ITV

Category: Cable TV

  • FY-2015: Hinduja Ventures reports 13% growth in standalone profit

    FY-2015: Hinduja Ventures reports 13% growth in standalone profit

    BENGALURU: Hinduja Ventures Limited (HVL), the holding company of IndusInd Media & Communications Limited (IMCL) reported a 12.9 per cent growth in standalone net profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 92.59 crore in FY-2015 as compared to a PAT of Rs 82.03 crore in FY-2014. 

     

    The company reported total standalone income of Rs 110.45 crore for the current year ended as against Rs 106.54 crores in FY-2014.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    HVL consolidated total income for the year ended was Rs 786.11 crore as compared to Rs 773.49 crore for the same period in the previous year. Consolidated total income grew by 1.63 per cent y-o-y. Consolidated net profit after tax and minority interest has increased for the year ended 31 March, 2015 from 0.21 crore to 18.25 crore. EBIDTA for the year end stood at Rs 146.75 crore as against Rs 144.11 crore in the previous year.

     

    Its media segment reported a 15 per cent drop in revenue in FY-2015 to Rs 536.16 crore as compared to the Rs 638.84 crore in the previous year. The loss from this segment widened to Rs 239.71 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 197.33 crore in the previous year.

     

    During the year, IMCL, has disposed its investment in one of its subsidiary company – Jagsumi Perspectives Pvt. Ltd. and the said company has ceased to be a subsidiary of the company effective 31 December, 2014. IMCL booked a loss of Rs 6.2 crore in the said transaction and the same is disclosed under exceptional item in the Consolidated Profit and Loss Statement.

     

    During the year, the company entered into a business Transfer Agreement with a Bangalore  based company viz. Mplex Networks Private Limited (Mplex), to acquire their Digitally Addressable Cable Television Network (CATV) rights pertaining to Bangalore and Mysore region together with certain fixed assets pertaining to CATV division for an overall consideration of Rs 35 crore.

  • Comcast, Time-Warner Cable quash $45 billion merger deal

    Comcast, Time-Warner Cable quash $45 billion merger deal

    BENGALURU: Comcast Corporation’s merger agreement with Time Warner Cable and its transactions agreement with Charter Communications, Inc have been terminated on the back of increasing pressure from regulators. The Time Warner Cable deal was worth $ 45.2 billion.

     

    Comcast chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts said, “Today, we move on. Of course, we would have liked to bring our great products to new cities, but we structured this deal so that if the government didn’t agree, we could walk away. Comcast NBCUniversal is a unique company with strong momentum. Throughout this entire process, our employees have kept their eye on the ball and we have had fantastic operating results. I want to thank them and the employees of Time Warner Cable for their tireless efforts. I couldn’t be more proud of this company and I am truly excited for what’s next.”

     

    Comcast and Charter Communications had announced in April 2014 that the companies had reached an agreement on a series of tax-efficient transactions, whereby the combined Comcast-Time Warner Cable entity, following completion of Comcast’s previously announced merger with Time Warner Cable, would divest systems resulting in a net reduction of approximately 3.9 million video customers. The divestiture was to follow through on Comcast’s willingness to reduce its post-merger managed subscriber total to less than 30 per cent of total nationalmultichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) subscribers, while maintaining the compelling strategic and financial rationale of its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. With the merger between the two companies called off, the Charter Communications deal is also off.

     

    Time Warner Cable and Comcast Corporation mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement. 

     

    In an official statement, Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Robert D. Marcus said, “We have always believed that Time Warner Cable is a one-of-a-kind asset. We are strong and getting stronger. Throughout this process, we’ve been laser focused on executing our operating plan and investing in our plant, products and people to deliver great experiences to our customers. Through our strong operational execution and smart capital allocation, we are confident we will continue to create significant value for shareholders. I’m extremely proud of the professionalism, dedication and resiliency our 55,000 employees have shown over the past year and thank them for their continued commitment to Time Warner Cable.”

  • Chennai: A story of failed digitisation attempts

    Chennai: A story of failed digitisation attempts

    MUMBAI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) has a long wish list for the cable TV sector and one among them is the timely completion of digitisation of phase III and phase IV. While stakeholders have taken up the challenge to ensure that they meet the deadline, what remains to be seen is how will the Ministry deals with the southern cities of Chennai and Coimbatore, which fall in phases I and II respectively and still needs to see complete digitisation.

