ID: Investigation Discovery on ODM's StarSat to end; channel will be switched and changed to ID Xtra as part of a new deal with Discovery Networks.

The crime and investigation channel ID: Investigation Discovery on On Digital Media (ODM) and StarTimes Media SA's StarSat will be discontinued and is going to be replaced with ID Xtra as part of a new deal signed between StarTimes and Discovery Networks.

Investigation Discovery which has been available on TopTV since it launched in May 2010 - now available on StarSat on channel 223 - will remain available on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform on channel 252, but will be changed to IDX on StarSat.

The ID Xtra channel launched in April last year as a new spin-off Discovery Networks channel to sit alongside the main ID: Investigation Discovery channel.

While ID: Investigation Discovery is skewed towards a largely female viewership who indulge in the murder and crime documentaries, IDX is even more tailored towards women with even more real-life mystery, crime and suspense factual and lifestyle programming.

It's not yet clear when ID: Investigation Discovery on StarSat will flip to ID Xtra, but StarTimes calls the Discovery Networks channel change an "upgrade".

"After receiving very positive feedback in 2015, StarTimes and Discovery Networks agreed the channel should be upgraded to ID Xtra, with a focus on mystery and suspense content," says StarTimes in a statement.

The ID: Investigation Discovery to ID Xtra switch is part of a new agreement signed between StarTimes group president XinXing Pang and James Gibbons, the executive vice president of Discovery Networks in the emerging business region.

According to the new agreement the existing Discovery Science (StarSat 222) channel will remain on the StarSat platform, as will Euro Sport News (StarSat 220).

StarTimes and Discovery Networks are planning to launch another new TV channel - an edutainment channel from the Discovery Learning Alliance - but it is primarily destined for StarTimes' satellite pay-TV platform in the rest of Africa. It's not clear whether this new channel will be added to StarSat in South Africa as well.

StarSat lost the TLC channel at the end of 2014 which it had since May 2010. Competitor MultiChoice currently has the Discovery Networks International channels TLC Entertainment, Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet and Discovery World.

Discovery launching the new ID Xtra channel in Africa, Middle East and parts of Europe; is ID Xtra also coming to South Africa?

Discovery Networks International (DNI) will be launching a brand-new Discovery channel, ID Extra, tomorrow (1 April) in the Africa, Middle East and parts of Europe region with at least 105 markets which will get and add ID Xtra during the course of 2014.

TV with Thinus enquired, but it is not yet clear whether ID Xtra - a spin-off from the existing ID: Investigation Discovery channel - will be added by MultiChoice's DStv and, or, On Digital Media's (ODM) StarSat in South Africa.

Both of the South African pay-TV platforms currently carry DNI's Investigation Discovery channel.

Similar to ID: Investigation Discovery, ID Xtra, will also be a channel with a female-skewed programming offering, and where it is added in Africa, the Middle East as well as Central and Eastern Europe, ID Xtra will sit along the existing ID: Investigation Discovery channel.

ID Xtra is available in standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD).

"After the successful roll-out of TLC, we are now expanding our proposition for female viewers with ID Xtra," says Kasia Kieli, the president and managing director for Discovery Networks for the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) region, in a statement.

"We believe the channel provides our distribution partners with truly unique content from the Mystery and Suspense genre and strengthens our portfolio, making it the best offer in pay-TV today".

"Mystery and Suspense is one of the fastest growing genres in pay-TV and Discovery is in pole position leading the category," says Paul Welling, the senior vice president and head of channels at Discovery Networks CEEMEA.

Meanwhile the Discovery Channel (DStv 120) was by now supposed to have switched to an HD channel on MultiChoice's DStv in South Africa.

 Discovery Networks International and MultiChoice promised subscribers and the industry in November 2013 that Discovery would become Discovery HD within the first quarter of 2014 - pegging it for sometime between January and March 2014.

It has not happened and DNI and MultiChoice have not announced a new date or a new official time frame for the Discovery channel's HD upgrade.

