'Black Swan' moment for Canal+'s MultiChoice facing a Y2K crisis at midnight as Warner Bros. Discovery prepares to pull 12 TV channels from DStv on 31 December 2025

by Thinus Ferreira

Canal+'s MultiChoice is ensnared in a "Black Swan" moment and is staring a TV-type of Y2K destruction in the face due to the threatening, massive loss of pay-TV content at midnight tonight when Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) will pull its 12 TV channels from DStv when its channel carriage contract runs out.

Canal+ and MultiChoice will not only lose these 12 TV channels without a new deal, but also all of WBD's content like HBO from M-Net (DStv 101) and the M-Net Movies channels on DStv, as well as everything supplied by all of Warner's TV studios and film studios to M-Net, but also to the struggling Showmax streamer run by MultiChoice and Comcast's NBCUNiversal.

Twenty-five years after the so-called Y2K bug that threatened to shut down computers on New Year's Eve before the arrival of the year 2000, the clock is ticking down to midnight tonight for an utterly massive and unthinkable loss of content from DStv in terms of TV channels, shows and movies.

MultiChoice's new French Canal+ bosses, who have been closing the money taps for the past few months since October, have so far failed to sign a new channel carriage agreement with WBD, which expires at the end of 2025.

Without a new multi-year channels carriage agreement, TV channels from CNN International, Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network, Food Network, TLC, HGTV, TNT and several more will all vanish from DStv on 1 January 2026.

An M-Net insider told me that the threat represents a "true extinction-level event" for legacy M-Net's value proposition for DStv subscribers.

Ironically, the possible destruction of M-Net's premium content pipeline from America, through Warner, comes on the eve of M-Net's 40th anniversary year in 2026, with M-Net became synonymous with HBO as the home of premium shows that M-Net acquired exclusively for DStv subscribers in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa.

Negotiations between Canal+ and Warner Bros. Discovery continued this week.

According to several sources, Maxime Saada, Canal+ CEO in Paris, as well as David Mignot, the recently installed new Canal+ Africa boss in Johannesburg, are adamant that the financial exploitation by third-party content providers like WBD must end.

They apparently want to send a "strong and clear signal" that MultiChoice under Canal+ control and ownership "will no longer simply pay content providers their asking price".

One source tells me it's a "cost-cutting principle" and to "definitively indicate that MultiChoice's days as simply a price taker are over under Canal+" to all other entertainment and sports content distributors whose international contracts will also be expiring and coming up for renewal talks.

Warner Bros. Discovery on the other hand, is adamant to get paid what Warner knows its TV channels and content are worth, including its extremely desirable HBO series, as well as its studios' overall output volume.  

Insiders say the fear is that Warner Bros. Discovery's channels going dark, together with the ripping away of HBO content on M-Net, will lead to further millions of DStv subscribers cancelling their DStv subscriptions in early 2026 as they jump to streamers like Netflix and Disney+.

MultiChoice has already lost a shocking 2.8 million DStv subscribers since April 2023.

MultiChoice said that it continues to negotiate with WBD.

WBD told TVwithThinus that it "remains fully committed to finding a resolution and keeping our channels available for our audience".

"We are in regular contact with Canal+/MultiChoice and we remain hopeful that a constructive path forward can be agreed that benefits all parties, especially our viewers."

According to insiders, both sides are posturing and behaving like cowboys in a Hollywood movie.

"Canal+ and Warner are both hard-knuckled gunslingers because they can be. Neither side is blinking. They've been negotiating for months and neither one is willing to budge. Canal+ and Warner, both global players, are more than willing to pull the trigger and leave DStv subscribers with black screens where CNN, Cartoon Network, Discovery and all the rest are - even if it leads to immense reputational and financial pain for both."

The loss of WBD's TV portfolio alone will inflict immense damage on DStv.

Just Cartoon Network alone has a 49% audience share of all children's viewing. All of the other DStv channels combined represent the other half.

WBD confirmed this and said Cartoon Network has maintained its leadership position since 2006 as DStv's biggest kids TV channel.

Cartoonito, WBD's other children's channel that will also be ripped away at midnight from DStv, is, according to WB,D "the number one kids' channel on the DStv Family package".