     

    While other metros like Mumbai and Delhi have seen 100 per cent digitisation, Chennai falls way behind. An I&B report in 2012 had said that close to 62 per cent of the homes in Chennai were digitised. Rubbishing the report, the Chennai Metro Cable TV Operators’ Association said that the reality was far from the figures released by the Ministry.

     

    “There are close to 30-35 lakh cable TV homes in Chennai and of this, only five lakh have been digitised,” a multi system operator (MSO) operating in the city tells Indiantelevision.com.

     

    There are six MSOs operating in Chennai and each of these MSOs have converted only 10 per cent of their consumers to digital TV homes. “We had placed orders for close to one lakh set top boxes, but have seeded only 25,000. The reason behind this is the pending Arasu case in the court,” says the MSO.

     

    Another problem, which MSOs are facing is that of pay TV channels being available to Arasu Cable for free, while the other operators are paying for it. “About 33 pay channels are available to Arasu Cable for free, but we are paying for those 33 channels. It is a big hurdle in the path to digitisation,” adds an MSO.  

     

    As for the ongoing case against Arasu, the court asked the I&B Ministry to submit its Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) report, which hasn’t been submitted as yet. “Not only this, almost 125 cases have so far been filed in the court regarding analogue switch off. The MSOs want to seed set top boxes, but we cannot move forward till the court comes up with a decision on Arasu,” informs the MSO.

      

    The MSOs in Chennai are preparing themselves for the competition they face from the direct to home (DTH) players. For the same, they are now looking at installing hybrid HD boxes and also pushing broadband to their subscribers. “We want to maintain the digital subscribers and so we are now moving to HD boxes,” he says.  

     

    The condition of Coimbatore, which falls under phase II, is no better. So far the city has not seen any analogue cable TV home being converted to digital home.

     

    Also pertinent to not here is that after several failed attempts at getting the DAS license, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had resorted to writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to issue the DAS license to the state owned cable operator. In the letter, Jayalalithaa had requested the Inter Ministerial Committee to submit its final report too.

     

    Complete digitisation spanning 100 per cent homes in Chennai and Coimbatore is possible only after the court gives its final verdict on the state owned Arasu Cable. If the I&B really wants its vision for cable TV digitisation to be complete, it will have to fast track the case.

  • Ortel reports respectable maiden numbers for FY-2015 & Q4-2015

    Ortel reports respectable maiden numbers for FY-2015 & Q4-2015

    BENGALURU: At the time of its IPO earlier in March 2015, Ortel Communications had to withdraw a part of the promoter’s quota to prevent undersubscription. In its maiden financial numbers, Ortel reported fairly respectable numbers for FY-2015 as well as Q4-2015 and hence justified the faith that investors put in it. The company was listed on 19 March, 2015.

     

    For FY-2015, Ortel reported total income from operations (TIO) of Rs 154.79 crore for FY-2015, 20.5 per cent more than the Rs 128.50 crore in the preceding financial year. The company reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 5.65 crore in FY-2015 as compared to a loss of Rs 11.28 crore in FY-2014.

     

    Notes: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    The numbers mentioned in this report are standalone.

     

    Cable subscription fees in FY-2015 grew four per cent to Rs 79 crore from Rs 75.7 crore in FY-2014, while internet subscription fees grew five per cent to Rs 27 crore from Rs 25.8 crore in FY-2014.

     

    In Q4-2015, the company’s TIO at Rs 44.91 crore was a healthy 34.4 per cent more than the Rs 33.41 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year and 13.9 per cent more than the Rs 39.44 crore in Q3-2015. The company reported a PAT of Rs 5.65 crore in Q4-2015, as compared to a loss of Rs 1.23 crore in Q4-2014 and more than 20 times (20.64 times) the PAT for Q3-2014 which was reported as Rs 0.27 crore.

     

    Revenue generating units (RGU)

     

    Two main segments add to the company’s numbers – Cable TV and Broadband, with a big chunk of numbers also being added by unallocated segments.

