Why Some Consumers Haven't Lost Hope On SABC And MultiChoice Just Yet?

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Through my years of online journalism, you do tend to come across criticism some of these are just troll comments while others come from a good place. This is something that SABC and MultiChoice has been battling with since their inception to the South African market.

As some may have already heard on several occasions, SABC is in financial turmoil relying on bailouts and sponsors to keep them afloat. With their money crisis, it has led to implement several cuts across SABC 1-3 with the government looking to change its funding model which could as well take several years to get into action.

For sometime, SABC has been trying to make an extra buck through MultiChoice by making them collect TV licenses or a household levy. This is because they offer the most watched channels in South Africa (including DStv) and MultiChoice opposes the deal as the broadcaster makes R500 million in advertising with just 4 channels.

MultiChoice is already going through a similar hurdle with its consumer base on DStv and are hoping to get a fresh start with Showmax and the Canal+ deal. Following its split from Vivendi, Canal+ and MultiChoice are hoping to complete this transaction in the beginning of a new financial year April 2025 to help them take on Netflix.

Although Netflix has over 200 million subscribers globally, MultiChoice has 19 million subscribers through DStv and Netflix doesn't have much consumers in Africa which reports estimating these consumers reside in 2 million households by 2023. 

With Canal+ having 8 million subscribers in Francophone Africa with MultiChoice's existing figures it ensures that they are ahead of the competition in Africa.

While some consumers may feel SABC and MultiChoice's services should be rendered redundant these are companies that are helping shape up the local industry and come with history. The unemployment rate is edging close to 50% with 80% of these individuals being youth and their demise will only worsen the problem.

SABC News, eNCA and Newzroom Afrika will be nothing without the funds coming from MultiChoice and although Netflix has been investing locally they're not expected to bulk up to such capacity. In the end, Netflix was only able to garner relevance for its content produced in other countries even with Africa on the map not much would change.

The Eclipse Of Traditional TV: eMedia And MultiChoice Navigate The Streaming Tide

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With Comcast looking to offload its cable networks we turn our sites to both MultiChoice and eMedia Investments whose 2024 was somewhat dismal or dramatic at least for one of the two. MultiChoice ousted 11 channels while undergoing a takeover by Canal+ which is awaiting approval from South African regulators.

eMedia Investments has rounded another year with no additions despite promises to add a few more channels as Ultraview's future is being questioned after OUTtv and FUSE reverted to eVOD.

Let's face it, consumers don't prioritise TV as much in recent years as Netflix has become the hangout spot for shows like Squid Games and Wednesday. MultiChoice has been focused on everything from streaming, insurance and cybersecurity but saving the once dominant DStv platform.

Even the financially challenged SABC's top rated soaps are grasping through straws as their viewership continues to plummet. Uzalo that serves as the dominant player amongst the foe stood at 4.8 million in October 2024 which is a 21% drop from 6.1 million in October 2023.

This is the reason MultiChoice has been selective when it comes to sourcing content take for instance Zee Zonke. The only reason this channel was able to stay afloat is due to Zee TV's existing footprint in the market same goes for SuperSport Schools that established it's presence on YouTube as School Sports Live.

If anything things haven't been greener for eMedia's Ultraview offering as part of its offering had been merged with eVOD, consumers are curious on what's next for the brand. Since it's rollout, it was met with heavy criticism for its pricing and content offering while being compared to DStv so a majority are expecting for it to be dismantled.

When it was introduced, Eskom was going full force with power cuts although that withered DStv hasn't recovered and as for Ultraview it never had a fighting chance. Remember eMedia Investments hadn't disclosed consumer numbers for Ultraview but it's assumed to have under 500 subscribers.

In general, adding new channels has been more riskier in recent years MultiChoice had done that with One Freestate Televisual and NWTV which lasted for about 3 months. Even if the plan were to restructure, SABC has done that numerous times with SABC 3 and it still hasn't saved its fallen viewership.

Elif Rebroadcasts Move From 09:30 To 16:00 On e.tv And This Is Due To ePlesier's New Show Die Agentskap

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 As reported a month ago, ePlesier will be airing it's first exclusive show this month titled Die Agentskap from 2nd December. This series was allocated on eVOD earlier in the year and had been M.I.A. as eExtra allocated more recent shows from the streamer such as Op Dun Ys and Pad Na Die Hart.

There had been questions from several viewers about how eMedia Investments is planning to accommodate Die Agentskap as ePlesier is a repeats channel so the viewership would be minimal. Plans are underway to make daytime repeats available on e.tv at 9:30 as Elif's rebroadcast move almost two hours before it's premiere at 4PM.

For those wondering why Die Agentskap is not airing on eExtra, it had been alleged that reception for the series was dismal after being allocated on eVOD. With eExtra already at it wits with Op Dun Ys can't afford to lose viewers therefore opted to dump the series on ePlesier where the viewership is minimal.

Honestly this is a trend in other countries where channels would often discard a program if it failed to garner traction at least in Die Agentskap's case it gets promotion. Others to have fallen either had received very little marketing with some ousted from viewer's grasp.

Die Agentskap's debut on ePlesier has only made e.tv's schedule more bloated with repeats there's eExtra's primetime shows in the daytime and lastly rebroadcasts of Z'Bondiwe and Nikiwe. Then you have Elif moving to 4PM and it's previous slot as mentioned is being phased out for another repeat.

