Is MultiChoice Looking To Replace Magic Showcase And CineMagic On DStv Easyview?

A few months ago, MultiChoice (now under Canal+) decided to axe M-Net’s Magic Showcase and CineMagic channels on DStv. These channels were specifically tailored for DStv EasyView and GOtv Lite subscribers. They featured older content that had already aired on other M-Net channels, primarily Mzansi Magic and Zambezi Magic.

Most viewers in South Africa probably never realised these channels even existed. MultiChoice had locked them exclusively onto the cheapest packages, which was the only practical way to minimise repeats on higher tiers — or, in the case of Magic Showcase and CineMagic, to create a low-cost content offering without cannibalising the premium channels.

Magic Showcase and CineMagic were part of a broader wave of local M-Net channels that have since exited DStv. Other casualties include kykNET Lekker, Mzansi Bioskop, Mzansi Music and M-Net Movies 1.

Since those cuts, DStv viewers in South Africa — particularly those on the renamed Starter (formerly Access), Select (formerly Family) and Sports (formerly Compact) packages — have seen more sports and entertainment added to their line-ups. Starter gained kykNET & Kie and Via, Select received Mzansi Magic, and Sports added SuperSport Cricket.

DStv EasyView consumers, after losing the two channels, were given Moja 9.9 (a repeats channel for Moja Love programming), alongside Church TV and France 24. It should be noted that these additions do not come close to replacing the loss of Magic Showcase and CineMagic.

As I noted in a previous piece about DStv EasyView and DStv Lite, MultiChoice has historically given Lite subscribers outside South Africa access to more premium entertainment. On EasyView in South Africa, that kind of enrichment was generally off the table — and the axing of Magic Showcase and CineMagic only reinforced that reality.

When MultiChoice removed the two channels, viewers in other African territories (everywhere except South Africa) were given access to Africa Magic Epic and Africa Magic Family instead. The decision clearly signalled the start of a deliberate strategy: fewer channels, stronger ones.

I’ve gone through the old CineMagic programme guide, and it had real potential. MultiChoice could easily have taken that concept and applied it more ambitiously across the M-Net Movies suite. Magic Showcase, on the other hand, was harder to save. It was simply too dependent on recycled Mzansi Magic content.

Is MultiChoice planning to replace these channels on DStv EasyView?

In the months after the cancellations, the info cards for both Magic Showcase and CineMagic remained active. That usually means MultiChoice is holding the frequencies open for future use. It is still unclear what, if anything, is planned for those spots — or whether they will even be allocated back to the EasyView package.

With eMovies sitting on channel 138 and eMovies Extra on 140, CineMagic’s former frequency looks like a natural candidate for another movie channel. That frequency is only receivable in South Africa, so it would not be surprising if MultiChoice eventually launches a Southern African-focused movie service on it — perhaps something along the lines of Movie Room that dubs international films into local languages.

There has also been talk of a possible Mzansi Bioskop revival (or a related concept), after a banner featuring the old trademark appeared. Reviving the Movie Magic brand would not be out of character either — MultiChoice has already revived trademarks such as DStv Select and M-Net Movies Stars.

Magic Showcase’s old info card, unlike CineMagic’s, was not restricted to South Africa. Whatever replaces it (if anything) is likely to be distributed more widely across the continent. A dedicated channel for dubbed programming would not be far-fetched. MultiChoice already offers Telemundo, Novelas+, Zee World and Star Life for English-dubbed content, plus Zee Zonke and Star Khanya for Zulu-dubbed fare. The space is already crowded with Wethu+ and kykNET & Kie carrying titles such as Dikker As Water and Umhlaba Wezifiso.

Another possibility is a pan-African entertainment channel — something in the vein of a “Magic World” — that functions like an SABC Encore or the old DStv 30 pop-up channel. That idea feels less likely given the recent wave of channel cuts and the clear push toward consolidation rather than expansion.

What is clear is that MultiChoice, under Canal+, is continuing to streamline its linear offering. Whether those two EasyView frequencies will ever be filled again remains an open question.