DStv Without Discovery Family And Possibly Real Time??? It Wouldn't Seem Far Fetched A Stretch

As some consumers have heard, MultiChoice might be removing 12 additional channels following the news of CBS Justice, CBS Reality, BET and MTV Base's purge from DStv. It should be noted that MultiChoice is still negotiating with Warner Bros. Discovery over these 12 so nothing is final.

My esteemed guess is that MultiChoice will likely look to reduce the number of channels targeting premium brands like HGTV and even redundant ones like Discovery Family. 

Due to the rise in streaming, various companies such as Disney and Paramount have been scaling back on their international operations. As mentioned, the upcoming axing of MTV Base and BET which would the likes of FOX and Disney XD.

Warner Bros. Discovery has the largest linear portfolio with MultiChoice compared to Disney which had only 6 with Paramount that will be reduced to just 5 channels. Amongst the offering are crown jewels Discovery Channel, TLC, CNN and Cartoon Network.

Over the years, some of these cable networks have seen a rise in reruns or in this case TLC which had its airtime split for shows on Food Network, HGTV and Investigation Discovery.

MultiChoice had already been distributing content from these channels through Real Time which had me wondering why Warner Bros. Discovery would diminish the value of TLC. Even Investigation Discovery and Discovery Channel had gone through a similar ordeal.

Food Network and HGTV are the only brands that haven't been affected.

A few years ago, Warner Bros. Discovery opted to discontinue distribution of Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo across Europe. Very similar to Discovery Family and Real Time no marketing was done for any new content from these brands.

It would only seem logical if plans were underway to do away with these channels especially amidst Warner Bros. Discovery's potential acquisition by either Comcast, Netflix and Paramount.

With the main networks struggling to scavenge new content it makes Discovery Family and Real Time the weakest links.

Canal+ following its acquisition of MultiChoice has been trying to put out the fire as the company has seen a loss in subscribers and a drop in revenue. This had led Canal+ to shed certain operational expenses at the company by 20%.

In this carriage deal MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery are embroiled in there's a strong chance that both parties will settle this with lesser channels.

Discovery Family very much like TLC and Real Time have been airing older programming it's not only Discovery Channel's yesteryear stock but also My Cats From Hell. The same show would eventually resurface on Real Time making it a stronger candidate to get the axe.

Real Time could as well be repositioned to include shows from Discovery Channel as seen with Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV and Investigation Discovery. Perhaps take up a higher position within DStv instead of 155 it sits alongside TLC on 136.

Amidst this whole dispute, Warner Bros. Discovery had unveiled several upcoming titles for Discovery Family that could as well migrate to Real Time in the event Discovery Family would be removed.