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

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

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

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.

The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish To Make It's European And African Debut On Nickelodeon In May

Nickelodeon will premiere The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish across Europe and Africa on Monday 26th May 2025. Following its US premiere on the channel and international rollout on Netflix in 2024, more consumers will get the chance to see the follow-up to The Fairly OddParents.

In The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish, ten-year-old Hazel Wells has just moved to the big city of Dimmadelphia because of her dad’s new job. On top of being in an unfamiliar environment, it’s the first time she’s been without her brother, Antony, who’s just left for college, leaving her lonely and unsure of herself. All that changes when the pink-and-green-haired neighbors next door reveal that they are no ordinary neighbors…they’re Cosmo and Wanda, Fairy Godparents! And they’re coming out of retirement to make all of Hazel’s wishes come true. As well as new characters, the series brings back many from the original series, including Vicky, Mr. Crocker, CJ, and Poof, who now goes by the name of Peri.

The U.S.-English dub of The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish stars Ashleigh Crystal Hairston (Tiny Toons Looniversity, Craig of the Creek) as the voice of Hazel Wells, joining The Fairly OddParents alums Daran Norris (The Loud House, The Thundermans: Undercover, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder) as the voice of Cosmo, and Susanne Blakeslee (The Loud House, Amphibia) as the voice of Wanda.

The CG-animated series, which features a brand new art style for the franchise, is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and is co-executive produced by David Stone (Teen Titans Go!), Lindsay Katai (Infinity Train), Ashleigh Crystal Hairston, and Daniel Abramovici (The Peanuts Movie). Fred Seibert (Adventure Time) and Butch Hartman (The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom) serve as Executive Producers. 

Season 1 is set to rollout to consumers in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Servia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Africa and Turkey from Monday 26th May 2025.

1Max Purge From DStv Explained

1Max was Showmax based channel home to variety of locally produced and international content such as The Real Housewives, Youngins and Adulting. Since it's inception, several media outlets including myself had suspected that something was amiss about this channel.

Usually with new channels, MultiChoice tends to give them a lot of press but that wasn't the case for 1Max. Everything was just pieced out at the final moments of 1Magic and while South African consumers were able to access these shows for an additional year most African countries weren't - January or March 2024 was the cut-off.

Lower tailored consumers in South Africa alongside various consumers in other African countries need Showmax to access international shows on M-Net. All that is left on DStv is reruns of Everybody Hates Chris on Comedy Central and Keeping Up With The Kardashians on E! as media companies are optimising for streaming.

MultiChoice sees the 1Max axing as a win for DStv Compact consumers who will have access to Adulting, Youngins and Tracking Thabo Bester. With 1Max these shows would come on a few months or weeks after Showmax with Mzansi Magic that's 6 months if not longer.

This agreement is not a complete win as Compact+ consumers are left with one less channel and 1Max very much like M-Net was meant to build up the subscription. Now that's gone, consumers won't feel it's necessary to hold onto their subscriptions as channels come and go while others downgrade as they start offering little value.

As for M-Net, whose to say it will remain like that for all we know that could be merged with Showmax as MultiChoice feels it's not competitive enough I mean look at SABC 3 even a channel like Mzansi Wethu has more viewers.

Getting back into streaming, Disney had closed a number of its channels across the world for Disney+ so how long will it be till Disney Channel or any other channel on DStv closes in favour of streaming. Netflix had snatched the rights to WWE which is likely to exit SuperSport once it agreement expires in 2027.

GOODBYE!!! MultiChoice And M-Net Dump 1Max From The DStv Platform By The End Of March, Unveils New Content For DStv Consumers

Viewers of DStv channel Mzansi Magic (channel 161) will have access to 1Max content from 31 March 2025, MultiChoice announced on Wednesday (12 March).

1Max, which was launched in April 2024, features content from popular streaming platform Showmax. It is available to DStv Premium and Compact Plus subscribers in South Africa.

However, MultiChoice has now decided to close it on the DStv platform and migrate its content to Mzansi Magic, according to a MyBroadband report.

‘1Max’ content coming to ‘Mzansi Magic’

“The decision follows detailed research into audience consumption behaviour,” MultiChoice said, adding that it’s part of the company’s channel simplification process.

