How BBC Turned DStv’s Channel Cull Into A Viewership Windfall?

British broadcaster the BBC has benefited from fewer television channels operating on MultiChoice’s DStv, a dynamic that has helped its viewership jump by more than half since 2020.
This is according to Pierre Cloete, vice-president for Africa at BBC Studios, who told Business Day that the company remains bullish about South Africa and investment in local content.
Cloete noted that despite the broa…

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BBC UKTV Reaches 12.9 Million Viewers In Africa

BBC Studios in Africa has revealed that its multi-genre channel, BBC UKTV, has attracted record numbers, reaching over 12.9 million people. Viewers have grown by 135 per cent and the channel share has increased by 99 per cent among all individuals since launching on DStv in December 2022.
BBC UKTV features a range of genres scheduled for all ages, from Lifestyle programming, Come Dine With Me Sout…

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Possible Rebrand??? BBC's UKTV Announces Creation Of ‘U’ - A New Brand To Unite Its Free TV And Digital Portfolio

UKTV today announced its intention to launch 'U' next year - a new masterbrand that will unite its family of free-to-air channels and its free streaming service.
Launching in Summer 2024, the move will see its current streaming service UKTV Play transition to U and UKTV's family of free-to-air channels will become U&Dave, U&DRAMA, U&YESTERDAY and U&W.
Penny Brough, UKTV&…

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BBC Studios And MultiChoice Strengthen Long-Standing Partnership By Expanding Reach Of BBC Channels On DStv In South Africa

• BBC UKTV expands its potential audience by a further 2.7 million homes by joining DStv Compact.
• BBC Lifestyle joins DStv family for the first time • The DStv catch-up window for BBC owned content on BBC Brit, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Earth, BBC UKTV and CBeebies will increase from 30 days to 60 days
BBC Studios’ multi-genre channel, BBC UKTV, will expand to DStv’s Compact package and Lifestyle channel…

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Recap To Last Year: The Disappearance Of BBC UKTV On The Openview Platform

Last year, eMedia Investments in partnership with BBC Studios unveiled South Africa's first free-to-air entertainment channel, BBC UKTV. A general entertainment channel featuring a selection of content ranging from doccies, lifestyle, dramas and kids shows.Some of the content in question includes Top Gear, Live At The Apollo, Midsomer Murders, Come Dine With Me, Wild Africa, Planet Earth and …

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BBC To Close Linear Channels And Move Into An Internet-Only Digital Future

The BBC is to have “fewer linear broadcast services” in the next decade as it “consolidates activity under one simple, single brand,” Director General Tim Davie has revealed, as he unveiled a blueprint for a digitally-led Public Service Broadcaster.Davie didn’t elaborate during an RTS talk this morning but Deadline understands it could be several years until the move is enacted. The speech signal…

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Speech: Leading The UK Into Digital By The Director-General Of The BBC, Tim Davie, At The Royal Television Society

Good morning. Today, 100 years and 23 days after the first BBC broadcast, I want to talk about choices. Choices for us all. Choices that have profound consequences for our society; its economic success, its cultural life, its democratic health. Our UK and its essence. Of what we hand to the next generation. Of growth. Choices that concern not just the role of the BBC, but something bigger. About …

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eAfrica Vs. BBC UKTV: Another Attempt To Auction Off Second Hand Goods

eAfrica was a Pan-African feed of the current e.tv channel seen by South African consumers where they'd serve up current local dramas like Scandal, House Of Zwide, Imbewu and Durban Gen alongside other content to various platforms in neighbouring countries.Aside from local dramas, eAfrica offered selected movies, series and kids shows from e.tv but it wasn't only a duplicate for the e.tv …

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New Channel Alert: M-Net Movies Blk All Stars And Qwest TV Coming Soon To DStv Alongside BBC UKTV Which Will Likely Rollout On Openview As Well

In September, MultiChoice held a showcase where they unveiled Qwest TV a jazz infused entertainment channel by Grammy Awarded Quincy Jones then a few months later an BBC UKTV from BBC Studios a channel which had since then been delayed on the Openview platform.Now we have recieved updates from both brands, according to a press release shared by the pay-tv company, BBC UKTV will be made available …

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BBC UKTV Vs. ITV Choice: Another Attempt At Boosting The BBC On DStv

ITV Choice was an international entertainment channel operated by ITV PLC was home to shows such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, The Jonathan Ross Show, Doc Martin, Tipping Point among others.Two years ago, MultiChoice decided to scrap the channel as it faced an uphill with the Brit channels from BBC Studios and opted to distribute selected content amongst various channels as part of their never…

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MultiChoice: "Why Premium Customers Might Lose Out On A Certain New Channel?"

Earlier in the month, Insidus was able to confirm the addition of BBC UKTV to the DStv platform. eMedia Investments alongside BBC Studios were scheduled to launch the channel last month but just like MultiChoice we're all awaiting a release date.BBC UKTV is regarded as a free-to-air channel offering reality shows, drama series, wildlife and kids shows or in other terms leveraging content from…

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Conspiracy Theory: BBC Brit To Be Replaced With BBC UKTV On The DStv Platform, Will Be Made Available To Openview Customers

Last month, eMedia Investments and BBC Studios were meant to launch BBC UKTV on the Openview platform but was postponed as they finalise various details with some speculating that MultiChoice may have a hand in the matter.I mean MultiChoice already supplies various linear channels from BBC Studios including BBC Brit, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Earth, BBC World News and CBeebies and now there's report…

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What To Expect On DStv And Openview's Newest Addition To The Platform, BBC UKTV?

Last month, eMedia Investments and BBC Studios were expected to launch BBC UKTV to the Openview platform none of which came to pass as they were finalising some details with the channel's launch date in very much of a limbo.Thanks to our sources, we got confirmation that MultiChoice will also be adding BBC UKTV to the DStv platform but don't reveal at what capacity. As it is they've b…

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Openview Postpones The Launch Of BBC UKTV

Openview planned to launch the BBC UKTV channel on its platform on Tuesday, 18 October 2022. However, over a week later, the channel still isn’t available.The eMedia-owned broadcaster said the much-anticipated launch had to be postponed saying that it still has to finalise details for the channel.“We confirm that we planned to launch the BBC UKTV channel on Openview on 18 October,” Openview told …

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BBC Brit Vs. BBC UKTV: Recommendations And Major Improvements

Last month, BBC Studios and eMedia Investments unveiled a new free-to-air channel BBC UKTV which comes out of an existing brand which was later adapted to South Africa in order for more consumers to have access to the bouquet of content currently seen on DStv.BBC UKTV is set to be a mashup of most other channels carried exclusively on DStv as it features reality shows like Top Gear and The Great …

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New Channel Alert: BBC Studios To Launch Freemium Channel On The Openview Platform

BBC Studios and South Africa’s Openview have announced the launch of a multi-genre free to view channel, BBC UKTV (channel 114).Entertaining shows
The BBC’s first free-to-view channel in South Africa will launch on its 100th birthday, Tuesday 18 October 2022 and offer a variety of entertainment, natural history series, soaps and children’s shows from BBC Studios’ catalogue. Scheduled to match the…

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