Development Alert: Zee One, Star Life, Discovery Science, MSNBC And More TV Channels Exit Zuku TV

During the week, it was reported that Zuku TV had reinstated National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, Baby TV and only 1 ESPN channel. As the latter are currently packaged by MultiChoice's DStv and StarTimes' and On Digital Media's StarSat platforms.

After being replaced by Animal Planet, TLC and Discovery, Zuku TV had opted to remove these channels and worse kill of a few more channels like Star Life, Zee One, Travel Channel, MSNBC, Discovery Science, Real Time, Planet Fun, 360 TuneBox, Zuku Action and Zuku Max.

There had been channels which had suffering signal loss but the above mentioned are just the few channels in which Zuku TV had been reviewing and opted to no longer distribute. Consumers are flooding the socials threatening to cut ties or opt to rival platforms if the latter isn't reinstated.

Three years ago, Zuku TV was left without a decent sports offering and history as you have it took the Bollywood offering. It's not only Zee One and Star Life that are affected but also sister channels like StarPlus and Zee Bollymovies.

In other developments, MultiChoice and StarSat had both lost carriage of Emmanuel TV and Deutsche Welle with one set to go dark by mid-January. This is due to the company's recent review of their portfolio which had seen them do a lot of cost cutting in order to remain afloat.

Could Discovery Family And Real Time Also Be Going Dark Following The Termination Of Discovery Science And Discovery Turbo Xtra?

During the week, it was reported that Warner Bros. Discovery would be ending Discovery Science and also Discovery Turbo Xtra across various international markets (including Africa) meaning similar to the remaining Disney Channels in Asia they won't live through 2024.

Prior to these Discovery channels demise, Warner Bros. Discovery had quietly removed any mentions of "Brand New" from their promos with Discovery Family and Real Time both of which are residing on Zuku and MultiChoice's DStv across Africa had undergone a similar route.

Unlike Discovery Science, Discovery Family and Real Time continue to update their offering. I would be lying if I didn't say Warner had made changes to the channel that would question their very existence.

Few years back, Warner would licence content exclusively for these channels particularly The Carbonaro Effect and The Marilyn Denis Show but now both channels exist to rehash content from Discovery Channel, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery and HGTV.

On top of that, there's no marketing going towards these brands particularly content viewed on them. Considering these channels are a priority to both Warner and the viewers, you'd expect consistency. Although the latter is just repeats they are consumers actually viewing the content.

Some of these viewers may get attached to some of the content and would want to keep tabs. Warner's failure to just promote these shows would further distance viewers from the channel or better yet affect the performance as mentioning these shows would keep viewers onboard.

As to whether Real Time and Discovery Family could be going dark in the region as seen with Disney's offering in Asia and Warner's offering in Europe - that's kind of quo.

After what happened to Boomerang, Warner may look at ways of trying to keep the content intact without negatively impacting the viewers. Perhaps a merger/rebranding of the channels is what awaits for them in future or if a closure is inevitable perhaps a substitute like Discovery Channel and TLC.

In all honesty, Real Time looks more lively and upbeat than Discovery Family (with its large chunk of Discovery Channel) as it inherits content from Food Network, HGTV and Investigation Discovery with very little investment coming from TLC and Animal Planet.

Warner Bros. Discovery To Close Discovery Science And Discovery Turbo Xtra Worldwide By The End Of 2023

According to Paginamedia.ro, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to retract/close Discoivery Science and Discovery Turbo Xtra from various territories across Europe by the end of 2023. The decision comes as a result of the company's strategy to optimize their content and portfolio of linear channels seen in the region.

Countries affected include Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Israel, Latvia, Luthuania, Estonia, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

Discovery Science (also known as The Science Channel) is a factual and educational channel that was once packaged by StarTimes and On Digital Media's Starsat and SABC+. It featured shows currently viewed on Discovery Family including as How Its Made, Mythbusters, Extreme Engineering and How The Universe works.

Discovery Turbo Xtra (also known as MotorTrend) was a cars and motorsport channel that featured shows such as Chasing Classic Cars, FourWheeler, Iron Resurrection and Texas Metal. Although the channel wasn't viewable in Africa, select shows were distributed on Discovery Channel.

Warner Bros. Discovery offers a variety of brands including Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC, Food Network and Animal Planet. These brands were said to substitute Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo Xtra once it shuts down by the end of 2023.

During the year, Robert Blair left Warner. Bros. Discovery as head of international TV distribution with speculation growing on a possible streamline to their portfolio. As the company is looking to sell less content to brands like M-Net and Showmax and also reduce content spend on brands like Cartoon Network and Cartoonito.

