If you thought that would-be South African pay-TV service Super 5 Media was dead and buried, think again. Despite reports last year that the company had virtually collapsed, it has now been given an extension of its pay-TV licence by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Its re-revised launch date is August 2011.
Formerly known as Telkom Media, Super 5 Media was originally granted a licence in September 2007. As per its last extension it was supposed to have launched before the end of August 2010. According to My Broadband, Super 5 Media argued that it could not launch then as the company’s application to ICASA for an individual communications network service (I-ECNS) licence had not been finalised. The I-ECNS licence will allow Super 5 Media to provide its own service distribution network.
Super 5 Media will be competing in the pay-TV arena against the long established MultiChoice and TopTV, which launched last year. Its original plans was to launch an IPTV service in hotels before offering a pay-TV service in homes.
(Additional source: Business Day)
