by Thinus Ferreira
As linear pay-TV channels faces an increasingly uphill battle to not only attract but retain subscribers, MultiChoice and M-Net are ending both the M-Net City and VUZU channels on DStv at the end of October and will combine their content into yet another new M-Net packaged channel called Me from November.
After Disney ended and took away its FOX general entertainment channel just after midnight this morning on DStv and StarSat, some DStv subscribers were shocked to receive a SMS message from MultiChoice late on Thursday telling them that they're losing another two TV channels and that M-Net City and VUZU are getting axed to be replaced by just one channel called Me from 1 November.
M-Net on Friday morning confirmed the news to TVwithThinus.
"The launch
of Me will see two channels, M-Net City (DStv 115) and VUZU (DStv 116), merged to
create a bigger, better channel aimed to give viewers their famous, world-class
series and reality shows in one place," M-Net says.
"Me will feature the best of both
its predecessors, while establishing a new identity strategically crafted with
the discerning audience in mind."
Me will take the channel number spot of M-Net City on channel 115.
The M-Net City channel identity was born out of the M-Net Series Zone channel in April 2015 and will now be retired after 6 years.
M-Net relaunched its GO youth channel in July 2009 as VUZU, that eventually spawned a spin-off TV channel called VUZU AMP that was axed and relaunched as 1Magic. The move to end VUZU and turn it into Me means that M-Net is retiring the VUZU brand name after 12 years.
While VUZU is available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact and DStv Family subscribers, M-Net City is only available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers.
It's conceivable that MultiChoice and M-Net will have to make the replacement Me channel available to all DStv packages down to DStv Family, otherwise DStv Family subscribers would effectively lose a TV channel.
