Hints: MultiChoice To Add More SABC Channels To The DStv Platform

eMedia Investments and MultiChoice have been beefing over the carriage agreement for eToonz, eExtra, eMovies and eMovies Extra on which these 3 new SABC channels were set to replace but following the court's recent ruling complicates things for these channels as MultiChoice doesn't have much room for more channels.

In an interview earlier in the year, the SABC promised new content for the current SABC 1-3 alongside these new channels while also changing the way content would be distributed amongst their brands as they gear up for the launch of their long awaited OTT platform.

These new channels which are likely the same ones eMedia Investments failed to launch last year although there that much hasn't been confirmed would it be shocking if it was true as these brands were set up to replace eMedia's channels on the DStv platform.

From the info presented to the press about Openview's long awaited SABC channels, consumers should expect a lot of archived material as seen with SABC Education but as more viewers glue themselves to these brands expect some fresh content every now and then.

I'm no wizard in this but wasn't this how most if not all eMedia's brands panned out and following its expansion to the DStv platform you saw an increase in primetime so yeah these new channels have to be the same ones coming to the Openview platform.

Onto the specifics for these channels, SABC hasn't provided any detail in that regard but they have been giving a couple of teasers like SABC Sport 2 alongside the return of SABC Encore.

SABC Sport 2 comes out of the fact that the main channel SABC Sport has seen success on the Openview platform but as mentioned on several occasions they're not financially fit to launch more channels unless they have a reliable source of income and regardless this is a brand that MultiChoice wouldn't really want on their platform.

SABC Encore on the other hand is an uphill battle not that channels can't relaunch on DStv but for the time that it ran on DStv. There wasn't anything worth exploring that viewers hadn't got on SABC 1-3 but as mentioned in an interview they plan to revive the brand on another platform that doesn't it can't come back.

All the channels needs is improvement over whether it can launch again it's a mystery maybe this channel will launch on Openview and a seperate entertainment channel likely called SABC Entertainment surfaces on DStv as SABC had been tinkering with the brand names.

The second channel SABC Education has been going through development hell and as speculated most of this is on SABC as MultiChoice had been waiting on the other two channels to surface but as usual the public broadcaster can't meet up to a deadline.

The last channel is a complicated scenario, SABC had registered an SABC Parliament while Openview is expecting repeats that's not the case with this channel but seeing as they are replacements it's better to just cut that out of the list and look at another potential channel, SABC Children.

I know out of the 3 channels 2 cater for children but remember SABC Education revamped their lineup in 2021 and just like Da Vinci Kids also includes content for adults. The channel offers shows like Skeem Saam, Afro Cafe and Speak Out something you wouldn't find a lot of toddlers watching.

If you look at the possible 3 channels, the idea doesn't seem far fetched as MultiChoice has plenty of entertainment channels and while as with SABC I don't envision them adding anything that could rival with SABC 1-3 any further than SABC Encore/Entertainment.

Could eMedia Investments' Local Endeavours Lead To The Recreation Of The eKasi+ Channel?

eMedia Investments has been building their local portfolio with the likes of The Black Door, uMbali, Housewives, Is'phindiselo, Daryn's Gym and Atlantis and I don't know about you but all this kind of leads to the thought of a standalone channel.

eKasi+ was another property of eMedia Investments seen on the Openview platform when it first launched in the market. At the time, eMedia's local endeavours usually hit a bump on the road on top of working under a limited budget which is why it's known to viewers as eExtra.

eExtra has achieved a lot of milestones on eMedia's portfolio following the success of Kuiertyd which has a hub on eVOD and standalone channel on the Openview platform. It even lead MultiChoice to build their own Kuiertyd through kykNET & Kie.

But the fact is eExtra doesn't cater to the same audience as eKasi+. While eExtra is viewed as an alternative to kykNET and the dismal Afrikaans offering on SABC 2 with eKasi+ it was taking on the likes of SABC 1 and Mzansi Magic's Wethu and Bioskop channel.

I'm not saying eMedia had no reasons to throw the channel away as eKasi+ was very much repetitive and struggling to hit the standards seen on SABC 1 which is why there was that existing bulk of eExtra available on the channel alongside WWE.

But with this fresh offering coming to their stable with more expected in the near future. It wouldn't be a bad idea to revive a concept similar to eKasi+.

I'm not expecting any exclusive content to run on the channel but function more like SABC's Encore channel or M-Net's Mzansi Wethu where the channel offers a selection of archived material alongside current shows from e.tv like The Black Door, Scandal and Imbewu.

What Really Happened To Mindset Network's Health Channel?

It was on pilot mode in 2003, The Mindset Health Channel, a partnership between Mindset Network, the National Department of Health and Sentech, provided a multimedia platform, to deliver uplifting health education and promotion on critical health issues, including tuberculosis the HIV and AIDS pandemic, on a mass scale.

The channel, which began broadcasting TV programmes in October 2003, had advanced to Internet datacasting reaching an increasing number of clinics and hospitals. From 48 sites in the pilot phase, Mindset Health had 298 established sites throughout South Africa.

The satellite uplink provided by Sentech allowed datacasting directly to users with information in video, multimedia and print available on demand.

"When patients gather in a clinic they can watch a TV programme in the waiting area, while a healthcare worker independently explores in-depth clinical management material on a PC," says Tricia Hobson, Marketing Manager, Mindset Network. This can be interrupted and returned to at a time convenient for the healthcare worker.

