StarSat To Kill Off More Channels By The End Of September

StarSat will drop its two Afrikaans channels from the platform on 30 September 2022, the owners of MyTV and OnseTV have announced.

“StarSat, the South African branch of StarTimes Media, has ended Afrikaans on the StarSat decoder after 13 years of broadcast,” said MyTV CEO Jaco Ferreira.

On Digital Media launched TopTV in South Africa on 1 May 2010.

It was South Africa’s first noteworthy DStv contender since MultiChoice launched its satellite pay-TV service.

Ferreira says that ASTV was accepted as the only Afrikaans channel on TopTV in October 2009. It operated out of Rustenburg and was later rebranded MyTV.

On Digital Media soon ran into financial troubles and Chinese pay-TV player StarTimes bought the company out of business rescue in 2013.

OnseTV started broadcasting on 29 September 2017 on StarSat channel 462.

“Because OnseTV management works daily with a wide variety of people in the industry, it was clear from the start that there were no focused channel to cater for the largest Afrikaans-speaking community in South Africa,” Ferreira said.

“It was decided to create a TV channel, specifically for the brown Afrikaans community.”

Ferreira said OnseTV has been broadcasting with great success for the past five years.

“The response from our immediate communities of colour has been and continues to be incredible,” Ferreira said.

Despite this, StarSat informed OnseTV and MyTV that their contracts would not be renewed. The channel operator said it received no reason for this decision.

“OnseTV have become an entertainment home for the brown community. To fully live out their culture and language and thus bridging cultural gaps,” Ferreira stated.

“The untapped talent and talented people present in this community, previously and presently dismissed from mainstream media, are still looking for well-deserved recognition. Something OnseTV gave them for the past five years.”

Ferreira said E-tv’s owners approached him in 2013 and struck a deal to broadcast ASTV on Openview HD.

“After this contract expired, ASTV’s broadcast on OVHD stopped. But ASTV still continued broadcasting on the StarSat decoder,” Ferreira said.

“InPasTV (a Christian channel) was also accepted by StarSat together with OnseTV but was later removed.”

Ferreira said they bid StarSat farewell with a heavy heart.

“We are very grateful for the 13 years we have been able to broadcast on this platform, and we will be forever grateful for the time we were able to spend with the StarSat team,” said Ferreira.

MyTV and OnseTV are now streaming online for free.

“Perhaps we have outgrown our teenage shoes, and it is time to venture into the ‘grown-up world,’” the channels said.

As Anticipated, Openview To Come With Monthly Fees With The Launch Of New Service, Openview+

Several months ago, eMedia Investments unveiled their latest annual results where it was revealed that their free-to-view Openview platform has seen a high rate of growth as MultiChoice has begun to see a bloodbath of dissatisfied Premium and Compact customers.

The likes of streamers like Netflix and Disney+ have been luring several consumers away from the pay-tv platform while MultiChoice now views eMedia Investments' Openview platform as a DStv killer as consumers fled the package following the carriage battle with both parties.

eMedia Investments had stated in court the demise of their channels on DStv would see a plummet a revenue which is what they used to bring most of the content seen on eExtra and eToonz now with their channels reinstated they've begun planning for the year ahead.

Openview has been successful for nearly a decade after generating 3 million subscribers that eMedia Investments had decided as predicted to use the platform to ramp up their pay-tv offering with rumours swirling about the upcoming channel possibly being a preview.

Cable has its flaws as seen with DStv there's plenty of rebroadcasts and unwatchable content and the same can be said about the Openview platform. I mean there's no monthly fees but that doesn't mean viewers haven't complained about the current setup of the platform.

Most of the e.tv channels have limitations while pay-tv outlets opted for the brands broadcast on a 24 hour basis perhaps this new service coming to the Openview platform will rectify that likely expand from that.

The new service Openview+ is said to cost R149p/m which is more than the current amount for DStv Access package and considering how expensive it is or at least for the current audience it will likely come with additional services which will be exempted from those viewing Openview freely.

Openview+ was the initial name for eVOD now we see why they chose not to use it and rather seperate e's and Openview. Idea of pay came decades ago and eMedia was rewarded a licence but felt the market was big enough for two pay platforms so opted for eNCA.

StarSat owned by ODM and StarTimes has appeared to be dense even in neighbouring markets following the losses of Discovery Family, Real Time, DreamWorks and FOX so I'm saying they let the door open for another to increase their ranking.

Considering that Openview+ will start at zero they'll likely offer a few services and expand as more people opt for the pay service.

But one thing that's interested customers is the pricing most that hoped eMedia would add monthly fees expected something around the range from DStv Easyview but since this new service will cost close to R200 consumers will expect a lot more.

