Cersei Lannister and Daenerys Targaryn, the Mother of Dragons, can't stand each other in a fight over territory and neither apparently can MultiChoice and Ster-Kinekor who are fighting over the HBO series Game of Thrones - while South African viewers are wondering whether they will get to see an episode or episodes on cinema big screens or IMAX.
The satellite pay-TV platform and the cinema chain started a public and very frigid skirmish on Thursday over the upcoming 8th and final season of the HBO fantasy drama series that will start on M-Net (DStv 101) as an Express from the US title with a simulcast broadcast on 15 April at 03:00 in the morning and then again during prime time on Mondays at 22:00, starting from the same date.
In April 2016, M-Net did a simulcast screening at 03:00 of the debut episode of the 6th season of Game of Thrones in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town as South African fans of the HBO series, in full cosplay regalia, swarmed movie theatres to watch the show together.
On Thursday a social media influencer called Rabasadi asked whether Ster-Kinekor would be showing the 8th season of Game of Thrones at Ster-Kinekor.
That erupted a Twitter war on social media between MultiChoice's DStv and the cinema chain, both slinging Westeros-level hits at each other hurting each other's brands.
"While Ster-Kinekor is thinking, catch the previous seasons on Showmax," said DStv, to which Ster-Kinekor responded: "You can catch the latest movies in a Ster-Kinekor theatre near you a whole year before they'll play on DStv, and another zinger: "if only you'd stop playing the same movies 500 times. Good thing people can come to us for fresh movie releases".
DStv retorted: "I'd say the same thing if I made people watch movies inside a fridge" with a meme of the character Jon Snow.
"Not as cold as repeat," remarked Ster-Kinekor,
Meanwhile DStv subscribers and fans of the series just want to know whether there would be a big screen event again, or if the debut episode or one of the promised massive upcoming battle episodes - the biggest, most elaborate and most expensive ever produced for television - will be seen on a big cinema screen, preferably IMAX, in South Africa.
M-Net is as yet silent about the possibility of a big screen season 8 debut for Game of Thrones in South Africa, but sources told TVwithThinus on Friday that M-Net is planning a 03:00 screening in Cape Town and Johannesburg on 15 April.
A week ago MultiChoice and M-Net were asked whether episodes of the 8th season of Game of Thrones will become available on DStv Now or on Showmax as catch-up viewing, or on both once the show starts on M-Net.
M-Net said it would answer but hasn't yet responded with details of how the stream watching of Game of Thrones will work and where it will be available.
Whilst @sterkinekor is thinking catch the previous seasons on #Showmax: https://t.co/4klVrFetvO 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/uYQ2lFtLdl— DStv (@DStv) February 21, 2019
... And in other news, you can catch the latest movies at a Sterkinekor theatre near you, a whole year before they'll play on DStv. pic.twitter.com/qysKf4VMrW— Ster-Kinekor (@sterkinekor) February 21, 2019
Let us know how #GoT was on the Big Screen 🍿oh wait.... #WinterIsComing❄️ pic.twitter.com/Sugcb5bXWH— DStv (@DStv) February 21, 2019
Hmm... If only you'd stop playing the same movies 500 times... Good thing people can come to us for fresh movie releases. Thank us later. 😛😎 pic.twitter.com/q2x5AYsdxa— Ster-Kinekor (@sterkinekor) February 21, 2019
I'd say the same thing if I made people watch movies inside a fridge. #TooMuchSnow⛄ pic.twitter.com/b3GCEPiIa1— DStv (@DStv) February 21, 2019
Not as cold as a repeat. 😉 pic.twitter.com/xGMkVoOErX— Ster-Kinekor (@sterkinekor) February 21, 2019
