To add insult to injury is the appalling and disgusting attitude from Turner Broadcasting towards South Africa and South African viewers - the company isn't willing to say why it's removing Showtime (TopTV 111), Silver (TopTV 112) and Star! from TopTV.
Why exactly Turner Broadcasting System is suddenly ending its channels on TopTV is the most basic of questions a TopTV subscriber, or a viewer who've watched and liked and subscribed to On Digital Media's (ODM) pay-TV product to get access to one of these channels, would have.
Turner Broadcasting, itself a massive media company which is in the communications business, ironically doesn't feel the need or apparently doesn't feel at all compelled to talk or do any kind of explaining.
Think of any product on your local grocery store shelf. It that product disappears or is discontinued or is out of stock for whatever reason, the store, the company, the manufacturer and the supplier will say why. Maybe the model is discontinued, perhaps the flavour or product is phased out for a newer type or different design, or it wasn't selling and is not stocked anymore. They talk. They explain. They give a reason. They try and preserve brand loyalty and build brand trust.
But not Turner, which is also the channel supplier of Cartoon Network, TCM, Boomerang and CNN International to MultiChoice's DStv platform.
Now Turner Broadcasting is taking away channels from viewers and TopTV subscribers and there has been no statement, no press release or any explanation.
I asked Turner Broadcasting why Star!, Silver and Showtime is being discontinued on TopTV. The media monolith was only willing to say: "Turner Broadcasting System confirms that Showtime, Silver and Star! are coming off the TopTV platform from 1 January 2013. Turner is not making any further comment." Thanks for that, terrible Turner. Shocked TopTV subscribers already know that. What they deserve to know is why.
Now there is also this, and I never would have mentioned this behind-the-scenes experience, although it now has contextual bearing on this issue.
Earlier this year I was invited by Turner Broadcasting System to fly a South African coastal city for literally a 5 star event promoting one of the channels which TBS is now pulling from TopTV. TBS wanted to talk about and promote their channel in South Africa (which is now, sadly, just a few months later, suddenly just gone). At least one of the TBS executives from London was to fly in to South Africa for the event.
Well, journalists and TV critics covering television from across South Africa took time out from their diaries and gave a day to fly and cover the story. We arrived only to be told that nobody from TBS is there and that nobody from TBS would be there. Embarrassing to say the least. The local South African PR company did stellar work to make the afternoon event at a 5 star hotel great and stood in and did the presentations on behalf of the no-show Turner Broadcasting executive(s).
Still it was a bit, and felt slightly embarrassing to be at a Turner Broadcasting event for one of its TV channels in South Africa where Turner didn't show up themselves at their own event after inviting the press and initially saying they would be there, which is part of the lure of a media invitation - the opportunity and access to TV executives to talk to them and to then relay that information again to viewers and readers.
It's not just South African TV viewers who sometimes get stood up by big TV companies and TV executives who don't feel answerable, journalists and TV critics are sometimes too.
I wish that Turner - even if it was just two or three sentences - would have been proactive and would have said what the situation is regarding the pulling of Silver, Star! and Showtime from this country and why it is happening.
I wish they did better PR, better communication; talked. If Showtime, Silver or Star! was your favourite channel on TopTV it won't be there anymore in a few days. And you don't know why. Neither do I. All you know is that Turner took it away and isn't willing to even explain why.
The South African TV viewer, the South African pay-TV subscriber, is a growing, more informed, evolving, and more demanding prosumer. Oh - and they're also paying. With real money, even though it is in rand.
The South African viewer and pay-TV subscriber deserves better, and more. More communication, more respect and more information than what they're getting from multinational media companies who still follow a seemingly colonial approach when it comes to this country.
They'll pipe their TV channels here and take the money for their product while they're here - thank you - but please dear South African viewer, just don't expect anything more. Like an actual relationship or brand trust. Especially not when the time comes to suddenly duck and run when Showtime is over.
