M-Net Binge Returns As A Pop-Up Channel On DStv

M-Net revives the shuttered brand M-Net Binge from Friday, 25 March on channel 114. Probably due to the Coronavirus and lack of entertainment across all platforms.

M-Net Binge launched in May 2017 on channel 900 to DStv Premium customers and was scrapped a year later only to return to 2 years later this time it's available on Compact Plus.

According to the TV Guide, M-Net Binge is home to best HBO series as well as doccies and movies. No end date has been provided for the channel as yet when there is one it will be added here.

M-Net Binge will air repeats of series such as Game Of Thrones, Band Of Brothers and Six Feet Under. Making it the ideal channel for Compact Plus customers.

After 17 Years, Mindset Is Getting A Spin-off Channel

Mindset is an digital satellite television free-to air channel launched in 2003 to help educate and improve health in South Africa, uplift and empower communities with various Educational and Health initiatives and interventions is getting a second TV channel.

Pop Primary, the channel is skewed towards Grade 1-7 and just like Mindset will carry educational content. No details about the channel have been unveiled on the package and launch but judging by the founder it could be on every single platform in South Africa and possibly the rest of Africa.

The organisation that handles Mindset works with Government, International Donors and blue-chip corporates to deliver impactful, sustainable and practical change to the developmental challenges that communities face. It develops, sources, distributes and uses digital content. Its multimedia content is distributed via broadcast television, IP based satellite datacast, the web, distributable media (hard drives, DVDs and CDs) and mobile networks.

This comes admist the time coronavirus has mismanaged most of our lives along with a lot of companies that had to postpone major events and schools that had to close earlier.

Within those holidays MultiChoice supplied viewers with free channels on their DStv Now service and added two further channels along with promotional channels to the DStv platform. While StarSat offered viewers free channels through their app.

Since the school holidays parents have been urging platforms to get more educational channels since they'll be joining their kids on lockdown. So far MultiChoice has PBS Kids, Da Vinci Kids and Mindset followed by StarSat with only the last two from DStv and OpenView being Mindset.

Global Citizens has been urging parents to get SABC and DStv to dedicate a channel for educational content. Now parents can be put at ease with this upcoming channel.

More details about the channel will be available soon.

SuperSport Launches All-New Themed Channels

Amid the uncertainty and concern around the threat of coronavirus, SuperSport is working closely with its broadcast partners to mitigate the absence of live sport.

While almost all major sport has been affected, SuperSport will be broadcasting events which have been postponed - when they are rescheduled.

SuperSport chief executive Gideon Khobane said: “All of our partners have reached out to explain their measures, which we appreciate.

“Live sport is massively impacted; we are combatting this by acquiring the best award-winning sport documentaries from around the globe, among other top programming. We will use our various platforms to communicate this to viewers.”

The impact of this has necessitated major changes to the schedules, which will see SuperSport convert its line-up to thematic channels for the foreseeable future.

This is a time to relive the best of the best and SuperSport will duly open SS1 down to the Compact package.

This channel will form the crux of the SuperSport offering. It will feature the best documentaries, sport movies and a presented block called SuperSport GrandStand between 5pm and 9pm where SuperSport presenters will host a studio show that focuses on themed content from a specific sporting genre.

Between 1pm and 5pm daily, SS1 will feature a Viewers’ Choice block where viewers’ social media suggestions on their favourite sporting moments will determine the content.

Another significant change sees SuperSport 7 becoming a best of football offering now open from Premium to Access.

# Ahead of the weekend, SuperSport is already rolling out best of its archives on its channels, including the award-winning “30 for 30” series of ESPN documentaries.

Please see the full list of channel changes below:

SOUTH AFRICA

SS1: Relive Sport Stories (Grandstand / Viewers’ Choice / Documentaries)
SS2: Relive Rugby / Cricket        
SS3: Relive Premier League       
SS4: Relive PSL 
SS5: Relive Golf
SS6: Relive Tennis         
SS7: Relive Best Football (mix of UCL, EPL, La Liga, Serie A, FIFA, Documentaries)
SS8: Relive Motorsport, F1, MotoGP, Superbikes
SS9: Relive WWE           
SS10: Relive local sports / Athletics / Various    
SS11: Relive Action: Combat, UFC, EFC, Boxing, Extreme
SS12: Relive E Sport       

MultiChoice SA Temporarily Adds AfricaNews And Da Vinci Kids And Here's Why (Nickelodeon And CNN Also Accessible)

Later today, MultiChoice silently opened up Da Vinci Kids, AfricaNews, CNN and Nickelodeon admist the coronavirus outbreak with ICASA wanting StarSat and MultiChoice to make channels free.

