Whoa, we can't remember when last we had news to share about DStv's EasyView bouquet.
But suddenly, today, there's news, as the TV landscape continues its dramatic changes in a cacophany of competition between satcasters, streamers and linear TV who are all in a frenzy to grab eyeballs.
Two new channels are being added to DStv's lowest priced EasyView package: Magic Showcase and Cine Magic.
The subscription of R29 per month remains the same and the channels won't be available on any other package.
Magic Showcase launches on Channel 143 this Monday 31 October and will feature series, documentaries and specials that have aired on other DStv channels. The majority are South African, with some from East and West Africa.
Properties in the line-up include telenovela Legacy, reality shows Being Bonang and Our Perfect Wedding, and kykNET and Mzansi Magic dramas.
It's an 18-hour channel with series in multiple languages and English subtitles.
Cine Magic launches on 139 on Monday 14 November, as a 12-hour channel, and will feature a mix of African movies and independent international films, also with English subtitles.
This turn of events seems to have the intention of giving Openview competition as a provider of digital TV in the midst of The Great Analogue Switch-Off, which has been torturing everyone for years.
MultiChoice specifically mention this in the press release about the new EasyView channels, saying:
"With analogue on its way out, now’s the perfect time to switch to digital - and DStv continues to make it even easier for consumers to do so. "
This has always been one of the key selling points of Openview, that you can switch to digital for a once-off payment and then watch for free after you've bought the decoder and had it installed.
With DStv you need to pay R29 a month for this so they need to provide entertaining, good quality channels if they hope to make the concept of "switch to digital" a selling point.
Speaking of channel quality or lack thereof... in other, related news, Novela Magic has been scrapped in South Africa now that these two new channels are launching.
It's still available elsewhere but not in Mzansi. Do you care? We don't. We tried so hard to cover the shows on it when it first started but it turned out to be impossible because of the lack of information and constantly changing schedule.
Let's hope Magic Showcase has more magic than Novela Magic.
Here's a close-up on the primetime schedule when it launches:
Monday 31 October 2022
| 17h00 |
Arendsvlei Season 1 |
| 17h30 |
Survivor SA Season 6 |
| 18h30 |
Being Bonang Season 1 |
| 19h30 |
Legacy Season 1 |
| 20h00 |
Zuba Season 1 |
| 20h30 |
Enahke Season 1 |
| 21h30 |
Impostor Season 1 |
Tuesday 1 November 2022
| 17h00 |
Arendsvlei Season 1 |
| 17h30 |
Survivor SA Season 6 |
| 18h30 |
Culture Shock Season 1 |
| 19h30 |
Legacy Season 1 |
| 20h00 |
Zuba Season 1 |
| 20h30 |
Rockville Season 1 |
| 21h30 |
Fever Season 1 |
Wednesday 2 November 2022
| 17h00 |
Arendsvlei Season 1 |
| 17h30 |
Survivor SA Season 6 |
| 18h30 |
Behind the Glam with Uti |
| 19h30 |
Legacy Season 1 |
| 20h00 |
Zuba Season 1 |
| 20h30 |
Riona Season 1 |
| 21h30 |
Saints and Sinners Season 1 |
Thursday 3 November 2022
| 17h00 |
Arendsvlei Season 1 |
| 17h30 |
Survivor SA Season 6 |
| 18h30 |
Our Perfect Wedding Season 1 |
| 19h30 |
Legacy Season 1 |
| 20h00 |
Zuba Season 1 |
| 20h30 |
Marriage Counseller Season 1 |
| 21h30 |
A Duniya Kashi Season 1 |
Friday 4 November 2022
| 17h00 |
Arendsvlei Season 1 |
| 17h30 |
Survivor SA Season 6 |
| 18h30 |
Cooking with Siba Season 1 |
| 19h30 |
Legacy Season 1 |
| 20h00 |
Zuba Season 1 |
| 20h30 |
Sara se Geheim Season 1 |
| 21h30 |
Behind the Glam with Uti |
Saturday 5 November 2022
| 17h00 |
Being Bonang Season 1 (Repeat) |
| 18h00 |
Mama's Book Season 1 (Sitcom) |
| 18h30 |
It's For Life Season 1 (Sitcom) |
| 19h30 |
Our Perfect Wedding (Repeat) |
| 20h30 |
Mzansi Magic Music |
| 21h30 |
Culture Shock/Date My Family Season 1 (Repeat) |
Sunday 6 November 2022
| 17h30 |
Our Perfect Wedding (Repeat) |
| 18h30 |
Behind the Glam with Uti (Repeat) |
| 19h30 |
Cooking with Siba (Repeat) |
| 20h30 |
iNumber Number Season 1 |
| 21h30 |
Impostor Season 1 (Repeat) |
*There's going to be a gospel hour on Sunday afternoons before primetime.
You'll find info on the South African shows by clicking their titles in the tabs below.
These are the other channels on EasyView:
Movies and entertainment
TNT
Real Time
Documentaries and lifestyle
People's Weather
Free channels
SABC1
SABC2
S3
e.tv
Soweto TV
Bay TV
1 KZN
Tshwane TV
Cape Town TV
Gau TV
Lesotho TV
Sport
SuperSport Blitz
Kids & Teen
JimJam
Mindset
Music
Mzansi Music
Religion
FAITH
Daystar
TBN Africa
Emmanuel TV
News and commerce
SABC News
Newzroom Afrika
Al Jazeera
Parliamentary Service
CGTN News
CNBC Africa
Business Day TV
Specialist and Foreign
CCTV 4
DStv's audio channels are also on the decoder version of the package.