by Thinus Ferreira

The Zimbabwe police have confiscated and seized over 70 illegally-activated Openview decoders in the country and over 200 DStv remote controls, once again focusing attention on the massive and growing problem of TV content piracy in Southern Africa fuelled from out of South Africa.

While eMedia Investments continues to tout the strong growth of its Openview free-to-air satellite service, it’s an open secret that some of that growth is fuelled by content starved consumers in neighbouring countries around South Africa, buying illegally-activated Openview decoders smuggled out of South Africa and watching content and TV channels like e.tv and SABC channels which are actually only licenced for viewing within South Africa.

Openview decoders are legitimately bought in South Africa, activated once, inside South Africa using South African cellphone numbers, and then taken over the borders to neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe where consumers buy the “bootleg” Openview decoders and DStv equipment from vendors who are illegally selling the already-activated equipment.

This week Zimbabwe’s The Herald newspaper reported that the Zimbabwe police seized 72 Openview decoders, 203 DStv remote controls, as well as 95 counterfeit DStv power units, in addition to 5 receipt books from 8 shops in Harare selling these illegally. 

Pirate viewers and pirate sellers are a growing problem for video content suppliers doing business in Africa like eMedia and MultiChoice who are seeing the value of their services damaged by pirates who get access and illegally resell what they offer.

Antonio Lee, eMedia COO, in a statement, says “Police are having success in breaking up decoder smuggling operations and arresting their local associates, who are bringing Openview decoders from South Africa into Zimbabwe, in contravention of customs, trademark and copyright laws”.

“Raids and seizures are happening across the SADC region, as part of a broader piracy crackdown. Coming on the heels of the earlier busts, it shows that we are turning the tide on the illegal decoder trade and content theft.”

“We are grateful to have the Zimbabwe police as our partners in this war on piracy. Anyone purchasing these products in Zimbabwe is robbing the country of customs duties and Zimbabwe’s TV professionals suffer when viewers watch foreign content instead of homemade Zimbabwean shows.”