Top TV has launched, aiming to capture the market between the "free" SABC and e-tv channels and the more expensive DStv channel in South Africa. With a R499 starter kit that includes installation, there are seven Top TV pricing options, ranging from R99 to R249 a month. The newcomer will give viewers 20 to 55 channels, depending on the package, plus 20 radio channels.

Created by On Digital Media, a South African incorporated company with a BEE shareholding of 68 percent, the satellite network — which needs its own dish and decoder — will feature nine locally developed channels, offering audiences a mix of local and international content. The chief executive of On Digital Media, Vino Govender, said South Africans who can afford to pay for Top TV will have access to world-class entertainment of all genres. Channels include Top Movies, Top One, Top Gospel and Top Crime, as well as a range of sought-after international channels. The South African Minister of Communications, Siphiwe Nyanda, said he had no doubt that Top TV will make history by "changing the television landscape for the good of the majority of ordinary South Africans". (Source: Times Live)