So it's oves for HISTORY, Lifetime and Crime + Investigation.
This according to DStv who posted a message on their website yesterday stating that the three channels will be discontinued at the end of October 2019, replaced by two new channels at an unconfirmed date.
You'll find their post here:
Channel Changes
A&E Networks Africa (who own HISTORY etc.) has confirmed the news to TVSA, in a statement that makes it clear that negotiations between the two parties have stalled and that they want to try to keep the channels on the platform.
DStv's decision comes as no surprise to us for two reasons:
1. HISTORY has been an annoying let down for years with its deluge of irrelevant reality shows that have nothing to do with history.
2. 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.
The only channel that keeps it together properly is C+I and now it's at the mercy of the others.
This is A&E's statement:
DStv announced that they plan to take away the A+E Networks Africa family of channels, including HISTORY (channel 186), Crime+Investigation (channel 170) and Lifetime (channel 131) from their customers.
DStv has decided that our channels do not offer good value to their subscribers. Fans of our channels could soon miss out on the thousands of hours of new and unique shows we provide across our world class global brands including Surviving R Kelly, Forged in Fire, American Pickers, Curse of Oak Island, Damian Lewis Spy Wars, The First 48, Homicide Hunter, Married at First Sight, Little Women, Lifetime movies, Lost Gold of World War2, Watergate, Treasures Decoded, and many more.
This includes current and upcoming local programming such as Crime Stories SA, Don’t Tell the Bride SA and Loved Like Crazy.
We have been very proactive in trying to reach an agreement that is best for our viewers and for DStv. Our goal is to continue to bring our high-quality, award-winning programming to our local audiences. Our channels are available to viewers in over 160 countries around the world, and we negotiate several of these deals every year.
We are willing to keep negotiations open and we sincerely hope DStv will find a way to work with us to keep our channels so we can continue to share our great upcoming local and international programmes with our loyal fans. Everyone at A+E Networks Africa is committed to continue working with DStv to try to achieve a positive outcome.
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How does this impact on you? Is it a big loss to your viewing?