The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu
MULTICHOICE will not be shutting down the decoders of Zimbabwean subscribers that have South African accounts, despite reports last week that new technology would make it possible for the broadcast giant to shut down decoders that were operating outside South Africa, had emerged.
Some Zimbabwean subscribers use South African accounts, which enable them to access some channels, including the much loved SABC 1, 2 and 3, that those with local accounts cannot access.
A statement, which purported to be from MultiChoice, claimed that the practice was about to come to end.
“Dear 3rd party installers, it is with regret that we announce that all South African accounts are being closed in Zimbabwe. The new Geolocation technology which has been installed by MultiChoice South Africa is detecting all decoders that are being used outside South Africa and shutting them down . . .,” the statement read.
In a statement on Friday however, MultiChoice Zimbabwe’s PR manager Liz Dziva said the first letter had been a hoax. The statement however, made it clear that the use of South African accounts was an infringement of Multichoice’s regulations.
“It has come to our attention that a hoax letter has surfaced in Zimbabwe alleging that MultiChoice South Africa has notified third party installers of a geolocation system being used to shut down illegal viewing. We wish to inform all stakeholders that this letter was not issued by MultiChoice.
“We take the piracy of our products and services seriously in order to protect our valued DStv customers, our business and the entertainment industry’s and society at large. It is therefore important that our valued customers subscribe in the correct country as rights programming and channels are cleared for specific countries. Subscribing in other countries ultimately does not support local businesses, which creates local employment and tax, and encourages local industry growth,” the statement said.
