{"id":655323,"date":"2026-06-22T17:27:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=655323"},"modified":"2026-06-22T20:14:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:14:55","slug":"dstv-cutting-two-channels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/broadcasting\/655323-dstv-cutting-two-channels.html","title":{"rendered":"DStv dropping two channels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>MultiChoice has confirmed it will shut down two DStv channels that form part of its M-Net business at the end of the month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MyBroadband <a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/broadcasting\/655156-dstv-shutting-down-channel.html\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/broadcasting\/655156-dstv-shutting-down-channel.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently reported<\/a> that DStv had put up a message on the CineMagic channel on EasyView notifying subscribers that the channel would close on 30 June. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The broadcaster subsequently confirmed that it will also be closing the Magic Showcase channel as part of its regular reviews of channel line-ups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This process enables us to deliver unbeatable entertainment while ensuring that our DStv services continue to meet the evolving needs and viewing preferences of our customers,&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;As part of this ongoing review, Magic Showcase and\u00a0CineMagic\u00a0will no longer be available on DStv effective 30 June 2026 at 23:59 CAT.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Magic Showcase is an 18-hour channel that launched on EasyView in late 2022. It also became available on MultiChoice&#8217;s digital TV product GOtv Lite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Magic Showcase boasts a curated selection of popular local series, telenovelas, and documentaries, including reruns of episodes from programmes on M-Net, Mzansi Magic, and kykNET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While DStv positioned the channel as a way for its less affluent customers to enjoy some of its award-winning, top-tier content, it also served as a way to lure those subscribers to its higher-end packages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The broadcaster appears to be deprioritising its EasyView bouquet, which is its cheapest offering at R50 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following updates to its website in recent months, DStv removed the package from its online store. While still available to new subscribers, sign-ups are only available via its call centre or WhatsApp support.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, the broadcaster has made significant enhancements to its second most affordable offering, the Access bouquet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Access is priced at R150 per month for the satellite service and R99 per month for a streaming-only package. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In January, DStv added three channels from its more expensive packages to the bouquet: WWE, Trace Ngoma, and Trace Gospel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the first time since it started broadcasting the FIFA World Cup, it also made all live matches in the tournament available on Access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Parliament concerned over impact on local film industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MultiChoice.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-645477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MultiChoice.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MultiChoice-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MultiChoice-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MultiChoice-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MultiChoice-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the removal of these two channels, DStv will have cut seven channels across all its bouquets in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It started the year by dropping BET Africa, CBS Reality, CBS Justice, and MTV Base. That change was due in part to the channels&#8217; owner, Paramount, shutting down its linear TV operations in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of January 2026, it also removed Tlnovelas on channel 131. That offering is due to be replaced by Novelas+ on 1 July, which will be available on Access, Family, Compact, Compact Plus, and Premium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest channel changes might not sit well with South African lawmakers, who have already raised alarm over the impact of DStv owner Canal+&#8217;s cost cuts on the local film industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company plans to reduce MultiChoice&#8217;s combined annual operating expenses by R7.5 billion. One major move in this regard was shutting down its &#8220;expensive commercial failure&#8221; Showmax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision became the subject of a meeting of the Parliament&#8217;s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The committee called two authorities that approved Canal+&#8217;s acquisition of MultiChoice to the meeting to get more details about the deal&#8217;s conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The concerns resulted in the Competition Commission launching an investigation into Canal+&#8217;s actions to determine whether it violated the deal&#8217;s conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deal&#8217;s conditions required that Canal+ sustain multi-billion-rand investments in South African content production and barred it from retrenching workers in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, by mid-June 2026, Canal+ had reportedly shed over 312 of its 3,400 staff at the MultiChoice headquarters in Randburg through voluntary severance packages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After notifying customers that CineMagic would shut down on 30 June, DStv has confirmed another channel&#8217;s closure. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":639692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[106079,21383,61959,106080,106077,76186,21484,76938,106078,106081,475,18706,97989,427],"class_list":["post-655323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadcasting","tag-bet-africa","tag-canal","tag-cbs-justice","tag-cbs-reality","tag-cinemagic","tag-dstv-channels","tag-dstv-easyview","tag-easyview","tag-magic-showcase","tag-mtv-base","tag-multichoice","tag-parliament","tag-pay-tv-broadcasters","tag-satellite-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655323"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655323"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":655395,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655323\/revisions\/655395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}