Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Court appeal won by e.tv over encryption

01/06/2016

--

Court appeal won by e.tv over encryption --

Wed, 01 Jun 2016 09:53

--

Tech Central reported that e.tv has won the latest battle in the long-running war over digital terrestrial television in South Africa, potentially throwing the long-delayed project off-track once again.

The supreme court of appeal on Tuesday found that an amendment in 2015 by communications minister Faith Muthambi to South Africa s digital migration policy did not follow a process of consultation and was irrational and in breach of the principle of legality.

The court found, too, that the amendment did not achieve its purpose and was thus irrational and invalid. Muthambi purported to bind regulatory authorities and broadcasters and thus acted ultra vires, the court said.

The court set aside the amendment to the policy, throwing the country s digital migration project, which was originally meant to be completed five years ago, in 2011, into further disarray.

The judgment is particularly critical of Muthambi s failure to consult with communications regulator Icasa and the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa) over the amendment.

the failure by minister Muthambi to consult Icasa and Usaasa is even more egregious given their statutory duties. So, too, the failure to consult the appellants (e.tv and others), all of whom had an interest in the policy, was quite simply irrational.

Supporting e.tv in its application was industry body Namec as well as Media Monitoring Africa and the SOS Coalition.

Last year, e.tv filed an application for leave to appeal a judgment by the high court that went against it in the ongoing battle over whether South Africa s digital terrestrial television signal will be encrypted or not.

The high court had found that Muthambi s amendments to the digital migration policy, gazetted in March 2015, would remain in force.

The judgment was a significant victory for both communications minister Faith Muthambi and for DStv parent MultiChoice, which was vehemently opposed to government providing subsidised set-top boxes that use an encryption-based conditional access system.

The pay-TV broadcaster argued, among other things, that doing so would amount to unfair competition. On the other hand, e.tv remains strongly in favour of the use of such a system in the set-top boxes, arguing that it is needed to prevent the ghettoisation of free-to-air television in South Africa.

Muthambi s decision not to require encryption in the set-top boxes was a reversal of an earlier cabinet decision.

The appeal court did not make a determination on the merits or otherwise of using encryption.

It found in favour of e.tv on costs.

The judgment was welcomed by e.tv. Its chief operating officer, Mark Rosin, said the ruling allows the possibility of a strong and stable digital terrestrial television platform to South African free-to-air television viewers offering the best local and international content .

Muthambi s spokesman, Mish Molakeng, said the minister would issue a statement on the court s judgment soon.

- (c) 2016 NewsCentral Media

Related Articles

SAs digital TV migration programme to begin 2 October

E.tv loses battle over TV encryption

Ministry of Communications makes final amendments to DTT policy

Government rejects encryption in final TV policy



-- --

-- --

-- Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus
LINK: http://www.screenafrica.com/page/news/business/1658637-Court-appeal-wo...
See more stories from screenafrica

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

15/09/2026

Argo M Powers Cloudbass' Next Generation OB Fleet

When longstanding OB specialist Cloudbass made the decision to expand its fleet to accommodate remote production facilities for a leading UK sports broadcaster&...

15/09/2026

Study: 3 in 4 U.S. TV Viewers Use Smartphones While Watching TV

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/09/2026

Agent TiVo Will Help Track Down Your Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/09/2026

Nielsen Marketing Cloud Launches Data Enrichment Capabilities

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/09/2026

Six Berklee Alumni Win at 2026 Emmy Awards

Six Berklee Alumni Win at 2026 Emmy Awards The recipients were recognized for their contributions to Widow's Bay, Beef, South Park, and Bad Bunny's Su...

15/09/2026

OWC Announces Acquisition of OpenDrives, Expanding Software-Defined Video and Rich Media Storage Management Capabilities

OWC Announces Acquisition of OpenDrives, Expanding Software-Defined Video and Ri...

15/09/2026

Podcast The Vertical Buzz Shot with Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro

Podcast The Vertical Buzz Shot with Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro Brie Clayton September 14, 2026 0 Comments Production team builds premium p...

15/09/2026

Grass Valley Launches AVORA at IBC2026

Grass Valley Launches AVORA at IBC2026 Brie Clayton September 14, 2026 0 Comments New standalone solution gives production teams everything they need ...

15/09/2026

Brandon Woody Joins Berklee Student Ensemble for Signature Series Concert

Brandon Woody Joins Berklee Student Ensemble for Signature Series Concert The acclaimed trumpeter, composer, and bandleader will lead a Berklee student ensemb...

15/09/2026

IBC2026 Announces IBC Innovation Award Winners

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/09/2026

IEEE BTS to Host Broadcast Technology Forum at NAB Headquarters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/09/2026

Huw Mills Joins Technetix as SVP, Global Operations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/09/2026

TiVo Introduces Agent TiVo

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/09/2026

Study: Younger Fans Are Watching More Sports Than Ever

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/09/2026

NFL Melbourne Game Scores 18.5 Million U.S. Viewers on Netflix

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/09/2026

Applications open for Future Leaders Delegation to BitSummit 2027

Applications open for Future Leaders Delegation to BitSummit 2027 15 September 2026 Applications are open for Screen Australia's annual Future Leaders Dele...

15/09/2026

Arqiva recognised with Armed Forces Covenant Silver Award

Arqiva recognised with Armed Forces Covenant Silver AwardPresented to organisations that demonstrate outstanding support for the Armed Forces community -- Sh...

