Nation Media Group, Standard Group and Royal Media Services have been in court challenging the digital migration decision, first asking for more time, then it went to more frequencies and now with a turn of events they might just be visiting the courts to defend themselves over an advertisement.
The three, through their joint consortium announced they would soon be making available their set top boxes in the next few weeks, which was followed by an advertisement on their network that has been rendered defamatory to GOtv and StarTimes.
GOtv has made their threat to sue the consortium known, by saying that the infomercials that continue to run on the three individual networks advise consumers not to buy the GOtv decoders as they are carrying content without consent.
The infomercial continues to ask Kenyans to wait on the set top boxes that are set to be launched in the country soon. According to an announcement last week, the three will be bringing in 15o,000 units in the first phase of their launch, with others expected to come in the month of March.
According to Multichoice-owned GOtv, their broadcasting content from the three media companies does not infringe on copyright as the consortium claims, instead, it is in line with regulation 14 of the Kenya Information and Communications (Broadcasting) Regulation of 2009 that imposes a must carry directive to ensure public access to information.
The three continue to maintain that StarTimes and GOtv infringe on their copyright by airing their content, even after the Supreme Court ruled that the Must Carry obligation in the broadcasting regulations is not infringing.
GOtv says that not only does the advert mislead the unsuspecting and innocent Kenyans, but it also shows disregard for the directive given through a ruling by the Supreme Court.
As GOtv seeks to move to court for a redress on the matter, the Communications Association of Kenya (CA) has expressed their backing of any case against the three over the ad, saying that both StarTimes and GOtv have a right to challenge the ad in a court case as it gives misleading information.
The three media do not seem to want out of the digital migration mud as they continue circling around the same issue over and over, now fighting a loosing battle with their request to extend migration deadline being denied and their addition of frequencies not seeing the light of day.
It seems now they will have another reason to stay a longer time in court, if the ad is not recalled, and as Kenya waits to see the advanced set top boxes they have promised to bring through the Africa Digital Network, who knows what else is to come.