Meanwhile, TNT holds the number one position as the most popular international movie channel on DStv, while TLC is hugely popular as a lifestyle TV channel.

MultiChoice says it's working on "alternative" channels and content plans to replace Warner's content if no deal is reached by the end of today, but sources explain that there exists no like-for-like equivalent replacement content for the Warner offering anywhere else in the world for Dstv to acquire and package.

Prof Lizette Rabe, media expert and emeritus professor at the University of Stellenbosch, told TVwithThinus that entertainment content can still be negotiated, but that the reduction of information and the news offering, especially during a time where democracies are under pressure is a serious matter.

"MultiChoice had already started scaling back channels, which represents a loss for viewers looking for a wider perspective," she said.

"BVN, the Dutch service, and Deutsche Welle, for example, simply disappeared quietly after on-screen messages of 'this service will no longer be available a month from now' - without any explanation to consumers."

"The fact that MultiChoice and Canal+ have to renegotiate for a new contract - of which the clock is ticking down to 31 December - in addition to Warner Bros. Discovery fielding buyers in the United States - has set the stage for a perfect storm for the South African company that has basically always had a monopoly over pay-TV information and entertainment."

"And as a consumer, I have to add - one apparently not concerned about its subscribers and not communicating truly and honestly. The result is that DStv is bleeding subscriptions."

"Now the company is in a position where possibly even more people are going to decide whether the R1000 plus per month for the DStv premium package are worth it, for what they're getting in return. It is indeed an unexpected 'Black Swan' moment for MultiChoice/Canal+," she explained. 

ALSO READ: Stalemate in channel carriage extension negotiations between Canal+'s MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery could see 12 TV channels axed from DStv at the end of December 2025: 'You trust us with your money'

ALSO READ: SHOCKER. Canal+'s MultiChoice now says 12 TV channels from Warner Bros. Discovery will definitely be removed 31 December 2025 in channel carriage fight.

ALSO READ: Netflix to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's studios and HBO Max streamer for $72 billion: 'The Albanian army has taken over the world'

ALSO READ: Subscriber starts 'Save our DStv channels from cancellation' petition as Canal+'s MultiChoice tries to strike new deal with WBD: 'Loyal DStv subscribers are deeply frustrated over betrayed trust'

ALSO READ: M-Net and Showmax at risk of losing HBO and all other Warner Bros studios series and film output in TV channels carriage fight between Canal+'s MultiChoice and WBD

ALSO READ: Canal+'s MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery unable to agree on price for 12 TV channels and HBO content, won't lower subscription fees for DStv subscribers if channels are axed

ALSO READ: Why Canal+'s DStv faces massive downfall danger after a Warner content wipeout

Stalemate in channel carriage extension negotiations between Canal+'s MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery could see 12 TV channels axed from DStv at the end of December 2025: 'You trust us with your money'

by Thinus Ferreira

A stalemate in contentious channel carriage negotiations between Canal+'s MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery could see DStv subscribers lose another 12 TV channels at the end of December, in addition to the 4 channels from Paramount Global, which are getting axed.

With Paramount Africa's four linear TV channels - BET Africa, MTV Base, CBS Justice and CBS Reality - all definitely going dark on 31 December, DStv subscribers in South Africa and across the Rest of Africa (RoA) region, might now soon face a blackout of yet another 12 TV channels provided by WBD.

These channels are Discovery Channel, Cartoonito, Cartoon Network, CNN International, Food Network, TNT, TLC, ID: Investigation Discovery, Real Time, HGTV, Discovery Family and the Travel Channel.

MultiChoice hints that WBD wants too much money, noting that it's always trying to give the best content "at the best possible pricing. Every time you subscribe, you trust us with your money, and we take that responsibility seriously".

Shows and movies acquired for M-Net's set of self-packaged channels, like the M-Net (DStv 101) channel and M-Net Movies channels, are presumably safe from the looming Warner Bros. Discovery channels blackout.

This is because HBO series like House of the Dragon and The Gilded Age, as well as other content, are distributed and licensed separately by Warner Bros. Television Group and Warner Bros. Discovery International to individual TV channels.