Many Mzansi Magic viewers are DStv Compact subscribers, which means they previously could not watch Showmax content if they were not Showmax subscribers. They can now watch titles such as:

• Ithonga: A new telenovela about the bond shared by twins, starring Bonko Khoza.

• Cobrizi: The spin-off of the Emmy-nominated and multi-award-winning hit The River.

• Inimba: A new telenovela about Zoleka Mabandla. It is a journey of love, sacrifice, and ambition.

• Genesis: A high-stakes telenovela set in the world of Mzansi’s gospel music scene.

Season 2 of the award-winning Shaka Ilembe which premieres in June 2025.

Although 1Max is closing on DStv, its content is still available on demand on Showmax, which is free for DStv Premium subscribers and comes at a discount for lower packages, including Compact.

This means that viewers can watch their favourite Showmax content on demand on the streaming platform or as part of scheduled programming on Mzansi Magic on DStv.

“We know that our customers want to find their content as quickly as possible, without having to navigate across multiple channels or platforms,” MultiChoice South Africa CEO Byron du Plessis said.

“This consolidation also allows Mzansi Magic to further build its stellar lineup, becoming a stronger premium local content offering than ever before.”

Nickelodeon Unveils New Animated Series, ‘Wylde Pak’

Nickelodeon has revealed a first look at the new 2D animated comedy series, Wylde Pak. Inspired by co-creators and executive producers Paul Watling and Kyle Marshall’s family life, the series follows half siblings Lily and Jack as they learn to navigate blended multigenerational Korean American family dynamics. Wylde Pak is slated to debut this summer on the network.

“Nickelodeon’s commitment to showcasing stories about the human experience, filled with humor and adventure, holds true with the debut of the original series Wylde Pak,” said Ramsey Naito, President of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation. “We can’t wait for our audience to meet this wonderfully blended family, which encapsulates what it means to be a modern family navigating the world around them while learning more about each other along the way."

In the first look clip, Lily, Jack, and their family navigate their local Asian market, Woori World, and compete to find a highly coveted box of imported Hallasand cookies. With mind-bending obstacles coming at them from every direction, Jack, Lily and their family must work together to stand a chance against some tough competition.

Wylde Pak stars Nikki Castillo as Lily Pak and Benjamin Plessala as Jack Wylde. Additional voices include Ben Pronsky as William Wylde; Jee Young Han as Min-Ju Pak; and Jean Yoon as Halmoni.

The show is the second short from Nickelodeon’s Intergalactic Shorts Program to be greenlit into a series. Seonna Hong (My Life as a Teenage Robot) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek) executive produce alongside Watling and Marshall. Development and production are overseen by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon and Daniel Wineman, Vice President of Original Animation Development. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

NEW CHANNEL ALERT!!! Zee TV Expands Its Local Offering With The Launch Of Zee Dunia

 Zee Entertainment Enterprises has recently welcomed Zee Dunia to Pang and Signet consumers in Kenya. This will be the third regional station the company has rolled out in Africa following the launches of Zee Zonke (Southern Africa) and Zee Alem (Ethiopia) two of which are distributed to DStv.

Zee Dunia is a Bollywood based channel offering a various films and series in both Swahili and English. It has also been mentioned that the channel will look into introducing local content which is an indicator that Zee Entertainment Enterprises is looking to diversity and not serve as an import from India.

As of right now, the channel offers Iron Lady, Begusarai, Curse Of The Sands and Zara's Nikah shows that have already been broadcast on Zee World. Premieres on the channel include Three Is A Crowd, Money And Morals and Marriage of 3.

This will be the third dubbed channel for local languages in Africa by Zee Entertainment Enterprises with Zee Alem and Zee Dania being imports to Zee World with Zee Zonke that curated it's own offering.

The news of a Swahili based channel doesn't come as a shocker because Zee World has been distributing content in local languages for sometime. The likelihood now is them rolling out a dedicated channel in West Africa probably titled Zee Naija with content in Hausa.

Zee Dunia joins the collection of Zee Africa channels such as Zee World, Zee Zonke, Zee Alem, Zee One, Zee TV, Zee Family and Zee Bollymovies. These channels have since offered content in English, isiZulu, Hindi, French, Swahili and Hausa to consumers across Africa.