Icasa may have underestimated the impact of services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime on local pay TV, says the writerPublic policy making is linked to economic development and national imperatives — fighting poverty, inequality and unemployment.
As the regulator in the ICT and broadcasting space, Icasa's mandate on behalf of SA consumers and companies is important. In April 2019, Icasa issued a draft findings document which purported to show that the state of competition in the sector was not optimal and proposed that MultiChoice be regulated extensively. When the report was released, over-the-top services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime had already launched in SA, with the former experiencing a rapid rise in prominence and uptake due to its large content catalogue.
Multichoice could have ensured their relevance in the market by allowing the consumer to select 10 channels from it's multitude for a 'reasonable' price. Instead, they screw the top-end consumer with an excessively priced broad product relying on reruns and exclusive sport.