Channel Premieres: Doodloopstraat Makes A Quick Debut On eExtra In April Followed By Een Wit Leuen In May On e.TV

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eMedia Investments continues its repetitive slope in 2025 with more scraps from eVOD set to make a rollout on eExtra and e.tv in the coming months with Een Wit Leuen and Doodloopstraat. As it stands, the only premiere is Annekan Die Swa Kry and now that is set become a burial ground for these scraps.

As advised, Doodloopstraat will be airing on eExtra from 25 April replacing rebroadcasts of Vierspel Vuurspel while Een Wit Leuen replaces Annekan Die Swa Kry on both e.tv and eExtra from 5 May.

Synopsis for Doodloopstraat 

Cennet marries Yılmaz, whom she fell in love with, and comes to Istanbul from her village as a bride and as a result of their marriage, they have three children. Division ensues amongst the children as their dad is blamed for her death in a letter she had written prior to her passing which leds to a search for the truth and self discovery.

It starred Ayça Bingöl as Cennet Tekin, Alp Navruz as Halil Tekin, İrem Helvacıoğlu as Av. Zeynep Önder, Mesut Akusta as Yılmaz Tekin, Bihter Dinçel as Birsen Karataş, Dilara Aksüyek as Feride Büyükdere.

Synopsis for Een Wit Leuen 

Abandoned by his wife, Nejat is lying to his daughter not to be upset. But as Kayra grows, these lies become unbearable and as he is trapped in the corner meets Suna. With Suna's entry into their lives, both Nejat and Kayra's world is completely changed.

It starred Furkan Palali as Nejat Yilmaz, Asli Bekiroglu as Suna Dogan, Lavinya Ünlüer as Kayra Yilmaz, Gonca Sariyildiz as Hande Eymen, Asli Inandik as Saniye Dogan and Cem Zeynel Kiliç as Hayri Hicdurmaz.

Why DStv's Channel Expansions Have Lost Appeal?

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During the week, MultiChoice unveiled the new DStv price adjustments which will take into effect from 1st April with a second increase scheduled for Worker's Day being May 1st. To ease the blow and retain more consumers, MultiChoice will be making more channels accessible to lower bouquets.

These include SuperSport Schools on DStv Easyview, Zee World and Nicktoons on DStv Access, Comedy Central and Disney Channel on DStv Family and lastly CBS Justice and Curiosity Channel on DStv Compact. 

At first glance, these channels open up a new world of entertainment and give these consumers content beyond their wildest imagination. Overtime this spark fades away not because E! still offers Keeping Up With Kardashians but rather they don't expand from what made them magical in the first place therefore the channel loses appeal.

Look at Comedy Central, when it was broadcast on Compact+ it offered Two And A Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family. At first, this was a safe haven and if you were a kid (now adult) when it aired therefore it kind of helped you get through the hardships of life.

But the moment Comedy Central is stuck in an endless loop consumers get infuriated. This is what happened when E! made it to Access, Nickelodeon on Compact and will most definitely be what awaits Comedy Central on Family.

The sad reality is that MultiChoice remains powerless on the matter as they only serve as a distributor of content - nothing else. They could opt to remove these channels if they want to and risk losing consumers I mean look at happened when they removed eMedia's 4 channels and WildEarth.

"Developing Story": MultiChoice Extends The Reach Of CBS Justice, Disney Channel, Zee World And Various Other Channels To More DStv Customers

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March looks to be a month of significant announcements for DStv customers. Following last week’s move to bring back two concurrent streams to the platform, now DStv Compact customers are getting the addition of five channels to their bouquet.

Here, MultiChoice confirmed that the additional channels will be accessible from 1st April onwards.

The service provider is also punting the discount it offers to Compact customers for its streaming platform – Showmax.

“DStv Compact customers also benefit from access to a second stream on the DStv Stream app, allowing them to stream on two devices concurrently, including smart TVs. Customers will also enjoy a 40% discount on Showmax, providing affordable access to a huge library of movies, series and other content on-demand,” it added in a release shared with Hypertext.

