According to industry sources, MultiChoice’s DStv has implemented several changes to its channel line-up for 2022 and will be making announcements around the new channels “in due course”.
The pay-TV operator regularly adds and drops channels based on their performance and commercial negotiations with channel providers.
According to BMA sources, the broadcaster does not, at present, have abundant space for channels on its platform, as the satellites it uses have a limited amount of available spectrum for carrying the channels to subscribers.
As a result, the broadcaster must assess which channels attract viewers and are worth paying for to justify their availability on a DStv package.
It is worth noting that MultiChoice’s decoders can measure how many people watch specific programmes or channels at any given moment, gauging the appeal of certain content.
At the beginning of 2022, DStv had 156 channels on offer on its top-end Premium package. However, on 2 March 2022, the RT (Russia Today) channel stopped airing. This was due in the main, to the state-controlled Russian television news channel being pulled by its previous upstream provider following claims that the channel carried propaganda supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The pat-TV operator added the Dreamworks and KIX channels later in March 2022, which indicated a net gain of 1 channel. However, the operator has since dropped six channels and announced plans to shut down another in mid-July.
The cancelled channels included Walt Disney-owned Lifetime, community Islamic channel iTV, and four E-tv channels.
Overall, the pay-TV operator has only managed to add two channels while it has lost seven in 2022.
Once the FliekNET channel is closed on 15 July, the dropped channels will increase to eight.
In a statement, the pay-TV operator said it constantly reviewed its channel offering to ensure it delivered the best local and international content.
“MultiChoice continue to look for fresh content that speaks to our viewers. This commitment to delivering only the best content indicates that some channels will be dropped to make room for fresh, more popular channels,” the statement read.
Credit: BMA
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