Free Satellite TV Made Available in South Africa

Platco Digital, a low-cost direct-to-home (DTH) company that supports a multi-channel strategy offering content carriage to local broadcasters, will bring South Africa free satellite TV through OpenView HD, a free-to-view satellite TV offering with an initial 15 channels. This offering is scheduled to launch in October, making quality content available to the majority of South Africans and potentially residents of other African countries who are not able to afford pay-tv.

To select content for the offering, which will include a few HD channels, OpenView HD has completed extensive research into the market and prioritized acquisitions, according to reports. It is expected that the offering will include local and international news, education, local dramas and movies.

Although there will be no subscription fees for OpenView HD, consumers will be required to purchase a decoder and pay installation fees.