by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice has acquired a raft of British programming from ITV that is has decided to allocate to two M-Net channels.
MultiChoice ended the ITV Choice channel on DStv at the end of May after 5 years following low ratings but decided to separately acquire some of the channel's choicest content from ITV Studios directly including the two British soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale that were carried on ITV Choice.
The 13th season of the game show The Chase with presenter Bradley Walsh has now been added to a 12:30 weekday slot on M-Net (DStv 101).
Emmerdale and Coronation Street will both be added to the schedule of M-Net City (DStv 115) from later this year and M-Net will show the latest episodes from both soaps.
The new 7-episode first season of the World War II drama series World on Fire that has been renewed for a second season, will either be slotted in on the M-Net or M-Net City (DStv 115) channel.
The 6th season of the Brit-reality show Love Island that was filmed in Constantia, Cape Town with presenter Laura Whitmore will be shown on M-Net from the first week in August.
"Our hand-picked selection of the best of the best British reality shows have been audience favourites for many years," says Jan du Plessis, director of M-Net channels.
"We've learnt that the viewers of our M-Net’s general entertainment channels are global citizens who enjoy a variety of stories from different countries and cultures. Adding a wider selection of British genres will not only enable us to bring more fresh content to African shores but also spice up some of our day-time schedules."
Jan du Plessis says that the M-Net channels will continue to build on its British offering in future, while also acquiring the "crème de la crème of European series". "These international productions will complement our existing first-rate schedules."
