Now That WWE Channel (SuperSlam) Becames A Permanent, Could A Permanent PBS Kids Follow In South Africa And A Few Other African Markets?

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A few days ago SuperSport and WWE signed an extensive deal for more live events as well as a permanent 24/7 WWE channel since it is performing well with viewers. Now the question arises of whether the PBS Kids will suffer the same fate.

PBS KIDS is the number one educational media brand for kids from PBS, offering children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds. The channel was available exclusively on DStv Now service back in 2018 with a channel number 318 label on it at the time before 313 and MultiChoice said if all went all they would give it a dedicated channel depending on the market demand.

A year after it was available through DStv Now several African markets began to advertise the channel back in March only to reel it's way to the platform 2 months later as a pop-up channel in South Africa and a few other markets (some labelling it as a permanent addition). The channel was set to go off on Thursday, 22 August but recieved a silent 6 month extension with no info from MultiChoice except that a discontinuation date will be announced early in the new year presumably late January to mid February.

MultiChoice in some African territories like Kenya label it as a permanent addition while South Africa and a few other markets label it as a pop-up so why extend the channel for another 6 months why not close it in August like you agreed upon. Could it be that PBS is working on a 24/7 version of the channel to take upon the outdated pop-up channel's position kind of like what's happening with the WWE Channel that might explain the extension to 2020 opposed to MultiChoice giving viewers more time for the channel.

Here's my hunch PBS Kids launched as a promotional channel in South Africa and Lesotho with it being permanent in selected African markets while PBS was working on a permanent 24/7 channel feed for Africa which was set for a August 22nd release but couldn't release it at the time so MultiChoice delayed the permanent 24/7 channel feed to 2020. In other markets like India where a permanent PBS Kids channel exists they update it's lineup on a monthly basis like any other kids channel opposed to Africa's where they were only able to update the lineup at the same time MultiChoice extended the channel in South Africa and haven't bothered updating its lineup even further. So if the channel closed in August would PBS or MultiChoice have any intention of updating the lineup or would viewers have to wait a whole year for new content.

PBS Kids has recieved some positive feedback with regards to the programming seen on the channel. The minor issue would have to be the audio and/or the picture quality since its introduction regardless the channel is running smoothly in market. If a 24/7 channel does replace pop-up they'll need to work hard on adjusting those minor issues. Can't really say much about updating programs since it was only a temporary channel so the 24/7 channel could change that and update monthly.