This has left e.tv with more reruns aside from eExtra's catch-up slots, the channel is already airing Nikiwe and Z'Bondiwe

MultiChoice And SABC Settle Dispute With eMedia Investments Regarding Sports

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As some have already read, eExtra alongside eMedia's other Openview channels such as eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz won't be exiting DStv anytime soon as MultiChoice and eMedia Investments have come to an agreement. Although, the finer details of this transaction have yet to be known by the media.

Another topic that was addressed within eMedia Investments annual results for 30 September 2024 was the matter of the Rugby World Cup. This was something eMedia Investments had been battling to get onto Openview after MultiChoice denied other platforms aside from that of SABC's DTT the right to view the content.

This led SABC to change transmission for these channels once these games come on through platforms outside SABC's DTT and DStv which is what prompted this battle. MultiChoice accused eMedia Investments of free riding and wanting to broadcast the content without paying a cent.

eMedia Investments had pitched a sum in which MultiChoice deemed too low and from what other sources mention SABC's bid was a lot higher. It took local legislation to pressure these broadcasters into reaching an agreement which saw these games getting reduced even further.

When MultiChoice blocked other platforms from getting rugby it was so that SABC could pay less and get the bulk of content associated with a free-to-air broadcaster. Then after eMedia Investments came into the picture it has been theorised that MultiChoice had to reduce the amount of games given to the SABC.

Now all three parties have settled the matter of course it's not really known how they managed to settle the matter but it isn't something that they can keep secretive forever. MultiChoice has been in such disputes with both parties several times and this isn't something you'd expect to go away that easily.

SABC And e.TV Are Likely To Be Reliant On DStv As Millions Of Households Still Recieving Analogue Signals Will Be Left In The Dark

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As some readers have been made aware, SABC 1-3 will be transitioning away from analogue TV on 31 December 2024 a process that had been delayed the government for more than a decade. They put up various banners addressing the situation with e.tv that has yet to do so as they opt to once again delay/scrap the switch off.

Several countries had already turned off their signals as this current method of watching TV has been deemed outdated for sometime. As you can rely on a smart TV for these channels and best part pick up additional channels even the likes of Openview and DStv can help combat this situation.

Trust me when I mention that the government should have never opted to delay the switch yes there was millions still reliant on their aerial but this problem could have lessened by 2024. MultiChoice was always accustomed to catering for a selection of consumers and now free-to-air operators will have to adjust to this current structure.

Having SABC 1's viewership minimised as some households will probably be watching SABC Sport or eReality and with MultiChoice having SuperSportBET, DStv Insurance and Namola to obtain some revenue. These operators are now going to have to find other means to recover this lost revenue.

If there's anyone that's going to suffer more from this it's the SABC while eMedia Investments went ahead and launched Openview ahead of the switch off were able to garner some income and grow their fanbase. Although SABC had followed similar routes with SABC Education and SABC Lehae on DTT very little income is being generated.

Now SABC is trying to make a DStv a cash cow by trying to make its parent company either pay for SABC 1-3 or help in collecting TV licence despite making R500 million in advertising. These are just ideas that have been in development hell for more than a decade alongside the rest of the public broadcaster.

This was something that TVWithThinus had mentioned from time and time again the government had failed the SABC. If it didn't SABC News wouldn't be financed by MultiChoice and I believe if they were more involved they would have tried improving the SABC's financial situation.

At this stage, the public broadcaster can't survive in its current structure without some financial backing maybe they could look into minimising the amount of local content on SABC 1. There's already DStv and a global player like Netflix even e.tv has increased its local investment in recent years.

If there's anyone that can survive in SABC's shoes it would be MultiChoice as consumers are paying for the content being viewed on Mzansi Magic and Moja Love alongside Netflix.

Sentech's Freevision Delists eMedia's Openview Channels From Their Platforms

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Sentech's Freevision which serves as one of the various rivals for eMedia Investments' Openview platform alongside PremiumFree TV started its services back in 2015. Similar to DStv's Easyview package, it mainly consisted of religious and provincial stations alongside various SABC and e.tv channels.

According to several consumers, e.tv channels had been ousted from the platform and this would include eExtra, eMovies and eToonz which serve as the initial offering on the platform. This would only leave mainly SABC channels particularly SABC 1-3, SABC Sport, SABC Education, SABC Lehae and SABC Variety.

eMedia Investments is already running through a similar hurdle with MultiChoice after they made the decision to exclude these services from DStv by 2022. Unlike Sentech's Freevision, these channels have a lot more viewers there of course with its pending demise one could say eMedia Investments is under siege.

With MultiChoice betting their odds on Showmax, Sentech had made similar pursuits with Freevision Play featuring a range of local content from various provincial stations some of which like Cape Town TV were exclusive to DStv.

Freevision Play taps into the same market as SABC+ and eVOD which is free and if we had to compare the three they're all winners in some way. Freevision Play has a catalogue of local content and TV channels, SABC+ is good for sports and local news and eVOD offers a mixture local and international content.

But the reality to all this only one out of three favour eMedia Investments and it's sort of this scenario of them being less reachable by fans. Right now, they're fighting to prevent analogue signals from going off the deep end as there's still households dependant on them for content and contribute to their ad revenue.

How SABC's Proposal To Let MultiChoice Collect TV Licence Affects DStv?

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For several years, SABC has been working on a turnaround plan as the company remains technically insolvent one of which the collection of TV licenses through a pay-tv company. MultiChoice remains firm in their decision to prevent such massacre from moving ahead as it would lead to dire consequences for the average DStv consumer.

