GoTV, the prepaid satellite cable service by MultiChoice, faced a wave of frustration from subscribers after several channels unexpectedly went offline. The GoTV disruption, which occurred during UEFA Champions League matches on Tuesday night, angered many football enthusiasts who were left unable to watch their favorite teams in action. Affected channels included SS Football Africa, SS La Liga Africa, ESPN, and others. Beyond sports, popular channels like M-Net Movies 4, CNN International, and Africa Magic also went off-air, impacting a broad range of viewers.
The Cause of the Disruption
The outage was traced back to a technical failure on Intelsat 33e, the satellite responsible for broadcasting GoTV’s signals across Africa. Intelsat confirmed that the satellite experienced a power failure on October 19, 2024, rendering it unrecoverable. While the satellite company, along with its manufacturer, Boeing Space Systems, works on finding solutions, GoTV is among the many customers affected by this issue.
GoTV acknowledged the disruption via a post on X (formerly Twitter), apologizing for the inconvenience and assuring customers that they were working to restore services as quickly as possible. Caroline Oghuma, a spokesperson for MultiChoice, confirmed that the technical issue stemmed from one of their satellite providers and that the company is actively working to resolve the issue.
Frustrated Viewers Demand Compensation
GoTV subscribers did not hold back on expressing their displeasure online. Many took to social media to vent their frustrations, with some calling for compensation for the lost viewing days. One user, @edwinehiz, tweeted about his ongoing subscription running despite not having access to channels, demanding an extension on the service once it’s restored. Others voiced their frustrations about missing key football matches and shared their disappointment with GoTV’s delayed communication.
As MultiChoice works to resolve the issue, affected viewers are hoping for a quick resolution and fair compensation. GoTV’s challenges reflect broader concerns among satellite TV subscribers about reliable service and timely communication during disruptions. Whether MultiChoice addresses these concerns effectively will be key to regaining customer trust.