SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE: Pan-African pay-TV broadcaster MultiChoice is to launch six genre-themed high definition (HD) M-Net movie channels on the Premium bouquet of its DStv platform on 1 October, bringing its total number of HD channels to 14.
All HD channels barring the existing SuperSport channels and the Discovery Showcase HD channel will be simulcast in standard definition (SD) to cater for DStv subscribers who have SD decoders instead of HD PVRs.
MultiChoice will also, as of 1 October, launch two new M-Net AfricaMagic channels.
This expansion was facilitated by MultiChoice’s migration of its DStv services to a brand new satellite, Intersat IS20, which is said to have a lifespan of 15 years.
The announcement was made at an event held at the Theatre on the Square in Sandton City, Johannesburg on 29 August.
According to MultiChoice chief technology officer Gerdus van Eeden the satellite was launched from French Guiana on 2 August on top of an Ariane rocket that weighed 800 tonnes. “The satellite itself, which has 24 C-band and 60 Ku-band transponders, weighs six tonnes. It’s a geostationary satellite positioned at 68.5 degrees east, right above the Maldives and 38,000km above the earth. The satellite has to be stationary because subscribers’ dishes don’t move.’
Van Eeden noted that the new satellite gives MultiChoice the capacity to host even more HD channels in the future and to be able to simulcast. “We’ve had to change the software for the PVRs in order to accommodate the simulcast. PVRs will automatically pick up the new signal. The only problem will be where the channel number has changed so subscribers will have to re-programme the new channel number.’
Group CEO of MultiChoice Imtiaz Patel admitted while the investment in a new satellite had been “huge’ it allowed MultiChoice to introduce a host of new services.
“We trust that this will make our interaction with customers better. MutliChoice wants to surround its viewers with a world of entertainment,’ he stressed.
CEO of MultiChoice South Africa Collins Khumalo added: “We are committed to giving our viewers as big an HD experience as possible.
“As some of the channel numbers of existing channels will change once the new channels are introduced, we have been communicating directly with customers about these changes, which will be implemented in the early hours of 1 October.
“When MultiChoice invests in something it is for the long term. We believe in offering the very best to customers and in keeping up with global trends. MultiChoice always wants to be at the forefront of technology and all our investments ensure that we keep subscribers entertained. We don’t worry about what the other local broadcasters are doing – our focus is our customers.’
MultiChoice GM of Content Aletta Alberts added: “Our customers are travelling around the world more and more so they are increasingly exposed to international broadcasting trends. HD is growing – there are more than 100 HD channels in the US alone – so increasing our HD offering is a natural step for MultiChoice. Simulcast is widely practised across the globe as there is still lots of SD content around.’
Alberts noted that MultiChoice was extremely excited about the M-Net AfricaMagic channels. “By November we will have grown our AfricaMagic channels from two to four. Our new channels are AfricaMagic Entertainment and AfricaMagic Movies 1. Viewers in South Africa and across the continent love AfricaMagic.’
M-Net’s six new HD movie channels – M-Net Movies Premiere, M-Net Movies Showcase, M-Net Movies Romance & Drama, M-Net Movies Action Plus, M-Net Movies Comedy, and M-Net Movies Family – complement the existing two SD channels, M-Net Movies Action and M-Net Movies Stars.
Said M-Net CEO Patricia van Rooyen: “The introduction of these channels marks the beginning of an exciting new era of movie magic built around convenience and variety like never before. DStv Premium subscribers will now have two movies to choose from every half hour in the biggest collection ever brought together on TV in South Africa.’
For more on M-Net’s HD movie channels see the September issue of the Screen Africa print magazine.
MultiChoice has until 9 September created a “DStv Park’ at Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton City, with interactive displays of the new HD and AfricaMagic offerings to give the public the opportunity to interact with M-Net staff and personalities.
Report by Joanna Sterkowicz