The deal or no-deal also won't affect the money-guzzling Showmax, MultiChoice's struggling video streaming service, which carries WBD content under different agreements.

How channel carriage agreements with American channel distributors work is that a traditional pay-TV operator like MultiChoice pays a certain amount per TV channel, based on the number of subscribers.

A selection of TV channels from one provider is often bundled together at an overall price.

Further complicating negotiations and giving rise to channel carriage conflict is that either side can baulk at the form, number of channels and type of channels which are part of these "must-take bundles".

Often, the taker only wants certain specific TV channels and not the added pork they're forced to take, and often the provider gives a "take all of these or lose them all" ultimatum.   

The latest linear DStv channel carriage agreement standoff for the 12 linear TV channels between MultiChoice and WBD is similar to when MultiChoice and A+E Networks (now Hearst Networks) six years ago, saw the Lifetime and Crime+Investigation channels axed. 

In that case, MultiChoice was adamant that it only wanted to continue with History and not all three.

In October 2019, the loss of Lifetime and C+I led to a petition signed by over 5 000 DStv subscribers who demanded these TV channels back, although it never happened.

Four possibilities

It's still unclear what exactly gave rise to the standoff between Warner Bros. Discovery and MultiChoice, with both sides who would have started negotiations for a channel carriage extension months ago already.

One of four possibilities is on the table. 

Firstly, it could be that both MultiChoice and WBD want to continue with the same 12 TV channels but that Canal+, which is busy with dramatic cost-cutting at MultiChoice, no longer wants to pay the same price.

It's possible that Canal+ wants MultiChoice to pay less to WBD, given that MultiChoice has lost millions of DStv subscribers over the past few years since the last carriage deal was clinched.

Secondly, it could be that WBD wants an increase in the payment on the existing deal for the 12 channels, and which could be a price that MultiChoice considers to be way too high to pay.

Thirdly, MultiChoice might no longer want some of these 12 channels and only be interested in a smaller bundle but with WBD unwilling to remove them from the existing bundled offer. 

And fourthly, WBD itself might want to remove some of the 12 channels from the pay-TV bundle but with MultiChoice being the one who is unwilling to take a package that doesn't include its "must-haves" - and at a price it's willing to pay.

MultiChoice hints that WBD is asking too much money for whatever number of TV channels MultiChoice wants to carry.

The pay-TV provider says "At MultiChoice, our priority is to provide you with the best entertainment experience at the best possible pricing. Every time you subscribe, you trust us with your money, and we take that responsibility seriously".

Warner Bros. Discovery: No deal yet with MultiChoice

MultiChoice confirmed that "The distribution agreement between MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery is scheduled to end on 31 December 2025".

"While discussions between the parties continue, no agreement has been reached at this stage. If this remains unchanged, a number of Warner. Bros Discovery channels may no longer be available on DStv from 1 January 2026," the pay-TV operator says.

If no new deal is reached between MultiChoice and WBD, cost-cutting Canal+ will let WBD's 12 TV channels go and try to find alternatives.

MultiChoice already alludes to a possible future without WBD content, noting that it is already "preparing to further strengthen and enrich its line-up with new content, channels and services".

In a message to subscribers about the likelihood that the pay-TV operator might lose another 12 TV channels, MultiChoice told DStv subscribers that it is ready to replace Warner Bros. Discovery's TV channels with alternatives.

"What matters most is ensuring that your viewing experience remains rich, diverse and enjoyable".

"You will continue to enjoy an exceptional entertainment experience across your package, supported by strong alternative channels across every genre."

Warner Bros. Discovery told TVwithThinus in response to a media query on Monday night that there's no deal yet with MultiChoice and that it understands "the concern" around the axing of WBD's TV channels from DStv.

WBD said that it "deeply values its long-standing partnership with MultiChoice across multiple territories, and most importantly, our connection with the millions of viewers who cherish our channels".