     

    Ortel reported total RGUs of 530,111 in FY-2015 as compared to 515,835 in FY-2014 and 486,255 in FY-2013. Of these, total cable RGUs in FY-2015 were 471,592, in FY-2014 they were 461,408, and in FY-2013 they were 435,628.

     

    Correspondingly, Broadband RGUs were 58,519 in FY-2015, 54,427 in FY-2014 and 50,627 in FY-2013.

     

     

    Cable TV segment

     

    In FY-2015, Cable TV segment reported 11.5 per cent growth in revenue from Rs 97.35 crores in the previous year to Rs 108.52 crore in FY-2015. Cable TV segment reported 12.1 per cent growth in operating profit to Rs 49.32 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 43.98 crore in FY-2014.

     

    Within this segment, besides subscription fees, cable connection fees grew 161 per cent to Rs 3.1 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 1.2 crore in FY-2014. Channel carriage fees grew 29 per cent in FY-2015 to Rs 26.4 crore from Rs 20.5 crore from FY-2014.

     

    Cable TV reported 9.7 per cent y-o-y growth in revenue to Rs 27.87 crore from Rs 25.41 crore in Q4-2014 and 2.2 per cent growth from Rs 27.27 crore in Q3-2015. The segment reported more than triple the operating profits in Q4-2015 at Rs 11.21 crore as compared to the Rs 3.61 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year and 8.3 per cent more than the Rs 10.36 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Broadband segment

     

    Broadband segment revenue grew 5.2 per cent during the corresponding period to Rs 28.89 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 27.47 crore in FY-2014. Operating profit from Broadband segment grew a healthy 43.3 per cent to Rs 20.89 crore from Rs 14.57 crore in FY-2014. Within this segment, internet connection fees grew 12 per cent in the current year to Rs 1.9 crore from Rs 1.7 crore in FY-2014.

     

    Broadband segment reported revenue of Rs 7.44 crore in Q4-2015, which was 5.9 per cent more than the Rs 7.02 crore in Q4-2014 and 4.5 per cent more than the Rs 7.12 crore in Q3-2015. The segment reported almost eight times (7.61 times) operating result of Rs 7.95 crore in Q4-2015 as compared to the Rs 1.04 crore in Q4-2014 and 68.9 per cent more than the Rs4.71 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Unallocated

     

    Revenue from unallocated segment grew almost four fold (3.73 times) to Rs 17.38 crore in the current year from Rs 3.67 crore in FY-2014. Operating profit credited to unallocated segment grew 3.7 per cent from Rs 3.07 crore in FY-2014 to Rs 3.19 crore in FY-2015.

     

    In Q4-2015, revenue from unallocated revenue grew almost tenfold (9.79 times) to Rs 9.61 crore from Rs 0.98 crore in Q4-2014 and 90.1 per cent more than the Rs 5.06 crore in Q3-2015. Unallocated operating profit grew 4.2 per cent in Q5-2015 to Rs 0.81 crore from Rs 0.78 crore in Q4-2014 and grew 2.8 per cent from Rs 0.79 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Average revenue per user (ARPU)

     

    The company has reported a slight reduction in average revenue per user (ARPU) in all cases when compared to the previous year, except for digital cable. Analog TV ARPU in FY-2014 was 145 per month as compared to Rs 147 in FY-2014 and Rs 136 in FY-2013.

     

    Digital TV ARPU in FY-2015 was Rs 186 as compared to Rs 177 in FY-2014 and Rs 157 in FY-2013.

     

    Retail broadband ARPU stood at Rs 356 in FY-2015 as compared to Rs 373 in both FY-2014 and FY-2013. Corporate broadband ARPU had the highest fall. In FY-2015, corporate broadband ARPU was Rs 2851 as compared to Rs 3487 in FY-2014 and Rs 3998 in FY-2013. Data usage per month has gone up relatively, hence indicating lowering of charges for data – in FY-2015, it was 3143 MB, in FY-2014 it was 3126 MB and in FY-2013 it was 2666 MB.

