DStv extends deal to carry Disney channels
MultiChoice has signed a deal that will see it continue to broadcast six channels from entertainment giant Disney on its DStv service for the next four years.
DStv, the group’s main service and product line, is a linear broadcast pay-TV business held together by a number of film and television distribution deals. While having its own channels and productions, MultiChoice licenses out a large part of its content slate from studios around the world at a fee. In addition, the group also has deals to carry channels from other broadcasters such as the BBC, CNN, MTV, Bloomberg, Discovery and Disney.
On Tuesday, Walt Disney Company Africa and MultiChoice Group said they had signed a multiyear distribution deal for Disney’s portfolio of linear channels on DStv until 2027. These channels are National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, ESPN and ESPN2.
“This distribution renewal ensures that we will be able to continue bringing our six 24hour channels to audiences across the continent and marks another proud milestone in our long-term relationship with the MultiChoice Group,” Christine Service, senior vice-president and GM of Disney Africa, said.
These deals are constantly being renegotiated, renewed or cancelled depending on strategy and business objectives.
“With a strong foundation of creativity, storytelling, exploration and multigenerational emotional connection, we are proud to continue offering DStv viewers the very latest from our high-quality, premium kids, factual and sports content.”
This comes a day after MultiChoice announced that it would increase prices for DStv in April, as the pay-TV operator grapples with rising content costs and a weaker domestic currency.
While DStv has carried channels from Disney for decades, such renewals are not necessarily guaranteed.
At the end of 2023, the Competition Tribunal moved to keep a number of television channels operated by eMedia on DStv “for now”, one of the more recent developments in a string of legal bouts between the two broadcasters.
eMedia had sought an interim relief order stopping MultiChoice from dropping its channels pending the conclusion of the case. It argued that the move would hurt its advertising income and market access, and stunt its ability to invest in content.
MultiChoice had since 2017 carried the four channels — e.tv Extra, eToonz, eMovies and eMovies Extra — on DStv in terms of a March 2017 agreement. eMedia argues that MultiChoice’s refusal to carry the channels amounts to an abuse of its dominant position in SA’s broadcast TV market, in contravention of the Competition Act.
THIS COMES A DAY AFTER MULTICHOICE ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD INCREASE PRICES FOR DSTV IN APRIL
“Extending our partnership with The Walt Disney Company and the incredible linear channels on DStv elevates our offering and amplifies the joy of entertainment,” said Nomsa Philiso, CEO for general entertainment at MultiChoice SA.
MultiChoice is under the spotlight after a recent takeover bid by Canal+. The French media group, which already owns more than a third of MultiChoice, wants to buy out the rest of the company at R105 a share, or just more than R31bn, in what would the biggest merger & acquisition deal in SA in 2024.
The DStv owner snubbed the offer as too low for the business and its prospects, even though it is at the top end of the target price range that analysts and brokers have for the stock.