TV with Thinus: Amanda Turnbull

Showing posts with label Amanda Turnbull. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Press conference - Why Discovery Inc. launched it so quickly in South Africa after acquiring Scripps and Africa's growing importance as a pay-TV market among global content suppliers.

In a global pay-TV market that often moves with tectonic speed, TVwithThinus asked Discovery Inc. how it was possible and why it decided to roll out HGTV internationally and in South Africa so quickly after buying Scripps, and asked MultiChoice whether adding international channels quicker from global content suppliers signifies a growing importance on the South African and African region as a pay-TV market.

MultiChoice just added Discovery Inc.'s HGTV (DStv 177) with the TV channel's addition that comes literally weeks after being made available in Germany; and HGTV having launched in Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and a few other Southeast Asia countries just a few months ago.

HGTV will soon be launching in the United Kingdom, with South Africa that got it before Britain.

Discovery Inc.'s held a HGTV press conference at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town on the afternoon of Day 2 of the 3-day press tour for the channel's launch in South Africa, and TVwithThinus asked Discovery Inc. about the strategy behind HGTV's relative quick roll-out and expansion globally and why it's being done, and MultiChoice about how South Africa and Africa is now being perceived as a pay-TV region.

Amanda Turnbull, vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region, was one of the TV executive panellists at the HGTV press conference.

"In terms of the internationalisation, when Discovery Inc. and Scripps came together, there were some fantastic 'complementalities' if that's even a word," explained Amanda Turnbull.

"What Kathleen Finch (now Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer) and her team brought to us in the United States was absolute dominance of women in pay-TV every night of the week. Don't forget that we're a big global company, so what happens in America is important."

"So what the Scripps deal brought to us was huge scale and ownership of ratings in the evenings in key demographics. What it did for us internationally was that the Scripps team hadn't been at that point been as active as we had been internationalising."

"We do pride ourselves on being first and fastest since we've been internationalising the Discovery brands for the last 30 years. What that meant was there were huge opportunities because we are operating in 220 countries, so we have teams in the majority of places who know the market and know what's expected."

"So the idea is for us to internationalise the legacy Scripps TV channels as quickly as possible because we're on the ground and we can do that and we have the relationship. So that's what you're seeing now," said Amanda Turnbull.

"Even though it feels quick to you, it doesn't necessarily feel so quick to us but that's why I'm so proud. We have a very strong relationship with MultiChoice - it goes back to 1995, in 1997 we launched Discovery Channel in this market."

"Lee Hobbs (Discovery Inc.'s senior vice president for pay-TV and global brands for the EMEA region) and I have been working with Aletta Alberts (MultiChoice's head of content strategy) since 2007, so we go back a long way."

"And a lot of my fellow country managers across EMEA are really having helpful and useful conversations with their distributors around these fantastic brands, so it rounds out our portfolio really nicely in that real-life space."

"It adds more value to a distributor because there are these verticals that we can really serve now even more passionately. And you know, we didn't have food (Food Network) before, we didn't have HGTV before, we didn't have Travel before but it does complement what we had beautifully now."

"When you're in this real-life space this idea that you can be credible, authentic, expert in these verticals is really important. So it was a brilliant buy for us. To be honest, we learnt. When we acquired Eurosport we learnt what happens, when you acquire you have to be quick because we're publicly traded so there is an aspiration and there is an expectation from Wall Street."

"So we wanted to do it quickly and we wanted to move the brands forward," said Amanda Turnbull.

Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's head of content strategy, said "for most international suppliers Africa is a very, very important territory because we are still one of the few territories where you see the growth in pay-TV that we see".

"Although you read in the newspapers that DStv Premium is declining it's actually not declining to the rate that we thought. And nowhere in the world does a pay-TV operator grow by almost a million subscribers every year, and we're still doing those numbers."

"Even if we don't do a million and we do 800 000 it's still more than other global territories and it's not going to change overnight. Yes, the over-the-top (OTT) competitors are out there, but it's all additive. It's not this-or-that."

"As long as broadband is expensive and not everywhere, we've got a good five to 10 years before you'll see that real fast change happening in other territories."

"We see on average five TV channels a week; people who pitch to us international channels that people are making. I mean, it's difficult for me to say but you can ask my colleagues, I'll just tell you what suppliers tell us. They say South Africans are incredibly spoilt. We probably have the best of the best that is out there."

