The Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) has given pay-TV providers GoTV and StarTimes seven days to resume showing free-to-air (FTA) channels and compensate consumers or face legal action.
Invoking provisions of Section 4 of the Consumer Protection Act,2012 the federation said it would commence class action proceedings against GoTv, StarTimes and CAK failing resumption of relaying FTA through the two retailers within 7 days.
COFEK said the disruption in the continued reception of these key channels occasions heavy inconvenience to consumers who are not party to the dispute between the two broadcast signal retailers GoTv and StarTimes and three Kenyan media houses.
HumanIPO reported last month the Court of Appeal had ruled in favour of Standard Group, Nation Media Group and Royal Media Services, awarding the media houses digital licences and setting a new deadline for digital migration of September 30, while also prohibiting StarTimes, GOtv, Pan African Network and Signet from broadcasting channels from the three media houses.
COFEK has confirmed to having received numerous consumer complaints regarding the missing NTV, KTN and Citizen TV FTA channels on GOtv and StarTimes.
The federation also pointed an accusing finger at the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) over their silence on the matter, saying the CAK should have rescued consumers from this fiasco.
“The loud conspiracy of silence from the regulator, CAK is too deafening not to be noticed. Ideally, the CAK should have now summoned both the retailers and media houses to a dialogue meeting to hasten their negotiations. Even then, consumers must be compensated for the period the FTA’s have been off-air,” the federation said in a statement.