The public broadcast, offering 'infotainment' delivers education and promotion on HIV and AIDS (prevention, management, treatment and care), tuberculosis, other major diseases such as maternal and infant health, and the underlying issues such as gender violence, in multiple languages through, drama, public service announcements, documentaries, interviews and discussions.

"Mindset Health sources high-quality content from a number of our media content partners, including SABC, Soul City, Love Life, Khomanani, Community Health Media Trust and Kagiso Educational Trust," says Hobson. The content is available in five languages - English, SeSotho, isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans.

Healthcare workers and nurses report that the programmes provide an invaluable resource of up-to-date information which adds enormous value to their counselling and administrative efforts.

The Mindset Health Channel aimed to broadcast to 4 000 public healthcare sites, and hospitals as wall as private clinics, prisons and community centres, educating 97 000 nurses and 36 million South Africans.

To do this will require a variety of project and funding partnerships to support the roll-out as well as to sustain usage among both the patients and the healthcare workers in the public health sector.

"We believe these targets are quite within reach and the satellite technology supporting the Mindset Health Channel has the capacity to deliver quality content to South Africa and beyond," says Pranill Ramchander, Sentech's Portfolio Manager: Corporate Communications.

The afterlife of Mindset Health

In a media enquiry, Mindset Network revealed that a lack of funding led to the termination of the health channel contributing to that was the severed partnership with Department of Health as they had no means of keeping the channel sustainable.

A decade after its termination, the nonprofit organisation partnered up with pay-tv giant MultiChoice for a spinoff to the current Mindset TV which catered to Grade 4-9 and ran throughout the pandemic and went dark in the same year with further content available on the main channel.

Roundups #83: Taffy Has Been Removed From Various Boomerang Feeds, WAGS Inspired Series The Queens Of Mzansi Launches On SABC 1, County 49 Currently Streaming On Showmax

Taffy may go back to being a raccoon

Earlier in the year, Cyber Group Studios the company in charge of supplying Taffy to Boomerang announced a further third season and as seen this past week Warner Bros. Discovery will be cutting back on content for their linear operations to invest it onto their streaming service.

Taffy which follows a grey raccoon, Scraggs, who gets adopted by Mrs. Muchmore after thinking he is a cat named Taffy. Her main pet, a blue dobermann named Bentley, is determined to reveal Taffy's secret to Mrs. Muchmore has been part of the Boomerang family since 2018.

Viewers across several markets had spotted that various content like The Fungies and Infinity Train had been removed from not only Cartoon Network but the streamer HBO Max and these two were canned by the network with Taffy likely joining despite the renewal.

S3 Jozi Divas has been revived on another network

SABC1 has a brand-new reality show, The Queens of Mzansi, which will premiere on Monday, 15 August at 21:00.

"Like most South African women, The Queens of Mzansi face hardships from gender-based violence, divorce, financial difficulties, and being widowed. That is what makes them Queens…they all had a rebirth and have found their voices and crowns again," reads a press release from the channel.

According to the statement, viewers will get a front-row seat into their lives and what it 'means to be a modern-day South African woman' while balancing friendship, romantic relationships, being single moms and managing their businesses.

County 49 now on Showmax

This Kenyan political thriller follows the political intrigues of the fictional Bwatele County, Kenya’s 49th county and the nation’s breadbasket. Despite the county’s wealth, its citizens are suffering from the high cost of living and scarce resources.

Now against the backdrop of great civilian discontent, a disgraced security officer is compelled to save the governor and her chief of staff – his estranged wife – from a local terrorist group, which has kidnapped them for money and revenge.

County 49 stars Wakio Mzenge (Selina), Nyokabi Macharia (Chaguo), Ainea Ojiambo (Igiza), Maqbul Mohammed (Crime and Justice), Martin Githinji (Sue na Jonnie), Peter Kawa (Uradi), Benson Ojuwa (Njoro wa Uba), Nick Kwach (Chaguo) and more.

eVOD Has Been Credited In Latest Annual Results From MultiChoice Group

MultiChoice and eMedia Investments have been in an on/off relationship following the dispute in regard to the 4 e.tv channels. As seen in May, the channels went dark on DStv without notice only for the Competition Tribunal to look back on their final notion following pending investigation.

During that time, MultiChoice had managed to find the necessary alternatives with kykNET's Turkish offering on kykNET & Kie, DreamWorks, KIX and Movie Room all of which have managed to perform at their best capacity but not enough to fill the void left by the e.tv channels.

For those who've been following eMedia's stations for a while may have heard of eVOD I mean who wouldn't have heard of it as it is the only known outlet to stream the bulk of content some of which haven't aired any of eMedia's channels.

It was speculated the only reason eVOD wasn't added onto the Explora Ultra had to do with the ongoing feud between eMedia Investments and MultiChoice in regard to DTT and the carriage fees for their channels as other brands like the SABC are said to be earning more with just SABC News.

But as MultiChoice outlined in their recent annual results, they plan to add more streaming services even crediting various entities that haven't been seen on the Explora Ultra like Acorn TV and eVOD.

Taking that to account, could you say that eVOD will likely be bundled under the Explora Ultra perhaps as a replacement to e.tv's 4 channels as the channels only returned as part of a technicality and aren't must carry channels like SABC 1-3.