What prompted SABC to rely on MultiChoice for disposable income is simple as they already make a half a billion in advertising revenue with 4 channels alone compared to eMedia's R140+ million figure. They also have the watched channels not only in South Africa but to DStv consumers.

Even though these channels do add some value to the average DStv consumer MultiChoice created the platform particularly for those hoping to view content from another perspective. Even though Mzansi Magic is lagging behind SABC 1 in numbers, they could as well be at an advantage point if you had to divide those numbers amongst packages.

On the basis of TV license, if the government were to approve plans of enforcing TV licenses to a platform like DStv as mentioned this will lead to dire consequences not only to the average DStv consumer but MultiChoice.

As we've seen in recent years, MultiChoice continues to bleed in DStv consumers as subscriber numbers had dropped to under 8 million subscribers and enforcing this would lead to additional fees. A lot of DStv consumers had been complaining about the rates and these fees will lead another drop and probably destroy the whole DStv structure.

MultiChoice trying to balance DStv and SABC paying consumers will likely have to cutback on content and lose out on potential revenue if it means retaining their consumers. The public broadcaster had stated that the current rates of TV licenses have yet to be adjusted so whose to say that this may not lead to the closure of certain DStv packages.

One of those reasons MultiChoice proposed a household levy in which SARS will take responsibility. But then again this wouldn't help DStv as the average taxpayer will most definitely want to wind down on expenses and who better than DStv as some have stated we pay DStv which carries SABC so there's your TV licence. 

But this is due to the mangled must-carry regulations which hasn't benefited SABC on a fundamental level but to a consumer's standpoint.

News Shorts: A Rebroadcast Of eKasi: Our Stories Replaces Current Affairs On e.tv As The Latter Moves Back To Late Nights, Play Room Lands In Gotham City With The Batwheels And TLNovelas Africa Is Now Slated To Air Cancelled Soap Shadows Of The Past

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e.tv hits a new low with a rebroadcast of eKasi: Our Stories 

In a not so surprising move by the broadcaster, The Last Word With Shahan Ramkissoon, Devi and Checkpoint will now air 2 hours later at 22:30 as primetime is set to be bombarded with repeats of eKasi: Our Stories. We can only assume similar to Isiphetho: Destiny even the 20:30 slot is a danger zone.

By this time, Uzalo is broadcast on SABC 1 and seeing as e.tv and SABC 1 are targeting the same viewers you can only assume that a majority have a preference to long form soaps. Unlike Isiphetho: Destiny, these shows were commissioned by eNCA so there's a strong chance it will remain on the air.

But with the number of times they've changed their schedule I wouldn't be shocked if e.tv scrapped current affairs from weekdays as they've got these batch of shows like uMbali and Splintered Pieces on eVOD. None of which have yet to be added on eMedia's linear platforms and e.tv has already seen constraints in their schedule.

Batwheels expands to DStv Access

Produced by Warner Bros Animation, the series follows a group of sentient super-powered crime-fighting vehicles defending Gotham City alongside a host of DC superheroes. Brought to life by the Batcomputer to help defend Gotham City, the heroic Batwheels are thrust into hilarious hijinks and jaw-dropping action while learning important life lessons.

Led by Bam the Batmobile, the Batwheels must navigate the challenges of being a newly formed super team as well as the growing pains that come with just being a kid. The relatable and aspirational series follows the team’s journey as they thrill and entertain with their heroic adventures, as well as demonstrate to preschool kids the value of self-confidence, friendship and teamwork.

After being made available on Cartoonito by March 2023, Play Room had acquired rights to superhero themed preschool series following its rollout on Netflix in September. The series is slated to air from 1st November at 18:15 and it's rollout on the channel coincides with Cartoon Network as they will be celebrating Teen Titans GO! 400th episode milestone with a bunch of DC themed content.

Shadows Of The Past now slated to rollout on TLNovelas

After failing to rollout on the channel earlier in the year, TLNovelas is now slated to include the former FOX soap Shadow Of The Past by December replacing the current rebroadcast of Timeless Love. Similar to Telemundo, it appears primetime is now being revived as the latter gripped to 1 timeslot.

Based on 2001 telenovela El Manantial, it follows Two very different families live in the village of Santa Lucía who are involved in a whirlwind of passion, pain, and revenge. From those opposite sides, Aldonza and Cristóbal meet and a bond that will face hurdles is formed.

Michelle Renaud and Pablo Lyle stars as the protagonists, while Alexis Ayala and Alejandra Barros stars as the antagonists. There is a special participation of Susana González and René Strickler, with Alfredo Adame, Cynthia Klitbo and Manuel "Flaco" Ibáñez.

eMedia Updates: Isiphetho: The Destiny Cancelled After It's Current Season On e.tv With Rebroadcasts Of Vierspel Vuurspel And Ramo Rolling Out In The Coming Months On eExtra

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Isiphetho The Destiny is a South African based drama series that follows the intertwined lives of four estranged friends who were bound by a life-changing secret during their teenage years. Now in their 30s, they find themselves drawn back to their old neighbourhood, determined to chase their true destinies.

In a bid to revitalise their community and rewrite their futures, the foursome embark on an exciting new venture: an innovative restaurant aimed at bringing unique culinary delights to the township. But at every turn on their journey to self-determination, their past and enemies threaten to thwart their dreams.