"There are maybe one or two things that we don't have but there isn't a lot out there. HGTV was one of them and there's maybe one or two others - because then you start running into repeats," explained Aletta Alberts.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer Kathleen Finch says HGTV 'is a channel tailor-made for people who love their homes - and there are a lot of those people'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Discovery Inc.'s Africa boss Amanda Turnbull says new channel HGTV on DStv is about real people but also aspirational, 'which is why we fought really hard to have it on Compact as well so more people can see it'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

Monday, July 29, 2019

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference: Ads on HGTV won't get in viewers' way, instead it will add to the viewing experience.

Discovery Inc. says that TV commercials on its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel in South Africa that was launched on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service won't get in the way of viewers watching shows but that ads placed in and during programming will actually add to the viewer experience, showing them what products and services are available to create what they're looking at on their TV screens.

Discovery Inc. held an executive press conference for the media, with Discovery Inc. executives and MultiChoice's content boss who attended. They took a wide range of questions during the afternoon of Day 2 of Discovery Inc.'s 3-day press tour for the launch of its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel in South Africa.

HGTV was added on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers.

At the press conference held at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town, Amanda Turnbull (vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region) said that HGTV already has South African advertisers who jumped at the opportunity to be involved with HGTV and to be seen on the home and garden TV channel.

"Normally in this market you need to have the ratings first and then you can sell."

"But what we've done this time round is put together what we call 'pioneer packages'. So we've got 5 partner advertisers who've come straight on with us on HGTV - Dulux, which is truly a great one, OUTsurance, the tile company CTM, HomeBid and then interestingly South African Tourism," said Amanda Turnbull.

"The point with HGTV is - clearly it's a great space for endemic advertising. We're learning from Kathleen Finch (Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer), in terms of global best practice, is the idea of 'let's create something special for the advertiser'. We're not that interested in 30-second spots - clearly there will be some - but we are more interested in saying 'Okay, what can we put together for our advertising partners' because when you're watching HGTV, you actually want to know about these products because you're in the market for that."

"It's all part of this 'information exchange' - that's what makes it so nice," said Amanda Turnbull.

"I think that rather than the ads getting in the way, these ads viewers see as an add to their experience. That's why we want to work with our advertisers to create content that will work."

Kathleen Finch said "the other thing that makes it such an interesting proposition for our advertising clients is that all of our talent are experts. We don't have actors, we don't take someone who was a comedian last week and now he's a home improvement expert. They're all experts."

"So to put those experts together with a brand it adds credibility, it adds authenticity, and brands will often pay a premium to be involved with this expert talent and it really does work for both sides of the equation."

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

Left to right: Aletta Alberts, Kathleen Finch, Amanda Turnbull

Discovery Inc.'s new HGTV channel in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service will be both inspirational and aspirational, said Discovery Inc. and MultiChoice executives in their opening remarks at the HGTV press conference.

Discovery Inc. held an executive press conference for the media, with Discovery Inc. executives and MultiChoice's content boss who attended and who took a wide range of questions during the afternoon of Day 2 of Discovery Inc.'s 3-day press tour for the launch of its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel in South Africa.

HGTV was added on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers.

Held at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town where Discovery Inc. executives, as well as the media from across South Africa and the Middle East, stayed for the press tour, the always wonderful Lee Hobbs (Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region) served as moderator.

Fielding questions from the press were the extremely capable and experienced, well-versed and knowledgeable TV executives (and an all-women panel!) Aletta Alberts (MultiChoice's head of content strategy), Kathleen Finch (Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer), Amanda Turnbull (vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region) and Tatiana Lagewaard (vice president of lifestyle and pay-TV production for the EMEA region).

Amanda Turnbull in her opening remarks said "We are delighted to bring HGTV here. We have such a huge channels portfolio (here) already. I think it's really important how we make sure that this portfolio is complementary because we need to cycle viewers around TLC, ID, Food Network and now HGTV".

"In theory, it's the same sort of demographic but in reality it's all slightly different. We're going to get very targeted. We're going to think about the daypart strategy, but the idea is with us, with our networks it is all about real-life entertainment."

"So if you like real television - and in this South African market everybody watches an enormous amount of TV - you want a trade-off. If you give your time to TV you want something tangible back in return and that's what we do. That's why people really love us."

"Specifically with HGTV, it's going to be both inspirational and aspirational," said Amanda Turnbull.

"We will give people ideas that they can potentially use, but at the same time it is entertainment and it's inspiring. It's also real people. There's always a sense of jeopardy. Will this person make it? So that's what we want to bring into the portfolio. It's going to be more great stuff."

Aletta Alberts in her opening remarks said "I think HGTV is a great brand because it's the one thing we were missing, home and garden - especially garden. People are very interested in gardening and they often ask us for gardening programmes".