AfricaNews and CNN are all accessible to Access customers until April 30 with Nickelodeon being April 14 and Da Vinci Kids being the end of May. So far only Nickelodeon and CNN have been accessible in South Africa while the two just popped up recently on DStv with the rest of Africa adding it back in 2019.

Da Vinci Kids is an educational pay television channel for children aged 6–12 and families, and broadcasting in 19 language versions to more than 35 million homes worldwide. It broadcasts STEM and soft skills-based learning programs aimed at children and families during the daytime, and documentaries and educational series for grown-ups in the evenings. The channel can be found on StarSat in South Africa.

AfricaNews is a multilingual news media service, headquartered in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo. The news channel is a subsidiary of France-based euronews and began broadcasting online, and via TV and satellite on 20 April 2016.

The strange part about these two new temporary channels is they're both closing at the same time as SuperSport channels so why didn't MultiChoice advertise them with the other existing channels opening for a limited time.

According to sources through a media enquiry, MultiChoice has been trying to launch AfricaNews since last year but ran through some technical and financial problems. It might also apply to Da Vinci Kids since both of these channels popped up in the test section at the same time and officially launched together.

Even PBS Kids is sort of suffering a similar altercation maybe PBS is trying to build the brand in other markets and merging their operations with Africa or maybe MultiChoice is working on some bugs either way these channels are going through some tough times.

Maybe A+E Networks is the cause of AfricaNews and Da Vinci turmoil since MultiChoice intended to dump Lifetime, History and Crime & Investigation only to keep two of them around and add 2 further channels which put more pressure to their pocket.

With this in mind AfricaNews and Da Vinci Kids might be future permanent additions while all the other channels will go off as scheduled. The only thing uncertain about those possible additions is their availability since Family customers carry them in other markets with South Africa being Access customers.

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DStv OPENS UP MORE CHANNELS TO MORE CUSTOMERS – AND NON-DStv CUSTOMERS TOO!

 

Self-distancing might be a little less hard to deal with now that DStv has made five extra channels available to packages all the way down to Access. These include new channel Africanews (channel 417), CNN (channel 401), Da Vinci (channel 318), Nickelodeon (channel 305) and SuperSport 7 (channel 207). 

 

What’s more, some of the channels that feature on online streaming service DStv Now will be accessible to everyone – DStv customer or not. This incredible service is to ensure that the whole country has easy access to accurate information about COVID-19. All they have to do is download the DStv Now App to have free, comprehensive coverage to a wide range of news channels. The great thing is that DStv Now can be accessed from your smartphone, tablet, smart TV or laptop. The channels that can be viewed for free are: BBC World News; CNN; Sky News; eNCA; SABC News; Newzroom Afrika and Euronews. In addition, you will be able to view People’s Weather;  SuperSport Play; PBS Kids; Channel O and TBN, as well as episodes of some of South Africa’s best-loved soapies for free, including Igazi, The River, Isibaya, Binnelanders, Suidooster and Die Ware Naarheid.

 

In terms of the channels that will now be available to DStv customers all the way down to Access, Africanews launches on 20 March, and is the first pan-African, multilingual and unbiased media channel in Africa. It’s the only place where viewers can watch the most up-to-date news about the 54 African countries simultaneously. With 50 local correspondents travelling the continent to cover social, business, political and cultural stories, Africanews is the voice of the continent.

 

American-based CNN (channel 401) is renowned for its breaking news stories, in-depth investigations and celebrity reporters, including Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer and Christiane Amanpour.

 

Da Vinci (channel 318) is an educational children’s channel that is inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci, in that it encourages children to explore, invent and pioneer. It’s an edutainment channel filled with fun educational shows.