According to sources, eMedia Investments had decided to end the show by April 2025 meaning Isiphetho: Destiny will not be returning with a second season. It joins the long line of failed attempts to have broadcast on that timeslot including Nikiwe, Isipho and Durban Gen.

More series lows with a rebroadcast of Vierspel Vuurspel and Ramo

After debuting on eExtra last year, a rebroadcast of Ramo is scheduled to broadcast on e.tv from 18 November replacing Hart Van Goud with Vierspel Vuurspel replacing Net 20 Minute on eExtra. So I think the question is why a 6 month long repeat on eExtra and not another import from eVOD.

We're presuming since the year is almost up that eMedia Investments is pausing primetime but out of all shows why not Kurt En Shura or Die Binnekring as they're much shorter in comparison. Maybe some behind the scenes is happening within their studios as Elif reaches its climax perhaps another surprise awaits viewers.

But in all honesty, we don't see the point of ePlesier if e.tv and eExtra already exist and are well airing the batch of repeats, you'd presume with the demise of Rewind and eVOD they'd do a better job minimising repeats. Instead these repeats are being splashed across platforms something the SABC had burdened onto their consumers.

Could eMedia Investments Look To Revive Nuusdag On eExtra?

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A few years ago, eMedia Investments decided to axe the News and Sports channel from the Openview platform as the channel struggled to gain appeal from viewers and also very little income was being generated from the channel. eMedia Investments put all its effort on SABC Sport and the remaining offering to substitute this offering.

Nuusdag served as one of those flagship shows by eMedia Investments and not through their pay-tv outlet eNCA as a rivalled offering to KykNet's eNuus. Despite both being produced under one umbrella, Openview had the reach through eExtra which at the time was the only option DStv Access consumers had to Afrikaans content.

With eMedia Investments already doing so well with eNuus on KykNet one would assume that Nuusdag would rise to the occasion but that wasn't the case as there were numerous spelling errors and also competition. Aside from KykNet, SABC 2 also offered Afrikaans and paired that with 7de Laan basically putting Nuusdag at a precarious position.

They moved it to 8pm where the competition was rather stiff outside DStv but still Nuusdag struggled to garner appeal that it was shuttered. For years on end, eMedia Investments had bombarded the eExtra's schedule not that it was bad as the Afrikaans voiceover helped build a community for which the company had less of a history.

This grow Kuiertyd's already dominant telenovela offering to include locally produced films, short form series like Die Fakuliteit and lastly the company's first ever Afrikaans soap Kelders Van Gehieme. I think the question boils down to whether they could look into reviving Nuusdag or something similar to that for Openview consumers.

After SABC decided to axe 7de Laan and move further Afrikaans content to SABC 3 the viewership for this plummeted and even SABC 3's first dubbed show Innocence failed to garner any notice with Nuus ratings that has been halved. eMedia Investments supplemented 7de Laan with Kelders Van Gehieme in the same timeslot.

Them looking to revive Nuusdag or offering something similar wouldn't seem far fetched a stretch. In recent years, we've seen Die Kontrak and Bôll And Ôll pulling in a crowd a format was abandoned by the company when Kuiertyd was first incepted and maybe this newer format will be broadcast on weekends.

"The Bollore Effect": Could SABC News, eNCA And Newzroom Afrika Also Be Impacted By Canal+ Possible Takeover Of MultiChoice?

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MultiChoice is technically insolvent a position in which the liabilities weigh more than their assets meaning the company won't be able to cover most of their expenses and could go bankrupt. So they're reliant on Canal+ transaction in order to remain afloat as they take the matter to legislation.

As some readers are aware, there was reports going around about the potential owners Canal+ and Vivendi that similar to MultiChoice would buy up shares in a company before staging a hostile takeover. But most of the attention was pointed toward the editorial staff and the effects this transaction had on them.

eMedia Investments' Openview and StarSat already package the French news channel France24 alongside MultiChoice's DStv in the Eastern and Western parts of Africa. This channel has been subjected to "editorial interference" or as the media would brand this situation "corporate bullying".

The owners in question would force a channel like France24 to express certain views about a topic and failure to abide by those policies would risk that individual their job. Corporate would go about hiring someone who is willing to follow guidelines which is why France24 looks the way it is now.

With Canal+ obtaining almost half of MultiChoice shares there's fear lurking around that SABC News, eNCA and Newzroom Afrika heading down a similar route. Although Canal+ wouldn't own these channels they would own MultiChoice which in turn owns France24 and would want to level the playing field.

With Canal+ already prioritizing C8 and BFM alongside France24 in Africa another fear surrounding these channels would be budget cuts. The first thing that will happen once the transaction concludes would be corporate downsizing with lower to upper management seeing cuts with branches closing down.

Why Impact Wrestling (Now TNA Impact!) Failed On Openview?

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After losing rights to WWE a few years ago, eMedia Investments opted to rather put their focus in their remaining lineup which ranged from international movies and series to local content. By 2021, they made a strategic move by supplementing this with Impact Wrestling (now TNA) after SuperSport opted to discontinue carriage of the wrestling promotion from their platforms.

The news of TNA's inclusion on e.tv wasn't met with the best responses from wrestling and sporting fans with some making comparisons to rival WWE. This showed as TNA failed to chart in e.tv's top 20 watched shows likely due to the poor scheduling choices another being competition from both SABC 1 and SuperSport weirdly enough only of the two offered wrestling on the same day as TNA.

