MOVING & GROOVING
tvplus, please tell me why broadcasters like DStv and Openview are able to just drop channels and not replace them? It feels like we get less for our subscription every year and it’s not all that fair… – Georgia per email
It’s a difficult position that the broadcasters are in because they subscribe to the channels overseas themselves and sometimes closures are completely out of their hands and there’s nothing that they can do no matter how upset their local subscribers are… because the international channel is gone altogether. And if you’re wondering why they don’t just simply start a new channel, that’s because of licences, available spectrum and loads of contracts that need to be signed. When you’re talking about millions of rands for access to channels and shows, the international broadcasters and suppliers have intricate contracts that an army of lawyers have drawn up because their content – rightfully – is precious to them. They don’t just provide it free of charge either because it’s cost them millions to make. A really good example where it does work though is with Bloodline (see more on p14) – it’s being aired on SABC3 (*193) in SA and was originally a show created by streaming service Netflix, who’ve decided to sell it to broadcasters so that audiences who don’t have access to streaming content are able to enjoy the show too.