As for the added channels, they are:

SuperSport Action (channel 210),  

Africa Magic Showcase (channel 151), 

CBS Justice (channel 170), 

Curiosity Channel (channel 185),  

History Channel (channel 186).  

“Spanning kids, movies, music, news, lifestyle, sport and more, DStv Compact is already an excellent viewing experience, and the five new channels and extra concurrent stream add even more value for customers. DStv has confirmed that it will again offer discounted rates to decoder customers who want to lock in their price by paying in advance for 24 months,” highlighted MultiChoice.

DStv Compact is not the only package set to receive additional channels from 1st April. On this front, MultiChoice noted that, “DStv Family, DStv Access, and DStv EasyView customers will also enjoy extra channels.”

DStv Family viewers get Comedy Central (channel 122), HGTV (channel 177), and Disney Channel (channel 303), while DStv Access receives Zee World (channel 166) and Nicktoons (channel 308), along with DStv EasyView gaining SuperSport Schools (channel 216).

DStv Unveils New Prices For Each DStv Package, Adds More Channels To The Lineup In April

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MultiChoice South Africa has announced new DStv price adjustments for 2025, with increases for multiple packages.

The company announced its annual price and product adjustments for DStv and Showmax on Monday and they will be effective from 1 April.

The price adjustments for the different packages and products are:

Satellite

Premium: From R929 to R979 (+R50)

Compact Plus: From R619 to R659 (+R40)

Compact: From R469 to R479 (+R10)

Family: From R329 to R339 (+R10)

Access: From R139 to R150 (+R11)

EasyView: From R29 to R30 (+R1)

Access Fees: From R120 to R125 (+R5)

Add Movies: From R79 to R49 (-R30)

Showmax Entertainment mobile and football: From R99 to R119 (+R20)

Showmax Entertainment and football: From R140 to R149 (+R9)

MultiChoice said in a press release that pricing will need to be additionally adjusted as the South African VAT rate increases to 15.5% from 1 May 2025.

"We will communicate the impact of this VAT increase on your package pricing during April 2025," they said.

Last week, MultiChoice announced that Premium, Compact Plus, and Compact subscribers now have an additional concurrent stream on any device.

Compact customers will be getting five new channels (SuperSport Action, CBS Justice, Africa Magic Showcase, Curiosity and the History Channel).

Three new channels will be added for the Family package, including (Comedy Central, HGTV and Disney Channel) and two new channels for Access customers (Zee World and Nicktoons).

Byron Du Plessis, CEO of MultiChoice SA, said in a press release:

"Recognising the financial pressures faced by South African households, MultiChoice has implemented considered adjustments, focusing on enhancing value across its packages, with certain products receiving no increase." 

Cacau, Telemundo's First Ever Portuguese Telenovela Debuts In May Across Africa

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Telemundo, an Spanish based channel home to a variety of telenovelas from Latin America and Colombia will be rolling out it's first ever Brazilian (Portuguese) series Cacau in the month of May. This comes after KykNet & Kie had also scooped up a Brazilian series titled Plaas Van Passie in the month.

Synopsis for Cacau

Cacau is a fearless and irreverent young chocolatier who lives on a farm in Itacaré, Bahia, with her Portuguese parents, Quim and Filo, who are trusted by the wealthy owner, Justino. Cacau has a dream of getting an international diploma in chocolate making, but she can’t afford it. Everything changes when her father, in order not to cut off her wings, breaks a pact from the past and reveals his true identity, leading Justino to discover that he had a daughter with another woman. 

It starred Matilde Reymão as Clara Coutinho, José Condessa as Tiago Saavedra, Alexandra Lencastre as Simone Vaz Pereira, António Capelo as Justino Vaz Pereira and Diogo Amaral as Marco Figueroa.

TVI served as the official broadcaster of Cacau when it broadcast from 15 January to 30 November 2024 with 236 episodes in Brazil. This would effectively make it one of the longest short form series to have broadcast on Telemundo with previous entrant being Fearless Heart.

Cacau is expected to replace The Count: Love And Honor once it ends weeknights at 22:00 from Monday 26 May.