by Thinus Ferreira
The set of eMedia's e.tv TV channels
that MultiChoice wants to remove must remain on DStv for another couple of
months and possibly until the end of 2023, with MultiChoice still not allowed
to axe the eExtra, eToonz, eMovies or eMovies Extra channels after the
Competition Appeal Court granted eMedia a further extension.
South Africa's Competition Appeal Court
granted another extension for e.tv's channels to remain on DStv for the time
being, ordering MultiChoice to keep the four TV channels on DStv, until the
conclusion of the Competition Tribunal's latest decision on the drawn-out case.
After originally wanting to remove
eMedia's set of TV channels from DStv at the end of March 2022, MultiChoice was finally planning to axe eMedia's channels at the end of July 2023 as the latest
switch-off date in the e.tv-on-DStv-e.tv-off-DStv case which has been ongoing
for over a year.
After channel carriage renewal
negotiations broke down last year, MultiChoice decided that it no longer wanted
to continue carrying eMedia Investments' eMovies (DStv 138), eMovies Extra
(DStv 140), eExtra (DStv 195) and eToonz (DStv 311) TV channels.
MultiChoice did opt to keep – under a
separate agreement – the TV news channel eNCA (DStv 403) and e.tv (DStv 194)
also from eMedia, which includes the 7-days a week eNuus Afrikaans TV news
bulletin packaged by eNCA and supplied to M-Net's kykNET (DStv 144) and kykNET
& Kie (DStv 145) channels.
The four e.tv-packaged channels were
all set to go dark at the end of March 2022 on DStv but the Competition
Commission ordered MultiChoice to keep the channels for the time being until
the case was heard.
The Tribunal heard the case in April
2022 and dismissed it. MultiChoice dropped the e.tv channels at the end of May 2022.
MultiChoice told the Competition Tribunal
during hearings in April 2022 that it had satellite transponder capacity
constraints and that eMedia's TV channels didn't fit into its 5-year strategy.
eMedia showed that MultiChoice did have enough satellite capacity.
After MultiChoice dropped
the channels at the end of May 2022, eMedia then took MultiChoice to the
Competition Tribunal again when it immediately appealed the case. MultiChoice
was therefore ordered to immediately reinstate the e.tv channels for another few months pending the outcome of the appeal.
Besides DStv, the
e.tv channels are available on the eMedia-owned free-to-air satellite service
OpenView and with eExtra also carried on China's StarTimes operating as StarSat
in South Africa. The e.tv-packaged TV channels have been some of the most-watched
TV channels on DStv in South Africa.
A Competition
Commission investigation had been ongoing with eMedia alleging that
"MultiChoice's conduct constitutes an abuse of dominance in contravention
of the Competition Act". The Tribunal granted another extension order in
December 2022 for a further period of a maximum of six months.
After the last
extension granted by the Tribunal in December 2022, the eMedia channels would
have been removed from DStv at the end of July 2023. In June this year, eMedia
meanwhile asked MultiChoice directly for an extension or undertaking that it
would not remove the e.tv channels from DStv but MultiChoice said it wouldn't
agree to any such extension.
eMedia then again
sought urgent relief and once again asked for a further extension from
the Competition Appeal Court for its e.tv channels to
remain on MultiChoice's DStv.
The court has now
decided that MultiChoice must "maintain the status quo and is interdicted
from removing the following channels from the bouquet of channels on the DStv
platform of which they currently form part" while the Competition
Tribunal considers whether "a further extension of interim relief
can be legally justified".
TVwithThinus asked eMedia in late-July about the case with eMedia that said it had no comment.
ALSO READ: MultiChoice loses 4 eMedia channels from April, will continue to have eNCA and e.tv on DStv.