For the time being Discovery continues to be shown in SD. Discovery HD Showcase (DStv 172) which would have been discontinued as a TV channel, therefore continues to run on the DStv platform.

On the Case with Paula Zahn on ID: Investigation Discovery reaches the milestone of 100 episodes.

On the Case with Paula Zahn on ID: Investigation Discovery (TopTV 303 / DStv 171) has reached the milestone of 100 episodes since it started in 2009.

"If you watch On the Case you will see that Paula Zahn is not only such a great journalist in and of her own right, not only does she ask the questions that you want to know, but she asks the questions that I think are on the mind of the audience, and her reactions are real," says Henry Schleiff, the group president and general manager of the ID: Investigation Discovery channel.

"Our audience is passionate about the pursuit of justice, they are fascinated with the lengths that law enforcement will go to find the truth, and they are drawn in to find the human drama of a family's loss," says Paula Zahn.

BREAKING. Discovery's 3 TV channels on TopTV all go blank; TopTV 'trying to get the problem sorted out' with missing Discovery Science, TLC and ID.

You're reading it here first. 

Discovery's three TV channels on On Digital Media (ODM) struggling pay-TV service TopTV suddenly went completely dark today without warning and with no notice or announcement to TopTV subscribers, as the satellite pay-TV operator is scrambling to fix the problem of the missing Discovery Science (TopTV 302), TLC (TopTV 453) and ID: Investigation Discovery (TopTV 303) - all provided by Discovery Networks International CEEMEA.

Angry TopTV subscribers are fuming about the three missing Discovery channels with no indication of why Discovery Science, ID: Investigation Discovery and TLC suddenly disappeared.

TopTV failed to talk to subscribers today or to give bewildered subscribers any reasons for the channels suddenly being missing. Likewise Discovery Networks International CEEMEA didn't say a word to viewers of their channels on TopTV as to why they're paying for something they're not getting and suddenly can't see.

ALSO READ: Shocking lack of communication from TopTV and Discovery Networks CEEMEA after 3 Discovery channels suddenly disappear.

All three Discovery TV channels of Discovery Networks International CEEMEA on TopTV simply display an on-air sentence: "We apologise for the break in transmission and will be back shortly."

It's exactly what TopTV displayed when other TV channels on its bouquet ceased and never returned. Once again TopTV subscribers - especially pre-paid TopTV subscribers who gave money at the beginning of a month - are not getting the product that they've been promised and paid for.

While TopTV's normal channel offering keeps dwindling, TopTV has put focus and effort behind a second attempt - which was approved by South Africa's broadcasting regulator - to start a separate porn bouquet with three sex channels from Playboy.

No starting dat for the porn channels is known yet which will carry a classification of R18 and for which TopTV will now have to register as a porn distributor with South Africa's Film and Publication Board (FPB).

TopTV would have gone dark on Tuesday night as channel and content suppliers were ready to turn off the taps to their content if ODM failed to get approval for the StarTimes business rescue plan bail-out, but shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the bail-out deal.

It's possible that Discovery Networks International decided to pull their channels off of TopTV at the end of April anyway, similar to what Manchester United Television (MUTV) did in November and Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) did in December when Turner yanked its three channels, Showtime, Silver and Star! from TopTV's line-up.

It's now come to light that TopTV owes millions to several content providers who decided to pull their TV channels from TopTV due to outstanding debt.

TopTV owes Fox International a massive R43,8 million which amounts to 3% overall of TopTV's debt to creditors. Warner Bros. is owed R25,4 million or 1,7% of the total, Paramount is owed R13,1 million and Manchester United Television is owed R9,5 million, Turner Broadcasting is owed R6,4 million and The Walt Disney Company R7,2 million.

"Where did Discovery Science, TLC and Discovery ID go? Nothing on air on TopTV," is the response to TV with Thinus from just one irate TopTV subscriber, echoeing the sentiment of several subscribers who can't watch any of their three Discovery channels on TopTV - without any explanation from the company.

