Monday, December 23, 2013

BREAKING. MultiChoice and On Digital Media (ODM) losing Kidsco channel on 31 December 2013 on their DStv and StarSat pay-TV platforms.


KidsCo (DStv 308 / StarSat 255) on MultiChoice's DStv and on On Digital Media (ODM) is getting the ax on 31 December 2013 with the kids channel set to disappear from DStv and StarSat within days - even earlier than the ""early 2014" which the abrupt channel termination was announced in November by NBCUniversal and Corus Entertainment.

MultiChoice and ODM will both be looking for a replacement kids channel for the dumped Kidsco, but the replacement might be different on DStv and StarSat and not necessarily the same channel.

MultiChoice is already looking at a possible replacement children's channel for Kidsco, ODM said it would be looking but hasn't started.

Kidsco won't see the new year - it's shockingly killed off for South African viewers one minute before midnight on 31 December.

MultiChoice will start running a notice of termination from 15:00 on 27 December, telling DStv subscribers that Kidsco is getting cancelled, with the notice which will remain until 14 January when DStv channel 308 won't exist anymore.

Kidsco from NBCUniversal and Corus Entertainment which started in 2007 relaunched with big fanfare at the beginning of the year, and announced specially commissioned new programming for a Syfy Kids block.

All of that is now gone and over, with an abrupt and ignominious end for Kidsco.

Kidsco's end marks and bookends a tumultuous year for both DStv and TopTV (now StarSat), with both MultiChoice and On Digital Media which saw several TV channels ending for South African viewers - the most ever channel terminations in 2013 - since pay-TV commenced in South Africa.