If there's another thing, eMedia Investments handled poorly when it comes to TNA was how they'd distribute this content while WWE's flagship shows and PPVs were all allocated on e.tv with eExtra serving as a catch-up platform. With TNA, most of its catalogue was burnt off to Openview while the flagship show was in an on/off relationship on e.tv before moving to Openview exclusively.

If anyone had to guess it's possible that TNA's viewership was rather low on e.tv and they were changing its timeslot consistently in the hopes to attract more viewers but that proved to be challenging. When they decided 4pm would be its permanent timeslot it's likely the viewership continued to plummet that it led to them burning what little was left.

StarTimes eventually snatched those rights from eMedia Investments for their consumers in the African market (including South Africa) which would give TNA's extensive lineup of content more exposure compared to when it was on Openview. 

Now the problems pertaining to TNA have nothing to do with the wrestling promotion as it is one of those top 10 wrestling promotions in the world but rather eMedia Investments. WWE had been gone for so long and viewers who couldn't afford to get DStv were forced to move on and TNA was viewed as the enemy to e.tv's extensive history with WWE.

Viewers weren't accustomed to change and ignoring it was the only way they knew this problem would fade away and eMedia Investments wasn't sports oriented like the SABC so you could say that also played a factor. Again these consumers weren't accustomed to alternative methods this is what happened when Bleach was switched for Yu-Gi-Oh on SABC 2.

Before Naruto and Bleach, SABC once held to Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh but this part of their lineup was discarded for a decade with one being picked up by e.tv so when this format was revived it received very little notice from fans. Dragon Ball was able to rank in the top 10 watched shows on SABC 2 yet Yu-Gi-Oh an old placement long forgotten by fans couldn't even chart in the top 20.

Openview: "The Challenges Of Establishing A Competitor To SABC News And eNCA"

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MultiChoice remains a dominant player in the African landscape against the likes of Zuku TV, Azam TV and StarTimes with their DStv offering but in recent years this has been under threat against the likes of Disney+ and Netflix. They (or in particular MultiChoice Africa) is currently in the process of being acquired by the French broadcaster after serving as a competitor in the region.

SABC News, eNCA and Newzroom Afrika serve as those leading destinations for editorial news and throughout their existence hpas only been packaged within MultiChoice's offering. This is because the pay-tv company had been allocating funds for content and staff and unlike some brands like BBC News hadn't received much funding from a third party.

It is one of those reasons that SABC News had been removed from DTT platforms and replaced by SABC Lehae and why eNCA is not seen on eMedia Investment's Openview. There was a whole debate about tandrying to get these brands onto more platforms outside of MultiChoice's reach but the trail had since then been dried out of course there were multiple attempts at launching a competitive offering.

Sometime after StarTimes had acquired TopTV, they had explored the idea of launching a local news channel within the South African market but deemed it too expensive and abandoned those plans. eMedia Investments became the second broadcaster with OpenNews (before becoming News And Sports) and the channel wasn't financially sustainable which led to it's demise.

SABC became the third broadcaster with SABC Lehae the only problem was that the channel is accessibility as SABC had reported that DTT had only accumulated around 400,000 activations by 2020. Yet, eMedia Investments had accumulated over 2 million subscribers by then despite rolling out their STBs years after they were made available to the market.

The fact that SABC News is not on Openview doesn't mean the chances of acquiring it for the platform is unlikely. eMedia Investments could as well look into licensing SABC News but from what was speculated from some insiders the costs to acquire such a channel might not came in their favor cause eMedia. relies on advertising while MultiChoice offers a pay-tv service.

SuperSport And SABC Agree On Sub-Licensing Terms Of PSL Broadcast Rights

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SuperSport and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) have reached an agreement regarding the sub-licensing of Premier Soccer League (PSL) broadcast rights ahead of the start of the new Betway Premiership season.

 

The move comes after strong relations between the two South African broadcasters following the agreement of sub-licence agreements for the MTN8 tournament as well as the Currie Cup semi-final match which was contested this past weekend and upcoming final match.

 

The PSL saw the dawn of the new Betway Premiership last Saturday, 14 September 2024, with millions of fans seeing their favourite team content the biggest prize in South African football.

 

SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha said “The latest sub-licence agreement with the SABC is another step towards a strong relationship with the public broadcaster, for the benefit of the millions of football lovers across the country and the African continent. The PSL has proven itself time and again to be the most coveted football product among South Africans and we look forward to delivering another outstanding season of football action on Your World of Champions, SuperSport.”

SABC Group CEO Nomsa Chabeli said: “We are pleased with this acquisition, and it is another demonstration of our commitment to delivering exceptional sport content to our diverse audiences. Our rights package includes a total of 51 matches comprising of 23 Betway Premiership matches, 10 Carling Black Label Cup matches, 12 Nedbank Cup matches, and 6 National First Division matches. We will broadcast league matches every Saturday on SABC 1 during the league season, ensuring our audience has access to exciting live local football”.

 

 

 

Ms Chabeli further stated that “We will also be enhancing our coverage by strengthening the analysis team. This move will ensure that we provide insightful commentary and in-depth analysis for our viewers. The added new members to the team are Itumeleng Khune, Jabu Mahlangu as well as Coach Thabo Senong who will be joining our resident analysts Doctor Khumalo, Simphiwe Dludlu and Hlompho Kekana in studio”.