     

    Ortel President and CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “I am pleased to report that the company delivered healthy performance during the quarter and full year on the back of growth in Revenue Generating Units (RGUs) in Cable and Broadband businesses and robust contribution from Infrastructure Leasing segment. Our EBITDA margins stood strong at 37 per cent in FY-2015 as compared to 31 per cent in FY-2014. We anticipate further improvement in margins going forward as a result of deeper penetration in the Cable business along with our continued focus on the high-margin Broadband segment. Ortel Communications’ Direct-to-Consumer offering with full control over the ‘last mile’ network has enabled us to emerge as a dominant regional player in the cable TV and broadband business. With increasing penetration in our core and emerging markets along with the inorganic LCO (Local Cable Operator) buy out strategy, we believe we are well-positioned to achieve our immediate target of ~1 million RGUs by the end of FY-2017. I am also proud to share that we successfully concluded the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the company by raising Rs 108.6 crore during the quarter. The capital infusion will also enable us to accelerate growth and deliver much stronger financial and operational performance in the coming years.”

     

    Click here to read the investor presentation

  • Kolkata MSO GTPL-KCBPL applies for broadband license

    Kolkata MSO GTPL-KCBPL applies for broadband license

    KOLKATA: Kolkata-based multi-system operator (MSO) GTPL-KCBPL, which boasts of having more than five lakh set top boxes (STBs) in West Bengal, has applied for a broadband license to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).

    Since the company is looking to launch broadband services in a big way, once the permission is granted, GTPL-KCBPL is also likely to create awareness through a multi-media campaign. “We shall inform prospective customers through various activities. We will also organize BTL activities and let people know through our distribution network,” said GTPL- KCBPL managing director Bijoy Kumar Agarwal.

    “We are shortly going to roll out the broadband service in Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) to begin with, which will create more opportunities for our business partners and at the same time with state-of-the-art technologies, we will be bringing the best of services. In a digital addressable era, broadband and VAS (value added services) will become important differentiated offerings. We are upbeat about our penetration and growth in eastern region as our pack will be a value addition for the customers,” he said.

    Agarwal also hinted that broadband will be another major revenue source as it has direct control over the customers.

    An Ethernet cable carries the broadband signals between modem, router, computer, and other wired Internet-capable devices.

    Cable analyst Namit Dave said that broadband and VAS, which suppressed revenue streams so far, will get a major boost as the country advances towards the complete era of digitisation of cable TV. MSOs are also rolling out packages in vast scale.

    Another analyst added that broadband is a lucrative business now with less investment, which in turn promises higher revenue.

    In 2005, a group of 160 cable operators in a unique manner turned themselves into shareholders and made KCBPL a successful MSO in KMA. While in 2010, KCBPL entered into a joint venture with GTPL, which has enabled this new entity to gain strong foothold in the state of West Bengal.

    When asked about the company’s technology partners, Agarwal said that Cisco, Skyworth, Nagravision, Newland and Magnaquest among others are in touch with the company on a regular basis so that it can update and offer latent technology to its customers.

    It may be recalled that Indiantelevision.com recently reported that GTPL-KCBPL, which was offering around 22 High Definition (HD) channels until, has now increased the offering to 32 channels.

    “After the rollout of digitization in KMA in the first and second phase of the digitization drive, we believe that our partners and viewers stand to benefit from more opportunities, products and value with digitization,” Agarwal concluded.

  • Four MSOs levied penalty for non-payment of entertainment tax

    Four MSOs levied penalty for non-payment of entertainment tax

    NEW DELHI: Even as Siti Cable ‘vehemently’ denied any allegation of tax evasion as alleged by the Delhi Government, similar notices were issued to three other major multi-system operators (MSOs) for paying Rs 243.77 crore as dues, due to a default in payment of entertainment tax.

     

    While there was no official word from either IndusInd Media and Communications or Hathway Cable and Datacom, a source from Den Networks informed Indiantelevision.com that the action by the Delhi Government was a violation of a commitment given by it to the Delhi High Court that no coercive action would be taken during the pendency of a case challenging the levy of entertainment tax and vires of the Delhi Entertainment and Betting Tax Act 1996.

     

    The source also added that an appropriate reply would be given both to the Delhi Government and in the High Court, but said no notice had been received so far and the MSO had learnt about it only from a newspaper report.

