Paramount Africa's Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. kids channels now available to DStv Compact subscribers

by Thinus Ferreira

From today MultiChoice and Paramount Africa are making the kids pay-TV channels of Nickelodeon (DStv 305) and Nick Jr. (DStv 307) permanently accessible to DStv Compact subscribers in South Africa.

Until now these Paramount Africa channels were only for DStv Premium and DStv Compact Plus subscribers.

"As we mark SpongeBob SquarePants' 25th anniversary, we're thrilled that Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. content is now accessible to even more families, solidifying our mission to provide inclusive, world-class entertainment," says Monde Twala, senior vice president and general manager at Paramount Africa, in a statement.

Melusi Sibisi, MultiChoice Group acting head of third-party channels and partnerships, says "This move underscores our commitment to ensuring that more families across South Africa have access to premium kids' entertainment".

Paramount continues with Nickelodeon's Nick in Your Language initiative, offering local language episodes of shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, DORA, Rubble & Crew, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and PAW Patrol in local languages. 

These dubbed shows are on Nicktoons (DStv 308) on weekday mornings between 7:30 to 9:00 and during the afternoons between 15:00 and 16:00.

Nickelodeon December 2024 highlights

SpongeBob SquarePants Christmas Special - 21 December | Saturday 12:30

The Loud House Christmas Special - 21 December | Saturday 14:10

Young Dylan Christmas Special - 21 December | Saturday 18:30

The Patrick Star Show 2 – 13 December at 15:00

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from 23 December, weekdays 19:45

Nick Jr. December 2024 highlights

Rubble & Crew (new episodes) from 02 December, weekdays at 17:30

DORA (new episodes) from 09 December, weekdays at 18:00

Nick Jr's Holiday Stunt Premiere episodes: Paw Patrol, Rubble & Crew, Hamsters of Hamsterdale, The Adventures of Paddington, The Tiny Chef Show from 21 December at 12:00

January 2025

Transformers: EarthSpark S3 (new season) on 11 January at 11:00 on Nickelodeon

Baby Shark's Big Movie! 5 January at 12:20 on Nick Jr.

Baby Shark's Big Show S3 (new season), weekdays at 16:30 on Nick Jr., starts 6 January

MultiChoice opens some further channels to lower-tiered DStv subscribers, will make upcoming Nigerian love reality competition series Ultimate Love available to South African viewers.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice is opening access of 3 TV channels to lower-tiered DStv packages, adding two pop-up channels and will be making the upcoming new Nigerian love reality competition series, Ultimate Love available as a channel to South African viewers.

The Nick Jr. (DStv 307) channel from ViacomCBS International Media Networks is made available for DStv Compact Plus subscribers, while DStv Family subscribers are getting access to the National Geographic (DStv 181) channel from Fox Networks Group as well TRACE Urban (DStv 326) supplied by TRACE.

M-Net Movies is running the M-Net Movies Blackout: The Leading Men Edition (DStv 109) pop-up channel for DStv Premium subscribers between 24 January and 16 February 2020.

The channel will showcase some of Hollywood’s greatest black actors in their biggest films with over 100movies starring actors like Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy.

MultiChoice is opening the Moja Love (DStv 157) channel from SiyayaTV to DStv Access subscribers from 7 February until 6 March 2020.

MultiChoice is also making its new Big Brother Naija-type love reality show, Ultimate Love, available in South Africa. 

The Ultimate Love channel (DStv 198) will run from 9 February until 5 April 2020 in what the pay-TV operator says is a "first-of-its-kind Nigerian reality show".

Sixteen contestants - 8 men and 8 women - will be living together for 8 weeks in an isolated mansion looking for love until there is only one potential couple left who could win a traditional wedding and a home. 

According to the producers "participants will be paired based on their mutual attraction to one another and will compete to emerge as the ultimate couple of the competition".

Mark Rayner, MultiChoice South Africa CEO, says "We are continuously looking at ways that will ensure that customers across all our packages are able to access some of the great content that is available on our platform".

"Having these channels available for our customers is part of our ongoing commitment to bringing a wide variety of the best in local and international content that touches the lives of our viewers."

MultiChoice opening 5 premium TV channels for Easter for more than half a month from 18 March for DStv Compact; 2 channels for DStv Extra subscribers.

Five Easter eggs are coming to lower-tiered DStv subscribers when MultiChoice will open 5 TV channels for more than half a month from 18 March.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124), Nickelodeon (DStv 305), Comedy Central (DStv 122), Lifetime (DStv 131) and Nick Jr. (DStv 307) will be opened to DStv Compact subscribers from 18 March to 4 April.

