TV with Thinus

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Press conference - Why Discovery Inc. launched it so quickly in South Africa after acquiring Scripps and Africa's growing importance as a pay-TV market among global content suppliers.

In a global pay-TV market that often moves with tectonic speed, TVwithThinus asked Discovery Inc. how it was possible and why it decided to roll out HGTV internationally and in South Africa so quickly after buying Scripps, and asked MultiChoice whether adding international channels quicker from global content suppliers signifies a growing importance on the South African and African region as a pay-TV market.

MultiChoice just added Discovery Inc.'s HGTV (DStv 177) with the TV channel's addition that comes literally weeks after being made available in Germany; and HGTV having launched in Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and a few other Southeast Asia countries just a few months ago.

HGTV will soon be launching in the United Kingdom, with South Africa that got it before Britain.

Discovery Inc.'s held a HGTV press conference at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town on the afternoon of Day 2 of the 3-day press tour for the channel's launch in South Africa, and TVwithThinus asked Discovery Inc. about the strategy behind HGTV's relative quick roll-out and expansion globally and why it's being done, and MultiChoice about how South Africa and Africa is now being perceived as a pay-TV region.

Amanda Turnbull, vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region, was one of the TV executive panellists at the HGTV press conference.

"In terms of the internationalisation, when Discovery Inc. and Scripps came together, there were some fantastic 'complementalities' if that's even a word," explained Amanda Turnbull.

"What Kathleen Finch (now Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer) and her team brought to us in the United States was absolute dominance of women in pay-TV every night of the week. Don't forget that we're a big global company, so what happens in America is important."

"So what the Scripps deal brought to us was huge scale and ownership of ratings in the evenings in key demographics. What it did for us internationally was that the Scripps team hadn't been at that point been as active as we had been internationalising."

"We do pride ourselves on being first and fastest since we've been internationalising the Discovery brands for the last 30 years. What that meant was there were huge opportunities because we are operating in 220 countries, so we have teams in the majority of places who know the market and know what's expected."

"So the idea is for us to internationalise the legacy Scripps TV channels as quickly as possible because we're on the ground and we can do that and we have the relationship. So that's what you're seeing now," said Amanda Turnbull.

"Even though it feels quick to you, it doesn't necessarily feel so quick to us but that's why I'm so proud. We have a very strong relationship with MultiChoice - it goes back to 1995, in 1997 we launched Discovery Channel in this market."

"Lee Hobbs (Discovery Inc.'s senior vice president for pay-TV and global brands for the EMEA region) and I have been working with Aletta Alberts (MultiChoice's head of content strategy) since 2007, so we go back a long way."

"And a lot of my fellow country managers across EMEA are really having helpful and useful conversations with their distributors around these fantastic brands, so it rounds out our portfolio really nicely in that real-life space."

"It adds more value to a distributor because there are these verticals that we can really serve now even more passionately. And you know, we didn't have food (Food Network) before, we didn't have HGTV before, we didn't have Travel before but it does complement what we had beautifully now."

"When you're in this real-life space this idea that you can be credible, authentic, expert in these verticals is really important. So it was a brilliant buy for us. To be honest, we learnt. When we acquired Eurosport we learnt what happens, when you acquire you have to be quick because we're publicly traded so there is an aspiration and there is an expectation from Wall Street."

"So we wanted to do it quickly and we wanted to move the brands forward," said Amanda Turnbull.

Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's head of content strategy, said "for most international suppliers Africa is a very, very important territory because we are still one of the few territories where you see the growth in pay-TV that we see".

"Although you read in the newspapers that DStv Premium is declining it's actually not declining to the rate that we thought. And nowhere in the world does a pay-TV operator grow by almost a million subscribers every year, and we're still doing those numbers."

"Even if we don't do a million and we do 800 000 it's still more than other global territories and it's not going to change overnight. Yes, the over-the-top (OTT) competitors are out there, but it's all additive. It's not this-or-that."

"As long as broadband is expensive and not everywhere, we've got a good five to 10 years before you'll see that real fast change happening in other territories."

"We see on average five TV channels a week; people who pitch to us international channels that people are making. I mean, it's difficult for me to say but you can ask my colleagues, I'll just tell you what suppliers tell us. They say South Africans are incredibly spoilt. We probably have the best of the best that is out there."

