During the week, MultiChoice welcomed their first channel of the year Qwest TV by multi award winning artist Quincy Jones but is this is really an official channel I mean consumers were told beforehand about the channel's presence in the market and I feel it's more 2022.
Now going to the official channels of 2023, MultiChoice and M-Net seem to be working on two new channels and trust me when I say these channels will definitely get a lot of your attention.
At first I thought viewers were getting another Moja 9.9., kykNET Lekker, Magic Showcase, CineMagic, Nicktoons, Real Time, Discovery Family and Nicktoons but it turns out this maybe another Me channel.
For those who weren't aware before Me, we had M-Net City and VUZU and this merger saw us rewatching the season last viewed on the two brands while others like Ellen had their entire season restarted and it appears these channels will be doing the same but for some of M-Net's local brands.
The first channel has shows like The River, Arendsvlei and Kind Van Die Noodlot basically content from kykNET and Mzansi Magic and the other still lacking much of a schedule also supplies similar content seen on the first channel.
DStv:
- BBC to close linear channels and move to an internet only digital future
- kykNET Lekker Opened To More DStv Customers For A Limited Time
- What Consumers Should Be Concerned About Regarding SABC's Yet To Be Launched Channels On DStv?
- Press Release: DStv Welcomes The Launch Of Quincy Jones’ QWEST TV Onto Screens This Month
Now what has me and everyone else reading this more concerned about is the message written on the screen: "Switch to channel 163 or 164".
We know now that Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop affected by all this but if the change is to happen I doubt they'd write that on the actual channel numbers so it's likely to affect kykNET & Kie seeing as the content resides from them.
MultiChoice had opened kykNET Lekker to several DStv customers and my hunch was right about the open window coming of as suspicious. Firstly, no one at MultiChoice had much to say about it and the other having to do with the load of rebroadcasts consumers will be annoyed to see.
If I had to look at the content, here's my theory about the channels affected.
Firstly, Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop are likely being discontinued and merging to become what is known to some channel 164 or SWiTCH and seeing as no content from kykNET can be viewed here it means kykNET Lekker is safe for now.
As for channel 163, several content from kykNET & Kie is visible on this channel so I'm guessing several content is moving over to this channel while others like Binnelanders, Getroud Met Rugby and various reality shows kept with the relevant brand.
Unlike kykNET Lekker, it seems as if the offering on kykNET & Kie is being adjusted not really sure it leads leading to a closure or not. It's probable that they're repositioning the channel I mean if the Access counterpart is safe why not this one, right?.
Of course, SWiTCH appears to be replacing whatever is left of Mzansi Magic as several content from the channel including Gomora, Lingashoni and the new Empire series is on this channel so maybe kykNET & Kie and Mzansi Magic are merging too or one is just moving their offering on 1Magic and the other kykNET.
The future of Mzansi Magic and kykNET & Kie are at stack as one Binnelanders is not on this channel and kykNET Lekker is very behind with kykNET a season ahead of the affected channel.
MultiChoice has been trying to balance between 1Magic and Mzansi Magic now they'll be unified so all is well, probably not at the same time.
As for the remains of Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop, I may have a good hunch as to why this might be happening.
Firstly, Mzansi Wethu had a lot of unnecessary content to begin with that kids block that aired the same shows for a decade and that music block which already has a dedicated channel to the consumers affected.
As for Mzansi Bioskop, the channel functioned more like fliekNET these days. To some you could say it was shocking that MultiChoice managed to put up with the channel for this long considering how much repeats were available on the channel and lack of fresh original content.
What about Mzansi Magic?
As seen when VUZU AMP was still around, VUZU became obsolete to the audience that grew beside the brand that would dish out shows like Glee, Supernatural, The Simpsons and Vampire Diaries.
Then when it got axed for 1Magic, lots of media outlets knew that Mzansi Magic time was numbered eventually but hey not all of the content is being shelved on SWiTCH or at least from the draft.
If kykNET & Kie and Mzansi Magic is still having content leftover, does this mean it would be put on a channel of its own, or maybe it's being shelved on kykNET and 1Magic or maybe M-Net felt these channels had too much and are trying to reduce their lineup we'll just have to wait and see.
Everyone seems to be screwed here except for kykNET, kykNET Lekker and probably kykNET NOU! and Mzansi Music.
What about M-Net and 1Magic?
If Mzansi Magic is merging with 1Magic then some of the current offering such as Wipeout, Gossip Girl and The Power Trilogy would have to move over to M-Net in order to make space for Date My Family and Our Perfect Wedding.
It would make sense if 1Magic moved over to Compact, right??? especially now that it might become the new Mzansi Magic.
DStv Flex:
- Brand new seasons of your favourite shows coming to History
- February on The Home Channel
- February on HONEY
- Reyka renewed for season 2 on M-Net
If 1Magic and Mzansi Magic are being merged curious on the channel number I wouldn't be shocked if it was 161 but wondering on the name does 1Magic perhaps remove the 1 from its name.
M-Net as some would place it doesn't cater enough to blacks or better yet doesn't have the Mzansi Magic vibe so these shows will give consumers a new appreciation for the brand.
What about the music portion?
Mzansi Music and kykNET NOU! don't appear to be affected but all these changes but nothing can be certain at the moment as the music section is super repetitive and a reduction wouldn't be the worst thing to have happened.
How do I feel about the rumoured SWiTCH channels?
Just like Me, I'm expecting this brand to bomb hard not really expecting them to get scrapped. Those who were watching kykNET may not be comfortable seeing Gomora and the same goes for Mzansi Magic viewers when seeing In Die Ysterhand Se Greep.
All in all, change is constant and with Netflix dominating the airwaves we might as well reach a future where you need such app in order to watch TV.
* Take into account this is theoretical of course the SWiTCH part is real maybe it's for their terrestrial customers or Portuguese customers but that seems unlikely.
* If this turns out as how I'm predicting then Access are getting 1 less channel while others are losing more than they bargained for. Take into account it's best to wait on the necessary parties.