And I'm not taking about a discount to eVOD or a trip to Turkey but something that's found on rival platform DStv like TLC, Real Time, Moja Love and SuperSport and Cartoon Network.

Regardless, the new service won't damper what free-to-view Openview has built but expand from that likely divide and with the way things are with MultiChoice this just gives them all the more reason to free those 4 channels from captivity now that eMedia is looking to get alternative income.

Canal+ Dramatically Ups Its Stake In MultiChoice

France’s Canal+, which has steadily been buying shares in MultiChoice Group since 2020, has significantly increased its stake in the South African-headquartered pay-television operator.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, JSE-listed MultiChoice said Groupe Canal+ has increased its stake from the 20.1% disclosed in July to 26.26% now.

The move again raises questions about Canal+’s ultimate intentions, specifically whether it plans to make an offer to MultiChoice’s minorities – a move that could be difficult to execute given South Africa’s restrictions around the foreign ownership of broadcasters.

The move again raises questions about Canal+’s ultimate intentions — whether it plans to make an offer to minorities
“MultiChoice remains committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders and to create sustainable, long-term shareholder value. While the group regularly engages investors and maintains an open dialogue with the investment community, its policy is not to comment on its individual shareholders nor on its interactions with them,” the pay-TV operator said, repeating an earlier statement about Canal+’s share purchases.

Canal+ began buying shares in MultiChoice in 2020. MultiChoice disclosed in July this year that the French company, which has pay-TV operations in francophone Africa that largely complement MultiChoice’s African footprint, had increased its stake to just over 20%. Its previous disclosure was in November 2021, when it said the French group had bought 15.4% of its ordinary shares in issue.

Canal+ is owned by French media conglomerate Vivendi.

When Canal+ began buying up MultiChoice shares in 2020, it prompted speculation about the company’s intentions. It also fuelled a sharp rally in MultiChoice’s share price at the time. MultiChoice first disclosed on 5 October 2020 that Canal+ had acquired 6.5% of its equity.

‘A responsibility’
“Whether it’s Canal+ or someone else, we have a responsibility as directors of the company to do what is in the best interests of shareholders,” MultiChoice Group chief financial officer Jacobs told the source in an interview in November 2020.

“Whatever opportunity comes our way, we will try to keep an open mind. We will certainly look at it and say, ‘Is this is in the best interest of shareholders or not?’ If it is, we’d need to embrace it and make the best deal we can for shareholders,” Jacobs said.

Canal+ previously told MultiChoice that it views the stake as a financial investment. The two companies have worked together for years, sharing content between their respective markets. “We have an ongoing relationship with them in various territories,” Jacobs said at the time. 

New Series Alert: StarTimes And If Possible eMedia Investments Acquired Broadcasting Rights To My Left Side, To Launch On St Novelas

Serra (Ozge Yagiz) is a young girl who studies architecture at Kuzey University in Istanbul. She is a mature, responsible and beautiful young girl. She and her mother Nilgun (Esra Bezen Bilgin) live in a small shanty house and try to survive without the help of other people.

7 years ago, Serra and her family had a wealthy and happy life. However, their perfect life turned upside down when her father’s business went bankrupt.

The sequence of tragedies happened after then. Her father left his family behind and disappeared. Her brother committed suicide and died. Her mother could not handle the situation and suffered from physiological problems.

Serra has become the head of the family after then. She takes care of her mother, studies at school, and works at part-time jobs in order to earn money and support the living expenses. Her mother still suffers from physiological problems so, she stays at home all the time without doing anything. Thus, Serra even cooks and does house chores when she comes to home after long hours of studying and working.

Serra finds this life so difficult but never complaints about it. She tries to be strong and positive in front of her mother. She also could not forget his brother’s suicide but tries to do her best to get through her past.

Serra works part-time at a well-known hotel as a housekeeper and after then, goes to university. Her simple life changes all of a sudden with a misunderstanding.

When she does her job very well and gets the recognition of a famous business man at the hotel, she is offered a ride. Serra accepts this offer in order not to miss the class. However, she is shocked when she sees a black limousine waiting at the hotel entrance.

Serra goes to the university with that black limousine. All of a sudden, she gets everybody’s attention in the campus. Students assume that she comes from a very rich family and hence, they try to learn as much information as possible about her.

The popular students of the school also try to understand this mysterious girl. Biricik (Cemre Baysel) and Burak (Emre Bey) become extremely curious about this beautiful girl who gathers everybody’s attention.