"We understand the concern surrounding the potential discontinuation of our brands, including Discovery, Cartoonito, Cartoon Network, CNN International, Food Network, TNT, TLC, ID: Investigation Discovery, Real Time, HGTV, Discovery Family, and Travel Channel, from DStv and GOtv as of 1 January 2026".

"This situation arises because we have not yet reached a mutual agreement with MultiChoice to continue broadcasting our much-loved brands."

"We want to assure our viewers that Warner Bros. Discovery remains unequivocally committed to finding a resolution."

"Besides the recent change in the ownership of the MultiChoice business, and the potentially different strategy pursued by its new owner, the French media group Canal+, we are actively engaged in discussions with them to ensure that the customers can continue to enjoy the high-quality, diverse content they expect and love, from the compelling storytelling of 90 Day Fiancé and Gold Rush, to the latest seasons of Regular Show and Teen Titans Go, as well as essential news coverage from CNN International."

"Our primary goal is to keep these channels accessible to our loyal audience. We are hopeful that a constructive path forward can be found that benefits all parties, especially the viewers."

Trying to douse flames

As new MultiChoice owner, France's Canal+,  and David Mignot as new Canal+ Africa CEO, is trying to put out multiple fires.

After running out of toilet paper at the MultiChoice City headquarters in Johannesburg and almost losing SuperSport live broadcasts due to the failure to pay suppliers because of a heavy-handed demand that all suppliers cut their invoices by 20% across the board, Canal+ executives and MultiChoice have angered numerous longtime partners, producers and providers over the past two months.

Meanwhile, Canal+ is battling MultiChoice content losses like Paramount Africa's demise and its TV channels, as well as the ongoing churn of DStv subscribers across Africa.

To try and improve subscriber numbers, MultiChoice is now flooding the market with massive DStv decoder subsidies, hoping to entice new potential DStv subscribers to buy set-top boxes and stay subscribed. 

Canal+, in its latest investors' presentation, also revealed that MultiChoice's subscriber losses kept increasing, from 1.2 million year-on-year by the end of March to 1.4 million year-on-year by the end of June.

Then there's Showmax. Mignot is yet to make a decision on its future after billions have been pumped into the loss-making streamer following a partnership relaunch with NBCUniversal's Comcast.

And then there's MultiChoice's latest headache for Canal+: Its expiring WBD channel carriage agreement.

With less than a month to go, Mignot will have to solve the stalemate or see WBD go from DStv. 

Some of these TV channels, like The Travel Channel, Cartoon Network and CNN have been available on DStv right from its beginning in 1995, for over 30 years, with the Discovery Channel that was added just a few weeks after DStv launched.

A new content agreement between WBD and Sky in the United Kingdom, exactly a year ago, was similarly contentious until both WBD and Sky signed a new deal and averted a content blackout.

ALSO READ: Netflix to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's studios and HBO Max streamer for $72 billion: 'The Albanian army has taken over the world'

ALSO READ: SHOCKER. Canal+'s MultiChoice now says 12 TV channels from Warner Bros. Discovery will definitely be removed 31 December 2025 in channel carriage fight.

ALSO READ: Subscriber starts 'Save our DStv channels from cancellation' petition as Canal+'s MultiChoice tries to strike new deal with WBD: 'Loyal DStv subscribers are deeply frustrated over betrayed trust'

ALSO READ: M-Net and Showmax at risk of losing HBO and all other Warner Bros studios series and film output in TV channels carriage fight between Canal+'s MultiChoice and WBD

ALSO READ: Canal+'s MultiChoice and Warner Bros. Discovery unable to agree on price for 12 TV channels and HBO content, won't lower subscription fees for DStv subscribers if channels are axed

Warner Bros. Discovery restructures into Global Linear Networks and Streaming & Studios

by Thinus Ferreira

On Thursday afternoon Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it's restructuring again, bundling its linear TV channel networks into one group known as Global Linear Networks, while keeping Streaming & Studios separate, as WBD reorganises its corporate structure from three groups into two.

The move from Warner Bros. Discovery comes half a month after Comcast announced in mid-November that it's getting rid of its traditional NBCUniversal pay-TV channels, carried by international pay-TV operators like MultiChoice's DStv, which it is selling off as its own company.

