About
M-Net Edge was a South African digital satellite television channel produced by M-Net for pay television platform DStv which featured edgy, age-restricted dramas and comedies - as well as some iconic classics.
It was a sister channel to M-Net, which carried more family-friendly programming.
AVAILABILITY
DStv: Channel 102
Bouquet: Premium
PICTURE FORMAT
1080i (HDTV, 16:9)
SLOGAN
"The edge of entertainment" - launch slogan, 2014
ABOUT
M-Net Edge was born in October 2014 along with fellow M-Net channel Vuzu Amp, with both targeting an exclusive viewership on the Premium package on DStv. They replaced the now-defunct channels M-Net Series Showcase and M-Net Series Reality.
The M-Net Edge was a first-run channel for DStv Premium in HD.
On the channel's first line-ups was the comedy-drama Orange is the New Black. Among shows to launch the channel were Masters of Sex and Satisfaction, as well as new seasons of The Americans, Defiance and American Horror Story.
The channel was also the home of HBO in Africa, having exclusive first-run rights to HBO series, as well its iconic library material. When M-Net Edge launched on DStv, the HBO classic The Sopranos was a fixture on the schedule on weekdays at 22h00, while the fifth and final season of Boardwalk Empire, the period drama starring Steve Buscemi, airing in primetime.
Among the other HBO shows on M-Net Edge were new seasons of The Newsroom, Veep, Girls, Silicon Valley, The Leftovers and Looking. There were also hard-hitting masterpieces like Rome, Banshee (which aired on HBO sister channel Cinemax) and The Wire.
There were also iconic series every day of the week and binge viewing opportunities on weekends and early evening double bills, where the previously screened episode of a series led into a new episode. On weekends, series were screened back-to-back, allowing viewers to watch episodes the way you would a DVD box-set.
The double-headers featured the previous week's episode broadcast in the slot before the new episode premieres. For example, if you missed the previous episode of the weekday premiere episode at 19h00, you could watch the previous week's instalment at 18h00.
The majority of shows were available on DStv Catch-Up. At launch, these included The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Reckless, Nurse Jackie, Boardwalk Empire, Criminal Minds, Stalker, Masters of Sex, Sleepy Hollow, Orange is the New Black, The Americans, Satisfaction, Outlander, Graceland, Silicon Valley, Major Crimes and Defiance.
M-Net Edge ran for 11 hours per day – from 18h00 until 05h00 - due to the age-restricted content.
The channel was discontinued on 31 March, 2017 and the content was assimilated into M-Net from 1 April, mostly airing as late-night content. A number of series were burned off in March to meet the channel shutdown deadline, including The Last Ship, Midnight Sun, The Magicians, Quarry, Aftermath, The Borgias, Hyde & Seek, The Art of More, Oz, Wrecked and The Detour.