Meanwhile, Selim (Tolga Mendi) who is a student at.Kuzey University also bumps into Serra out of pure coincidence. Selim is the most popular student in the school. He is handsome, arrogant, rich, and charismatic. While each girl at school shows interest to this popular guy, Serra does not refrain from having a dispute with him due to the nature of her personality.

Selim comes from a wealthy life. He has everything in life but no love in his family. His mother passed away due to an illness when he was a little child and he learnt that his father Ihsan (Cansel Elcin) had an affair with another woman during that time.

After then, Selim has not got along well with his father who is now married to a sneaky woman Asena (Defne Samyeli).

Selim does not seem to care about his life and lives as he wishes all the time. Thus, he always has some problems with his father who has high expectations from his son. In fact, Selim tries to make his father mad due to his anger and disappointment.

The life of Selim and Serra intersects once more. The head of school master Onur (Tamer Rumeli), who is Ihsan’s son-in-law, assigns Serra as a private tutor for Selim. He thinks that Selim could improve his grades if he closely study with a successful student.

After then, Selim and Serra start to study together and learn more from each other. Even though they often have a discussion for no reason and have strong prejudices towards each other, the more they spend time together the more they see the good in each other.

The mandatory study sessions of Serra and Selim also bring new disputes in the school. Biricik who has been in love with Selim for a long time and Burak who has some feelings towards Serra get
disturbed by this relationship. Also, Selim assumes that Serra comes from a wealthy family even though Serra does not mention anything about her social status.

My Left Side (Sol Yanim) is about a difficult love of Serra and Selim who are made for each other, yet from different worlds. Also, you will see the struggle of a poor girl among rich people. Will Serra and Selim get along well as they spend more time together? How will Selim react when he learns that Serra does not come from a wealthy family? What is the relationship between Selim’s father Ihsan and Serra’s mother Nilgun? Will Selim and Serra fall in love with each other even though they have different social status and family backgrounds? Will Burak manage to get Serra’s attention? Will Biricik continue her unrequited love towards Selim? Will Selim forgive his father and live in peace afterwards?

The series premieres this Thursday on St Novelas and might have been picked up by eMedia Investments.

MultiChoice Might Be Adding A Second Horseracing Channel To The DStv Platform

Earlier in the year, MultiChoice in partnership with 4Racing TV launched a dedicated horseracing channel Racing240 which is proved to be performing exceptionally well with viewers after the channel was able to pull over 400000 which is just 100000 more than Tellytrack. It was clear with the performance of Racing240 that the brand would seek alternatives.

The Racing Partnership is the exclusive betting shop channel through which all of ARC’s racing content is delivered to bookmakers in the UK and Ireland. In addition to racing from ARC, the channel also broadcasts live racing from seven partner racecourses, along with action from South Africa and America. TRP is also the home of Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service racing.

ARC enjoys a formal relationship with the British arm of the European Breeders’ Fund (“EBF”), who currently invest over £1.7 million annually to British racing. The EBF support a wide variety of races on ARC racecourses, and have recently introduced a number of new races and prize money increases.

Earlier this month, MultiChoice was conducting an update to their software and a viewers came across The Racing Partnership through the iPlate on DStv. As seen on the platform, the only thing displayed at the moment. is the logo and the some text written "UKIHF 2".

Aside from that, no other details have been shared about the channel aside from what viewers had already seen so it's only a matter of time before MultiChoice can provide any update on the channel.

 

Recommended Games #6: Help Shaggy Escape From Some Ghouls In This Tetris Based Game

A new game based on Scooby-doo-bi-doo-bi-doo cartoon. You have to play for Shaggy, his best friend, who should pass a long way to go through the game, so be careful as you will find a lot of ghosts! The game consists of a Tetris with the elements of an adventure.

Download Now

 

Once A Pop-Up To Arthur But Not Anymore As PBS Kids Africa Resumes Normal Viewing But With A Twist

Last month, I mentioned that PBS Kids updated their schedule to only include Arthur as several viewers saw from day to night it was 24 hour scheduled jam-packed with nothing but the lovable hedgehog although the reason for it remains unknown.

But from what's currently seen on the channel, PBS Kids seems to have put a halt into that with few series returning to the lineup including Peep And The Big Wide World, Arthur (as usual), WordWorld, Elinor Wonders Why and Cyberchase.

Interesting to note is the PBS Kids logo which was once seen on the bottom right corner moved to the top right when the Arthur festivities concluded but what's not seen is the updated logo for some reason I mean they were able to change the positioning of the logo would have made more sense to introduce the new logo.

But I forget to realise that PBS Kids isn't the type to promote much of the offering or add some variety to their ad breaks as it's often repetitive which is the best time to mention these developments but the brand rather remain quiet.

