7 Years Ago, Discovery's Real Time Was Launched In Place Of Animal Planet And To Combat TLC On MultiChoice's DStv

Real Time is described as a female based lifestyle channel initially offering content from TLC, Animal Planet and Investigation Discovery. Overtime, TLC was gradually phased out from the lineup in favour of Food Network and HGTV.

MultiChoice added Real Time as a replacement to Animal Planet but the problem with its inclusion was that it was being tailored for Easyview package. Basically, they were older seasons to shows including those of Animal Planet it was even worse on the TLC side.

TLC was regarded as the wedding channel and Real Time was what TLC looked like without those shows which included Little People - Big World, Toddlers & Tiaras and Sister Wives. As mentioned, Real Time no longer airs on from TLC it likely had to do with its inclusion.

TLC is available to most DStv subscribers it didn't make much sense to launch a channel to offer their shows half of the time especially since TLC would still rerun shows like Kitchen Boss.

Honestly speaking, I kind of question why Real Time even existed I get some subscribers don't have Investigation Discovery, HGTV or Food Network. But then the latter now takes a chunk of TLC's airtime making Real Time look more competitive than complementary.

On a DStv standpoint, consumers can just downgrade from Compact to Easyview seeing as shows like Guy's Grocery Games and Pool Kings are now on Real Time. Hollywood Demons isn't as prehistoric as most of the shows yet it aired on Real Time.

With its parent company undergoing a split or possible sale, I'd imagine some restructuring or due diligence could be underway. Real Time barely markets any of their content and if you're someone who doesn't have access to the main networks for the shows its challenging.

Real Time could as well have aired the first three seasons of Disappeared and you were waiting and had given up on a fourth season. Then it suddenly airs after a few months or a year but you weren't tuning in because no marketing had been done for you to have known.

This has been going on for sometime and imagine in a couple of years Warner Bros. Discovery or whatever is left of it will probably just close Real Time. As mentioned, TLC has split part of its airtime for Discovery's other cable networks making Real Time redundant.

At the same time, it's likely that we could see more consolidation within the industry perhaps with Discovery Family since it's been leaning heavily on Discovery Channel.

MultiChoice And Discovery Networks Renew Contract To Carry Discovery's Portfolio Of Channels On DStv

MultiChoice and Discovery Networks are pleased to announce that DStv customers will continue to enjoy their favourite Discovery channels on DStv – world-class factual entertainment and documentaries on Discovery Channel; great fashion and. lifestyle tips on TLC; the best in family entertainment on Discovery Family; and suspense-filled, real-life crime stories on Investigation Discovery (ID).

To complement the linear channels, the new agreement includes extended video-on-demand and Catch Up hours for Discovery’s entire portfolio (including for the first time, TLC, ID and Discovery Family shows). All four of Discovery’s channels will be available to launch on DStv Now from early 2018, meaning DStv customers will be able to enjoy the best of Discovery, anywhere, any time. On top of this, from early next year DStv customers will be able to watch both ID and Discovery Family in HD, while TLC will also launch in HD.

“Our customers love the Discovery family of channels and we’re pleased that we could renew this agreement, including offering this world-class content to our customers wherever they are, to watch whenever they are ready,” said Yolisa Phahle, CEO: General Entertainment, MultiChoice.

Animal Planet is not included in the new agreement and will stop airing on DStv on 30 December 2017. However, customers will not miss out, as some of the much-loved shows will be available on the other Discovery channels, including shows such as Treehouse Masters, which will move to Discovery Channel, while shows such as Tanked and Insane Pools: Off The Deep End will move to Discovery Family. Some of Discovery’s other popular animal and wildlife content will also be made available on a new channel to launch mid-2018, details of which will be announced in the new year.

“Our channels and content have been providing hours of enjoyment for DStv customers for many years and we’re thrilled to continue this legacy, with an unbeatable slate of programming across our portfolio which, thanks to this renewed agreement, DStv customers will now be able to access whenever and however it suits them. We look forward to making more announcements about our content offering on DStv in the new year,” said Dilek Doyran, VP and Country Manager for Africa, Discovery Networks CEEMEA.

Discovery’s network of channels promise an exciting line-up of new entertainment for DStv customers over the next few months.

