Plans for the new BBC Earth channel still in development; BBC Worldwide says it will be talking to South African pay TV operators about it.

Plans for the brand-new to launch TV channel BBC Earth is still in development and although BBC Worldwide doesn't want to commit at this stage to saying that BBC Earth will eventually be seen in South Africa, BBC Worldwide tells TV with Thinus it will be talking to pay TV operators here about possibly adding the channel.

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BBC Worldwide already runs BBC Entertainment (DStv 120), BBC Lifestyle (DStv 180) and BBC Knowledge (DStv 251) on MultiChoice's DStv platform in South Africa. ''The BBC is the largest producer of natural history programming in the world and the dedicated BBC Earth channel will showcase the vast range of superlative programming from the award winning BBC Natural History Unit, featuring the beauty, the wonders and the stories of the wild world,'' BBC Worldwide tells me.

''Plans for the channel are still in development,'' says BBC Worldwide. Asked whether BBC Earth is coming to South Africa, BBC Worldwide is non-commital but says it will be talking to pay TV operators in their markets. ''The plans for a BBC Earth channel are still in development so there is not a confirmed roll-out plan in place at this time. We are however very excited about the opportunities for BBC Earth and will be discussing these with operators in each market in due course.''