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M-Net
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, sport and movies. While the TV signal is generally encrypted, M-Net showed some programmes 'free to air' in its "Open Time" slot between 5 p.m. and 7 pm, until the slot closed on 1 April 2007.
In the early 1990s, M-Net added a second analogue channel called Community Services Network (CSN), and began digital broadcasting via satellite to the rest of Africa, via its sister company MultiChoice. With the introduction of MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite TV service, DStv, in 1995, several different channels have been created to complement the original M-Net channel, including the now-defunct M-Net Series and several film/movie channels based on genre and preference.
The idea of a pay-TV network in South Africa came to life as early as 1982, when Nasionale Pers (Naspers) – headed by executive Koos Bekker — started to promote the idea to the country's other three largest media corporations: Times Media Ltd (now Avusa/BDFM), Argus (now the Independent Group) and Perskor (which is now defunct).
The initial project by Ton Vosloo in 1982 suggested that the new channel would restore the revenue of its newspapers.
The newspapers and magazines published by Naspers had lost a lot of advertising revenue to the SABC after the arrival of television and for this reason, according to some sources, the National Party government wanted Naspers to run its own television network.
Initially, the plan was for M-Net to be jointly owned by the four media corporations, with the Natal Witness also having a small share in the station. However, as time went on, the project became that of Naspers only.
On 27 November 1984, Foreign Affairs minister Pik Botha suggested the creation of a feasibility study for the subscription network, assisted by a working group. On 25 April 1985, the press consortium won the bid, over 39 other applicants. Naspers would hold 26%, the three other groups 23% each and the two independent newspapers 5% each. The new service would have a set of guidelines: no news or political coverage, no exclusive sports screenings, no more than nine hours on air per day and no advertising. The format would emulate that of SABC's TV4, which ran on its black networks (TV2 and TV3) from 9pm to closedown.
In October 1986, they started broadcasting for 12 hours a day - initially to Johannesburg and Pretoria, to about 500 households who had bought decoders. (Their aim at that stage was to sell 9,000 decoders per month.) The service used the Oak Orion scrambling system, and the decoders were manufactured in South Africa by the local affiliate of Matsushita Electric. That small start finally broke the TV monopoly by SABC.
M-Net
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, sport and movies. While the TV signal is generally encrypted, M-Net showed some programmes 'free to air' in its "Open Time" slot between 5 p.m. and 7 pm, until the slot closed on 1 April 2007.
In the early 1990s, M-Net added a second analogue channel called Community Services Network (CSN), and began digital broadcasting via satellite to the rest of Africa, via its sister company MultiChoice. With the introduction of MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite TV service, DStv, in 1995, several different channels have been created to complement the original M-Net channel, including the now-defunct M-Net Series and several film/movie channels based on genre and preference.
The idea of a pay-TV network in South Africa came to life as early as 1982, when Nasionale Pers (Naspers) – headed by executive Koos Bekker — started to promote the idea to the country's other three largest media corporations: Times Media Ltd (now Avusa/BDFM), Argus (now the Independent Group) and Perskor (which is now defunct).
The initial project by Ton Vosloo in 1982 suggested that the new channel would restore the revenue of its newspapers.
The newspapers and magazines published by Naspers had lost a lot of advertising revenue to the SABC after the arrival of television and for this reason, according to some sources, the National Party government wanted Naspers to run its own television network.
Initially, the plan was for M-Net to be jointly owned by the four media corporations, with the Natal Witness also having a small share in the station. However, as time went on, the project became that of Naspers only.
On 27 November 1984, Foreign Affairs minister Pik Botha suggested the creation of a feasibility study for the subscription network, assisted by a working group. On 25 April 1985, the press consortium won the bid, over 39 other applicants. Naspers would hold 26%, the three other groups 23% each and the two independent newspapers 5% each. The new service would have a set of guidelines: no news or political coverage, no exclusive sports screenings, no more than nine hours on air per day and no advertising. The format would emulate that of SABC's TV4, which ran on its black networks (TV2 and TV3) from 9pm to closedown.
In October 1986, they started broadcasting for 12 hours a day - initially to Johannesburg and Pretoria, to about 500 households who had bought decoders. (Their aim at that stage was to sell 9,000 decoders per month.) The service used the Oak Orion scrambling system, and the decoders were manufactured in South Africa by the local affiliate of Matsushita Electric. That small start finally broke the TV monopoly by SABC.