Analysis: Could eMedia Investments Or StarTimes Revive ITV Choice And tvN?

ITV Choice was a British based entertainment channel operated by ITV Studios that offered a mixture of reality, lifestyle and drama series. Some of the content included on the channel were Coronation Street, Emmerdale, The Jonathan Ross Show and Doc Martin.

The channel was phased out from the DStv platform by June 2020 and with no outlet to continue watching the channel consumers had to rely on BritBox for further content or view the little remains of ITV (Tipping Point and The Chase) on BBC and M-Net.

tvN was added to the pay-tv platform as a pop-up channel featuring various content from South Korea such as The K-2, Tails Of The Nine Tailed, Another Miss Oh, Cheese In The Trap and Tunnel. Despite being a popular addition, MultiChoice went against the idea of a full-time channel.

Since then, the Korean entertainment channel had been looking to continue on another platform and surveyed several fans even got a petition in the hopes to return on DStv but since then there had been no updates with consumers fleeing to Netflix and YouTube to view the offering.

Although, tvN is not viewable on DStv some of its programming such as Ice Adonis and Doom At Your Service had been scooped up by eMedia Investments to build the primetime offering for both their linear and digital platforms. It kind of led some to wonder if the red brand could eventually source out tvN.

With tvN not regarded as a cheapo addition, the channel would likely fall under eMedia Investments' pay tier, Ultraview. Thanks to the existing Asian offering seen on Openview, consumers would be able to familiarise themselves with the channel's programming.

I mean the idea of eMedia Investments pursing tvN or something similar for Openview consumers wouldn't seem far fetched .Prior to Zee One even Star Life's induction, eMedia Investments had broadcast several Bollywood dramas through eExtra with some help from Glow TV.

Unlike tvN, ITV Choice would likely have to come in a form taken over by Zee One or The Home Channel+ - free-to-view. eMedia Investments hasn't added any incentives to this offering and the only option BBC UKTV was ripped away from them by MultiChoice's DStv.

This ITV managed brand would make up for the loss of BBC UKTV and also be it's first official competitor seeing as they both cater to low income households unlike BBC Brit which is mid tier. This channel would have to reintroduce shows some of which aren't on DStv to new consumers.

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