For being the top educational channel you'd expect them to put more effort getting these shows mode exposure.

 

ESPN Africa And PLAY.CO.ZA Sign Multi-Event Sponsorship

The Walt Disney Company Africa and Play.co.za today announced that they have entered into a multi-event sponsorship for the popular ESPN Africa Boxing series. The agreement officially kicks off with the ESPN Africa Boxing 21 event that will take place in Johannesburg on 22 September 2022.

Showcasing a diverse range of the continent’s best boxing talent and sanctioned by Boxing South Africa (BSA), ESPN Africa Boxing events take place on a monthly basis on Thursday evenings. With five main fights per event, and two undercard bouts on each bill, ESPN Africa Boxing features male and female boxing talent from across Africa. The September event is the 21st iteration of the series.

The fights are broadcast live on ESPN Africa (DStv 218, Starsat 248) catering to the immense popularity of the sport on the continent, as well as on several broadcast partners across the globe. ESPN delivers a high-quality boxing viewing experience with premium broadcast production, accompanied by all of the fanfare behind the scenes.

Play.co.za enters the market this September as an innovative new gaming and betting platform, offering fans eSports, Live Dealer Games, Lucky Numbers, and Betgames. Additional offerings include promotional bonuses for partaking in major tournaments and loyalty incentives for playful fans.

“As a playful and community-driven brand looking to disrupt the local gaming market, our goal is to form strategic partnerships with right-fit organisations that not only resonate with our audience, but that share our values as a premium online entertainment platform. We look forward to collaborating with a prestigious tournament such as ESPN Africa Boxing in showcasing our continent’s talent and building relationships with avid boxing fans,” says JP van der Spuy, Founder and CEO, Play.co.za.

“ESPN is known for bringing the most exciting sporting moments to sports fans across the continent and ESPN Africa Boxing is just one prime example,” said Kyle De Klerk, Director: Sports Commercial and Business, The Walt Disney Company Africa. “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Play.co.za on this popular and exciting franchise.”

As one of the world’s leading sports broadcasters, ESPN brings an unparalleled portfolio of sporting content and documentaries to its viewers across the world. In Africa, the broadcaster extends this offering by showcasing European football and various other international franchises, such as the English Football League (EFL), Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), Dutch Eredivisie and Major League Soccer (MLS), as well as various African sports tournaments such as the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and the ESPN Africa Boxing series.

 

What To Expect On CBS Reality Africa In October 2022?

FRAUD SQUAD
Season 1-4.
Channel Premiere
Weekdays at 21:35 and 01:25 from 3rd October to 25th November.
The hunt is on, as Michelle Ackerley enters the murky criminal world of fraud, following a crack team of investigators whose job is to catch and convict anyone with their hand in the UK’s public purse.
Featuring a fantasist fraudster leading a double life, a multi-million pound scam targeting the disabled, decadent dentists with lavish lifestyles, and even a dishonest headmaster creating a sex dungeon using school funds - we uncover the biggest and most shocking cases of theft from public services like Education, HMRC and the NHS. Joining the men and women on the front line fighting fraud, we see exactly what it takes to combat what is now the biggest crime in Britain, costing the taxpayer over £110 billion a year.

SEE WHAT YOU MADE ME DO
Season 1. 3x60min
Channel Premiere
Saturdays at 20:40 and 01:00, from 1st to 15th October.
Most who experience domestic abuse will never report it, and their abusers will never be called to account. In this series, investigative journalist Jess Hill shines a light into the kitchens, bedrooms and living rooms where abuse is destroying lives. She finds survivors who describe the shape-shifting of abusive behaviours – with violence one element among many. She talks to perpetrators and the people working with them to curb their behaviours. Resolutely solution focused, Jess explores radical innovations which could make a seismic difference to curbing this crisis in our homes.

MOTORWAY PATROL
Season 13-14.
Channel Premiere
Weekdays at 11:10, 14:50 and 00:10, from 17th October to 11th November.
Buckle yourself in for the ride because Kiwi favourite, Motorway Patrol, is set for a return! The upcoming seasons are packed with another round of motorway pandemonium and driver hijinx as those who drive on Auckland’s motorways never fail to deliver when Motorway Patrol’s cameras are rolling.
Prepare for a fresh batch of rollicking good yarns; high speed chases starring both cars and canines, overloaded drivers, Rugby World Cup delight and, just to keep it interesting, a car vs swimming pool. Not only does the show have total access to the men and woman officers who are patrolling the motorways but also to CCTV footage from the motorway cameras.