South Africa - Current situation - History

15.10.2012

MobileTV PTY has completed technical tests of DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) in Gauteng in August 2011 . In July 2012 they applied for a commercial license and expect to get an answer by end 2012 . They currently run two TV channels and one radio station on a test license which is valid until the end of 2012 . If a license is granted they would then cover 15 million of the 45 million people in South Africa and expand coverage in parallel to sales of devices and uptake of services .

MobileTV PTY has teamed up with SABC, the public service broadcaster in South Africa . SABC reaches 76% of the population daily and is by far the biggest broadcaster and is partially financed by a TV license and partially by advertisements .

MobileTV PTY is in dialogue with the Department of Education to evaluate whether the technology can be used for educational purposes, such as to reach rural schools and colleges in a cost effective manner . The Department is primarily interested in the abilities of data transfer but an educational TV channel has not been ruled out .SABC will offer their 18 radio channels .

MobileTV PTY wishes to also offer distribution for private radio stations following the launch

31.01.2012

MobileTV has completed the technical tests of DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) in the Gauteng ‘much earlier, much robustly and equally successfully’, according to its founder and chairman Dr Mothobi Mutloatse. In August 2011, MobileTV submitted a technical report and an initial request towards formalising its application for a permanent commercial license.

MobileTV PTY has teamed up with SABC, the public service broadcaster in the country. SABC reaches 76% of the population daily and is by far the biggest broadcaster with 4000 employees. It is partially financed by a TV license, partially by ads.

SABC will provide their two main TV channels as well as a Sport channel and a News channel, both made in cooperation with MobileTV PTY. A horse racing company will add one channel whereas the official South African lottery company will have one gambling channel. MobileTV PTY has secured a number of sports rights in order to add to those owned by SABC.

The government of South Africa is looking at its media strategy, and has indicated a need to launch its own TV channel. This will be broadcast via MobileTV PTYs network.

The last TV channel will be an ‘on-demand’ one where attractive content can be watched live or stored on the device for later viewing. That brings the total number of mobile TV channels to 8.

MobileTV PTY is furthermore in dialogue with the Department of Education to evaluate whether the technology can be used for educational purposes, especially in order to reach rural schools and colleges in a cost effective manner. The Department is primarily interested in the abilities of data transfer, but an educational TV channel has not been ruled out.

MobileTV PTY sees big possibilities for interactivity for mid-end and high-end devices with a return channel via Wi-Fi or 3G. This particularly applies to the channels for horse racing and betting, although also to a lesser degree for votes, quizzes and touch screen advertisements.