 

Nickelodeon (channel 305) is Viacom’s premium kids’ channel, and home to favourites such as Sponge Bob Squarepants, The Loud House, The Casagrandes and PAW Patrol. 

SuperSport 7 is devoted to La Liga and will allow customers to view all the Spanish football action (once it is back on track), including the likes of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann. It will definitely appeal to football fanatics everywhere.

 

If all this weren’t enough, the DStv BoxOffice service is also upping its offering to customers. There will now be 40 fresh-from-the-cinema movies available to view for the nominal price of just R25 for DStv Premium, Extra and Compact subscribers packages. 

 

While the world remains in a time of crisis and uncertainty, DStv is determined to keep customers informed and entertained, no matter what it takes.

MultiChoice Opens Up A Bunch Of Channels To DStv And Non-DStv Subscribers

DStv has opened up a number of Supersport channels to its non-premium subscribers until 30 April 2020.

Supersport 1, which is exclusively available on the DStv Premium package, will now be available on DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact, the group said in a statement on Friday 20 March.

Supersport 7, which is only available on the DStv Premium, Compact Plus and Compact packages, will also be available on the DStv Family and DStv Access packages.

Earlier this week, DStv announced that it will also make a selection of channels available to all South Africans for free through its DStv Now streaming platform.

DStv Now is bundled with DStv’s satellite broadcasting service, and allows subscribers to watch TV and shows from mobile devices, smart TVs, laptops, and more.

The new free channel package is available to all South Africans, however, and not only DStv subscribers.

The company said that in response to the coronavirus outbreak in South Africa, a number of DStv Now channels are no longer locked behind a subscription and are available to anyone with an Internet connection.

DStv channels which are now available to stream for free are:

100 – DStv
180 – People’s Weather
238 – SuperSport Play
313 – PBS Kids
320 – Channel O
343 – TBN
400 – BBC World News
401 – CNN
402 – Sky News
403 – eNCA
404 – SABC News
406 – Newzroom Afrika
414 – Euronews Now

Staying informed about the latest news on the virus is the first step in stopping its spread, said the company. For this reason, it has made several 24-hour news channels available.

In addition to these channels, episodes of popular series are also available via the Catch Up portal on the free service, including Igazi, The River, Isibaya, Binnelanders, Suidooster, and Die Ware Naarheid.

What's Coming In May 2020 On TLC Africa

Dragnificent!
From Tuesday 26 May at 21:00
This glittering series takes makeovers to a fabulous new level as a gang of style-savvy drag queens help someone lacking style and transform them into their best self! In each episode, top drag queens Alexis Michelle, BeBe Zahara Benet, Thorgy Thor and Jujubee take an unsuspecting individual on a high-energy journey to revive their style as part of an upcoming life milestone. Alexis Michelle is a makeup artist specialising in weddings and special events; BeBe is an experienced event planner who can transform any room; fashion expert Jujubee has an impressive knowledge of drag couture and women's style; and Thorgy Thor is a classically trained musician who knows how to get the party started! Whether it's a bride who wants to feel beautiful walking down the aisle or someone readjusting to their new body after drastic weight loss, these big-hearted queens are on hand to give the confidence, courage and grace they need to be their best at the biggest moments of their lives.

My Big Fat Fabulous Life
From Monday 18 May at 20:00
Dancing queen Whitney Thore weighs in at nearly 400-lbs, but that doesn't stop her living life on her terms as dancer; she is happy with her body and lives life out loud! Whitney's made some big changes with a new business and a new life in Charlotte. After meeting her business partner, Ryan, on a dating site, the two launched fitness videos online. But there's trouble brewing with Whitney now living part-time in Charlotte: Tal and Buddy are left alone in her Greensboro home as unwilling flatmates who constantly fight, and Whitney's friends are growing resentful towards Ryan for taking her away from her home town. Add to that a blossoming romance in Charlotte, a weightlifting competition and health issues affecting her parents, and it's another rollercoaster ride for Whitney.

