After all the
fuss and nonsons about the A+E Network channels being off DStv, they're suddenly back, on the day they were supposed to go dark.
At least two of them are.
DStv's keeping HISTORY and Lifetime but Crime + Investigation's still gone.
They released a statement about it today saying they've reached an agreement to continue airing HISTORY and Lifetime after today (31 October).
It's a bizarre and annoying decision on DStv's part to keep HISTORY instead of C & I, which has always been a more relevant channel, especially since they've been covering local South African crimes recently.
Lifetime has various South African productions planned and it's been added to the Compact bouquet so this is more understandable than HISTORY but Lifetime needs to get its act together.
As we mentioned
here, Lifetime's scheduling has been a problem for a long time, riddled with errors e.g. in September, the channel promoted five highlights in their monthly highlights doc. and every one of them was advertised for the incorrect time. Let's hope they pay more attention to this now.
This is DStv and A+E's joint statement:
HISTORY and LIFETIME channels remain on DStv
MultiChoice is delighted to have reached an agreement with A+E Networks Africa to extend the current contract to air HISTORY and LIFETIME channels on the DStv platform. The extension of the contract, which was set to expire at the end of October, will ensure that viewers continue to enjoy their favourite factual entertainment shows on HISTORY, alongside exciting entertainment series on LIFETIME.
This means that viewers won’t lose out on amazing Lifetime programmes which include the premiere of Heartbreak Island, new seasons of Married at First Sight and the upcoming series Surviving Jeffery Epstein.
Diehard History fans can look forward to new seasons of favourites including, Curse of Oak Island and Forged in Fire as well as factual series such as Watergate and Rise of the Superbombs.
“We are excited to have reached this agreement as it allows us to ensure we meet our commitment to get the best programming for our customers, based on commercial terms that make sense and provide a value for money offering to customers. We are pleased that Lifetime will also now be available to our Compact customers from Friday 1st November”, commented Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice Group CEO for General Entertainment.
“We appreciate our customers’ patience and feedback and have their best interests in mind as we continue to work hard to improve our entertainment offering”, Phahle continued.
“We are pleased to have agreed a long-term renewal of our flagship brands, HISTORY and LIFETIME in Africa with our partners, DStv. As part of this renewal, the new distribution of LIFETIME in Compact presents an exciting opportunity to reach millions of new viewers with our unique programming offering”, commented Dean Possenniskie, Managing Director A+E Networks EMEA.