The lying Nigerian pay-TV wannabe TStv finally backs off from its fake TV channel claims, its new reduced channel list no longer includes 10 beIN Sports channels with a dozen other channels also finally removed.

The lying Nigerian pay-TV upstart TStv (Telcomm Satellite TV) has finally stopped its fake claims of carrying and offering more than a dozen TV channels on its satellite pay-TV platform that it never had the rights to in the first place.

After a litany of lies, a string of broken promises and several false starting date announcements that all came and went since October, the Abuja based wannabe TV operator mired in a mess of its own making, is finally backing down from its continued theft and piracy of the signals and brand identities of a raft of TV channels it never had any authorised carriage contracts for.

TStv CEO Bright Echefu kept lying to Nigerian consumers even after TStv was exposed as being dishonest about marketing and promoting a pay-TV service with a collection of TV channels it never legally signed carriage deals for.

The beIN Media Group, Turner Broadcasting, Discovery Networks International, Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa), FOX Networks Group Africa and eMedia Investments all directly confirmed to TVwithThinus that none of them have any dealings or contracts with TStv.

The fly-by-night operator TStv lied and claimed it has 10 beIN Sports channels, CNN International, Investigation Discovery IDx, Discovery Science, Eurosport, MTV Base, National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Fox Life, FOX Sports, FOX Sports 2 and even e.tv's pan-African channel version eAfrica and eNCA.

The carriage of several more TV channels on TStv turned out to be lies - Fashion One, AMC Networks International's kids channel Jim Jam, Trace Africa, CBS Reality and Scripps Networks Interactive's Fine Living.

The truth is that TStv doesn't have any of these channels, and doesn't have the right to show any of these channels.

Shockingly, TStv kept lying after TVwithThinus and other media exposed the fraud, saying reports that the Qatar based beIN Sports channels won't be on TStv are "rumours" and that TStv has a carriage agreement.

TStv also kept lying and continued with the fake promise of telling Nigerian consumers that it will be showing sport like English Premier League (EPL), UEFA Champions League and other big international soccer tournaments.

These sports rights however MultiChoice Africa and SuperSport already acquired previously for sub-Saharan Africa in exclusive multi-year agreements stretching into the future to be shown on DStv and GOtv.

Now TStv has quietly done away with the beIN sports channels of which it illegally pirated the signals without making any announcement or saying why it is now dropping its fake claims.

After TStv was exposed for claiming and marketing a fake TV channel line-up on its website, TStv took down the list.

TStv has now put up a new channel line-up list without any of the stolen, pirated and fake-claimed channels.

TStv's latest culled channels line-up is greatly reduced from its former false claims and now offers a set of "Mama Africa" film channels in Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa; as well as a "Grande" branded series of channels ranging from Grande film channels like Grande Novella and Grande Bolly to Grande Series 1 and Grande Series Asia.

Kids channels listed on TStv are now only two: A1 Kids and A1 Kids Junior.

Music channels are gutted to Hits TV, Grande Gospel, Hits Africa and 360 Tune Box.

The lofty fake promise of a raft of beIN Sports channels has been replaced by 8 non-descript "Grande" sports channels named Grande Sports Highlights, Grande Sports 1 to 6 and a Grande Sports Entertainment channel.

Awkwardly, Nigeria's idiotic minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed has been quiet about the TStv fraud and widening scandal.

In October Lai Mohammed - clueless about the inner cross-continental workings governing content acquisition and channel carriage agreement contracts in the pay-TV industry - announced a 3-year "tax relief" that he's granting to TStv, not knowing that the wannabe pay-TV operator is making false claims and stealing content.

beIN Sports warns viewers of Nigeria's lying TStv pay-TV upstart pirating its signals that 'you are viewing beIN Sports content illegally' on TStv.

As the fraudulent Nigerian pay-TV upstart TStv illegally keeps stealing TV signals it has no right or contracts to, Qatar's beIN Media Group on Thursday night ran a conditional access (CA) bar notification on the pirated sport channels signal to tell TStv viewers that they're watching illegal content before the channels went black.

Dumb and foolhardy Nigerian consumers still believe Telcomm Satellite TV, that has now twice missed its own-set commercial starting dates that it announced and that came and went, that made shockingly fake claims about a litany of TV channels it doesn't actually have and won't since it has no carriage agreements with channel providers.

