e.tv files legal motion against Pule

According to Screen Africa, South African free-to-air (FTA) commercial broadcaster e.tv has filed a legal motion against Minister of Communications Dina Pule on the grounds that her decision to award the set-top box (STB) control system for digital terrestrial television (DTT) to parastatal signal distributor Sentech is "unlawful, procedurally unfair, irrational and unreasonable".

The STB control system is necessary to protect the locally manufactured set-top boxes that will be required to decode the digital broadcasting signal once South Africa migrates to digital terrestrial television. Approached by Screen Africa for comment, the department said it has received the legal notice about e.tv's action, adding that it is open "to further engagement with e.tv," as it is "working with all of our stakeholders." Meanwhile, as per the Minister, the first phase of the DTT roll-out has been scheduled for later this month.

Screen Africa reports that the e.tv affidavit states that the Minister's decision suffers from 'a series of fatal flaws' - including the claim that the Minister has no power to direct that Sentech will be responsible for managing the system and that the decision was made without any opportunity for e.tv or the SABC to make representations to the Minister.

Read the full article on www.screenafrica.com.