Warner Bros. Discovery in a Thursday afternoon corporate press statement says the corporate reorganisation, expected to be completed by mid-2025, "is designed to enhance its strategic flexibility and create potential opportunities to unlock additional shareholder value".

David Zaslav, WBD CEO, says "Since the combination that created Warner Bros. Discovery, we have transformed our business and improved our financial position while providing world-class entertainment to global audiences".

"We continue to prioritise, ensuring our Global Linear Networks business is well positioned to continue to drive free cash flow, while our Streaming & Studios business focuses on driving growth by telling the world's most compelling stories."

"Our new corporate structure better aligns our organisation and enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities across an evolving media landscape, help us build on our momentum and create opportunities as we evaluate all avenues to deliver significant shareholder value."

According to Warner Bros. Discovery, "the new corporate structure to enhance clarity and focus, with each division positioned to deliver on its specific strategic and operational objectives while executing on initiatives to further key priorities for consolidated Warner Bros. Discovery."

According to Warner Bros. Discovery, Global Linear Networks will be its linear television business that runs pay-TV channels like Discovery Channel, CNN International, TNT, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery (ID), TLC, Travel Channel, Animal Planet and Cartoon Network.

Streaming & Studios will be "a globally scaled streaming platform and storied film and entertainment studios with with a portfolio of the world's most-beloved intellectual property" like Max, Warner Bros. Mition Picture Group, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, and New Line Cinema.

Harry Potter series to debut in 2026.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Harry Potter TV series that will run for a decade just like Friends will likely start two years from now in 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery says.

WBD is creating the Harry Potter drama series for its Max streamer which isn't available in South Africa but promised last year that the show will be made available globally.

It means the show - like for instance Paramount Global's Halo made for Paramount+ which isn't in South Africa but was acquired for Showmax or Netflix's Orange is the New Black and House of Cards which went to M-Net before Netflix was locally available - will have to find another platform.  

It's still unclear whether M-Net (DStv 101) or MultiChoice's revamped streamer Showmax might be able to snag the as-yet-untitled series but like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon which was also from the WBD and HBO stable and went to M-Net, the show would be a big coup for whoever brings it to viewers in sub-Saharan Africa.

MultiChoice has existing deals with WBD and HBO in place for M-Net and Showmax making these the most likely outlet for the Hogwarts-set series.

In the company's 4th quarter earnings call on Friday, David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, said that "We've not been shy about our excitement around Harry Potter".

"The last film was made more than a dozen years ago. I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey Bloys (HBO boss) and Channing Dungrey (WBD TV boss), and we spent some real time with J.K. Rowling and her team. Both sides are thrilled to be reigniting this franchise."

"Our conversations were great and we couldn't be more excited about what's ahead. We can't wait to share a decade of new stories with fans around the world on Max. We're aiming for a debut in 2026."

WBD announced the Harry Potter TV series last year and promised that it would be a "faithful adaptation" of each of Rowling's seven Harry Potter books, stretching over a decade.

In a press release WBD said "Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally".

"We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way."

"Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years."

South Africa streamers roll-out: What the new Showmax means for Max, Paramount+ and Peacock.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice's revamped Showmax streamer will start its roll-out today, 23 January, in app stores as a new app that will carry the content from Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) - but that doesn't mean that the Paramount+ video streaming services won't launch in South Africa as a stand-alone, although it's now extremely unlikely that NBCUniversal's Peacock and WBD's Max will.

MultiChoice has retooled its Showmax streamer in partnership with Sky in the United Kingdom and Comcast's NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service which will make its official debut in app stores on 23 January.

Using NBCUniversal's Peacock subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) architecture to build a new Showmax after nine years to more effectively take on primarily global streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ on the African continent, the likelihood is now drastically dimming that NBCUniversal will launch Peacock as a stand-alone streamer in South Africa or across sub-Saharan Africa.

The same goes for Max (formerly HBO Max) from Warner Bros. Discovery.

Here is why:

1. Peacock

With Comcast's NBCUniversal and Sky content already baked into the new Showmax, it's becoming ever-unlikely that Peacock as a late-market entrant will unfurl its streaming plumage in South Africa since its content is now funnelled through Showmax.