The lying TStv based in a green building in Abuja, Nigeria, with CEO Bright Echefu, keeps being dishonest to consumers.

beIN Media Group, Turner Broadcasting, Discovery Networks International, Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa), FOX Networks Group Africa and eMedia Investments all directly confirmed to TVwithThinus that none of them have any dealings or contracts with TStv.

The fly-by-night operator TStv lied and claimed it has 10 beIN Sports channels, CNN International, Investigation Discovery IDx, Discovery Science, Eurosport, MTV Base, National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Fox Life, FOX Sports, FOX Sports 2 and e.tv's pan-African channel version eAfrica.

The truth is that TStv doesn't have any of these channels, and doesn't have the right to show any of these channels.

TStv further lies by promising that it will show sports like English Premier League (EPL), La Liga and even the UEFA Champions League - sub-Saharan rights already signed and acquired by MultiChoice, MultiChoice Africa and SuperSport years ago and for years into the future in multi-year contracts.

It means that the pay-TV rights to several of these soccer tournaments are exclusive to DStv in sub-Saharan Africa and is not allowed to be broadcast on other pay-TV operators' services.

Further questions are swirling around channels like Scripps Networks Interactive's Fine Living, Fashion One, Trace's TRACE Africa, and AMC International's kids channel Jim Jam who are yet to respond whether they have carriage agreements with TStv as TStv claimed.

On Wednesday TVwithThinus again confirmed with beIN Media Group in Qatar that no agreement exists. 

beIN Media Group sent TStv a cease-and-desist letter in late-September but TStv has blatantly ignored it and continued to broadcast beIN Sports channels in Arabic - something it's not allowed to do.

On Thursday beIN started to run on-air notice bars telling TStv viewers watching beIN Sports channels that "you are viewing beIN Sports content illegally via TStv in Nigeria".

Shortly after the beIN Sports channels abruptly went black. TStv again lied to consumers, telling some that it was "hacked", that it's "engineers" are working on it and that TStv hopes to have the beIN Sports channels "back up soon".

Nigerian pay-TV upstart TStv misses its 2nd launch date on 1 November; now blames dealership accreditation delays, keeps lying to consumers about content.

The Nigerian pay-TV upstart, TStv has missed its second launch date of 1 November and is now blaming dealership accreditation, while it continues to lie to consumers about the content it will have on its platform and carriage agreements with channel distributors that it definitely doesn't have.

TStv (Telcomm Satellite TV) on Tuesday announced that it will again miss its self-imposed, pushed-out deadline of 1 November for a commercial launch - the latest abrupt delay coming after TStv retro-actively referred to its first hyped commercial launch on 1 October 2017 as a "ceremonial" launch.

On Tuesday TStv suddenly said that its commercial launch is being postponed indefinitely, without giving a new date.

TStv is now suddenly calling November another "test month" and says on its website that the few people who have decoders will now get "all our channels free-to-air for one month".

Further revealing the amateur and fake-trash nature of TStv, services, especially pay-TV services, do their "signal testing" long before the launch commercially, or announce a launch date.

"We are very conscious of the need to offer Nigerians value. That is why we have opened all our channels for free," TStv suddenly says now.

"All our channels are up and free-to-air for this period of test broadcast".

Subscription television content from pay-TV providers is not allowed to be shown free to air anywhere in the world due to encryption and digital video content rights issues - suppliers want their content protected - as well as issues regarding age and content restrictions for which channels must get proper licenses, usually from local broadcasting regulators.

Meanwhile Nigerian newspapers who don't have the ability to properly investigate TStv's channels and content claims, keep parroting TStv press statements and did so again on Tuesday, and are doing a disservice to Nigerian consumers.

Nigerian consumers remain largely unaware that the content and TV channels that TStv keeps promising won't be available, and that where some of it is, it is being illegally transmitted.

TStv blamed so-called "dealer accreditation" for the latest delay - as if TStv is required to have all dealerships properly accredited in bulk as one big group before it can start selling decoders.

It's a reason that doesn't hold water since pay-TV dealers - agents and street shop vendors who sell decoders - are never accredited in bulk, but on a one-by-one basis.

There's no reason why the agents and dealerships who have been accredited the past month - if any were - and those possibly accredited prior to October, shouldn't be operating and selling TStv decoders.

TStv latest abrupt "commercial launch" delay signals bigger and as yet unknown problems that are very likely besetting TStv and its CEO Bright Echefu behind the scenes of the Abuja-based pay-TV operator.

