Developing Story: Channels Likely Going Dark On DStv Include TLC, Real Time, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Cartoonito And CNN

As consumers have already heard, talks between MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery regarding the carriage agreement for Cartoon Network and 11 other channels are on the line. MultiChoice sent a notice out earlier in the month about the pending disaster.

Since then, a petition had started to garner traction online from a concerned DStv subscriber and has since crossed the 300 milestone.

At the time, it was stated by MultiChoice that should a new agreement not be reached consumers would lose 12 additional channels by 31 December 2025. But that may not be the case for Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, Discovery Family and TNT.

Termination cards are being spotted on TLC, Real Time, HGTV, Travel Channel, Food Network, Cartoonito, CNN International and Investigation Discovery with the following message:

Dear viewer, please note this channel may no longer form part of our content line-up from 31 December 2025. Thank you.

MultiChoice had implied that Warner Bros. Discovery is asking for too much money to extend the carriage agreement for these 8 channels. Honestly, I was right to suspect that Food Network or even HGTV are likely goners in this carriage dispute.

The fact MultiChoice states "may no longer" doesn't mean their fates are set in stone just yet but that some progress has already been established. It's possible that some of these 8 could remain onboard I mean Canal+ Afrique does offer CNN International.

But as of right now, MultiChoice had extended its DStv Upsize promotion which can only imply several scenarios. Firstly talks between the two extend to 2026 which is unlikely and, second is that 8 channels are likely done for and this promotion is just a distraction.

Could Canal+'s MultiChoice Be Hinting At A Grim Future For Warner Bros. Discovery?

Warner Bros. Discovery serves as MultiChoice's largest entertainment provider behind BBC Studios, Disney, NBCUniversal and Paramount. It provides shows like House Of Dragons to M-Net alongside cable networks like Discovery Channel, CNN and Cartoon Network.

The fate of this offering now hangs in the balance as MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery struggle to finalise to a new agreement. Aside from Paramount's 4 channels, consumers stand a chance of losing an additional 12 channels bringing to 16 channels.

A petition had been going around in order to try and save these channels. Because let's face it within this 12 everyone has a favourite and some have even threatened to cancel their subscription.

MultiChoice was asked what they're next grand plan would be if the 12 channels were axed and of course it would be replacing them. But none of the content viewed on Cartoon Network or TLC would make it which is what consumers are paying for.

So now they're extending the DStv Upsize promotion to 31 January 2026. Not as a thank you for being a loyal subscriber but rather a way for them to say we're screwed without these channels.

Consumers missing out on Cartoon Network would have Disney Channel and Nickelodeon to keep occupied. Those missing out on AEW on TNT would have access to live episodes of Raw and SmackDown alongside PPV events.

This is all until 31 January 2026 which would give them ample time to find replacements. If I'm being honest here, there's a 50/50 chance that all 12 channels will be exiting or maybe 4-6 get retained.

According to insiders, talks between them aren't looking good so consumers should expect something major to get axed. This is why there's talks of replacements and for Paramount's brands which are definitely exiting aren't getting replaced.

DStv Upsize Promotion Receives Another Extension Amidst A Carriage Dispute

MultiChoice has announced that DStv customers with decoder-based subscriptions will be upgraded to higher-tier packages for free until the end of January 2026. This is because consumers are likely to lose 12 additional channels by the end of this month.

DStv has been running a promotion that gives customers on its mid-tier and entry-level packages access to higher-end bouquets until the end of December. This has now been extended by a month as Warner Bros. Discovery and MultiChoice try to reach an agreement.

Until 31 January 2026, DStv Compact and Compact Plus customers will have access to all Premium channels, while Family and Access customers will be upgraded to Compact. 

DStv Premium subscribers receive two extra concurrent streams, for a total of four, and will get more DStv Rewards points than usual.

While the upgrade promotion is exclusive to decoder-based subscribers, MultiChoice said that DStv Stream customers will get separate offers on DStv Rewards.

To make it easier for customers to get a decoder and other products, DStv is relaunching its online store later this month, offering free delivery and a simpler ordering process.

MultiChoice launched its Upsize promotion on 10 November, immediately following its successful Open Weekend that gave all decoder-based subscribers free access to DStv Premium.

“With the summer holidays fast approaching, families can enjoy a wide range of local and international entertainment,” MultiChoice stated.

It stated that no action is required from customers to receive the upgrade, and normal billing will resume in February 2026.

DStv said the Upsize promotion forms part of its broader plan to improve customer value. MultiChoice CEO for Pay TV South Africa, Byron du Plessis, said the campaign was part of a bigger value reset.

