By Tyla-Lee Coertzen and Matthew Freer

On 15 April 2026, the South African Competition Commission (the “Commission”) referred a complaint against MultiChoice South Africa (Pty) Ltd (“MultiChoice”) and Altech UEC South Africa (Pty) Ltd (“Altech”) to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution.

The Commission’s complaint centres around allegations of breaches of section 4(1)(b)(ii) of the Competition Act 89 of 1998 (the “Act”) regarding a market-division agreement entered into between Multichoice and Altech. Specifically, the Commission’s complaint alleges that that, in February 2014, the firms agreed that Altech, a manufacturer of Set Top Boxes (“STBs”), would refrain from entering the pay-television (“pay-TV”) market as a competitor to MultiChoice.

At the time, Altech was a key supplier of STBs to MultiChoice. The Commission argues that this arrangement effectively resulted in allocation of the pay-TV market, where MultiChoice remained a dominant provider of subscription television services, while Altech remained confined to the hardware manufacturing space, despite having the theoretical capability to become an effective competitor.

The referral was announced on 4 May 2026, by way of a media statement released by the Commission issued a media statement announcing the referral of a collusion complaint against pay-TV giant MultiChoice and electronics manufacturer Altech. The referral marks a significant escalation in the Commission’s enforcement of cartel conduct within the broadcasting and technology sectors.

Section 4(1)(b)(ii) of the Act prescribes as follows:

• An agreement between, or concerted practice by, firms, or a decision by an association of firms, is prohibited if it is between parties in a horizontal relationship and if-
• it involves any of the following restrictive horizontal practices:
• dividing markets by allocating customers, suppliers, territories, or specific types of goods or services;

The allegations are founded on a potential per se prohibition, meaning that the Commission is not required to prove that the agreement had actual anti-competitive effects, the existence of the agreement itself is sufficient to establish a violation of the Act.

If the Tribunal ultimately finds against the firms, they face administrative penalties of up to 10% of their respective annual turnovers.

To understand the competition concerns arising from the Commission’s complaint, one must examine the relationship between the two entities during the 2014-2015 period. At the time of the alleged agreement, Altech was a unit of the JSE-listed Altron group (Business Day, 2026). Beyond manufacturing decoders, Altech launched a product known as the “Node,” an interactive smart home and video-on-demand device that utilised satellite connectivity. The Commission appears to view the “Node” as a potential competitive threat to MultiChoice’s DStv service (Business Day, 2026). The agreement in question, according to the regulator, ensured that Altech would not transition from a supplier of hardware to a rival provider of pay-TV services, thereby protecting MultiChoice’s market dominance.

In response to the media statement and the referral, MultiChoice issued a formal statement to the press denying any contravention of the law. The company confirmed that the agreement in question was a “historical supply agreement” that has since come to an end in 2015 (Business Day, 2026).

Multichoice asserts that the arrangement was a standard commercial supply agreement rather than a cartel arrangement. MultiChoice also noted that it is “considering the referral and will respond fully within the prescribed timelines,” indicating that it will challenge the Commission’s interpretation of the facts in due course during the subsequent proceedings before the Tribunal. As of the publication of the Commission’s statement, Altech, which was sold by Altron to Skyblu Technologies, a Skyworth affiliate, in 2019, had not issued a public response.

John Oxenham, Partner at Primerio notes: “The referral of MultiChoice and Altech illustrates the Commission’s continued vigilance regarding market allocation in the digital broadcasting sector. While the Commission asserts that the 2014 agreement served to push a potential competitor out of the market, MultiChoice argues that the historical agreement was benign. The case analysis will likely hinge on whether the Tribunal views Altech as a potential competitor in the pay-TV market at the time of the agreement.”