"The most important thing for me is how you can migrate audiences within these brands now, because you can cross-promote, and that for me is the great thing. You don't have to lose the audience, they can stay there within the cluster," said Aletta Alberts.

"What is really, really amazing is that we see demographics that you would not expect on these channels - kids for instance. So all of a sudden they get very involved in this and we would see the kids genre losing audience and going to channels like TLC and makeover type shows which is really interesting".

Kathleen Finch, in America described as the "Queen of cable TV", in her opening remarks said "HGTV is real people, doing real things. A lot of our shows appeal to the entire family because you watch it and an interesting process unfolds".

"It's a cool before-and-after makeover, its tools, its paint, it's people moving in and out, it's earthmovers putting trees in. So HGTV is fun to watch as a family, it's very family-friendly which is something that's very important to us."

"We take great pride in the fact that your 5-year old can come into the room while mom is watching and you never have to change the channel. Ever. We're so proud of the quality of our content. HGTV teaches you, it inspires you, it never offends you. And all of our shows have a wonderful, happy ending and that's on purpose," said Kathleen Finch.

"We know that our target audience - which is a working mom - she's been working all day, she comes home, she makes dinner for her family, and she sits down and it's her time, and she wants to relax with something that is going to entertain her but it's also going to teach her something."

"We've also opened it up so much that she's watching but her husband walks into the room - he's sees something interesting, and he watches as well. So we created this really robust family viewing opportunity for people and you can watch it without any guilt because you are learning something. But you also love to see the story unfold with an ending that sometimes surprises you, but it always makes you feel good."

Tatiana Lagewaard in her opening remarks said "what's really important is that we worked really closely with Kathleen Finch and her team in the United States, because firstly they have so much experience of the brand and they know all the in's and out's with all of the data they have from viewers already".

"So we worked really closely with them to work out the schedule that really caters to the viewer. We have marathons where people can binge-watch and where they can stay on HGTV for hours and we also have themed nights, so we make it easy for viewers for instance on Mondays it's a certain type of shows, on Sundays it's another type of shows".

"We make it really easy for viewers to recognise what content they can see on HGTV on what night."

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Discovery Inc.'s Africa boss Amanda Turnbull says new channel HGTV on DStv is about real people but also aspirational, 'which is why we fought really hard to have it on Compact as well so more people can see it'.

Discovery Inc.'s new HGTV (DStv 177) channel on MultiChoice's DStv would originally only have been available on the most expensive DStv Premium package but because the channel is about real people entertainment but also incorporates an aspirational element, Discovery Inc. executives negotiated hard with MultiChoice to make HGTV available on some of its lower-tiered packages as well.

Discovery Inc.'s HGTV channel has been added in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, and DStv Compact subscribers.

Discovery Inc.'s Africa boss, Amanda Turnbull, who is the vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region, flew to South Africa from Dubai for the South African media launch event of the HGTV channel, where she addressed the press during the official presentation.

Amanda Turnbull said "What we try to do at Discovery Inc. is this concept of real-life entertainment but with HGTV it's a bit of aspiration as well. That's why we're so glad that we're in the DStv Compact tier and above".

"Originally HGTV was only going to be a DStv Premium channel and we fought really hard ... we discussed ... to have it in DStv Compact so that more people can see it."

"It's not really about how much money you have. It's about your eye, and your pride and what you want to do to your home. So HGTV is here and we hope that we will inspire and entertain at the same time."

"What excites me in this market particularly about HGTV is the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours of new content we have. It's the fact that we can serve up to the South African market so much brand-new content."

"Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's head of content and strategy, has been a true champion of HGTV and I genuinely feel that without her internal championing we wouldn't be in this position today, so I really just want to say a heartfelt thank you to her," said Amanda Turnbull.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.

Discovery Inc. held a media launch for its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa in the form of a 3-day press tour in Cape Town that kicked off with a beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a multi-storey Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.

The Cape Town based events solution company Show Works conceptualised and executed Discovery Inc.'s incredibly beautiful, unique and extremely impressive HGTV cocktail party on the Day 1 evening of the HGTV media launch week.

The cocktail party took place at Villa Beyond, the stunning home of the South African architect, Stefan Antoni. The 6-level luxury mansion is suspended over the highest point in Clifton - South Africa's most expensive suburb - and its panoramic views over the Atlantic Ocean are some of the very best in Cape Town.