Other Reasons SABC, e.tv And DStv Continue To Lose Viewers

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During the year, the Broadcast Research Council (BRC) had conducted a survey where it was revealed that the number of households watching TV decreased from 15.9 million to 13.9 million. Although it was also outlined that the number of households in SA increased from 17.3 million to 18.3 million.

Understanding how SABC and e.tv is losing viewers, let's take a look at SABC+ and eVOD when those platforms were rolled out there was so much hype about how many downloads it accumulated. Although, actual consumer numbers are currently unknown for these platforms. 

Consumers instead of watching Annekan Die Swa Kry would probably be watching Binnelanders on KykNET&Kie as they could always catch-up on this week's episodes on eVOD. Another again, more consumers are opting for OTT so they rather use their cellular devices for this content. 

When Droomvelore last aired on e.tv the show was able to accumulate 1.8 million and when Annekan Die Swa Kry came this fell to a whopping 1.5 million. One of those reasons eMedia Investments is trying to scrap government plans to halt analogue signals with SABC looking to rollout its STBs.

Despite launching rival platforms to Netflix, neither company is making much revenue with MultiChoice anticipated to become the first in the region with Showmax. Let's remember, Showmax was launched back in 2015 and eMedia and SABC came with their rival offering 7+ years later.

Late entries are struggling to maintain their services are grow revenue wise hence the "free" service which gives them more exposure to these audiences. 

Although MultiChoice is seeing a much brighter future with Showmax the consumer base on DStv continues to deteriorate. This is due to inflation, increased competition from not only streaming but cable providers as well and lastly the dismantling of premium channels. 

What MultiChoice could have done to fight off inflation and retain DStv consumers would be rolling out an unbundled version of the DStv packages. This would see consumers paying for M-Net, National Geographic and Cartoon Network with the option to add sports into the mix.

The sad reality about DStv is that they are losing credibility as most content aside from news and sports is accessible nowadays. If one needs music there's always Spotify in my opinion and YouTube introduced viewers to Cocomelon and all MultiChoice can do is milk it dry.

Then the other is similar to free-to-air operators, consumers are just changing their viewing habits. Some are probably tired of viewing the same shenanigans from Uzalo and Muvhango and would rather browse TikTok or use their Xbox as there's more entertainment there.

VIU Looking To Become The Third Broadcaster To Rival With eExtra's Kuiertyd

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VIU is an Asian based streaming service that is formed as part of a joint venture with PCCW Media Limited and French broadcaster Canal+. Residing in more than 20 countries, VIU is estimated to have reached over 60 million users as the streamer plans to build up on its content slate.

Canal+ which serves as partner is currently in pursuit of Showmax's parent company MultiChoice after garnering stakes is now sitting at 45%. The plan should this acquisition succeed is to create an African powerhouse that can take on giants like Disney and Netflix. 

Another plan on the cards would be introducing international content in local languages particularly Afrikaans. eMedia Investments has been doing this since 2018 and had since then become popular within South Africa literally doubling the viewership of SABC 2's 7de Laan.

KykNET became eMedia Investments' first competitor in such pursuit as this offering was rolled out through KykNET&Kie. Both of which are owned by MultiChoice, with Canal+ looking to acquire this could lead to additional programming as the channel had simplified this offering in May.

Although Showmax had already been producing Afrikaans content for their audiences none of which rival with shows like Doodsondes or Sommerdahl Moorde. But rather the niche part of Kuiertyd with only a variant of these viewers with Bôll And Ôll and Ja, Daddy Kan Lekker Eet.

It will be interesting to see how these shows will do in terms of distribution cause with Canal+ owning KykNET they could use it promote these endeavors. Another scenario would be shopping these series to other broadcasters like the SABC since they are technically insolvent. 

The public broadcaster has been looking at cost cutting measures aside from possibly selling SABC 3 another was reducing budget costs for shows like Muvhango. VIU has been the official distributor to some of their shows like Uzalo and Skeem Saam.

Press statement about the inclusion of dubbed programming 

The demand for foreign content is so great that part of Viu’s strategy for the next year is to dub more and more of these titles into South African languages to make them more accessible.

While K-dramas are geared more towards English speakers, Turkish content is more aligned with Afrikaans audiences. Kelly said part of the growth in demand for Turkish content is due to the gap left by long-running Afrikaans shows like 7de Laan reaching end of life.

For Viu, the dubbing of content in Afrikaans gives the company an opportunity to use internationally sourced content to contribute to the local economy by employing local vocal talent. “The Turks are doing well in TV production, particularly in the long-running dramas. We work with some of the best dubbing providers in the country and we want to make sure we don’t do our audience a disservice in that,” said Kelly.

Should SABC Look Into Renaming The SABC Education Channel Perhaps To SABC Variety 2?

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Since 1996, SABC Education had been a trademark the public broadcaster would incorporate on local content geared mainly at the youth aged 2-14 and overtime aged 18-49. It is home to shows like Geleza Nathi, Uzalo, Matric Reloaded, Skeem Saam, Takalani Sesame and TOMZ.

It currently operates as a 24 hour channel on SABC's DTT alongside SABC 1-3, SABC Lehae, SABC Variety, SABC Sport and their 19 radio stations. Other means of accessing the channel or its content is through SABC+ and for those without these option can view its content on SABC 1-3.

This channel was launched amidst covid as a Mindset oriented brand offering various lessons from the Department Of Education on top of the already existing Geleza Nathi and Matric Reloaded. That left little variety for SABC's other shows like Words And Numbers and Hectic Nine-9.

