On the first day of May a new satellite television network, TopTV was launched in South Africa. TopTV is an affordable alternative to Multichoice which has enjoyed a virtual monopoly in South Africa for years.
For sure, I was more than excited when I heard about it via the internet so I vowed to sign up as soon as I could.
On the first day of May a new satellite television network, TopTV was launched in South Africa. TopTV is an affordable alternative to Multichoice which has enjoyed a virtual monopoly in South Africa for years.
For sure, I was more than excited when I heard about it via the internet so I vowed to sign up as soon as I could.
A day before the launch I bought the decoder with a colleague, hoping to get connected the following day. But no! I couldn’t get through to their consultants.
It took me three days before I could get everything sorted out. To cut a long story short, when my smartcard was activated after two weeks, I had already given up.
So after all that, I wasn’t really looking forward to watching. At first glance, the black screen and orange icons are no thrill to eyes that are used to DSTV’s colourful screen.
The channels weren’t that spectacular at first but I spent two days watching American news channels, especially Fox News the right wing mouthpiece which focuses on the negatives of democratic government.
MSNBC on the other hand has some hard-hitting political news and most of their shows are live. I believe they are the best channel on TopTV.
The commentators say what they like, they are certainly not afraid to call a spade a spade. Countdown with Keith Olbermann is my favourite show.
Other news channels are Al Jazeera, Current TV and France24. So I think TopTV have definitely outdone themselves in getting the most spicy, up-to-date and interesting news channels.
For sports fanatics there is EuroSports News which has sports updates every 30 minutes and Setanta Africa which covers football, rugby, hockey, surfing and basketball.
Fuel focuses on motorsport, skatebording and skiing. In terms of entertainment, Discovery Travel and Living takes the cake as 90% of their shows are reality.
There are also five music channels for all genres. I’m not a fan, but if you like RnB, punk rock and UK pop, these will be the best channels to get.
Other channels to consider are: Discovery Science, Investigation and Discovery, Natura, Top Crime, Top History, Top Explore. In short, I think TopTV is a must have, it’s affordable and most of their channels are informative.
Their packages range from R99 to R249. If you have purchased one of their packages here’s what to do:
• Purchase your STB (set top box) at Pep stores or House and Home.
• SMS your name, contact number and name of store where you purchased your decoder to 40004
• The Contact Centre will call you back within 24 hours to register you
• Once registered you will receive an SMS from an agent with several installers available in your area
• Contact the installer and set up an appointment
• Once the installer has set everything up, the installer should SMS your smartcard details to TopTV to activate your subscription.
• When your account is activated you will receive an SMS with details on how to pay. Contact TopTV’s call centre on 08600 86788 or email info@toptv.co.za