Discovery Inc. executives who jetted to Cape Town from the United States, Dubai and Amsterdam, mingled with the South African and Middle East media, as well as advertisers and ad execs, alongside MultiChoice executives, sipping champagne and nibbling on the light supper on offer as everyone watched a magnificent winter sunset.

High-ranking Discovery Inc. executives included Amanda Turnbull (vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region), Kathleen Finch (Discovery's chief lifestyle brands officer), Lee Hobbs (senior vice president for pay-TV and global brands for the EMEA region), Tatiana Lagewaard (vice president of lifestyle and pay-TV production for the EMEA region), and Henry Windridge (head of brand at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region).

High-ranking MultiChoice executives who attended the cocktail party included Yolisa Phahle (MultiChoice CEO for general entertainment), Mark Rayner (MultiChoice South Africa CEO), Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee (CEO of DStv Media Sales), and Aletta Alberts (MultiChoice head of content strategy).

Also in attendance were Stefan Antoni himself, as well as the American TV talent Tarek El Moussa of HGTV's Flip or Flop who flew to Cape Town for the media launch.

The beautifully executed HGTV cocktail evening set the perfect tone for the channel's launch.

"We're incredibly proud and excited to launch HGTV in this market," said Amanda Turbull.

"I must say Stefan, thank you so much. I don't think we could have chosen a more perfect venue to start the HGTV channel launch than this wonderful, wonderful house. It's a wonderful way to start the channel here."

"This has really been a great journey for us to bring HGTV to the South African market. It's one of the first international channel launches since the acquisition of Scripps. We're very proud that our South African partner, MultiChoice, can be part of that journey with us," said Amanda Turnbull.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Announcing Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa and a new teaser trailer.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 9 photos of HGTV's terrific 'Toolbox' lunch.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference: Ads on HGTV won't get in viewers' way, instead it will add to the viewing experience.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: MultiChoice on why it decided to make HGTV available to DStv Compact subscribers as well: 'The content speaks to everybody'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: HGTV in HD - why MultiChoice launched Discovery Inc.'s latest channel in high definition on DStv and the factors influencing what quality version a TV channel is launched and seen as.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Will Discovery Inc.'s latest channel have local content? MultiChoice explains how it works with international third-party TV channels.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Press conference - Why Discovery Inc. launched it so quickly in South Africa after acquiring Scripps and Africa's growing importance as a pay-TV market among global content suppliers.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference - HGTV's surprising answer on design trend-spotting and staying ahead of the curve with what viewers want to see next.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: INTERVIEW - Flip or Flop star Tarek El Moussa: 'I feel like I have a very intimate relationship with HGTV because I feel like I've grown with them'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN IMAGES - 20 photos of HGTV's gala rooftop dinner at the Zeitz Museum in Cape Town.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 3: IN IMAGES - 9 photos of the media breakfast and press screening & 4 sizzle reels including a special Home Town surprise message.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 3: IN IMAGES - 8 photos of the Grand Provence media lunch.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch press tour - An overview.

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Discovery Inc.'s Real Time added to MultiChoice's DStv in the rest of Africa as well.

Discovery Inc.'s Real Time channel will be added to MultiChoice's DStv and GOtv satellite pay-TV service in the rest of Africa as well from Monday 15 July 2019.

The channel addition comes after Real Time was added to DStv for subscribers in South Africa, and to China's StarTimes in Africa and StarTimes' StarSat brand in South Africa.

Real Time is an entertainment channel featuring programmes based on real lives, nature, crime and medical lives targeting a female audience.

"We are incredibly excited to present Real Time to an even wider audience in the market, and further expand and diversify our local portfolio offering," says Amanda Turnbull, vice president and general manager for Discovery in Africa and the Middle East, in a statement.

"With an already successful suite of pay-TV brands, Real Time affords us the chance to bring our world-class content to even more audiences across Africa, in the form of a channel designed to provide much-needed 'me time' to the modern African woman and her wider family."

Yolisa Phahle, The MultiChoice Group CEO of general entertainment, says in a statement that "MultiChoice is excited to welcome this new channel which will give viewers access a wide variety of compelling television shows from Discovery Inc. on our platforms".

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Discovery and MultiChoice to add the American home and garden TV channel, HGTV, to DStv from 15 July.

Discovery and MultiChoice will add the HGTV channel to its DStv satellite pay-TV service from mid-July, bringing DStv subscribers a new TV channel with fresh content about home improvement, do-it-yourself house renovations, design, real estate and gardening.

TVwithThinus can reveal that HGTV will launch on 15 July on DStv and will be available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers in South Africa.

