DAILY TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read from TVwithThinus - 21 February 2017.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read, and that you should too:

■ The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) should polish its dismal programming.
After Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank last week criticised DStv subscribers in Zimbabwe for damaging the struggling country's economy, criticism is building about how bad Zimbabwe's television offering is.

■ Is StarTimes Kenya stealing from StarTimes subscribers?
StarTimes Kenya subscribers are furious about how they're constantly being cut off too early.


■ Why there's no NBA basketball on DStv anymore.
MultiChoice lost the rights to NBA broadcasts in sub-Saharan Africa to Kwesé Sports with the deal "that is a huge blow for SuperSport". Of course it was the NBA All-Stars and nobody in Africa could really watch.
- Making it even more bizarre is the NBA planning to return to South Africa. Hilarious considering that a dead brand for a barely there American sport doesn't want its actual content and matches shown on television in South Africa.


■ Dishing dirt on Awful Park:
The rot at the SABC is finally being exposed - choice quotes from parliament's ongoing SABC investigation.

■ Nigeria's Ndani TV has burnt down.
The online TV channel in Lagos, Nigeria saw its Ndani Studio go up in flames over the weekend, billions feared lost - including already filmed new seasons of shows, as well as back-up copies.

■ Complaints about OnAir who does direct marketing on behalf of MultiChoice continues.
More bad service and lies by OnAir according to DStv subscribers when it comes to upselling DStv subcribers in South Africa who are unhappy with how they're being lied to.


■ BEST TV story headline this year:
"Trolls worse than zombies," says The Walking Dead star.
Of course actor Josh McDermitt of The Walking Dead on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) is talking about internet and social media shamers.


■ The end of male audience focused linear TV channels?
With Esquire, Spike and others shut down, are channels catering to male viewers now in danger?

■ Tina Wamala hasn't been fired.
MultiChoice Uganda's publicist who was embroiled in controversy last month goes on NBS to talk about DStv in Uganda. Little actual news and information, but note the mention of "reshuffling" of content coming.

■ From a TV news anchor's lips to Donald Trump's ears and Sweden's disbelief.
Donald Trump watches TV at night, and then uses that in his tweets, speeches and interviews.

■ Italy's Roman Catholic church TV is sexy-ing up - complete with Colin Firth in wet shirt.
TV2000, a Roman Catholic owned TV channel, has bought its first content from BBC Worldwide, including racy dramas like Pride and Prejudice.

■ TV ratings system: Australia to become largest per capita people metered market in the world.
What is means is that Australia's ratings, or viewership measurement, will have the best "accuracy" in terms of how what is listed actually relates to what the whole nation is really watching.

■ Naspers' ShowMax launching new short-video series QHits on 1 March.
ShowMax, working with QYou, will launch the new series QHits in ShowMax in East Africa with presenter Rachel Marete.

StarSat subscribers loses another 2 TV channels; Spark and Qyou both dumped and not immediately replaced over 'poor performance'.

StarSat subscribers are losing another 2 TV channels with Spark (StarSat 225) and Qyou (StarSat 165) that's suddenly getting dumped and not replaced on 30 June.

That's in addition to StarSat losing the NBA channels that's going dark as well tomorrow on its platform.

Once again, On Digital Media (ODM) and StarTimes Media South Africa couldn't bother to tell the media about changes to its channels and channel line-up.

Spark and Qyou will fold over "poor performance".

ODM replaced its floundering self-compiled Top Explore channel with Spark in July 2013, but now its going dark after just three years with no new factual entertainment channel replacement for StarSat subscribers.

StarSat added the internet video, linear TV channel Qyou from October 2014 and it is gone after a year and 9 months.

In response to a media enquiry, StarSat says "StarSat can confirm that as of 30 June Spark and Qyou channels will no longer be available on its platform. The decision to close Spark and Qyou was taken due to poor performance of both channels."

"StarSat would like to reassure its valued subscribers that while these two channels will no longer be available on its platform, it does create an opportunity for the company to acquire other high quality and entertaining channels for its valued subscribers".

On Digital Media's StarSat adds Trace Sport Stars and QYOU channels as MultiChoice lowers the premium value of Trace Sports Stars.

On Digital Media (ODM) is adding the new QYOU (StarSat 165) internet video clip linear TV channel and the sports lifestyle channel Trace Sports Stars (StarSat 250) already available on MultiChoice's DStv to its satellite pay-TV service in South Africa.

At the same time MultiChoice which had Trace Sports Stars since April 2012 when it launched as Trace Sports, has downgraded the channel which is no longer considered a premium TV channel.

Trace Sports Stars from Trace used to be for DStv Premium subscribers only but MultiChoice on 30 September lowered the channel's premium only status which has now been made available to DStv Extra, DStv Compact and DStv Family subscribers at the same time as it becomes available to StarSat subscribers as well in South Africa.

Neither On Digital Media, its PR company, nor the Trace group or its publicity department, nor the Los Angeles based QYOU, issued any announcement, press releases or statements to the press about Trace Sport Stars and QYOU starting today on StarSat.

While Trace Sport Stars' content is known, QYOU is a brand-new American-based linear channel showing short clips - mostly originating from the internet - very similar in style to what CurrentTV was when te United Kingdom version of that channel launched on TopTV when the platform launched in May 2010 in South Africa.