DStv and its competitors, both online and those who broadcast free-to-air television.
During the process MultiChoice argued that its dominance of pay television by way of satellite should be seen in the context of the major threat it faces from the likes of Netflix - but Icasa largely rejected that argument.
Young people, Icasa said, may stream television via the internet, but in South Africa the use of services such as Netflix is still muted, given the relatively limited level of internet access, the high cost of data and low average internet speeds.
The lock-in that DStv has on sports content is also a constraint on streaming services, Icasa said.
Meanwhile, a decision to not allow encryption (and so pay services) on digital terrestrial television services due to launch in South Africa means it will have a minimal impact on satellite-based subscription television services, the regulator said.
That leaves MultiChoices current dominance to be dealt with by way of licence conditions Icasa can impose.
In all the identified markets where there is ineffective competition the Authority found that MultiChoice possesses a significant market power on the basis of high market shares and the nature of its vertical integration which the Authority considers to harm competition, Icasa said.
In order to break the DStv stranglehold, the regulator proposes stark limits on the kind of content a dominant operator - such as MultiChoice - may buy.
When it comes to the right to secure what is know as first subscription pay-TV window rights to Hollywood movies, a licensee with significant market power should have access to or only be able to enter into agreements with half of the movie studios at a time, Icass said.
This frees up the other half to competitors.
On sporting rights, across everything from local rugby tournaments to major European soccer events, Icasa proposes limiting DStv to three-year exclusive contracts only - and to broadcasting only on TV.
At the moment, the regulator said, MultiChoice buys the rights to all distribution platforms. It would like to see instead that MultiChoice gets the rights only to broadcast matches via DStv, while a different streaming operator makes them available online.
Future measures may include forcing DStv to allow its decoders to be used by competitors, but that would be subject to a separate process.
www.businessinsider.co.za
Film Distribution
Africa South Africa
Africa Stories
31/10/2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
30 October 2025
It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of Segomotso Keorapetse, an award- winning South African television d...
29/10/2025
It's not the wonders of the world that make a place; it's the people. As...
07/10/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
02/10/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce the opening...
30/09/2025
Johannesburg, South Africa, 29 September 2025: The National Film and Video Found...
26/09/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sport, Ar...
26/09/2025
https://www.nfvf.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fully-Inclusive-nfvf-invitatio...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
27/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
25/08/2025
Theme: One Story. One Industry. One Future. - Celebrating South Africa's Screen Legacy, Together
Johannesburg - The National Film and Video Foundation (N...
04/08/2025
S o Paulo Film and Audiovisual Company (Spcine) and the National Film and Video ...
15/07/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
28/06/2025
Johannesburg, 27 June 2025 - As the nation commemorates Youth Month
2025, the N...
24/06/2025
Panels of the National Film and Video Foundation in Accordance with the NFVF Act...
13/06/2025
Johannesburg, 12 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an a...
11/06/2025
Johannesburg, South Africa - 10 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundati...
10/06/2025
Johannesburg, South Africa - 10 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundati...
06/06/2025
S o Paulo Film and Audiovisual Company (Spcine) and the National Film and Video ...
05/06/2025
Johannesburg, South Africa 4 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundatio...
29/05/2025
Rest in Power, a True Legend of Our Screens
Johannesburg, South Africa 27 May...
29/05/2025
Johannesburg, South Africa 28 May 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Vincent Blennies, has resigned from...
22/05/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
13/05/2025
The NFVF, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture that was create...
10/05/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
09/05/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
09/04/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
08/04/2025
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Vincent Blennies as Chief Exec...
04/04/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites final-year animation students to submit character designs inspired by lead characters from any South Afric...
14/03/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/03/2025
Antis pticos Orales: Revisi n De La Literatura Y Perspectiva Actual Influenza son contradictorios, dadas las elevadas tasas de curaci n espont nea. De ser neces...
28/02/2025
The Future of Green Energy: Challenges and Prospects Green energy, also known as renewable energy, has emerged as a critical solution to global energy challenge...
27/02/2025
Beginner Coding in Python: Building the Simplest AI Chat Companion Possible
AI-powered Personal VoiceBot for Language Learning by Gamze Zorlubas
You can ear...
24/12/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is calling for applications from South African film and television filmmakers to be part of the NFVF's delegat...
06/12/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the cl...
30/11/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
16/11/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sport, Ar...
16/11/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites emerging female producers ...
16/11/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites current masters students t...
30/10/2024
Johannesburg, 26 October 2024 - The 18th Annual South African Film and Televisio...
30/10/2024
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND DOCUMENTARY
!Aitsa
Practitioner: Simon Kohler
Production House: MED CINE
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING DOCUMENTARY
Rise: The Si...
24/10/2024
In accordance with Section 6 (2) (c) of the National Film and Video Foundation A...
19/10/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites postgraduate students to s...
15/10/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (herein referred to as NFVF) is a statutory body set up by the government to grow and develop the South African Film and ...
11/10/2024
10 October 2024 Johannesburg, South Africa - The National Film and Video Found...
09/10/2024
Sportel stand number: Ravel Hall G06/07 After a summer filled with intense sport emotions in Paris, France and beyond, Globecast will be happy to welcome you...
04/10/2024
SAFTAs 18 Announces Date and Theme: Honouring Excellence in South African Film and Television with the theme Back to Basics . Johannesburg, South Africa Wedn...
04/10/2024
Johannesburg, South Africa Wednesday, 2 October 2024 The South African Film ...
01/10/2024
Johannesburg, South Africa - Monday, 30 September 2024 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (...
16 April, 2019 - 07:47 