"There are maybe one or two things that we don't have but there isn't a lot out there. HGTV was one of them and there's maybe one or two others - because then you start running into repeats," explained Aletta Alberts.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer Kathleen Finch says HGTV 'is a channel tailor-made for people who love their homes - and there are a lot of those people'.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

Monday, July 29, 2019

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Will Discovery Inc.'s latest channel have local content? MultiChoice explains how it works with international third-party TV channels.

Flip or Flop South Africa? Home Town SA? Tiny House SA? Or what about Beachfront Bargain Hunt SA - will the new HGTV channel have local shows or local programming versions of American formats?

MultiChoice has added Discovery Inc.'s latest TV channel, HGTV (DStv 177) to its DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa, and one of the questions was whether HGTV will have local shows on it.

At Discovery Inc.'s HGTV press conference held at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town, Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's head of content strategy, was one of the TV executive panellists on the afternoon of Day 2 of the 3-day press tour for the channel's launch in South Africa.

She answered this question and gave more context about the strategy around local programming on international third-party channels.

"At MultiChoice we have local content channels and they do a very specific job for us, and our strategy is to do more local," she said.

"Then we also buy international channels because we want that exposure, we want to bring the best of the world here. Lifestyle channels is one case in point where we do often do a local format version if it works."

"For instance Come Dine with Me South Africa on BBC Brit (DStv 120) or Married at First Sight SA on Lifetime (DStv 131) - hugely successful. We see that when we do those formats, it gets up to four times the ratings sometimes just because people like to see a reflection of themselves."

"But then we have to be sure that it's a format that will actually work, and it doesn't mean that we are going to do a fully local version of that."

"For instance, when we did Come Dine with Me SA it was a specific decision that was taken not to take Dave Lamb's voice off, or to keep using the UK voice and the same humour with local people because that's often where these things fall flat."

"If you think about Food Network (DStv 175) and you think about Chopped, it's all about that presenter, and sometimes you just don't find that presenter locally but the local contestants are there."

"So I think it's a balance of that," explained Aletta Alberts.

"It is really important for us to have audiences see a reflection of themselves but you can't do it on everything."

"One last point I want to make about international content is that the reason why we can afford these third-party channels is because they get distributed everywhere."

"So when we make a TV channel, and it's just South Africa and people speak predominantly vernacular on it, it doesn't really travel that well and therefore it's really expensive. Whereas a channel like HGTV is sold in like 70 countries, and that makes it economically possible."

"So then, the next step then, is do you actually get enough advertising revenue or other revenue in order to do the local content?"

"In this case we're really lucky that Discovery Inc.'s HGTV for South Africa is a bespoke channel feed for us but sometimes you'll be sharing with the Middle East and they might have a bigger subscriber base so they kind of lead on the feed."

"So it's all of those things that you have to bring into the equation when you acquire an international channel."

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: HGTV in HD - why MultiChoice launched Discovery Inc.'s latest channel in high definition on DStv and the factors influencing what quality version a TV channel is launched and seen as.

MultiChoice added Discovery Inc.'s latest TV channel, HGTV (DStv 177) as a high definition (HD) channel straight out of the box - but not every channel is launched in HD and the majority of channels on DStv are still in standard definition (SD), with only some that have been upgraded from SD to HD over time.

So why was HGTV launched in HD, does it mean that all new TV channels that MultiChoice will be adding to DStv will be in HD immediately from launch, or did the context of the content influence the decision around HGTV?

This is one of the questions that TVwithThinus asked Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's head of content strategy, at Discovery Inc.'s HGTV press conference held at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town.

Aletta Alberts was one of the TV executive panellists on the afternoon of Day 2 of the 3-day press tour for the channel's launch in South Africa.

"It depends on whether at that specific moment we have capacity - satellite capacity in the sky - and depending on where we launch."

"Sometimes we might have capacity on IS20 - which is a satellite that sits over Southern Africa - but we don't have over Eutelsat 36B which sits over the rest of sub-Saharan Africa - that's the complication of it."

"Secondly, but actually most importantly, does the content lend itself to display HD in the best possible way? I think with HGTV this was a no-brainer," explained Aletta Alberts.

"Sometimes when we launch a regional channel it probably won't be in HD. It depends on the channel."

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: MultiChoice on why it decided to make HGTV available to DStv Compact subscribers as well: 'The content speaks to everybody'.

