CC image courtesy of Hana Kirana
South Africa’s free-to-air broadcaster e.tv has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with state-owned Sentech to provide its signal distribution for its digital terrestrial television (DTT).
e.tv already uses Sentech to broadcast its analogue signal, but the broadcaster is expected to launch a host of new channels when the digital migration begins due to it being granted 50 per cent of the DTT multiplex by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in December 2012.
Marcel Golding, group chief executive officer (CEO) of e.tv, said: “We are pleased to have entered into this MoU with Sentech. Sentech has invested significantly in the national DTT rollout and has developed a considered vision for the future of free-to-air television on all platforms.”
e.tv won a case against the then communications minister Dina Pule in December 2012, after it claimed she had overreached her powers in awarding full set-top box controls to Sentech.
Setumo Mohapi, Sentech chief executive officer (CEO), said: “The industry is now a step closer to ensuring that the country will meet the commitments it made to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to switch-off analogue television broadcasting services by June 2015.”
