Free-to-air satellite offering OpenView HD has officially gone live in South Africa. OpenView HD is a new idea for the country where customers can get their hands on satellite television access without having to pay a monthly fee. All that is required is the decoder and satellite dish, which is being sold for “approximately” R1600 according to Platco Digital, the company behind the free-to-air offering. Installation costs don’t seem to be included in that pricing.
Available at launch for OpenView HD are fourteen channels. Four of these are the standard free South African channels; SABC’s trio and eTV but eTV have also launched four additional channels to go with it. In the Entertainment category are eKasi+, eMovies+ and eAfrica while eToonz+ falls into the Children and Education group. Also part of the education channels are Mindset TV and Da Vinci Learning. eTV’s local eKasi+ channel and eMovies+ will be broadcast in HD.
The remaining channels are ASTV and Deen TV, both of which are culture and lifestyle related, and two religious channels, Spirit Word Ministries and Inspiration TV.
Platco Digital MD Maxwell Nonge said in a statement “By switching on OpenView HD, we are allowing every South African to be part of the digital/satellite TV revolution and offering a viable alternative to this underserviced market.”