“We’re focused on making DStv more accessible and rewarding, with affordability and customer experience at the heart of our strategy,” Du Plessis said.

The campaign follows several recent initiatives since the company’s takeover by Canal+, including decoder price cuts and a refreshed DStv Rewards programme.

While the DStv Rewards refresh had been in the works since before the takeover, it has been allowed to proceed with Canal+’s blessing.

Woman In Charge Coming Soon To Telemundo Across Africa

Telemundo, an American based entertainment channel offering telenovelas in English and Portuguese is set to rollout a new series titled Woman In Charge. Overseas this series is known as La Jefa which means The Boss in English.

Because Telemundo already has a series called The Boss (La Patrona), the channel will be distributing La Jefa as Woman In Charge.

Synopsis for Woman In Charge

Gloria Guzmán appears to have the perfect life: a successful career, a beloved son, and a wedding day with her fiancé, the high-ranking police commander Juan José Cruz. This dream life shatters when hitmen crash the wedding ceremony and murder her groom. 

Penniless and on the run from Tijuana with her young son, Daniel, Gloria begins an endless race for survival. She initially finds work in a beauty salon run by Maribel Ortiz, a con artist who performs illegal cosmetic surgeries, and forms alliances with other women there, Yadira and Laura. 

Her situation becomes more desperate when Daniel is diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, and she realizes she cannot afford his expensive treatment on a hairdresser's salary. This forces her to break into the criminal underworld of money laundering and drug trafficking. 

Using her intelligence, resilience, and beauty, she gains the mentorship and alliance of powerful cartel bosses, eventually earning the feared title of "La Jefa" (The Boss). As a powerful drug lord, she navigates a world of betrayal and violence, all while trying to defeat the enemies who made her life impossible and discovering a hidden, shadowy figure behind all her misfortunes. 

Based on the 2014 series Señora Acero (Woman Of Steel), it starred Fabiola Guajardo as Gloria Guzmán, Iván Arana as Eduardo Torres, Mauricio Henao as Mateo Restrepo, Azela Robinson as Maribel Ortiz and Andrés Almeida as Jacinto Ortega.

The revenge saga is not over once a Thirst For Revenge comes to a close as the story lives on with  Woman In Charge airing everyday at 10PM CAT from 26 January.

January 2026 On History Channel Across Africa | Channel Premiere: Hazardous History With Henry Winkler | Returning Shows Including Life After People | More

Brand New & Exclusive

LIFE AFTER PEOPLE S3 

5 January

Mondays 19:25

What would happen if every human being on earth disappeared? This is the story of what happens to the world we leave behind. The series builds on the HISTORY Channel’s documentary special ‘Life After People’. This latest season of the series continues to explore what a world wiped clean of humanity would look like. The series uses the most cutting edge visual effects to provide a detailed picture of a post-human future, revealing the fate of famous structures and investigates the creatures that might inherit the places we once lived. Repeat: Next day 11:45

Brand New & Exclusive

BEYOND SKINWALKER RANCH S3

2 January

Fridays 20:15

To fully unlock the secrets of Skinwalker Ranch - widely considered to be ground zero for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - Dr. Travis Taylor and Erik Bard expand the investigative team and broaden their reach to explore evidence of similar phenomena at sites around the country. Repeat: Monday 12:35

Brand New & Exclusive 

HAZARDOUS HISTORY WITH HENRY WINKLER

22 January

Thursdays 19:25

There was a time, not long ago, when we drank Coca-Cola that was laced with actual cocaine. We smoked everywhere, from airplanes to the doctor’s office. We stored our food in toxic refrigerators and flew down slides that ripped our skin off. We played (unknowingly) with radioactive toys and decorated our Christmas tree with ornaments made from asbestos. And ignorance was bliss. Hosted by the iconic Henry Winkler, each 60-minute episode of this nostalgia-drenched series tells the entertaining stories of the unchecked and unregulated places, people, products, practices, and pastimes from a forgotten era. Fast-paced, informative, and a little bit scary, the series is a running cavalcade of the most careless, reckless and unsupervised tales of irresponsibility in our history. Repeat: Next Day 11:45

Brand New

HITLER’S HOLOCAUST RAILWAYS WITH CHRIS TARRANT 

27 January

Tuesday 21:05

British television personality Chris Tarrant goes on a personal journey to explore the darkest chapter in the history of the railways, their role in the Nazi Holocaust of WWII. Traveling through three countries from Nuremberg to Auschwitz, he explores the history from the first anti -Jewish laws and the Nazi’s quest to build the world’s most powerful railway of war - to the eventual use of that railway network to transport millions to their deaths. Repeat: Next Day 13:25