In a sense, the new Showmax literally is Peacock, just with a different name and colours.

2. Max

 The likelihood that Max will launch as its own video streamer in South Africa is now also extremely dim. WBD hasn't made Max available in the United Kingdom - a very comparable market to South Africa - precisely because of Sky. 

And remember that MultiChoice operates a lot like Sky. Because of existing agreements with Sky's traditional pay-TV business, WBD is giving its content like Discovery channels shows and HBO content to Sky for its pay-TV channels like Sky Atlantic and for on-demand viewing and streaming.

Since WBD has similar deals with MultiChoice and M-Net in South Africa, that Discovery and HBO content from America will continue to be seen on linear TV like M-Net (DStv 101), on-demand on DStv Catch Up, and on streaming through the new Showmax.

There is a decreasing need now for WBD to launch Max - and take onboard the cost involved - in South Africa when it can reside as an "HBO" tile within the new Showmax carousel.  

Paramount+

3. But what about Paramount's Paramount+ which is also a late-market entrant?

Paramount is launching Paramount+ around the world as a so-called "hard bundle" as a streaming service it is making available in partnership with traditional pay-TV operators as it adds Paramount+ to conventional pay-TV packages. Indeed Paramount+ is available in the United Kingdom already, although Paramount also license content and pay-TV channels to Sky.

In South Africa - and indeed across sub-Saharan Africa - Paramount and Paramount Africa have been running traditional pay-TV channels on MultiChoice's DStv for years. 

Paramount has also made sought-after Paramount+ content like Halo available on Showmax, and indeed will continue to, like the second season of Halo, launching on 8 February, which will be available on the new Showmax.

At MultiChoice's media briefing for the new Showmax at its MultiChoice City headquarters in Randburg last Monday, Katherine Liu, executive vice president and COO of Paramount international markets, said "MultiChoice and Paramount have had a long and successful partnership for over 15 years and we have a long track record of working together to bring African audiences the best of our award-winning and globally beloved content".

"As a result, Paramount content is already available on Showmax but we are super excited to partner with you in this new launch and to participate in the streaming-for-Africa revolution."

"Africa is one of the most exciting and diverse places on Earth. You have some of the youngest and most engaging entertainment audiences anywhere and in Showmax we are confident that we have a partner that understands Africa and that can speak to the heart of local audiences in East, West, Southern and Central Africa."

"We can't wait to bring the best of Hollywood content and content from all around the world to Showmax customers, wherever you happen to be - whether it's at home or on the go."

Natalie Mdladla, Paramount Africa spokesperson, in a media query was asked for an update on Paramount+ launching in South Africa, and if Paramount+ would still launch as a stand-alone streamer if Showmax already carries Paramount content, but she didn't respond.

MultiChoice: Not the end of adding stand-alone streamers 

Besides its own Showmax and nowits new Showmax, MultiChoice already carries streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ on its decoders which will also be included on products like DStv Glass (a bespoke TV set with a decoder built-in) which is likely to launch towards the end of the year.

During the new Showmax media briefing, I asked MultiChoice whether the launch of the new Showmax - with WBD and its HBO content, and Paramount with its Paramount+ content - means that MultiChoice won't be adding further streamers as apps like Max and Paramount+ separately, and will now just funnel all their content through Showmax.

"No, that's not necessarily the case," Marc Jury, MultiChoice SA CEO and interim Showmax CEO said.

"This goes to the beauty of what we've got between DStv and Showmax and having them all under one family."

"There's a big plan internally of how we hunt as a pack where DStv is more on the aggregation side and I think you'll see a lot of that play out over the course of the next 12 months - I don't want to give away too much in terms of the announcements that will come there."

"So to answer your question, no."

Filming on season 2 of HBO's House of the Dragon to start in early 2023 as first season finale draws 9.3 million viewers in America.

by Thinus Ferreira

Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the first season finale on Sunday of its dragon fantasy series House of the Dragon on HBO and HBO Max reached 9.3 million viewers in the United States, making it HBO's most-watched series finale since the series finale of HBO's Game of Thrones.

