Five new channels for DStv

Four new pay TV operators – Telkom Media, WOWtv, ODM and E-sat – were recently awarded licences in South Africa and will start broadcasting next year, completely changing the pay TV landscape and pushing the veteran DStv to the limits.

The new DStv channels are The Style Network, One Gospel, M-Net Stars, Animax and Sony Entertainment Television (SET).

“We are thrilled to now be launching both SET and Animax channels in SA, joining an increasingly dynamic pay-TV market and furnishing viewers with a broad choice of world content,” Ross Hair, SVP of Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) Networks, said.

“SPTI continues to build on the strength of its brands, maintaining a steady momentum of networks' launches around the world,” Hair added.

SPTI is the division of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), which is responsible for all television business outside of the US. Based in Culver City, California, SPE is well-known as one of the world's leading Hollywood Studios.

Animax is an animated channel, which airs 24 hours a day in 36 million homes in 38 countries and 11 languages.

One Gospel is expected to cater for local and international gospel and is due to start showing on 4 November.

Scheduled to start at 7pm, the launch only kicked off almost an hour late, with the media anxiously waiting as their deadline loomed and the cold weather and overcast sky threatened the city of gold. But when it began, it was fun all the way, an absolute first-class entertainment and a night to remember for those who braved Joburg's weather to grace the event.