GOtv goes off air

Multichoce's low-income pay television service GOtv has inexplicably gone offline leaving subscribers groping in the dark over the fate of the channel launched last year.

The station debuted in January last year but has been off air since 31 January.

A disgruntled client posted on GOtv's page yesterday: "I am a subscriber to GOtv which just went off air on January 31 without an explanation or warning.

"I am stranded because I had discarded my old WizTech decoder and unfortunately for me my TV set does not show good picture quality of the local station, thus I am now stuck with a GOtv decoder displaying 'no service available' only."

But it is understood GOtv has been texting some of its clients of the latest development, citing transmission problems and "issues beyond their control."

"Dear Go-getters, please note that we are currently working on a plan regarding the GOtv service.

"The GOtv service is currently unavailable due to issues beyond our control," reads part of a statement issued by the service on its Facebook page.

"We are discussing this matter with the relevant authorities and will update you soon. In the meantime please be assured that you are not being charged for GOtv during this period. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and want to thank you for your patience in this regard."

There is speculation in the market that transmission could have been cut due to a dispute with a partner or the regulatory authorities who could not be reached for comment yesterday.

GOtv was introduced in 2013 and is probably the first digital terrestrial television service provided in Zimbabwe on a relatively wide scale.

It's not clear how many households are using GOtv in Zimbabwe.