     

    Siti Cable, which had received a similar notice for Rs 33.12 crore, had said in an official statement, that it had been depositing the entertainment tax regularly on the basis of collections. The MSO had “vehemently’ denied the allegation of tax evasion.

     

    The matter is pending vide its Writ Petition of 2014, Siti Cable had earlier said.

     

    According to reports, the charges levied on the four MSOs include a 100 per cent penalty and an interest on dues.

     

    The levy is for 2013-14 and 2014-15. Den Networks has to pay just over Rs 88.81 crore, while Hathway Cable and Datacom need to pay around Rs 59 crore, IndusInd Media and Communications has been asked to pay just under Rs 52 crore for two years.

     

    While noting that these MSOs need to file their tax every month, a Delhi Government source said that Den, Hathway and IndudsInd had between them around 2.6 million subscribers in the capital. 

  • Comcast names Jeff Buzzelli as SVP of Comcast Business – Central Division

    Comcast names Jeff Buzzelli as SVP of Comcast Business – Central Division

    MUMBAI: Comcast has appointed Jeff Buzzelli as senior vice president of Comcast Business for the company’s Central Division, headquartered in Atlanta.

     

    In this role, Buzzelli will be directly responsible for developing, facilitating and implementing strategies aimed at growing Comcast Business across 17 states from Michigan to Florida. 

     

    As a seasoned executive with two decades of experience in the telecommunications industry, Buzzelli was most recently senior vice president of Comcast Business for the company’s Northeast Division, where he led a team that delivered revenue growth of more than 25 per cent the past three years and led to growth of 500,000+ data customers.

     

    Prior to that, Buzzelli spent four years as vice president of Business Services for Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region, where he nearly tripled revenue while also expanding the company’s mid-market and enterprise presence. While there, he led the acquisition and integration of CIMCO Communications into the Chicago market, allowing the company to grow and compete more effectively. Buzzelli was twice recognized with the company’s prestigious President’s Club Award, and he and his team played an integral role in helping the Greater Chicago Region achieve “System of the Year” status in the company’s internal recognition program.

     

    “I am thrilled to have Jeff back in Central Division, and I know our customers will be, too. He’s a proven leader and a motivator and someone ideally suited to take an already successful organization to the next level and deliver truly outstanding results for our customers,” said Comcast’s Central Division president Bill Connors.

     

    Prior to his work at Comcast, Buzzelli held key leadership positions within sales, marketing and operations at AT&T, GTE/Verizon and Level 3 Communications and, before that, led several leading national and regional organizations focused on serving commercial customers. 

     

    “I’m very excited about this new role and look forward to helping clients across Comcast’s Central Division find the right technology solutions to achieve their business goals. Our success as a company depends on them, and we are committed to providing every customer with the very best products and services coupled with personalized, dedicated support when they need it,” added Buzzelli.

  • Siti Cable denies fraud as Delhi govt levies penalty for entertainment tax evasion

    Siti Cable denies fraud as Delhi govt levies penalty for entertainment tax evasion

    NEW DELHI: While ‘vehemently’ denying any allegation of tax evasion, multi system operator (MSO) Siti Cable late on Tuesday evening said that in any case the matter was sub judice because it had challenged the levy of entertainment tax and vires of the Delhi Entertainment and Betting Tax Act 1996 in the Delhi High Court.

     

    Noting that it had been depositing the entertainment tax regularly on the basis of collections, Siti Cable also said in an official statement that “the company had not yet received any official communication/ notice about any such order being passed by the Entertainment Tax Department, Government of Delhi.”

     

    The matter is pending vide its Writ Petition of 2014, Siti Cable said. 

     

    The statement said, “The company has come to know from public sources regarding the alleged ex-parte order issued by the Delhi Government, directing Siti Cable Network Ltd. to deposit Rs 33.12 crore as outstanding entertainment tax including interest and penalty. In this context, the company vehemently denies the allegation of tax evasion and would like to clarify that it has been depositing the entertainment tax regularly on the basis of collections. It has already challenged the vires of the Delhi Entertainment and Betting Tax Act, 1996 vide its Writ Petition being No. 427 of 2014, which is subjudice before the Hon’ble Delhi High Court.”

