StarSat

Last updated
On Digital Media
StarSat
TopTV (previously)
Company type Public
Industry Satellite television
Founded1 May 2010;15 years ago (2010-05-01)
Defunct2 October 2024;8 months ago (2024-10-02) [1]
HeadquartersBlock C, Riverview Office Park, Halfway Gardens x, 100 Bekker Road,
Midrand, Gauteng
,
South Africa
Products Direct broadcast satellite, Pay-TV
Parent StarTimes
Website www.starsat.co.za

StarSat (formerly TopTV until 31 October 2013 [2] ) was a South African direct broadcast satellite television service that began broadcasting on 1 May 2010. [3] StarSat was operated by On Digital Media, [4] who were granted a pay-TV license by ICASA in September 2007. [5] On Digital Media is currently 20% owned by Luxembourgish satellite operator SES and 20% owned by Chinese company StarTimes. [6] StarSat's service was aimed at the LSM 6-9 demographic, targeting middle class viewers.

Contents

History

Previous logo as TopTV TopTV-Logo.jpg
Previous logo as TopTV

On Digital Media (Pty) Ltd launched TopTV on 1 May 2010. [3]

On 30 April 2013, shareholders of On Digital Media voted to approve China-based company StarTimes taking over a 20% share of ODM. By doing so, StarTimes effectively acquired a 65% economic interest in ODM. [6] The vote also included adoption of a business rescue plan. [2]

TopTV was officially rebranded as StarSat on 31 October 2013. [2] The new packages and channels associated with the new brand were made available on 1 December 2013. [2] [7]

When Starsat's broadcasting licence expired on 8 July, with Starsat having failed to submit an application to renew its licence, the regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) gave StarSat until 18 September 2024 to shut its services down and to advise its customers and suppliers accordingly. [8]

On 2 October 2024, when Starsat ignored this deadline, ICASA and law enforcement officials raided the StarSat premises and confiscated the broadcaster's broadcasting equipment. [1]

The matters remains unresolved, with the broadcaster having promised to challenge the action in court, but ICASA spokesperson Zanele Ntuli stating that the regulator was unaware of official filings. [9] [ needs update ]

Broadcast and reception

StarSat services were broadcast via satellite, using the SES-5 satellite at the 5° east orbital position, and 3 of the six 36 MHz transponders in the "Sub Saharan Africa Ku-band" beam providing coverage of the whole sub-Saharan Africa region. [10] Transmissions were in the DVB-S2 MPEG-4 digital TV format with reception using a simple set-top box and with the Combo3 PVR decoder launched in 2011.

Conax was used as conditional access system.

Channels

Channels from the Satellite DTH consisted of seven packages Smart and Super and Special and Global and French and Indian and Chinese. [11]

Channel NameChannel Number
ST GUIDE FRENCH002
ST GUIDE ENGLISH99
ST MOVIES PLUS100
ST MOVIES101
ST NOLLYWOOD PLUS102
ST RISE120
ST NOVELA E W127
ST NOVELA E127
ST NOVELA E PLUS128
ST ZONE129
ST SINO DRAMA130
ST KUNGFU155
ST REMBO PLUS166
ST NOLLYWOOD131
ST SPORTS FOCUS240
ST SPORTS ARENA241
ST SPORTS LIFE243
ST BETA SPORTS244
ST WORLD FOOTBALL245
ST SPORTS PREMIUM246
ST ADEPA247
ST KIDS300
ST TOONS310
ST KIDS PLUS311
ST RnB321
ST KASI MUSIC322
ST NAIJA324
ST GOSPEL360
ST SWAHILI400
ST BONGO401
ST SWAHILI PLUS402
ST DADIN KOWA404
ST YORÙBÁ412
ST GANZA460
ST REMBO484
ST MAKULA492
ST MAKULA KIKA493
ST AM'MOBI527
ST AFRIK612
ST NOVELA F PLUS615
ST NOLLYWOOD F616
ST NOVELA F617
ST CHINESE HOMELAND800
ST NOVELA P881
ST MANIA957

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Icasa raids StarSat, pulls plug on infrastructure" . Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Goodbye TopTV, Hello StarSat" (Press release). TVSA. October 31, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "TopTV Launch - Rise Up South Africa!" (Press release). On Digital Media. 29 April 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ "On Digital Media website" . Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  5. ↑ de Lanerolle, Indra (2011). "Convergence and regulation in South Africa: in search of a new public interest paradigm". info. 13 (3): 47–63.
  6. 1 2 "More delays in store for TopTV as shareholders head to court". City Press. 22 October 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  7. ↑ "About Us". StarSat. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  8. ↑ "South Africa's broadcasting regulator warns that StarSat which failed to renew its pay-TV licence in time is operating illegally and should have shut down 18 September" . Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  9. ↑ "ICASA denies knowledge of StarSat's legal action following forced shutdown" . Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Astra 4A". SES. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  11. ↑ "StarSat Packages". Starsat South Africa. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2025.