TStv in a statement on Tuesday said the latest indefinite delay is "to ensure the proper monitoring and evaluation of the signal strength and quality of channels and programmes nationwide" and that "the accreditation of selected dealers was ongoing in addition to the full branding of the dealers' outlets across the country in order to achieve uniformity and evenness in the sales of its decoders".

TStv said that while "accreditation of our dealers are still ongoing, commercial sale of decoders will not commence until the accreditation process is concluded".

TStv said "we are not unaware of our promise to commence full commercial sales and operations of TStv Africa on 1 November 2017 nationwide," and said "we seek your further understanding and support in this value driven course".

TStv keeps telling Nigerian consumers that its rumours and fake news that TStv does not have carriage agreements with the beIN Media Group to carry 10 beIN Sports channels.

TVwithThinus confirmed with beIN Media Group in Qatar that no agreement exists.

TStv keeps telling consumers that it will be showing sport like English Premier League (EPL), UEFA Champions League and other big international soccer tournaments.

These sports rights however MultiChoice Africa and SuperSport already acquired previously for sub-Saharan Africa, and in exclusive multi-year agreements stretching into the future.

Turner Broadcasting also confirmed that TStv has no deal to carry its news channel CNN International that TStv in October laid claim to.

Discovery Networks International also confirmed that TStv doesn't have any carriage agreement for the range of Discovery-supplied TV channels TStv in October claimed it will carry.

Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) and FOX Networks Group Africa (FNG Africa) both also confirmed that they have no channel dealings with TStv despite TStv claiming in October to carry some of their channels.

TStv in October claimed it will carry channels ranging from FOX Life, FOX Sports and Nat Geo WILD to even MTV Base. All of these channels said no contracts with TStv exist.

TStv in October also claimed in printed marketing and publicity materials - using channel logos and names - that it will carry channels like Fashion One and even AMC Networks International's kids channel Jim Jam - all channels that seem very unlikely to have contract agreements with TStv.

TStv in October also claimed that it will carry channels like eMedia Investments in South Africa's e Africa channel. eMedia Investments told TVwithThinus on Wednesday that "e.tv does not have an agreement with TStv to carry eAfrica. We are investigating the matter".

TStv also claimed in October that it will have Scripps Networks Interactive's Fine Living channel.

TStv for instance used a wholly-wrong, green leaf-type logo simply grabbed off of the internet that isn't remotely Fine Living's correct channel logo.


Angry consumer backlash starting
Despite little real information and reporting from the lame-duck Nigerian press that didn't do much to really probe TStv's fake promises and failed to contact content providers TStv said it had deals with, more and more gullible Nigerian consumers on Thursday finally started figuring out for themselves the murky mess of TStv's fake promises and lies.

TStv started to trend on Thursday in Nigeria as a consumer backlash against TStv started, and angry Nigerians wanted answers and started slamming TStv for its litany of false starts and fake promises.

"Your PR is poor. I can do better," said Adams Emmanuel.

"TStv tell us the truth, so it can set you free. What really is the matter?" asked Val. "Lies upon lies. No sale of any TStv decoder," said Agharandu Ugochukwu.

"You guys are just taking people for a ride," said Innocent Inedu. "Liars," said Kadri Akeem.

DAILY TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read from TVwithThinus - 20 October 2017.

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


■ France Got Talent abruptly suspended after judge accused of sexual harassment.
Judge Gilbert Rozon is abruptly gone, and the 12th season is suddenly suspended after 9 women accused him of sexual harassment.

■ Netflix and why the future of streaming video services looks like old-school TV.
The same flip side that is dragging down traditional pay-TV subscription TV providers will eventually also come for Netflix - here's why (and how).

■ German naked celebrity reality show set on a tropical island returns.
German rapper Farid Bang declined to appear saying his massive ding-dong would scare viewers.

■ Romance is dead in TV's new crop of dating shows.


■ British TV industry facing catastrophic consequences because of Brexit.
UK faces disastrous exodus of actors, directors, highly-skilled special effects technicians.
- Britain's TV bosses says harsh post-Brexit immigration rules will damage their biz.


■ Qatar hit by Egypt in a beIN sports rights fight.
beIN Sports dragged into the political fallout between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as Egypt's prosecutor-general drags beIN Media Group CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi into a commercial court case alleging "monopolistic practices" and allegedly violating Egyptian laws.
- beIN has cut off its beIN Sports channels from Nilesat, forcing subscribers of Egypt's Nilesat service to switch to the Qatar-owned Sohail service.


