MultiChoice Updates: Canal+ Owns A Quarter Of The Pay-TV Platform, Power TV Extends Its Reach To More DStv Customers In Africa And Amidst Potential Channel Closures, MultiChoice Announces Price Increases For The Following Packages

Canal+ continues its supremacy in the African market

Canal+ Group has passed the 30% ownership threshold in the African pay-TV platform MultiChoice Group.

In a statement issued Friday, the Vivendi unit said it now held 30.27% of the capital of MultiChoice Group.

“This threshold crossing testifies to the confidence of the Canal+ Group and its shareholder Vivendi in the prospects of MultiChoice and the African continent, to which they are very attached,” Canal said in a statement.

MultiChoice operates in 50 countries in English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking Africa. As of September 2022 it had 22.1 million subscribers.

Zambia is getting more love in these regions

POWER TV, Zambia’s leading music, lifestyle and entertainment channel, has expanded its footprint in Southern Africa, a step that will bring its thrilling local content offering to audiences across the Southern African region.

The expansion means subscribers will now access Power TV in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi and Botswana exclusively on DStv and GOtv platforms.

Speaking when she officiated at the launch to announce the expansion in Lusaka, Chushi Kasanda, Minister of Information and Media said: “the government is proud to see local channels such as Power TV, taking a step further using its exciting local content to not only market Zambia’s skills but also promoting tourism opportunities in the country”.

Powerhouse Media Group Executive President, Mr Kenny Tonga said: “We are excited about this milestone. We decided to go for an exclusive partnership because this will greatly benefit us by increasing our viewership and our reach not only in Zambia but Southern African region”.

DStv Flex:
- March on VIA
- One Gospel to host an Easter special
- Big Cat Sunday this February on National Geographic Wild
- CBS Reality acquired rights to Killer's Caught On Camera

Here's how much each DStv customer will be paying from April 2023

MultiChoice is once again increasing the subscription fees of South African DStv subscribers from 1 April - although by a smaller percentage than in previous years, dropping the price of its ADD Movies bolt-on package and keeping the price of its streaming-only services unchanged.

MultiChoice, in a statement, says that "the average 4.3% adjustment across all of DStv's offerings is far lower that the projected consumer price index (inflation) for 2023".

These nominal adjustments help DStv to ensure that South Africans continue to enjoy the best value, and unrivalled access to entertainment, anywhere, anytime, and at the most affordable price.

Prices from April 2023

DStv Premium - R839p/m to R879p/m (+4,47%)
DStv Compact+ - R549p/m to R579p/m (+5,46%)
DStv Compact - R429p/m to R449p/m (+4,46)
DStv Family - R309p/m to R319p/m (+3,24%)
DStv Access - R120p/m to R129p/m (+7,5%)
DStv Easyview - R29p/m (unchanged)
Access Fee - R110 to R115 (+4,5%)
ADDMOVIES - R99p/m to R79p/m (-20%)
Box Office - R40 (unchanged)

DStv:
- CBS Reality is the only brand to retain its identity in the UK from Paramount and AMC International
- Warner Bros. Discovery hinting at a possible rebrand to Boomerang as more preschool content fills the lineup
- MultiChoice shares crytpic message about eMedia's 4 channels
- BBC to close linear channels and move to an internet only digital future

More channel changes or closures coming soon

As seen last year, MultiChoice made an attempt to eliminate eMedia's 4 channels including eExtra, eToonz, eMovies and eMovies Extra from the DStv platform alongside eAfrica from the rest of the African continent as they failed to fit their 5 year content strategy with additions like Movie Room and DreamWorks.

With the latter in South Africa available on the DStv platform for 6 months or what was last heard some update regarding the future should have been announced by now but will likely be revealed before the end of the current financial year or within the next.

All in all, these channels aren't safe one is assuming since the channels haven't gone off air. The most likely reason could be they're renegotiating nothing is certain for now.

In other developments, Boomerang will be phased out by the end of March for a new preschool channel, Cartoonito and Supersport might be growing the number of linear channels with the launch of South Africa's first sports channel for children, SuperSport Schools.

My other guesses could also be TNT.

Rumour: MultiChoice To Upgrade 3 Channels To High Definition

This year, MultiChoice had made several changes to their entertainment offering while as sourcing out new content for its consumers while some of the older offerings get a boost which is the case for these 3 channels as an HD feed is currently underway on the DStv platform.

As outlined but MultiChoice on HD channels:

"It depends on whether at that specific moment we have capacity - satellite capacity in the sky - and depending on where we launch."

"Sometimes we might have capacity on IS20 - which is a satellite that sits over Southern Africa - but we don't have over Eutelsat 36B which sits over the rest of sub-Saharan Africa - that's the complication of it."

"Secondly, but actually most importantly, does the content lend itself to display HD in the best possible way?...," explained Aletta Alberts.
"Sometimes when we launch a regional channel it probably won't be in HD. It depends on the channel."

Which is the case for these trio that are rumoured to take that leap into the digital world.

Only available in Zambia and the only regional channel on the list is Power TV Zambia's youth entertainment channel which features mainly music and reality shows is the first on the list go to high definition.

The Home Channel, South Africa's first in command to offer reality programming based on real estate and home improvement will be the second channel to join the HD trio. This comes after eMedia Investments launched the duplicate, The Home Channel+ on the Openview platform.

Last but not least, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) the 24 hour commercial-free channel that offers inspirational programming that appeal to people in a wide variety of Protestant, Catholic and Messianic Jewish denominations will be the first religious channel on DStv to recieve HD capability.