The four channels will cease broadcasting on 16 September, while the new Supersport channels will launch next week, 19 August.
Multichoice says the new Supersport channels will increase the volume of live sports content available to subscribers, particularly during congested periods in the sporting calendar.
The four new channels are:
The four channels that will be closing are M-Net Movies 1, kykNET Lekker, Mzansi Bioskop, and Mzansi Music, three of which are local.
Mzansi Bioskop screens South African films and is also a route to air for emerging local filmmakers, while Mzansi Music carries local music programming.KykNet Lekker, an Afrikaans channel, for DStv Access subscribers.
This means that the cuts hit the cheapest package on the platform.
When Canal+ acquired MultiChoice last year, one of the conditions was local content production and support for small black-owned suppliers.
Canal+ Africa CEO David Mignot has said it would be “a strategically huge mistake” for the group to cut local content investment, pointing to a commitment of about €100m to accelerate local production.
The Competition Commission has said it is monitoring compliance.
The content of these channels will still be available through other DStv offerings.
Earlier this year, the operator cut channels after Paramount decided to wind down its linear television operations across Africa.
Affected channels included BET Africa, CBS Reality, CBS Justice, and MTV Base.
MultiChoice says that the closures are part of a broader effort to reduce duplication and streamline its channel portfolio in response to shifting viewer habits.
While its subscriber prices remain unchanged despite the channel changes, MultiChoice confirmed it would not increase its current prices this year.
