Multichoice, the pay-TV broadcaster owned by Naspers, has described an objection to its deal with public broadcaster SABC as a "contrived and far-fetched endeavour". A group led by rival media company Caxton has asked the Competition Tribunal to intervene in MultiChoice's 2013 agreement with the SABC, which would allow the SABC to launch a 24-hour news channel on MultiChoice's DStv platform.An SABC entertainment channel was also to have been launched earlier this year.Caxton, the Media Monitoring Project Benefit Trust and the SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition want the Competition Tribunal to order the Competition Commission to investigate whether the deal constituted a "merger" between the two broadcasters and effectively created change of control in SABC content.Alternatively, Caxton wanted an order forcing MultiChoice and the SABC to provide further documents about the deal, to allow the tribunal to decide if there had been a "merger".But MultiChoice CEO Imtiaz Patel has fired back in an affidavit, attacking Caxton's argument as being "incompetent and impermissable".There have been many delays in the launch of SABC's entertainment channel, which was meant to launch in 2013. However, MultiChoice chairman Nolo Letele said this week that the launch was "imminent".The deal will also see MultiChoice pay R500-million to the SABC in exchange for exclusive access to the public broadcaster's archives over five years.Letele said MultiChoice had access to only 1% of the SABC archive. When asked about the allegation that MultiChoice had paid next to nothing for the valuable archive material, he said the company did not disclose commercial terms.The Caxton group says the deal was instrumental in the SABC changing its stance on using encryption technology in the new set-top boxes that will be rolled out as part of South Africa's move from analogue to digital technology.Initially, the SABC supported encryption in the new set-top boxes, which would have made it easier for rivals to MultiChoice, such as e.tv, to compete.But after doing the deal, the SABC reversed its position, which the Caxton-led group says was evidence of MultiChoice's control over the SABC.Caxton CEO Terry Moolman said in an affidavit last month that MultiChoice concluded the deal after it realised that the SABC could become a threat to the DStv business.Broadcasters that do not have access to an encrypted signal won't be able to access high-definition international content. This means DStv could receive SABC signals without having to make its set-top boxes compatible with the SABC encryption technology, Moolman argued, saying the "agreement effectively eliminated these threats to MultiChoice's pay-TV business" from the SABC.But Patel argued this week that discussion with the SABC date back to 2010, and both the SABC and e.tv had changed their views on encryption a number of times.Government has now said that broadcasters have the "option" of including encryption technology in set-top boxes. But this hasn't pleased e.tv, which wants mandatory encryption in the new boxes, and is now challenging government's policy in court, a move that could delay digital migration...