14/09/2026

ESPNs MNF Gets in Tune With Apple Music, Adds Ludacris to In the Air Tonight Open

Lil Baby's Dead Fresh kicks off ESPN's Week 1 Monday Night Football, ...

14/09/2026

ESPN's Monday Night Football Begins Its Super Bowl Run With Year 2 of Flagship, New Tech, and 4K HDR Distribution

With Super Bowl LXI waiting in Los Angeles, ESPN will use the regular season to ...

14/09/2026

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Padraic McKinley, the Director of The Weight

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. ...

14/09/2026

Sony expand WH headphone line-up

Three new models introduced Sony have just announced the launch of three new pairs of headphones that span their premium, mid-range and entry-level line-ups...

14/09/2026

Audient unveil Horizon interfaces

New flagship Thunderbolt units aimed at pro studios Audient's latest announcement sees the company introduce three new high-end audio interfaces designe...

14/09/2026

Cobalt Digital to Bring New and Enhanced Practical Solutions to Evolving Broadcast Workflows at IBC2026

Cobalt Digital IBC Stand 8.F90 // Journalists: Click to visit Cobalt Highlights...

14/09/2026

TV Tech Unveils Best of Show Winners at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/09/2026

TV Skyline Becomes 'World's First Ultrix FR30 Customer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/09/2026

Bitmovin AI Scene Analysis Selected by Nine to Enhance it...

Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, has announced that Australia's largest media company, Nine Entertainment (Nine), has deployed Bit...

14/09/2026

Creativepool Annual 2026 Winners Announced

Creativepool Annual 2026 Winners Announced Brie Clayton September 13, 2026 0 Comments The creative industry's Most' awards celebrates another...

14/09/2026

Award-winning network Sky Mobile to Offer iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12, and AirPods 5

Monday 14 September 2026 Award-winning network Sky Mobile to Offer iPhone Duo, ...

14/09/2026

Major updates for Apple\u2019s software platforms are now\u00A0available - UPDATE - Posted on 14 September 2026

Apple's latest software updates introduce Siri AI, a more intelligent, knowl...

14/09/2026

WTA Awards Tier 4 to Agility Beyond Space Subic Bay and Cikarang sites

WTA Awards Tier 4 to Agility Beyond Space Subic Bay and Cikarang sites...

14/09/2026

Perplexity Portable Computer Is Now Available on Windows, Powered by NVIDIA RTX

As local models become more capable, AI agents can handle more work directly on a PC while keeping sensitive information on the device. Portable Computer is a ...

14/09/2026

First look image of The Walsh Sisters series two released

RT in association with the BBC today released first look image from the second series of The Walsh Sisters, inspired by the novels of international best-sellin...

13/09/2026

Elektron reveal the Outbox 8

Offers eight audio and CV outputs via USB Elektron's latest launch offers a convenient way for users to integrate hardware instruments, effects and mixe...

13/09/2026

Pixel Academy Announces Autumn Courses

Pixel Academy Announces Autumn Courses Brie Clayton September 13, 2026 0 Comments The ACT Entertainment tvONE and Green Hippo Pixel Academy has releas...

13/09/2026

2Vision Powers Dawid Podsiado's Obrotowy Tour with Blackmagic Design

2Vision Powers Dawid Podsiad o's Obrotowy Tour with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton September 13, 2026 0 Comments Touring multicamera workflow buil...

13/09/2026

Chyron, Matrox Video Partner At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/09/2026

SES's Final Three O3b mPOWER Satellites Successfully Launched

Luxembourg, September 13, 2026 - SES today announced the successful launch of its eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth O3b mPOWER satellites, further expanding its ...

13/09/2026

Sky releases trailer for Crystal Lake, an A24 produced prequel series to Friday the 13th, coming this October

Sunday 13 September 2026 Sky releases trailer for Crystal Lake, an A24 produced...

12/09/2026

If I Go Will They Miss Me Explores Fractured Fatherhood Through a Poetic Lens

J. Alphonse Nicholson, Danielle Brooks, Walter Thompson-Hernandez, and Bodhi Dell attend the premiere of If I Go Will They Miss Me at the Library Center Theat...

12/09/2026

Transformer Boost from Great Eastern FX Co.

Latest Obsolete Devices pedal announced Great Eastern FX Co. have just launched the latest pedal in their Obsolete Devices series, a range of effects pedals...

12/09/2026

Colorfront And Qumulo Team-Up To Make Every Frame Of Footage Searchable For The Life Of A Production

September 11, 2026 BUDAPEST & SEATTLE, 10 September 2026 - Qumulo and Colorfron...

12/09/2026

New Type RT console and Apex M6 Modular I/O Platform

Calrec expands its IP ecosystem with new Type RT console and Apex M6 Modular I/O Platform at IBC 2026 Type RT is the centrepiece of Calrec's news at IBC 202...

12/09/2026

Calrec expands its IP ecosystem with new Type RT console...

At IBC 2026, Calrec has unveiled Type RT, a new 6, 12 and 18-motorised fader console range that condenses everything a broadcast audio desk needs into a compact...

12/09/2026

Matrox, NVIDIA Integrate ORIGIN, Holoscan For Media

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/09/2026

Ross Video Debuts New Live Production Technology at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/09/2026

FCC Nominee Thumann Severs to Testify in Senate Sept. 17

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/09/2026

TV Skyline Becomes The World's First Ultrix FR30 Customer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...