After Being Snubbed By DStv In South Africa, Maisha Magic Movies Will Stop Airing In The Rest Of Africa From October

Last month, it was reported that Maisha Magic Movies would be exiting the DStv platform in South Africa. Since then, MultiChoice added BBC UKTV to the Compact bouquet in which this movie channel catered for alongside a Zulu dubbed Bollywood channel, Zee Zonke.

Through a conversation with a DStv customer, it had been confirmed that Maisha Magic Movies will close not only in Kenya but the rest of Africa by October 8th.

MultiChoice in a statement mentions that the termination is line with their strategy to continuously review content and optimise channels. This is done to deliver unbeatable content to their customers as they continue to cater to the needs and viewing requirements.

Just as I thought, Maisha Magic Movies was probably struggling to garner traction as seen with Africa Magic Epic and Mzansi Bioskop. Another could be that similar to fliekNET, the channel didn't have much on its plate leaving them to bombard the schedule with repeats.

Prior to its termination, M-Net had reverted consumers to Pearl Magic and the other Maisha Magic channels so we assume similar to fliekNET once again. M-Net will work on building the local offering on these brands to fill that gap left by Maisha Magic Movies.

In other developments, MultiChoice and Ngwato Nkosi Group are set to unveil a rival kids brand in the coming months, Play Room. The channel will offer animated content in Zulu with some language switching happening between shows we assume it will replace another channel.

Reminder: Maisha Magic Movies Will Close On DStv By 31 August 2023, Zee Zonke Will Be Added Soon

In 2021, MultiChoice and M-Net unveiled a new local movie channel, Maisha Magic Movies. The channel was tailor made for East African audiences particularly Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Malawi while as being viewable in areas MultiChoice operates.

Maisha Magic Movies would be used as a platform to promote first run productions from East Africa alongside content already viewed on Maisha Magic East and Pearl Magic. Some content to have been viewed on the channel include like 94 Terror, Damu Moja and Freedom Movie.

After two years, MultiChoice has decided to call it quits for Maisha Magic Movies with the channel to remain on the platform until the end of August. At the time of publishing, neither MultiChoice and M-Net could provide a statement regarding the removal of the brand.

From what we can gather, this change is only applicable to consumers in South Africa as it remains operational in other parts of Africa. We assume similar to Novela Magic, the channel was struggling to garner traction as seen with Mzansi Bioskop and Africa Magic Epic. 

Another contributing factor would have to be Zee Zonke, since last year MultiChoice had been battling with transponder constraints so they'd often need to remove channels in order to launch another channel. Maisha Magic Movies being obsolete would be replaced by Zee Zonke.

As both incorporate a local element into the lineup, Zee Zonke is a Zulu dubbed entertainment channel similar to eMedia Investments eExtra and ePlesier would dub various international shows in local languages as opposed to producing original content like Maisha Magic Movies.

Zee Zonke was slated to launch on the platform earlier in the month but was pushed to September so Maisha Magic Movies' sacrifice won't be in vain. Unlike the movie channel, Zee Zonke might be viewable to more DStv customers like Family and Access.

As crazy as this switcheroo appears to some, they had attempted to phase out something factual and entertaining as Da Vinci for toddler filtered brand like Moonbug and another instance was with MTV Hits when MultiChoice opted to kill pop for some smooth Jazz on Qwest TV.

Maisha Magic Movies In ROA

As mentioned from our findings, it appears the channel will remain operational in other countries. Considering the channel was made available to Access in parts of East Africa and it's socials were redirected to Maisha Magic and Pearl Magic. It wouldn't be shocking if more regions opted to discontinue carriage of the channel if not the whole of Africa.

Maisha Magic Movies To Showcase 14 New Films This Valentine's Day

Starting from 14th February, 15 new commissioned Ugandan movies will debut on Maisha Magic Movies channel in a move to showcase locally produced content across East Africa.

“The announcing of this commissioned content on Maisha Magic Movies channel is a bold step towards uplifting local content, supporting Ugandan talent, and telling the stories that inspire us, lift the mood, and provide educational benefits to the viewers.” - Joan Semanda Kizza

Also read:
- The first batch of drama series coming to M-Net, 1Magic and Showmax
- The last FOX Life available in the United States closes down in March
- Upcoming programming for Telemundo Africa
- February on WildEarth
- List of K-dramas and reality shows TVN will likely air if they return to DStv
- Could ESPN close alongside National Geographic and Disney Channel?
- Baby TV could be on the chopping block
- February on Comedy Central, MTV and BET

The channel is set to premiere movies that the audiences will resonate with through their authenticity and relevance to what it means to be Ugandan. DStv Channel 141 was launched as a unique offering inspired by and targeted primarily at the Ugandan, Kenyan & Tanzanian market.

“As we enter into the Uganda Film Festival season, I believe this rebrand to showcase more local content will create interest of the viewers towards the Uganda Film Industry... and as we embark on training the younger generation in this industry, we need to have deliberate efforts that will push viewership so that the industry can grow,” said Colin Asiimwe, Head of Marketing at MultiChoice Uganda.

Also read:
- The first batch of drama series coming to M-Net, 1Magic and Showmax
- The last FOX Life available in the United States closes down in March
- Upcoming programming for Telemundo Africa
- February on WildEarth
- List of K-dramas and reality shows TVN will likely air if they return to DStv
- Could ESPN close alongside National Geographic and Disney Channel?
- Baby TV could be on the chopping block
- February on Comedy Central, MTV and BET

Ugandan Movies to watch out for on the channel include; Namuddu, Pieces of Me, Dead Respect, Rakai, Chwezi Dynasty, The Virgin, My Sister’s Keeper, 24 Hours, Influensa, Blood Ransom, The Guest Wife, Atonement, The First Eleven, Contention, Mukisa, amongst others.

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New Channel Alert: Maisha Magic Plus And Maisha Magic Movies Might Be Launching On DStv In Southern Africa

On top of the news that MultiChoice plans to rollout an East African movie channel I mentioned earlier called Maisha Magic Movies. It looks like they want to compliment the offering with Maisha Magic.

Maisha Magic Plus is the Kenyan version of Mzansi Wethu which features a variety of local series including Selena Kona, Kiva, Sol Family and Hullaballo Estate. This one has been active in Kenya since 2020.

Maisha Magic Plus is a new East African movie channel MultiChoice was hyping about in their FY22 presentation. According to the guide, the channel will showcase the best of Ugandan, Tanzanian and Kenyan films so yeah it exists to compliment Africa Magic Epic.

Details on the dates and channel numbers will be unveiled VERY SOON. From what I can tell both channels won't be available in HD and it seems more likely for them to be available in Southern Africa since most of the series isn't viewable on Novela Magic while the movies can't be distributed on Africa Magic since it's focus is on West Africa.

Maisha Magic Plus is available on channel 163 in Kenya to DStv Access customers so if I had to guess South Africans will likely find it on channels 140-159 from Access and upwards while the new channel Maisha Magic Movies is made available to either Compact or Family customers in the same channel number area as Maisha Magic Plus.

According to sources in other African markets, Maisha Magic Movies launches 26 July and broadcasts 15 hours a day from the Compact package.

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