Since then a lot of restructuring was done to incorporate a lot more of the SABC with the inclusion of Skeem Saam and non-educational shows like Restyle My Style and Challenge SOS but then again I get why these are on.

SABC Education is youth oriented and the SABC hadn't really produced much content in this area but the inclusion of Afro Cafe and Speak Out falls out of that spectrum. This was a channel that should be pivoting toward what it is positioned for education yet there's music shows on there.

Often the public broadcaster would rebrand the channel to SABC Festival as if there weren't consumers actually watching the channel and leaving the space occupied by SABC Variety unhinged. Considering there's already content under SABC Education not viewable on the channel like Uzalo.

Yet there's space for current affairs, the public broadcaster should consider restructuring or revamping the channel perhaps into SABC Variety 2. The first channel may as well occupy shows like Uzalo and Giyani: Land Of Blood while the other offers Skeem Saam and Noot Vir Noot.

News Shorts: e.tv Adds New Variety Show Friends Of Amstel: The Challenge, Xolani Khumalo Debuts New TV Show On StarSat And Queen Of The South Season 3 Makes Its Highly Anticipated Debut On Telemundo Africa

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Black Tax changes timeslots ahead of new show

Friends of Amstel The Challenge is a fun and thrilling competition that brings together friends and celebrities for a series of exciting challenges. Whether it’s testing your physical abilities, mental acuity, or teamwork skills, this challenge has something for everyone. With Abuti Fill Up, President Ya Straata, and iNkabi uSjava leading their respective crews, you can bet that the competition will be fierce and exciting. Do you have what it takes to come out on top?

The ultimate prize for Friends of Amstel The Challenge is a 5-star, all-inclusive experience to Friends of Amstel. This exclusive event is a must-attend for any music and entertainment lover, so winning this prize is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. From enjoying top-notch performances to rubbing elbows with celebrities, this experience is sure to be unforgettable. So, gather your friends, sign up for the challenge, and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime!

The game show airs every Saturday at 18:00 on e.tv starting August 17th. To coincide with the launch season 2 of Black Tax will be moving to a much earlier timeslot 17:30.

St Rise adds new series Slyza Tsotsi

Xolani Khumalo, the former host of the controversial drug-busting show Sizokuthola, is making a return to television with his new show, Slyza Tsotsi. The show, which promises to be another hard-hitting expose on the illicit drug trade, will air on the Rise StarSat DStv channel 120 starting September 7th.

Khumalo also faces charges of malicious damage to property and robbery with aggravating circumstances, raising serious questions about his methods and the legitimacy of his crusade against drug dealers. Despite these controversies, Khumalo’s new show, Slyza Tsotsi, is set to continue his mission to expose and take down drug dealers.

Teresa is back for her final mission to take down the cartel 

The third season of Queen Of The South 3 (La Reina Del Sur 3) will premiere on September 9th on Telemundo Africa replacing The People's Doctor at 22:00 CAT. The final season has premiered in the United States a year ago so its kind of depressing that the channel took this long to acquire it.

After four years in prison in the United States for the deaths of three DEA agents, Teresa Mendoza escapes but will have to face a world full of conspiracy, risking her life in order to clear her name and reunite with her daughter Sofía. The cast includes Kate Del Castllo, Pêpê Rapazote, Antonio Gil, Isabella Sierra.

SABC Wants To Launch An Openview Competitor, Might Require A TV License

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A decade ago, SABC had planned to launch its own DTT platform which would be rivaling with eMedia Investments' Openview platform before seeking comfort with Sentech. This platform would feature SABC 1-3 and their 19 radio stations with e.tv exempted from the lineup. 

There were also plans for SABC to expand its linear offering with 18 additional channels which included SABC 4, SABC 5 and SABC Movies all of which got scrapped with SABC Education and SABC Sport entering fruition. 

These endeavors had been delayed with eMedia Investments that forged ahead with its rival offering Openview which extends its reach to more than 3 million households. With the impending demise of analogue transponders SABC is hoping to lure these consumers with its own DTT platform. 

The SABC said it wants to enhance the broadcasting landscape and deliver on its digital transformational journey with an integrated free-to-air Direct to Home (DTH) platform will enable the SABC to be in control of its destiny. They are seeking bidders in the hopes to get this idea of the ground.

Bidders are likely to partner with MultiChoice or Sentech in order to access the satellite space. Although it will be a rival offering to Openview, the unnamed platform will likely require consumers to present a TV license with an option for those without as seen with SABC+.

With the current economic climate, SABC will have a tough road ahead if they want these endeavors to succeed. Firstly more households are opting for streaming, so it would be difficult for them to grow organically in a market where DStv and Openview are dominant.

eMedia Investments Unveiled Annual Performance From 31 March 2024 And Plans Ahead For Their Platforms

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eMedia’s financial performance

eMedia presents a satisfactory financial performance for the 2024 financial year given its mitigation against continued loadshedding, which had a negative impact on overall viewership and saw a further decline in television advertising spend of approximately 1%.

The actors and writers’ strike in Hollywood at the beginning of the financial year also had a severe negative impact on one of the subsidiaries in the Group, Media Film Service, which made R31.5 million less in profit after tax when compared to the prior year. The Group also continued its legal battles against Multichoice during the current financial year spending R8.8 million more in the current year when compared to the prior year.

Notwithstanding all the negative impacts to business operations in the macro-economic environment in South Africa, the Group was able to return favourable results and further continues with the declaration of dividends to its shareholders with a dividend of 16 cents per share at the close of the financial year.