It's not yet known whether HGTV, that originally stood for "Home and Garden Television" when it started in 1994, will launch as a high-definition (HD) channel on DStv in South Africa.

HGTV ended 2018 as the 4th most watched pay-TV channel in the United States where it is the leading home and lifestyle channel and often gets cited by pay-TV subscribers as one of the "must-keep channels" and one of the reasons why viewers pay for subscription television.

In November 2017 MultiChoice did a 3-week marketing research tryout of HGTV on DStv, when the channel was run as a prime time content block on the Travel Channel during weekdays and over weekends. It led to a hugely favourable response from DStv subscribers.

Besides America, HGTV is already available in Canada, the Caribbean, Asia and Australia and will also launch in Germany in June, marking the channel's first European rollout since Discovery completed its takeover of Scripps Networks Interactive in 2018.

Former Scripps sister channels - now all belonging to Discovery like the Travel Channel (DStv 179 / Cell C black 255), the Food Network (DStv 175) and Fine Living (Cell C black 251 / StarSat 281) - are already available in South Africa and throughout the continent on various pay-TV services.

Yet the addition of HGTV makes it Discovery Inc.'s first channel brand from what was Scripps, to be launched in South Africa and Africa as Discovery realigns and scales its expanded collection of lifestyle channels in the territory.

HGTV's content covers 6 basic pillars, ranging from buying and selling property, home renovation, investing in improving property to sell it for a profit (flipping), home improvement and dream homes.

HGTV will launch in mid-July on DStv with a wide slate of home interest programming, with many of the shows on the schedule during South African prime time that have never been seen here on television before or are first-to-market episodes.

The home improvement and aspirational property programming on HGTV will aim to help DStv subscribers with inspiration, instruction about renovations and the selling and buying of homes, as well as providing entertainment, fresh ideas, the latest trends, and access to celebrity homes and sought-after real estate listings across the globe.

"HGTV shows were placed on the Travel Channel in late-2017 and the content flew. HGTV is now going to launch on 15 July on DStv and we're very, very excited about the content on the channel," says Henry Windridge, the head of brand at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region.

"It's very much focused on the genres that we know work very well in the United States. Renovation shows, for instance, are such a core part of HGTV; it's so important. It's not about decorating."

HGTV's programming slate
HGTV's programming launch line-up on DStv during prime time between 20:00 and 22:00 will be stratified according to days of the week that will each have a soft theme.

Viewers will be able to see property buying and selling shows on Mondays, renovation shows on Tuesdays, property seeking shows on Wednesdays, property flipping shows on Thursdays, renovation and flipping shows on Fridays, "tiny" home shows on Saturdays, and ending with aspirational and dream home shows on Sundays.

On Mondays DStv subscribers will be able to watch shows like My Lottery Dream Home and Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation; Good Bones and Home Town on Tuesdays; House Hunters USA and House Hunters Renovations on Wednesdays; and Flip or Flop Nashville and Boise Boys on Thursdays.

Flip or Flop Atlanta and Lakefront Bargain Hunt Renovation will be shown on Fridays; Tiny House, Big Living and Tiny Paradise on Saturdays; and with Sundays belonging to Beachfront Bargain Hunt and Mediterranean Life.

House Hunters International will remain on the Travel Channel.

Competition for The Home Channel
The addition of HGTV from mid-July to DStv will be direct competition - its first - for the 11-year old The Home Channel that launched on MultiChoice's platform as a stand-alone channel in October 2007.

The Home Channel (DStv 176) from the Tiso Blackstar Group, has ironically been acquiring and showing a broad slate of programming from what was Scripps and produced by its HGTV channel for years, like the popular Property Brothers fronted by the twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott.

None of these HGTV shows are available or will be sold to The Home Channel anymore, with existing international licensing broadcasting rights that won't be renewed once they run out.

It means that The Home Channel will have to find new content elsewhere in the months ahead - either through searching and secure new international content for its schedule to replace the gaps, or by ramping up its quota of locally produced shows in South Africa.

TVwithThinus asked Discovery about the change of keeping original HGTV programming back for HGTV, since the channel will now have its own presence and space in the South African TV market.

"Scripps had a very different idea, they were really into content sales, whereas with Discovery our view is that it's our content, it's on our channels and we're quite jealous about it. So all of those deals will have to cease; none of them will be renewed," said Amanda Turnbull, the vice president and general manager for Discovery Inc. in Africa and the Middle East.

"We have and will honour existing deals but as soon as those are finished the content will come to our channels because what we do is build channel brands and for us it's really important."