Last month, it was reported MultiChoice had silently moved TLC from channel 135 to 125 or rather acquired the feed for viewers in the West and Eastern parts of Africa and expanded it to Southern Africa. Similar to the likes of M-Net and Nickelodeon, these endeavours had led these brands to become independent in South Africa.
These days MultiChoice tends to identify these international operations with the tag "Africa". Likely due to the fact that corporate tends to list their foreign business as MultiChoice Africa so this is likely where Paramount Global, M-Net and Warner Bros. Discovery got the names for Nickelodeon Africa, M-Net Africa and TLC Africa.
What's more odd is the variation of graphic designs between Nickelodeon Africa and Nickelodeon South Africa.
As reported sometime ago, MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery gave very little publicity about the switch within Southern Africa causing confusion amongst viewers. Some were wondering why TLC channel 135 had been blocked (and if MultiChoice was looking to close yet another channel) while others why the content on channel 125 is lagging behind.
Through an enquiry with Warner Bros. Discovery this was their response:
TLC strives to create diverse and inclusive programming that resonates with a wide audience. However, we also respect the cultural and legal norms of each country where our shows are broadcast. Unfortunately, there are instances where certain themes may be restricted due to local regulations and therefore influence the programming in your country. The channel lineup will be adjusted to align with regional preferences. Some shows may be exclusive to a particular region. We apologise for any inconvenience and hope viewers continue to enjoy our other content.
So long story short, Homophobia, I know why they did this in Some parts of Southern Africa (Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi) but realistically there were no real issues, like, no one ever really complained before, most People just know TLC will have Queer content and they'll watch or ignore, simple.
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