Revenue and market share

The Group’s revenue for the fiscal of R3.1 billion is only 2.1% less than the previous year which can be mainly attributed to the decreased revenue earned by Media Film Service as mentioned above. This was further underscored by television advertising revenue ending on R2.165 billion an increase of 3% despite the television advertising cake declining by 1%. This is the highest television advertising revenue earned by the Group in its history.

The Group once again outperformed the market in terms of advertising revenue in the television market. This benefit in advertising revenues can be attributed to the Group maintaining prime-time audience market share at 33.5% in March 2024 from 34.5% in March 2023, a slight decrease year on year.

Further analysis of the Group’s market share reveals an increase in both shoulder and prime time. The share ended at 33.0% and 33.5% respectively, making the Group the biggest broadcaster in audience share in prime time and second to DStv in shoulder time in South Africa.

e.tv

The prime-time market share for e.tv has shown a slight decrease of 0.7% to 20.7% audience share. Of interest, however, is that e.tv is now the biggest channel during both prime time and shoulder time surpassing SABC1. The continued loadshedding saw a change in viewer patterns and this saw an impact on some of the shows. Scandal (19:30 to 20:00) and House of Zwide (19:00 to 19:30) continues to have a demanding market share in their respective timeslots with Scandal, however, coming into some competition with SABC1 moving Skeem Saam from its 18:30 slot to the 19:30 slot.

During the year, e.tv launched new dramas, Smoke and Mirrors at 21:00 to 21:30 and Isitha at 21:30 to 22:00. Both these dramas command the number one position in their timeslots. The 18:30 drama, Nikiwe was withdrawn from the schedule as it was not commanding a satisfactory market share and was replaced by a new drama, Isipetho, which has more than doubled the market share.

e.tv now spends approximately R600 million annually on local drama series and again shows the dedication of the Group to grow the local television industry.

e.tv continues to face the impact of the uncertainty of the imminent analogue switch-off facing the country but the Group is confident that the audience share will be carefully managed. At present the Group is once again engaging with the Department of Communication in relation to the switch-off date regarding e.tv analogue transponders. The Group is firm in the belief that too many ordinary South Africans will remain without TV in a hard switch-off environment.

Openview and multichannel

The non-linear eMedia channels continue to improve their ratings with eExtra, eMovies Extra and eReality which rank in the top 15 of all satellite channels available in South Africa. A few more channels will be launched on the Openview platform in the new fiscal year.

The rest of the eMedia channels, available on multiple platforms accounted for 26.9% of the advertising revenue amounting to R610.6 million which is up from R501.3 million in the previous year. Profitability in this unit has been maintained with content costs for the fiscal year being pegged at R325.6 million.

The distribution of the four eMedia entertainment channels on Multichoice, which contributed to the Group’s audience and revenue share, is still under investigation by the Competition Commission after non-renewal of the channel carriage agreement. At the time of this report, the channels remain on the Multichoice bouquet, and the court case is set down for August 2024. As mentioned, this has attributed to the year-on-year increase in legal costs.

The set-top box activations for Openview for the year amounted to 377 916 taking the amount of activated set-top boxes to 3 428 523 activated at the end of the period. Technological advancements being the focus of the business will bring in the next upgraded phase of the Openview set-top box, a smarter set-top box which will have memory facilities and Wi-Fi capability.

eNCA

eNCA continues to perform satisfactorily in its targeting of the discerning news viewer. In an attempt to engage the viewer, the channel has changed its positioning from ‘No Fear, No Favour’, to ‘Question, Think, Act’. It also continues to be the leading advertising revenue generator in the news market.

Other subsidiaries

All of the Group’s subsidiaries, with the exception of Media Film Service, have performed exceptionally with Y ending the year on a profit after tax of R16.8 million, an increase of 6% year on year.

Costs

Administrative and other costs were well maintained, increasing by only 2.35% year on year. This increase is mainly due to marketing activities returning back to normal, increases in legal fees as previously discussed and the adverse impact of the rand fluctuation.

Cost of sales, which mainly consists of the cost of content, in the case of e.tv, employee costs in the case of eNCA, and cost of the Openview decoder sales, decreased from R1 629.4 million to R1 584.8 million. A significant portion of the decrease can be attributed to close control of content costs across the channels and the retrenchments to create efficiencies within eNCA.

Profitability

The only asset of the Group is a 67.69% interest in eMedia Investments, the company that owns e.tv, eNCA, Openview, eVOD among other businesses.

eMedia Investments ended the year with a net profit after tax of R353.2 million, compared to a profit of R404.7 million in the prior year. The above profit should be viewed in light of the continued loadshedding and the impact this had on the advertising cake, foreign exchange rate and the impact of diesel usage on the business, as well as the increased legal and marketing costs together with the impact of the actors and writers’ strike in faraway Hollywood.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the Group ended on R628.3 million compared to R667.2 million in the prior year.

Conclusion

The Group is forging ahead with numerous technology advances and strategic planning to continue to be the audience share market leader. The investment in Openview provides the Group with the strategic flexibility and is the plan to address the challenges of the transition that digital migration brings with it. The Group also intends to launch a number of digital developments to enhance its revenue generation capabilities and take advantage of our highly in-demand content.

The Group remains focused on its core business of broadcasting, content creation, platform advancements and a granular focus on technology that improves the broadcasting process.