South Africa’s new pay-TV entrant, TopTV, which launched in May, has sold approximately 120,000 decoders to date and is in the process of adding new channels to its bouquets.
TopTV entered a market that was previously dominated by sole incumbent MultiChoice and sold out its initial 50,000 decoders on the first day of operation. This resulted in a few operational problems in terms of keeping up with the overwhelming demand from the public.
Says Elouise Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer and official spokesperson for TopTV: “Even with the various challenges, the TopTV team stayed focused and positive, dealing with queries and subscribers in a professional and efficient way. In a recent article in FinWeek, TopTV scored 5/5 against other call centres in the country for its “Impressive Service Delivery’.’
TopTV’s marketing is based on the premise that it provides quality entertainment at affordable prices. Its bouquets include the likes of BET (Black Entertainment TV), Natura, Current TV, Discovery ID, JimJam, as well as several Fox channels. TopTV is also home to some popular channels already in South Africa, including the Discovery Science and Travel & Living channels and KidsCo.
Upcoming highlights in the next few months include True Blood, The Jane Austen Book Club, Shooter and Transformers, much-loved kiddies shows, from Paddington Bear to Thomas and Friends and Bob the Builder as well as thought provoking documentaries.
Says Kelly: “TopTV aims to make the subscribers TV viewing experience enjoyable, from programming obligatory repeats in a way that allows the subscriber the opportunity to plan in advance, to the EPG (Electronic Programme Guide), which provides schedules and programme information with the click of a button. Functions on the remote control include auto tuning, setting reminders, selecting favourite channels and genres as well as parental control options, to name a few. TopTV will launch its PVR functionality in 2011.’