90 Day Fiancé: Pillow Talk Weekend
From Saturday 16 May at 10:40
It's time to get intimate with the most outspoken couples from 90 Day Fiancé as they watch along with and comment on all the action from the latest series. Fan favourites from previous seasons let cameras into their homes as they watch the latest episode of 90 Day Fiancé and gawk, groan, laugh, and in some cases, lift weights! David and Annie, Tarik and Dean, Loren and Alexei, and Molly and Cynthia are watching along, commenting on all the emotional highs and lows - and no one is holding back! How will they feel about Anna and her Turkish boyfriend Mursel's awkward reunion? Are they convinced Tania and her South African partner Syngin's relationship will last? Whatever the drama, they will all have something to say!

Little People, Big World
From Wednesday 6 May at 20:00
America's favourite family of little people, the Roloffs, are in for some more big changes this season as Amy finally makes the decision to leave the farm. But change doesn't happen overnight, and matt worries it will be a slow departure. Meanwhile, after a busy summer Zach and Tori have an exciting announcement to make - and hear unexpected news that will affect the future of the entire Roloff family. Plus, after a series of heavy storms, Matt has to make a heartrending decision that marks a new era for the family

What's Coming In May 2020 To Discovery Channel Africa

Wheeler Dealers
From Saturday 2 May at 20:00
Car dealer supremo, Mike Brewer and multi-talented mechanic, Ant Anstead, are on a monumental motoring mission: to find and restore iconic cars to later sell for a profit at their LA-based shop. In this turbo-charged series, Mike has the challenging job of finding vehicles that have money-making potential. He then hands them over to Ant, who tackles everything from bare metal re-sprays to
gearbox swaps to bring them back to their former glory. From the sunny beaches of southern California to the coldest edges of Maine, the series scours the US from
coast-to-coast for the best vehicles to buy, restore, test and sell for a tidy profit. What treasures will the guys find and flip on their epic adventures?

Fast N' Loud
From Wednesday 6 May at 21:00
Hot Rod hunter Richard Rawlings and his team at the Gas Monkey Garage are breaking all the rules this season! In
one of their biggest challenges yet, they take on a mind-blowing super-build to debut at the biggest automative trade show in the world, SEMA; they have five months and a $300,000 budget to transform a '72 Buick Riviera into a motoring beast! But, the project's massive scope and tight deadline along with other builds that still need to be completed, means the Monkeys are pushing their limits like never before.

Deadliest Catch
From Tuesday 19 May at 21:00
40-foot waves, freezing temperatures, swinging 700-lb crab pots, a nearly 100 % injury rate...but also the chance to earn enough money for a family to live on for a year or more, for just a few days' work. Welcome to one of the world's deadliest jobs — that of the Alaskan crab fisherman. Deep in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea lurks the highly lucrative — and yet often elusive — king crab. Each year, approximately 250 boats converge on Dutch Harbor, Alaska, awaiting the official harvesting season. It could be four days in length or as many as 12 —the fishermen won't know until the voice of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game crackles across their radios to announce the beginning and end of the fishing season.

Driven
From Wednesday 6 May at 20:00
Legendary custom auto shop, Galpin Auto Sports, opens its doors to reveal all the behind-the-scenes action on their builds in this high-energy series. From historic
restorations to futuristic builds, to fixing up barn finds, the team are literally working on a century's worth of cars
under one roof. Each episode follows Beau, Dave and "Mad" Mike as they uncover historic and unique cars to rebuild and reintroduce back into the automotive history books. Along the way, they find the people, parts and places that made the historic build significant in the first
place. After finishing each project, the team put the cars to the test; they submit their builds to the biggest competitions, challenge the vehicles on the toughest
tracks and introduce the world to some of the craziest assortment of cars ever made. For the guys at Galpin Auto Sports, it's their mission to save automotive history and rescue cars from oblivion.

South Africa Along With The Rest Of Africa Become Another Victim In The Demise Of ITV Choice

The British pay-TV channel ITV Choice (DStv 123) is the next channel getting axed by MultiChoice, with ITV Choice that will go dark at the end of May after 5 years.

ITV says that MultiChoice no longer wants the channel on DStv that had curated content from the United Kingdom with a focus on programming around the British royal family.

ITV Choice, a commercial general entertainment TV channel supplied by  ITV Studios Global Entertainment suddenly ceased broadcasting in August 2019 in several markets across the Middle East, Malta and Asia but continued in South Africa.