Filming of the second season of House of the Dragon will start early next year.

The 9.3 million viewers for the first season finale is however lower than the 10.2 million viewers who watched the second episode of the first season in America - the first season's most-watched episode.

The viewership of the first season's second episode was slightly higher than the 9.99 million people who watched the season's debut episode in America.

The 9.3 million viewers of House of the Dragon's first season finale are the combined viewership tally of people who watched the linear broadcast on HBO, as well as three subsequent repeats, and also those who watched through streaming on its HBO Max streaming service. 

Ratings for the linear airing in South Africa of the finale on M-Net (DStv 101) on Monday where its shown at the same time as in America at 03:00 in the morning local time, and again during late prime-time, is not available yet and HBO Max has not launched and is not accessible in South Africa yet.

The series finale of HBO's Game of Thrones, also shown in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa on M-Net, netted 19.8 million viewers in America in 2019 for the conclusion of the 8th and final season.

Warner Bros. Discovery in its statement says that outside of America, House of the Dragon "has surpassed Game of Thrones season 8 making it the most-viewed HBO title ever in Europe, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan on an HBO streaming service".

House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin's 2018 novel Fire & Blood and is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, telling the story of the fall of House Targaryen.

Filming of the second season of House of the Dragon will start in early 2023 with the war between different houses, known as "the Dance of the Dragons", which will play out over the rest of the series, starting with the second season.

"We're so thrilled to see House of the Dragon catch fire with Game of Thrones fans around the world, as well as new viewers who are discovering the world of Westeros for the first time," said Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max, in a statement following the conclusion of the first season of House of the Dragon.

"Congrats to George R.R. Martin, (co-showrunners) Ryan Condal, Miguel Sapochnik and the whole House of the Dragon team on an incredible first season."

ALSO READ: HBO 'aggressively monitoring' and trying to scrub House of the Dragon's first season finale from the internet after thousands torrent and download an episode leak from EMEA region.

HBO 'aggressively monitoring' and trying to scrub House of the Dragon's first season finale from the internet after thousands torrent and download episode leak from EMEA region.

by Thinus Ferreira

The first season finale episode of HBO's House of the Dragon leaked on Friday and had been illegally downloaded and shared on torrent sites thousands of times by Saturday morning, three days before its linear broadcast is supposed to take place on M-Net (DStv 101) on Monday in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa.

HBO said that it was aware of the leak of the episode, is "aggressively monitoring", was trying to get it scrubbed from the internet, and that it appeared that the leaked episode came from the system of a distribution partner somewhere in Africa, the Middle East or Europe, known as the EMEA region.

"We are aware that the 10th episode of House of the Dragon has been posted on illegal torrent sites," HBO says in a statement.

"It appears to have originated from a distribution partner in the EMEA region. HBO is aggressively monitoring and pulling these copies from the internet."

"We're disappointed that this unlawful action has disrupted the viewing experience for loyal fans of the show, who will get to see a pristine version of the episode when it premieres Sunday on HBO and HBO Max, where it will stream exclusively in 4K."

In South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa HBO's House of the Dragon is shown on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, with M-Net which has a long-running licensing deal with Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO. 

Viewers are however not getting access to the behind-the-scenes companion show, The House that Dragons Built, which is a documentary series on the HBO Max streaming service chronicling the making of each episode and which has also been uploaded to torrent sites.

It is the second leak for House of the Dragon which also saw its first episode leaked online in August days before it had its linear TV debut, when thousands of people worldwide swarmed to pirate-watch the start of the series online with a pristine, high-definition (HD) 1080p, full surround sound version of the first episode that was shared, complete with an HBO logo in the top-right corner and enabled subtitling in various languages.

What is happening with HBO's House of the Dragon is similar to what happened with George R.R. Martin's latter seasons of Game of Thrones which all saw episodes being pirated before broadcast, including almost all of the episodes of the widely-panned 8th and final season which leaked online.

Game of Thrones was the most-pirated TV show of the year globally, for several years.

ALSO READ: HBO's House of the Dragon leaks online as pirate viewers in their thousands swarm to watch it before its linear TV debut.