     

    Earlier in the day, sources in the Delhi government revealed that Siti Cable Network, an Essel Group Company, with Subhash Chandra as its chairman of board of directors and CEO, had been directed to deposit Rs 33.12 crore as its outstanding entertainment tax for two years along with interest and penalty within 15 days, by 22 April.

     

    Sources said that the MSO had defaulted in payment of entertainment tax since April 2013.

     

    The company was learnt to have committed a serious illegal act of tax evasion by duping the government despite having collected the amount in the name of taxes from its innocent customers. 

     

    This company has been collecting entertainment tax from 5,36,616 customers at the rate of Rs 20 per month through local cable operators.

     

    In the financial year, 2013-14, Siti Cable was found to have collected around Rs 13 crore as entertainment tax from its customers but only deposited Rs 4.63 crore as entertainment tax for this financial year. The allegation therefore was that it had defaulted by not depositing the remaining Rs 8.32 crore, which should have been deposited on a monthly basis in the government exchequer.

     

    Taking cognizance of the fraud, the Delhi government levied a 100 per cent penalty of Rs 8.32 crore and an interest of Rs 3.06 crore under the relevant provisions of the Delhi Entertainments and Betting Tax Act 1996, sources said.

     

    The complete assessment including additional tax, penalty and interest for the financial year 2013-14 is Rs 19.71 crore.

     

    The Delhi Government alleged that the MSO had defaulted during the next financial year of 2014-15 as well. The government has assessed the tax, interest and penalty for 2014-15 at Rs 13.41 crore.

  • Calcutta HC extends Digicable Comm’s interim order till case disposal

    Calcutta HC extends Digicable Comm’s interim order till case disposal

    KOLKATA: Granting relief to Digicable Comm, the Calcutta High Court has extended the interim order till the disposal of the case.

     

    Earlier too, the Calcutta High Court had put the stay order on the cancellation of the registration of Kolkata-based multi-system operator (MSO) till 6 April, 2015, citing that “Digicable Comm, having been in business for quite some time and would suffer irreparable loss and injury, unless appropriate ad-interim protection is granted to them.”

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, DigiCableComm Services VP – operations & technology Lokesh Agarwal said, “Our matter was listed in the Hon’ble High Court under Hon’ble Justice I.P. Mukerji, with regard to DigiCable Comm DAS license for Kolkata and Howrah. Interim order already granted is extended till the disposal of the case.”

     

    It should be noted that in July 2014, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had cancelled the registration of Digicable Comm. Services.

     

    Digicable Comm, a joint venture (JV) between Digicable (51 per cent) and Kolkata-headquartered Multicar Group (49 per cent) was formed in the year 2009, to gain the foothold in the West Bengal market.

     

    Digicable Comm was always hopeful that after appealing to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and moving to the High Court, the decision would be in favour of the MSO. “We are happy to get the stay order extended from the High Court. Slowly we will expand in the region and are consolidating,” added Agarwal.

     

    MHA had cancelled the company’s permanent registration on 18 July, 2014 due to denial of security clearance.

     

    “Now we will do our best and expand in West Bengal,” Agarwal signed off.

     

  • South Africa scraps digitization plans; sticks to analogue signal

    South Africa scraps digitization plans; sticks to analogue signal

    NEW DELHI: The South African government has decided to abandon the digital migration project at a time when the whole world is going digital.

     

    Expectedly, this has taken broadcasters unawares as they had been looking forward to a mid-year switch-off of analogue signals. Even the media has described the decision as shocking. 

     

    Communications Minister Faith Muthambi said in an official statement, “Seeing that none of our neighbouring countries has switched over to digital television, we have taken a decision to ignore the 17 June, 2015 ITU deadline and remain with analogue television for the foreseeable future. The government will save billions that can be used in better ways, like funding public broadcaster South Africa Broadcasting Corporation.”

     

    This will mean that the cash-strapped South African government will not have to subsidise set-top boxes for the nation’s poorest citizens. Muthambi added, “This solves the debate – there won’t be any set-top boxes and so there is no need for encryption.” 

     

    Nagra Kudelski had won the contract to encrypt and protect transmissions for Sentech, the official transmission company.