Insider sources told the media on Tuesday that ITV Choice is getting the DStv chop with the channel that confirmed its removal from the MultiChoice line-up in response to a media enquiry.

"DStv has decided that ITV's international TV channel, ITV Choice, will no longer be carried on the DStv platform in Africa from 4 June 2020. The ITV brand will continue as a video-on-demand (VOD) service in other territories," an ITV Choice spokesperson told the media.

MultiChoice was also asked about the decision to cancel ITV Choice on Tuesday afternoon but didn't respond to a media enquiry seeking comment.

ITV Choice that launched in May 2015 in South Africa faced an uphill battle for DStv viewership and struggled to compete against the entrenched set of longrunning and existing Brit channels from BBC Studios Africa on MultiChoice's platform that are offering a wide selection of lifestyle, natural history, general entertainment and premium drama programming.

The axing of ITV Choice comes after the acrimonious channel carriage negotiations between MultiChoice and A+E Networks UK in late-2019 that first saw MultiChoice announce that it would be dropping History, Lifetime and Crime+Investigation at the end of October 2019.

After new renegotiations and a public petition by angry DStv subscribers MultiChoice kept History and Lifetime on its satellite TV service but dropped Crime+Investigation. That was followed by the exit of former A+E Networks Africa boss Yusuf Nabee who was been replaced by Nazarene Khan.

ITV Choice brought DStv subscribers shows like Victoria, Poldark, Doc Martin, Vera and The Voice UK. ITV's catalogue content will very likely start to pop up on other TV channels in time once the shows that were packaged on ITV Choice becomes available for the territory through its global ITV Studios distribution arm.

African Animation Network Will Be Taking Talent And Ideas To Annecy International Film Festival 2020

Africa’s animators have been largely self-taught but there is no lack of talent. This year ‘Annecy’ has made Africa its territory of honor so they will be getting a great deal more international exposure. Russell Southwood talked to Nick Wilson, Head of Projects and Content, African Animation Network about how things have been building up to this point.

African Animation Networks’ relationship with ‘Annecy’ (Annecy International Animated Film Festival) began in 2014 when it pitched a special call for projects to the Festival for South African animation studios.

Out of this initial approach, African Animation Networks organized a pitch competition which became one of the preliminary rounds feeder route’s for Annecy’s Animation du Monde competition.

Wilson told me: ”One hundred percent of the contestants have been self-taught so we have been running training, workshop and mentoring sessions.

These have been a hugely positive and impactful component of our work.”The background work has included building partnerships with key animation and can organizations across the continent, including Kenya’s NAICCON (a comic convention) and local animation and comics festivals including FFPA in Abidjan and AFFIA, the Accra Animation Festival.

There are pockets of animation talent across many countries including: Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

African Animation Network’s ambition is to bring them all together, raise their profile and encourage collaborations, It has also launched FUPiTOONS Festival as a vehicle for “taking African animation to the world.”Africa will be Annecy 2020’s “territory of honour” and FUPiTOONS Festival will be part of the official programme. The 2019 edition of the Festival received 721 short animation film entries, of which 20 were selected to premier at DISCOP 2019 in Johannesburg. Since its inception in 2017 the festival has traveled the length and breadth of the continent, from festivals to pop culture events to schools.

At Annecy 2020, “there will be an African-focused panel with animation association reps and talent from across the continent.” He emphasizes the sheer scale of the challenge for animators like himself:”Animation is an expensive but medium and it’s almost impossible to recoup investment off one entry alone.”

He is planning a linear channel for animation and is researching “the right pricing and value proposition.” For adult animation, he’s create Mshini TV. The name is a corruption of the isiZulu phrase “mshiniwamahlaya” with “mshini” meaning “machine (gun)” and “wamahlaya” meaning “joke“. Combined, “mshiniwamahlaya” is a pun which means both “machine (gun) jokes” and “joke machine/factory“.

The African Animation Network has partnered with DISCOP Markets (the premiere content markets in Africa) and Annecy Festival (the biggest, most prestigious animation festival in the world) to present a special screening of African-produced animated content for mature audiences under the MSHINI TV banner.