TopTV enjoyed its best month to date during December 2010 when the service reached a subscriber count of more than 200 000 while also registering a record 50 000 activations during the month alone. They now boasts over 800 000 viewers, an average of four per TopTV equipped household.

 

As the first real competition to Multichoice's DStv, the sole satellite TV operator in the country for years, TopTV faced a tough challenge when it made its debut last year. The service has however been welcomed by many viewers around the country as it is cheaper (compared to the standard DStv option) and includes alternative channels to those found in the DStv bouquet.

 

At present TopTV offers just over 60 channels including international favourites such as Showtime, Discovery Science, Fox Entertainment and MGM. It also hosts a number of TopTV flagship channels including Top Movies, Top One, Top History, Top Learn, Top Gospel and Top Crime.

 

Vino Govender, TopTV CEO said, “We always believed there was a need for an innovative and affordable Pay TV service in South Africa. Our subscribers confirm this every day. Top TV is so much in sync with the aspirations of the modern South Africans that it has been recognized by industry specialists as the fastest growing TV platform around the globe with monthly growth rates / activations surpassing that of platforms in both India and China.”

 

Govender also stated that 2011 will bring a host of new additions to the TopTV offering, including a sports channel (by Q3 2011), high definition (HD) channels and an HD Personal Video Recorder (PVR) for recording programs.

 

Operated by On Digital Media (ODM), the pay TV venture launched on the 1st of May 2010.

 

Have you made the switch to TopTV? Is it a better option than DStv? Leave your comments below.