MultiChoice is dropping four E-tv channels from the DStv platform on 1 April 2022, eMedia has announced.
“eMedia and MultiChoice have renewed a channel supply
agreement in which Multichoice have opted not to carry certain eMedia channels,
namely eMovies, eMovies Extra, eExtra and eToonz,” an eMedia spokesperson
stated.
The multichoice owned satellite broadcasting platform
recently announced its annual price increase in South Africa, which will be
effective from 1 April 2022.
Despite the fact that the subscriptions have gone up by
between 1-5 percent, DStv has cut off four channels from its bouquets.
DStv cut off all of eMedia’s entertainment channels from the
platform except for the flagship e.tv. This means that viewers will no longer
be able to watch eExtra, eMovies, eToonz and eMovies Extra from 1 April 2022.
e.tv, which is licenced under a separate agreement, will continue to air on the
DStv platform.
eMedia’s news channels, eNCA (403) and the daily Afrikaans
News bulletin on kykNet (144), will continue to be broadcast on the DStv
platform. This comes after MultiChoice and eMedia renewed their licensing
agreement.
In a statement, eMedia said,
“eMedia and MultiChoice have renewed a channel supply
agreement in which MultiChoice have opted not to carry certain eMedia channels,
namely eMovies, eMovies Extra, eExtra and eToonz.”
“We constantly review our channel offering on DStv in line
with our viewer’s needs. Although these four eMedia channels will no longer be
available on DStv, customers still have access to a wide range of entertainment
which includes 200 channels of movies, dramas, sport, kids, news, reality, and
so much more.”
However, the four channels which have been terminated will
remain available on free to air platform OpenView. In a press statement, eMedia
said all the e.tv channels will continue to broadcast and remain available on
the Openview platform.
According to a report, around 37 permanent employees were
fired from E-tv on Monday afternoon. Reportedly 23 contract workers were also
let go.