Warner Bros. Discovery to combine HBO Max and discovery+ video streamers under new name, earliest South Africa launch in late-2024 or later.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africans will never get access to the global video streaming services HBO Max or discovery+, with these streamers now getting combined into one - with a new name - which will only be rolled out in South Africa in late-2024 or even later.

Warner Bros. Discovery is also going to keep more TV shows and content back it used to sell to channels like M-Net (DStv 101) to bolster its own streaming service, as it also scales back its content investment on linear TV channels available on DStv like Cartoon Network, to try and save billions of dollars.

The newly combined Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) released its second quarter earning report late on Thursday night and confirmed that HBO Max and discovery+, already available in the United States and other countries, will never see the light of day in South Africa as they're getting combined under a new name and "relaunched" next year.

South African consumers already have access to MultiChoice's Showmax, The Walt Disney Company's Disney+ since a few months ago, Netflix SA, Amazon Prime Video, VIU, TelkomONE, e.tv's eVOD and with the South African public broadcaster planning to launch its SABC+ in late-2022, and with Paramount also supposed to launch its Paramount+ in 2023.

On WBD's Q2 earnings call on Thursday night, JB Perrette, WBD CEO and president of global streaming and games, said HBO Max and discovery+ are getting combined and will relaunch first in America in 2023 under an as-yet-unannounced name.

"At the end of the day, putting all the content together was the only way we saw to make this a viable business," he said.

The newly combined streaming service will initially be focused on subscription-driven sign-ups, although it also plans to launch a cheaper ad-filled tier, similar to what Netflix and Disney+ plan to launch.

After the American launch in 2023, WBD will launch its new combined streaming service in Europe in ealy-2024, in Asia-Pacific countries in the middle of 2024, and then in other markets in late-2024. Africa and South Africa haven't been mentioned, meaning it would only get the service in either late-2024 at the earliest, or sometime from 2025.

Kids content cut

Warner Bros. Discovery also confirmed on Thursday night it's cutting back on kids content, with the company running children's channels like Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toonami which are available as linear TV channels across sub-Saharan Africa on traditional satellite pay-TV services like MultiChoice's DStv and StarTimes' StarSat.

On the earnings call, Gunnar Wiedenfels, WBD chief financial officer, said animation and kids content across both the streaming services and linear TV channels are getting cut back. 

He also mentioned that WBD is ending local content investment in international markets, putting a question mark behind some of the local investments the company has been making in content like CN to the Rescue on Cartoon Network Africa and My Cartoon Friend nominated for an upcoming SAFTA award in the Best children's programme category.

Gunnar Wiedenfels also mentioned that WBD is going to hit the pause button on new content licensing deals and that there will be a significant reduction in external content sales. 

M-Net in Africa and MultiChoice's Showmax have for instance benefitted for years from HBO output and content licensing and distribution deals to grab series ranging from Game of Thrones and the upcoming prequel House of the Dragon.

Warner Bros. Discovery sends its discovery+ documentary Trump: Unprecedented to the Discovery Channel in Africa.

by Thinus Ferreira

The eyebrow-raising new discovery+ documentary, Trump: Unprecedented will be shown in South Africa as a three-part series, starting on Sunday 24 July on the Discovery Channel (DStv 121) at 20:55, with interviews with the former American president Donald Trump and his family members during that country's 2020 presidential campaign, leading up to America's inauguration day of president Biden.

The 3-part docuseries from AJH Films and Alex Holder features never-before-seen footage of Donald Trump during the 6 weeks before the 2020 presidential campaign - as well as the reactions of him and his close family members to the outcome of the American presidential election.

Since Warner Bros. Discovery has not yet rolled out either its HBO Max or discovery+ video streaming services in South Africa or in sub-Saharan Africa, WBD is placing the docuseries on its linear Discovery Channel for the territory after it was released on discovery+ on 10 July in America and in other global territories.

Trump: Unprecedented got unparalleled access to America's White House and Donald Trump, including the last interview Donald Trump gave during this time inside the White House. 

Also included are unfiltered sit-down interviews with Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as insights from the journalists who covered the events as they have unfolded.