Could Discovery Science Replace Discovery Family On DStv?

Earlier in the year, Discovery Family was abruptly removed after two years on StarTimes (Starsat) alongside another Discovery Channel known as Fine Living.

According to StarSat, when a content provider decides to make changes in the production of content they cannot prevent it. Since then the channel remained exclusive to DStv.

Before Discovery Family came to Starsat, there was another channel before it known as Discovery Science that featured programming focusing on the fields of wilderness survival, ufology, manufacturing, construction, technology, space, prehistory and animal science.

Basically, most of Discovery Family's current programming is available under there such as Battlebots, Food Factory, Mythbusters, Mega Machines, The Unexplained Files and Strange Evidence.

In 2018, StarTimes decided to trade a useful channel such as Discovery Science with a mass produced Discovery Family for no apparent reason now they're both gone platform is still sourcing out a possible replacement channel.

Discovery Science is currently available on TelkomOne in South Africa with Zuku TV (Kenya).

Starsat's story over the removals kind of checked out. Zuku TV also had Fine Living and it was swapped for another Discovery brand known as Real Time. So the question remains how long will Discovery Family last on DStv.

This change could have something to do with Discovery+ perhaps they're following Disney in realigning their channels so instead of having Discovery Family serving as a family friendly channel internationally and kids channel in the U.S. it will be the oldest relative that keeps the house which is the U.S. counterpart. Perhaps even Travel Channel will join it soon.

If Discovery Family got canned, Discovery Science would make a worthy replacement perhaps Real Time could reposition itself to include programs in the motor and science area and Discovery Channel opens it doors to more homes on DStv.

Read Also:

- tvN has been extended on DStv

- tvN unveils upcoming programming

- Cartoon Network is working on getting content for family, what does that mean for Boomerang?
- July on Discovery Channel and Discovery Family
- July on Investigation Discovery
- Will Cartoonito be the future of Boomerang in the UK and EMEA?
- July on TLC and Real Time
- 100 international Disney Channels are closing in 2021
- Cartoon Network working on its first African superhero series
- FOX in Africa might be the next market to rebrand into Star
- Star India might rebrand into Utsav in Africa later in August
- Will Paramount+ cancel several linear channels like Comedy Central and MTV?

More New Episodes Coming In May 2016 On Discovery Science

HOW TO PREMIERE
From Monday, 2 May at 20:15 
Have you ever wondered how the everyday items we use and rely on are  created? Monday nights in May are all about putting these innocuous objects under the microscope. Popular science series ‘How It’s Made’ returns for a 13th series and it’s packed with even more eye-opening  revelations about what it takes to manufacture the things we often take  for granted. Each episode is built around a wide range of products, with  this series featuring hammers, pens, Swiss army knives, olive oil, luxury  watches, leather shoes and so much more. Taking viewers behind the  scenes at the most high-tech factories around, this fascinating series  continues to demonstrate how raw materials are transformed and common items are manufactured.

FOOD FACTORY USA PREMIERE
From Tuesday, 3 May at 21:00
America is a country that seriously loves its food – and lots of it!  Behind every big-name bag of crisps, can of beer or candy bar  lies a mega-industrial production line that brings each product to the masses. ‘Food Factory USA’ takes a fascinating peek behind the scenes of the weird and wonderful processes that produce America’s favourite foods. Each mouth-watering episode serves up a triple serving of the country’s all-time favourite treats. From
McDonald’s French fries to Budweiser beer, it’s an epic journey through artisanal kitchens and mass production facilities on  mind-blowing scale. Watch as mountains of raw materials are transformed into the finished products  loved by millions. Along the way, meet the awesome machines and dedicated people who make it  happen. 

HOW DO THEY DO IT? PREMIERE
From Saturday, 7 May at 21:00
As the modern world becomes progressively automated  and mechanised, we grow ever more removed from
knowing how things are made or done. ‘How Do They  Do It?’ returns for a 12th series to uncover the miraculous feats of engineering which underpin life in  the 21st century. We take for granted many items that  make up the modern world but, from aeroplanes and  scaffolding to waterproof clothing and cement, these  items are often the products of highly sophisticated  engineering and production processes. Our comfortable  modern way of life relies on the problem-solving genius of engineers and the vision of industrial  designers, constantly striving to make things faster, cheaper and better. Each episode takes viewers  behind the scenes, peeling back the layers of industry to reveal the hidden stories behind our everyday lives.