TLC (DStv 172) and ID: Investigation Discovery (DStv 171) - which ironically today had a show entitled Disappeared on - are both also available on competitor MultiChoice's DStv channel line-up and are showing uninterrupted and unaffected.

I've made a media enquiry to Discovery Networks International CEEMEA and I'm awaiting a response.

I've also asked TopTV what is going on. TopTV says the pay-TV operator is "trying to get the problem sorted out with Discovery".

I've asked, but TopTV isn't explaining what exactly the problem is, why is happened, what went wrong, or when - or if - the three Discovery channels will be restored.

ID: Investigation Discovery announces a big range of brand-new shows; renews several shows for further seasons.

Investigation Discovery (DStv 252 / TopTV 303) will be rolling out a vast number of brand-new shows over the coming year, and has also renewed several existing shows for further seasons.

New shows on ID: Investigation Discovery will include Evil Twins following true-crime mysteries surrounding real-life cases of these evil archetypes. Each episode will reveal shocking stories of twins on the edge, from sleeping with their sibling's husband then setting them up for murder to stealing their identity and even coming back from the dead.

In the new Redrum (Murder spelled backwards - get it?) viewers follow the backwards tale of murder from false motives and mistaken witnesses to conversations taken completely out of context, until the truth finally comes out at the very end.

Susan Lucci is the presenter of Deadly Affairs looking at crimes of passion. Frenemies: BFF's Gone Bad will tackle riveting stories of loyalty betrayed and when friendships fall apart. Each episode traces friendships through good times to their gradual demise, as things turn sour and end in shocking, violent confrontation.

'Til Death Do Us Part explores tumultuous, shocking, and high-stake divorces and the deadly murders linked to them, presented by Dr. Stacy Kaiser, a psychotherapist and relationship expert, and Dr. Brian Russell, a forensic psychologist and attorney.

Wives with Knives are about women who fight at close range. Some women endured years of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse before fighting back. Others were motivated by greed and jealousy. Some of the victims died and others lived to testify against their attackers.

Pretty Bad Girls shows what happens when beautiful, fabulous women have more than killer clothes in their closets. They have skeletons, too. These sexy criminals know exactly what they want, and are willing to do anything to get it, no matter the cost.

Cold Case reinvestigates unsolved homicides. Each episode invites viewers on an emotional journey between past and present as unsolved homicides are reopened.

Who The Bleep ... is a spin-off from Who The Bleep Did I Marry? It explores the relationships between friends, co-workers, significant others, family members, and more. Each real-life story is a first-person account that uncovers the truth behind people's double lives and the fallout that ensues.

Renewed for further seasons are Stolen Voices, Buried Secrets, Sins & Secrets (crimes that have ripped at the fabric of affluent communities), Unusual Suspects (baffling and challenging cases in contemporary law enforcement), Scorned: Love Kills (crimes of passion sparked by a spurned lover), Stalked: Someone's Watching (emotional stories of stalking victims) and Dark Minds (crime author M. William Phelps and criminal profiler John Kelly revisit unsolved homicides believed to be the work of serial killers).

Also renewed on ID: Investigation Discovery for further seasons are Disappeared (unpredictable twists of missing person cases) and Deadly Sins (individuals pushed beyond the limits of the law), with attorney Darren Kavinoky.

On the Case with Paula Zahn is also renewed (profiling fascinating true stories) as is The Will: Family Secrets Revealed (family members dealing with the aftermath of a loved one's final wishes - often contentious real-life stories of family inheritance).

Fatal Encounters looks at the fateful relationship between killer and victim as their paths intertwine. In Facing Evil the retired FBI criminal profiler Candice DeLong goes behind prison walls to sit down with the actual femmes fatales who appeared on Deadly Women.

Cold Blood returns to the crime scene so that viewers can examine all the evidence for themselves. Also renewed are Devil You Know (the secret lives of men and women who masquerade as law-abiding citizens but, behind the charade, are hiding deadly intentions from their loved ones), Alaska: Ice Cold Killers (about victims of violent crimes, struggling to survive against the brutality of nature and man) and Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda in which he retells through dramatic enactment cases he's dealt with.