■ Trouble in New Zealand where Sky TV sheds 28 000 subscribers.
That's a massive - roughly 3% - drop for a year for (the/a) traditional pay-TV operator in New Zealand. Sky TV now has 824 782 subscribers in New Zealand left.

■ That thing was out of control!
MUST READ! Kate Mtsitouridze, the head of Russia's Roskino film body, is the latest woman to accuse the vile sexual predator Harvey Weinstein of shocking sexual harassment.
- Press junket in corridor outside his hotel room; wondered if she screamed, anyone would hear.

■ And yet another incident: Marisa Coughlan says predator Harvey Weinstein wanted sex in exchange for film roles.

■ MUST READ!: Lupita Nyong’o shares her shocking story of sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein and the conspiracy of silence.

■ The Weinstein Company staffers slam serial sexual predator Harvey Weinstein in open letter.
They're saying they didn't know they're working for a monster: "We are as angry and baffled as you are at how Harvey's behaviour could continue for so long".

■ BBC reporter Rajini Vaidyanathan says there was no cover up at the BBC when a married sex pest who sent her sexually explicit messages was fired within days.

■ Amazon Studios' top executives now under scrutiny after exit of alleged sexual harasser Roy Price.
Joe Lewis, head of drama and comedy development, and Conrad Riggs, head of unscripted, will likely be gone from Amazon Studios as well soon.

■ Advertising executives say they haven't personally witnessed sexual harassment on their sets.
Notice how the very bad WWD article only interviews male advertising executives.

■ MultiChoice Tanzania doing a special 2-day exhibition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of DStv Tanzania.
Will take place at the Mlimani City in Dar es Salaam and will be open to the public; pay TV-operator now has 5 regional offices throughout Tanzania.

■ Update on the SABC's editorial policy review process.
The SABC got over 200 submissions from the public by email and from the SABC's provincial offices. The SABC's Editorial Policy project team is currently consolidating the oral submissions from the provincial public hearings.

■ Nigerians are finally becoming wary of the new pay-TV operator TStv that failed to start with no decoders available.
TStv that lies about TV channels it doesn't have any carriage agreements and contracts for is seeing its "buzz deflate day by day".

The avalanche of TStv (bad) news continues as TStv abruptly moves its goalpost to 1 November; people can't buy decoders; TStv keeps lying over carriage deals and stealing content.

■ On Saturday TStv CEO Bright Echefu resurfaced to say that TStv will now suddenly only start its commercial service on 1 November after it launched a week ago on 1 October.
"Commercialization of our decoders will resume officially on 1 November". Meanwhile Bright Echefu again lies and says TStv has entered into agreements with Turner's CNN International and beIN Media Group's 10 beIN channels.

■ The ugly past of TStv CEO Bright Echefu.
now accused by Nigerians of "employing a con trick to snare potential TStv subscribers" with fake offerings.

■ A week after TStv's launch nobody can lay a hand on a TStv decoder with no date from TStv of when its decoders will be available.
While potential TStv customers are furious, TStv tells people that the unavailability of TStv decoders anywhere is "as a result of complaints of non-availability of dealer / retailer outlets in some areas and some dealers who are still in the process of accreditation" ... whatever that means.

■ Only dummies of TStv decoders were used for the "symbolic" unveiling at the first official 1 October launch that has now been postponed to 1 November.

- Is the white TStv decoder a set-top box or a freezer?
Nigerians mock the unavailable "Nitendo Game Cube" and are cautioned not to get high on TStv.

■ This green painted hub is TStv's head office in Abuja, Nigeria.

■ And TStv that doesn't respond to media enquiries has to douse the flames saying that no, those online adverts for TStv jobs are fake.

■ TStv has a (totally unrealistic!) target of 1 million TStv decoders in home in the first quarter.

■ An idiotic and uninformed Nigerian broadcast "expert" says TStv is "aiming to match" the content from MultiChoice and its amazing DStv offering.
Uhm. no. Not if you steal channels.

■ It's an uphill battle for pay-TV operators in Africa to make a dent against MultiChoice's DStv.
New Nigerian rival TStv is already lying to customers and stealing channels like CNN International and beIN Sports with content that it isn't authorised to have.