Discovery Channel will serve up new season of Fast n’ Loud and Street Outlaws, and help you discover brand new shows like Riaan Manser: Pacific Honeymoon, Finding Escobar’s Millions, and Mutiny: Survival on the Oceans.

TLC’s brand-new shows include Dr Miami, Judge Jenkins, The Healer and Thando Bares All, while new wedding shows Diva Brides and Curvy Brides Boutique join returning seasons of 90 days to Wed and Surrounded by Daughters.

Discovery Family will serve up NASA’s Unexplained Files, The Carbonaro Effect, Freaks of Nature, Don’t Blink, and a new season of Finding Bigfoot.

Meanwhile, on Investigation Discovery (ID) new seasons of I speak for the dead, Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall, and People Magazine Investigates, will join brand new shows including Son of Sam: Hunt for a Killer, The Dating Game Killer, and Shattered, ensuring DStv customers remain glued to their seats as the drama unfolds.

More information and schedules are available on the DStv website

Exciting New Content Heads Your Way On Animal Planet In May 2016

VILLAGE VETS PREMIERE
From Wednesday, 4 May at 21:00
Vets James and Anthony are back with more extraordinary  tales of caring for the animals of Berry, Shoalhaven Heads,  and Kangaroo Valley, in southern New South Wales. The  practice they co-run is in a small Australian town but they  treat a colourful mix of patients, from everyday cats, dogs  and farm animals to exotic pets and local wildlife such as  echidnas and sugar gliders. They even treat their own pets,  which brings a very different set of challenges. The action at  the practice picks up as the team welcomes plucky new  addition Chris, fresh from university – as well as a very  different, and far more exciting, kind of new arrival for
James. In ‘Village Vets’ the animals, the practice and the people take centre stage in a series that
celebrates Australian country life in all its feathered, furry and scaly glory.

TANKED PREMIERE
From Monday, 9 May at 18:15
‘Tanked’ returns to follow business partners, best friends and  constant rivals Wayde King and Brett Raymer as they navigate  the murky depths of aquarium design. The guys are at the reins of the USA’s largest aquarium manufacturing company, Acrylic Tank Manufacturing (ATM) and it's going with a splash. This  series, they face even more incredible design challenges. NBA  All-Star John Wall requests an aquarium shaped like a pair of  dice, and Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler wants to make sweet  music with an old-school boombox aquarium that lights up and  plays music. Brett and Wayde must design and build a custom  tank for the founder of famed R&B group Boyz II Men. Plus, who will win as Wayde and Brett engage  in the first ever Tank Off? 'Jackass' creator Jeff Tremaine returns to award the most badass tank.

LIFE AFTER: CHERNOBYL PREMIERE
From Sunday, 22 May at 21:00
‘Life After: Chernobyl’ explores the worst nuclear catastrophe in history, which sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout  exploding into the atmosphere - 100 times the combined  radiation emission from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. Two scientists have now been allowed total access to the area  surrounding the infamous Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Biologist Rob Nelson and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota are the first scientists to be permitted unlimited access to the Chernobyl danger zone, to investigate how the environment  and wildlife have been affected after 30 years in the most  contaminated area on earth. They can stay for as long as they need to conduct their research, but  must ensure the radiation exposure to their bodies does not reach unacceptably high levels. What  they discover about the effects of high radiation doses on animal and plant life in the region is  astonishing.

RESTORATION WILD PREMIERE
From Sunday, 29 May at 21:00
Brand new series ‘Restoration Wild’ follows master restorer
Jay Chaikin as he and his crew repurpose the coolest vintage  structures and relics, recycling them into amazing, one-of-akind living spaces of the most spectacular variety. Jay has a  passion for bringing people closer to the natural environment  in imaginative ways – whether it’s transforming a disused silo into an industrial-themed bar or renovating a 1940s bus into a quirky guesthouse. Jay and his highly skilled team are not only searching deep into the woodlands for the ruins of yesterday, they’re using them to create environments that look as if they were placed there by nature. In this series, the  team embarks on a cross-country renovation road trip, from  Maryland to North Carolina, Michigan to the Rockies, bringing an eye for design and expert  craftsmanship to places in need of a facelift – with astonishing results.