MultiChoice says it will not bow to public pressure from wildlife channel WildEarth, which is gearing up to leave DStv due to a pay dispute.
The group said it was “disappointed” by the channel’s campaign to force a deal, questioning MultiChoice’s authenticity as a champion for local film and television content.
“WildEarth, a private enterprise, initially approached MultiChoice in 2020 regarding channel distribution,” MultiChoice told Business Day on Tuesday.
“After thorough discussions, MultiChoice entered into a channel distribution agreement, providing both support and guidance to WildEarth. This non-exclusive agreement allowed WildEarth to showcase its content across various platforms beyond DStv, including YouTube and its own website.”
“However, WildEarth has expressed dissatisfaction with the existing arrangements and has informed MultiChoice of its decision to remove the channel from DStv services”.
When WildEarth first appeared on DStv, management at the time struck a deal in which the channel would not be compensated for its content. MultiChoice, like a number of pay-TV operators around the world, pays to have content on its platform. That can be in the form of individual movie titles, shows and events, or channels that are broadcast on DStv.
When chair Andre Crawford-Brunt took over the reins of the wildlife channel in mid-2022, he sought to change its arrangement with MultiChoice and be paid for its content like other broadcasters on DStv, including National Geographic. The pay-TV group had agreed to start paying for WildEarth’s content but recently reneged on this new agreement, according to WildEarth.
As such, the wildlife channel has elected to take itself off DStv at the end of April unless MultiChoice agrees to pay.
“While we respect WildEarth’s decision regarding platform availability, it is disappointing that WildEarth is seeking to publicly pressurise MultiChoice into providing additional commercial support,” said the DStv operator.
MultiChoice said it “will not comment further on this matter and wishes WildEarth success in its future endeavours”.
“We remain dedicated to offering our subscribers a diverse range of entertainment content, including significant investments in local African content.”
Crawford-Brunt has publicly questioned how genuine the group is about its local content investment. He argued that the JSE-listed company had taken its eye off the ball when it came to operational matters and was focusing much of its attention on the possible takeover of its business by French broadcast group Canal+.
MultiChoice has been pushing up its investment in this type of content for years, saying it is a major point of competitive advantage and a way to support SA’s film and television production sector.
In June, the group reported that its local content library contained more than 79,000 hours of viewing, representing half the total general entertainment content spend for the six months to September 2023.
The group spent R21bn on content in its last full year.
WildEarth has been on DStv’s channel 183 since August 2020. It has 7-million unique monthly viewers and has a presence on 20 traditional and streaming platforms globally, including Free View, Samsung, LG, Roku, Canal+, eMedia’s OpenView and DStv.
Over the years, the channel has had deals with National Geographic WILD, CGTN, Tencent, SA Tourism and BBC to license its content.
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