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Cape Town – Multichoice has backtracked on their decision to axe two of the A+E Network channels.
Earlier this month the company announced that the current contract terms of the History Channel, Lifetime, and Crime + Investigation would end on Friday, 1 November.
READ MORE: DStv removes History, Lifetime and Crime+Investigation channels as negotiations fail
On Thursday Multichoice announced that History and Lifetime will remain on the DStv platform and that only Crime + Investigation will go dark at midnight.
This decision comes after the companies signed a new multi-year contract.
"We've reached an agreement with A+E Networks for terms that we think are acceptable to our DStv subscribers for both History and Lifetime, but Crime + Investigation is still ending," says Mark Rayner, MultiChoice SA CEO.
"Two further new channels will still be announced before the middle of November as a replacement for C+I from another provider, as well as another factual documentary channel from a new provider. We're just finalising technical launch plans so that we can be clear on a launch date."
"We are excited to have reached this agreement as it allows us to ensure we meet our commitment to get the best programming for our customers, based on commercial terms that make sense and provide a value for money offering to customers. We are pleased that Lifetime will also now be available to our Compact customers from Friday 1st November", says Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice Group CEO for General Entertainment.
She continues: "We appreciate our customers’ patience and feedback and have their best interests in mind as we continue to work hard to improve our entertainment offering."
"We are pleased to have agreed a long-term renewal of our flagship brands, History and Lifetime in Africa with our partners, DStv. As part of this renewal, the new distribution of LIFETIME in Compact presents an exciting opportunity to reach millions of new viewers with our unique programming offering”, comments Dean Possenniskie, Managing Director A+E Networks EMEA.
Compiled by Leandra Engelbrecht and Thinus Ferreira.