Lifetime and Nick Jr. will also be opened to DStv Extra subscribers as well during the same period.

The five channels that's only available for the top-tiered DStv Premium package, will be unencoded for 18 days for what MultiChoice describes as "bumper Easter entertainment".

E! is provided by NBCUniversal Networks International, Lifetime is from A+E Networks UK, and Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. are supplied by Viacom International Media Networks.

During the period lower-tiered DStv subscribers will be able to see the Beyond the Red Carpet local special on E! Entertainment, the channel's first local red carpet coverage broadcast two days after the South African Film and Television Awards, on 22 March at 20:00.

Nickelodeon has programming during Easter to keep kids entertained ranging from Spongebob Squarepants and Breadwinners to Nicky, Dicky & Dawn. Nick Jr. has Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, Paw Patrol, BubbleGuppies and Blaze.

Comedy Central has The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Lifetime has the reality show The Jacksons: Next Generation, the movie Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart and the Bill Cosby accusers documentary, Cosby: The Women Speak.

MultiChoice giving 4 DStv Premium channels - Lifetime, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Nick Jr. - to cheaper DStv Compact for almost a month.

MultiChoice is opening four of its DStv Premium TV channels - Lifetime, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Nick Jr. - to the cheaper DStv Compact package for almost a month from 26 June.

A+E Networks UK's Lifetime (DStv 131) and Viacom International Media Networks Africa's (VIMN Africa) Nickelodeon (DStv 305), Nick Jr. (DStv 307) and Comedy Central (DStv 122) which are premium TV channels will be made available to DStv Compacy subscribers starting 26 June.

These four DStv channels will remain accessible on DStv Compact for almost a month, until 20 July, at no extra cost.

MultiChoice says the four TV channels are made available to DStv Compact subscribers for the winter school holidays.

It means that DStv Compact subscribers will be able to watch programming like The Thundermans and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon, Little Charmers on Nick Jr., Deadbeat on Comedy Central and Bring It! on Lifetime.

There's also the start of the big-buzz new drama series UnREAL on Lifetime starting on 16 July at 20:45 which DStv Compact subscribers will now be able to see.

UnREAL which just started on Lifetime in America, takes place behind-the-scenes of a fictitious reality dating competition show, Everlasting.

It follows a desperate TV producer trying to spruce up the ratings by manipulating the contestants and the audience by hyping up the outrageous drama, pseudo conflict and shameful relationships.

DStv adds BET, Nicktoons and Nick Jr. as 3 new TV channels from VIMN Africa.

DStv is adding Nicktoons as expected as a new TV channel from 30 September and is also adding Nick Jr. and BET to DStv.

All three TV channels are supplied by Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) as part of new carriage agreements with MultiChoice.

VIMN Africa already supplies channels like MTV, MTV Base, Nickelodeon, VH1 Classic and Comedy Central Africa to MultiChoice's DStv.

BET's spin-off channel BET on Jazz was available on DStv in South Africa for a period in the past but was discontinued.

BET has been available on On Digital Media's (ODM) StarSat satellite pay-TV platform the past four years and will remain available as a TV channel on this platform according to VIMN Africa.

In 2008 BET was added on DStv in West African countries. In 2010 MultiChoice said BET didn't test very well, but in 2013 MultiChoice tested BET again, yet cautioned that it doesn't mean the channel will be added to DStv.

BET on DStv channel 135 will be available on DStv Premium, DStv Compact, DStv Family and DStv Extra and broadcast programming like talk show The Wendy Williams Show, reality like Real Husbands of Hollywood and dramas like Being Mary Jane and 106 & Park.

Nicktoons on DStv channel 308 will be available on DStv Premium, DStv Compact and DStv Extra and is aimed at children between 4 to 9 - a younger skewing channel than the existing Nickelodeon channel also from VIMN Africa.

Nicktoons programming include The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, T.U.F.F. Puppy, Back to the Barnyard, Avatar and Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys.

Nick Jr. on DStv channel 307 will only be available to DStv Premium subscribers as a youth channel targeting pre-school viewers between the ages of 3 to 5 with programmes like Dora the Explorer, Bubble Guppies and Paw Patrol.

New programming will start in 2015 on Nick Jr. including Dora & Friends, Blaze and the Monster Machines and Shimmer & Shine.

"We are delighted to partner with MultiChoice to strengthen our kids and family, and general entertainment offering in Africa," says Alex Okosi, the senior vice president and managing director for VIMN Africa in a statement.

"Our DStv customers will no doubt be delighted that BET is finally available on their screens," says Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's general manager for content in the statement. "Kids will be entertained for hours with the great shows on Nick Jr. and Nicktoons. We want to add channels that fill a gap in our entertainment offering".