Nightmare Next Door (murder mysteries), True Crime with Aphrodite Jones (crime expert Aphrodite Jones conducting her own investigations) and Deadly Women (the bizarre world of women who kill for thrills) will all have a further season on ID: Investigation Discovery.

Behind Mansion Walls (sensational stories of mystery and murder with society journalist Christopher Mason), Very Bad Men (true crime series) and Twisted (some of the world's most prolific serial killers) will also be back.

Susan Lucci to be the host and narrator of a new real-life crime documentary series, Deadly Affairs, on Investigation Discovery.

Susan Lucci from All My Children will be the host and narrator of a new crime documentary series, Deadly Affairs to start later this year on Investigation Discovery (TopTV 303 / DStv 252) in America and after that will also be seen in South Africa.

Susan Lucci can currently be seen in the American soap on weekdays on SABC3 in the role of Erica Kane. The first season of Deadly Affairs will have 10 episodes with production set to start in March.

Deadly Affairs will investigate and tell the real-life stories of secret office flings, love triangles and adultery - all of which lead to deadly consequences for some of the parties involved.

''There is simply no other actress in the world more qualified than Susan Lucci to host Deadly Affairs, Investigation Discovery's answer to addictive daytime soap operas," says Investigation Discovery in a statement announcing the new show.

"While our series, of course, has the added benefit of featuring real stories of betrayal, we are delighted that Susan will bring her own distinctive voice and dramatic flair to our real life soap.''

BREAKING. MultiChoice, Discovery Networks adds TLC and ID: Investigation Discovery channels to DStv from 14 October.

You're reading it here first.

I can exclusively break the news and reveal that MultiChoice and Discovery Networks CEEMEA will be adding and launching two new channels on DStv, TLC as well as ID: Investigation Discovery from Friday 14 October.

I can reveal that TLC will be added on DStv channel 186 and that ID: Investigation Discovery will be seen on DStv channel 252.

I've known for about a month about the coming addition of TLC and ID: Investigation Discovery, which will go live just two weeks after MultiChoice's just-added Studio Universal movie channel on the DStv platform. TLC and ID: Investigation Discovery are two of the three Discovery channels that's already been available on competitor pay TV platform On Digital Media's TopTV, but which will now be getting much wider availability within South Africa.

TLC, that just started in South Africa out of the retired Discovery Travel & Living brand is a female-skewed lifestyle, reality and factual entertainment channel, whilst ID: Investigation Discovery (ID for short) offers viewers a line-up of world-class crime-related documentaries.

This major addition of two Discovery channels bring Discovery Networks' portfolio on DStv to a massive 6 TV channels including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery World and Discovery HD Showcase. (Besides TLC and ID: Investigation Discovery, TopTV still has the great Discovery Science channel). Both TLC and ID: Investigation Discovery will start to run commercials and sell commercial airtime from the beginning of 2012 on DStv.

''We have had an outstanding relationship with DStv over the last 15 years and are confident that with the addition of TLC and ID, this will go from strength to strength,'' says Phillip Luff, the country manager for emerging business for Discovery networks CEEMEA.

''TLC and ID have been hugely successful in markets all over the world and their addition to DStv's Premium and Compact bouquet forms part of our continued investment in Africa. We're sure that DStv’s subscribers are going to love both channels,'' he says.

''The Discovery brands are world-famous for engaging audiences with a mix of entertainment and information, presented with emotion, spirit and style,'' says Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's general manager for content.

''They continue to be global television leaders with innovative programming ideas and concepts that resonate with viewers, succeeding time and again in capturing the imagination. DStv understands that as our audience grows and their viewing needs become more diverse, we must evolve. To do so with a partner like Discovery, who really are dedicated to the needs of our audiences, is a significant step forward in building our products,'' she says.