How condescending and disrespectful to DStv subscribers and viewers and fans of the show in South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent.
It feels as if A+ E Networks UK and its A+E Networks Africa office think that African viewers don't know about a thing called "internet", can't use Wikipedia or Google, and are just one-directional, passive receivers of whatever programming a channel distributor decides to show, when it decides to show it.
Fans and viewers of Black Sails have literally been able to buy the 4th season of the drama series as a DVD and Bluray box set since August 2017 - 2017! - a year ago from places like Amazon and elsewhere.
If you just google searched "Black Sails", and "season 4" the past, uhm, year to find out when it might be shown in South Africa, Africa or on History or DStv, search results would have come up about the 4th season and its finale above other information on the show - information that's extremely hard to avoid or not see.
This obviously happens because the show literally ended in April 2017 already, followed by several articles to explain the ending.
For all the complaining that MultiChoice South Africa CEO Calvo Mawela did recently regarding the threat of subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Netflix and Netflix South Africa "coming to eat our lunch", there is really a lot of deliberate, self-inflicted damage being done by the likes of MultiChoice and channel distribution partners like A+E Networks UK.
It feels as if they don't seem to really get that it's really a no-no in this day and age to show a season of an international drama series like Black Sails a year and a half later on television.
Surely a lot of fans and viewers of the series - that was of course filmed in Cape Town, Johannesburg before it was destroyed by a fire and cancelled - would by now have bought the DVDs or would have gone to illegal torrent sharing and other download sites to find and watch the 4th season's episodes of Black Sails.
It's also been possible to rent the 4th season box set of Black Sails from DVD rental shops. Now DStv and History want viewers to tune in every Wednesday for one episode per week as a linear broadcast as if they're a captive audience with no other options as consumers.
Was it really not possible for A+E Networks in the United Kingdom to schedule the 4th season of Black Sails on History sooner?
MultiChoice expects DStv subscribers to pay a premium price to get access to A+E Networks' History channel that's only available to DStv Premium and DStv Compact Plus subscribers. But History in terms of its content doesn't seem to behave like a premium channel.
For added irony, compare how M-Net (DStv 101) as a proper premium subscription channel, has treated Vikings (that is actually an A+E Networks drama series) since M-Net acquired the rights.
M-Net very quickly scheduled the seasons and made a deliberate and focused attempt to catch up and brought South African and African viewers on DStv up to date until the 5th season of Vikings where History in America is with the show.
That is what A+E Networks UK should have done for its History channel in Africa with Black Sails from Starz.
Consumers have been able to buy the 4th season, region 2 DVD box set of Black Sails in their local DVD and music shop or on TakeALot for about R409 for the last 10 episodes - long before its been shown on DStv and History.
A+E Networks UK and DStv now presumably want viewers and ratings for Black Sails on History.
Sadly that ship, like the Walrus, long ago sailed.
