by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice and Viacom have renewed its channel carriage agreement for its set of TV channels carried on Africa's largest pay-TV service.
The new contract extension means that the BET, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV Base, MTV Music 24, Nickelodeon, NickToons and Nick Jr. TV channels will remain on DStv in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Fathima Beckmann, Viacom Africa spokesperson, didn't respond to a media enquiry asking about the duration of the new contract period.
MultiChoice recently made news channel carriage news when brinkmanship in carriage renewal negotiations between MultiChoice and A+E Networks International led to MultiChoice announcing that it would end its partnership with A+E Networks and its 3 channels, followed by urgent renegotiations and a new deal that saved the History and Lifetime channels but with Crime+Investigation Network getting axed.
After the new A+E Networks deal, followed by the latest Viacom extension, BBC Studios is the next big contract up for renewal by March 2020 for the set of channels from BBC Studios Africa that are made available on DStv.
Talking about the Viacom carriage deal, Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice CEO for general entertainment, says the Randburg-based pay-TV operator is "pleased to share this market announcement of Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa)".
Alex Okosi, executive vice president and managing director for VIMN Africa and BET International, in a statement about the new carriage agreement says "This continued partnership demonstrates the shared commitment between VIMN Africa and MultiChoice to invest in local and international content that resonates with our audiences across the continent".
"We truly value our collaboration with MultiChoice as it also enables us to consistently deliver great African productions".