by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice will add the Indian TV news channel WION from October to its DStv satellite pay-TV service for South African subscribers, and likely also subscribers elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.
ZEE Entertainment Enterprise Ltd. (ZEEL), that is merging with Sony Pictures Network India, announced in a video that WION will be added to MultiChoice's DStv in October, although a specific date isn't given.
ZEEL already runs channels on MultiChoice's DStv in South Africa and across Africa, as well as on other pay-TV operators like Zee TV, Zee World, Zee Magic, Zee Cinema and Zee Alem.
WION is an Indian multinational English language TV news channel that is headquartered in New Delhi and that started broadcasting in August 2016, and is part of the Essel Group's Zee Media network of TV channels.
WION that stands for "World Is One News" says that it is focused on "bringing the latest and breaking news from South Asia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the rest of the world".
WION says that "We provide much more than the news of the day. Our aim to empower people to explore their world. With our Global headquarters in New Delhi, we bring you news on the hour, by the hour."
WION states that it "delivers information that is not biased. We are journalists who are neutral to the core and non-partisan when it comes to the politics of the world. People are tired of biased reportage and we stand for a globalised united world. So for us the world is truly one."
WION's addition to MultiChoice's DStv isn't the first time that WION will be available and seen in Africa.
WION was added to the now-shuttered and disastrous Kwese TV of Econet Media in mid-2017 when Econet Media Joseph Hundah had a party in Johannesburg with ZEE TV Africa and the African ZEE team for the launch of the Indian TV news channel on its pay-TV service.
With every channel number slot from 400 on DStv's channel number grid filled by TV news channels like BBC World News, CNN International, Sky News and local TV news channels like eNCA, SABC News and Newzroom Africa, WION will probably be placed on DStv channel number 415 which is the first open slot.
Otherwise WION might be placed on DStv channel number 418 in order to not be pushed in-between euronews at DStv channel 414 and its sister channel africanews on DStv channel 417.
MultiChoice hasn't made any announcement about the addition of WION to DStv in any statement yet by the time of publication of this report.
Linda Oliphant, Zee Africa marketing manager told TVwithThinus on Thursday in response to a media query asking for more information about WION and on what date it will be launching, that Zee Africa is awaiting the confirmation date for the WION channel's launch on DStv.
WION's rolling TV news coverage is divided into various daypart slots, and it also does branded shows like Gravitas as its primetime programming block, and with Speed News, The Diplomacy Show, WION World Order, WION Fineprint, WION Tech Out, WION Edge and others.
While every TV news channel on DStv is directly competing with each other for every DStv subscriber as a viewer, WION is joining the DStv news line-up where India's NDTV (DStv 413) already exists for a number of years.
