MultiChoice is done with Steve Hofmeyr with the pay-TV company that will now actively block him and content in which he might appear in future, including a block on the broadcast of any library material that features him, from being shown on DStv.
Going forward, MultiChoice's DStv service won't give the Afrikaans artist Steve Hofmeyr (54) any public exposure through airtime, or further opportunities for him to earn money for any of his possible future work or any past material he appears in, by no longer providing a platform for it to be broadcast.
The controversial and race-baiting artist who previously stated on social media that "blacks are the architects of apartheid", who kept singing Die Stem at concerts and arts festivals and would gaslight with photos and messages of the old South African flag will no longer get any exposure on, be allowed to appear on, or be able to make any money from DStv or any of its broadcasting brands like kykNET.
MultiChoice, that threatened to withdraw its sponsorship of an Afrikaans music awards show held earlier this month if a new music video in which Steve Hofmeyr appeared wasn't removed as a nominee in one of the categories, no longer wants to be associated with him or any of his past or future content.
Earlier this month, after the organisers of the 2019 kykNET Ghoema Music Awards pulled the nomination of Die Land (The Land) music video in which Steve Hofmeyr appears alongside other Afrikaans singers, Joe Heshu, MultiChoice's group executive for corporate affairs, in a statement said "We are committed to the building of a non-racial society and strongly condemn any acts of discrimination".
"MultiChoice is proud of its support for Afrikaans, not only our investment in content for our DStv platforms but also our sponsorships of festivals, events and the broader Afrikaans performing arts sector."
"Our commitment to Afrikaans and all local languages will not change. It has come to our attention that Steve Hofmeyr was nominated for a Ghoema music award in the category for Best Music video."
"We have requested that Steve Hofmeyr not form part of the event that we sponsor as his views are not aligned with our values. We welcome a society where freedom of speech is celebrated, however we take a stand against racism."
Following this, TVwithThinus sought clarity from MultiChoice and asked if it's distancing itself as a broadcasting company from a new music video featuring Steve Hofmeyr, what its view is in terms of showing any other existing or future Hofmeyr-connected content.
Following the Ghoemas brouhaha, the Randburg-based pay-TV company is now making it clear that it's not just the new music video but any content that includes Steve Hofmeyr.
MultiChoice won't air future Steve Hofmeyr content he might appear in and will try to prevent the broadcast of any archive material in which he features.
"The MultiChoice Group will in future not carry content that includes Steve Hofmeyr on any of its platforms," the company told me.
The impact of MultiChoice's decision will be wide-ranging for the artist.
He has a big collection of music videos and popular songs that once enjoyed continuous airplay across DStv channels, and once was the host of the long-running talk show Dis Hoe Dit is ... met Steve on kykNET (DStv 144).
He made numerous appearances until recently across a wide range of music, variety and magazine shows across the kykNET channels like Kwêla and Afrikaans music concerts that were broadcast as TV specials.
He appeared as a soap star in M-Net's Egoli getting re-airings, and drama series like Agter Elke Man repeated on kykNET as well as the SABC Encore (DStv 156) channel that is part of a MultiChoice channels deal with the SABC.
Steve Hofmeyr also appeared in several feature films, like for instance Agter Elke Man (1990), No Hero (1992) and more recently Platteland (2011), Pretville (2012) and Treurgrond (2015). MultiChoice's decision means those movies likely won't be screened on DStv anymore.
It's now also a given that Steve Hofmeyr won't get any mention, or appear in anything that kykNET produces in terms of special look-back TV programming as part of its celebration plans in 5 month's time for its big 20th anniversary happening in October 2019.
Should a channel like Comedy Central (DStv 122) from Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) for instance want to show a marathon of its Comedy Central Roast of ... episodes, the 2012-episode featuring Steve Hofmeyr will in such a case likely not form part of such a multi-episode airing.