MultiChoice that originally earmarked the new HGTV (DStv 177) channel only for DStv Premium subscribers decided to make it available to DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers as well and says different viewers will be inspired by different programming on it because the HGTV content "speaks to everybody".

At Discovery Inc.'s HGTV press conference held at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town, Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's head of content strategy, was one of the TV executive panellists on the afternoon of Day 2 of the 3-day press tour for the channel's launch in South Africa.

Aletta Alberts, asked why HGTV was made available to Compact audiences as well and who DStv will be targeting with the channel, said that the channel will be catering to "females definitely, but as you know, in South Africa, there are different demographics and different things appeal to different people".

Aletta Alberts joked and said "If we're quite open about, DStv Compact is predominantly a black viewer, and DStv Premium is predominantly 50-plus, old, and white, and dying out - like me. But jokes aside, ultimately it's about a buddy system. It doesn't matter whether you're Compact or Premium, it's about we all want to live in a nice house. We all want our kids to be educated. We all want to have food on the table."

"It's often content like that that makes the biggest connection with the audience," said Aletta Alberts.

"I think everybody will take something different from it. Whether you're dreaming about something and just take a tip or inspiration from something, to people who do live in multi-million rand homes, I just think that it speaks to everybody."

"I do think that the tone and manner of HGTV are such that you're going to get a great reaction to it, even in the middle class viewing demographic."

Pairing people's passions
"What it means for Discovery, big picture, is pairing people's passion. When we say that it's not just corporate speak. We genuinely mean it, and we all feel very passionate about that," said Amanda Turnbull, vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region.

"The great thing with our channels is that you go very deep into these consumer verticals - whether it's on TLC and the 90 Day franchises, or on Discovery Channel it's Deadliest Catch or anything Alaska-involving, and then we also have Discovery ID which is one of our stickiest channels - 87-minute viewing time, Food Network, Travel - do what they say on the tins."

"We're serving these passionate audiences and they take it very seriously," said Amanda Turnbull.

"And to bring it into a South African context, we want to serve those passions, we're trying to facilitate them, and this positivity in television is important particularly. You want to take something good away from it."

"We're unashamedly pulling at heartstrings, but in a positive way. There's so much stuff going on and you do want a bit of escapism and that's what we provide."

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference: Ads on HGTV won't get in viewers' way, instead it will add to the viewing experience.

Discovery Inc. says that TV commercials on its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel in South Africa that was launched on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service won't get in the way of viewers watching shows but that ads placed in and during programming will actually add to the viewer experience, showing them what products and services are available to create what they're looking at on their TV screens.

Discovery Inc. held an executive press conference for the media, with Discovery Inc. executives and MultiChoice's content boss who attended. They took a wide range of questions during the afternoon of Day 2 of Discovery Inc.'s 3-day press tour for the launch of its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel in South Africa.

HGTV was added on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers.

At the press conference held at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town, Amanda Turnbull (vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region) said that HGTV already has South African advertisers who jumped at the opportunity to be involved with HGTV and to be seen on the home and garden TV channel.

"Normally in this market you need to have the ratings first and then you can sell."

"But what we've done this time round is put together what we call 'pioneer packages'. So we've got 5 partner advertisers who've come straight on with us on HGTV - Dulux, which is truly a great one, OUTsurance, the tile company CTM, HomeBid and then interestingly South African Tourism," said Amanda Turnbull.

"The point with HGTV is - clearly it's a great space for endemic advertising. We're learning from Kathleen Finch (Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer), in terms of global best practice, is the idea of 'let's create something special for the advertiser'. We're not that interested in 30-second spots - clearly there will be some - but we are more interested in saying 'Okay, what can we put together for our advertising partners' because when you're watching HGTV, you actually want to know about these products because you're in the market for that."

"It's all part of this 'information exchange' - that's what makes it so nice," said Amanda Turnbull.

"I think that rather than the ads getting in the way, these ads viewers see as an add to their experience. That's why we want to work with our advertisers to create content that will work."

Kathleen Finch said "the other thing that makes it such an interesting proposition for our advertising clients is that all of our talent are experts. We don't have actors, we don't take someone who was a comedian last week and now he's a home improvement expert. They're all experts."

"So to put those experts together with a brand it adds credibility, it adds authenticity, and brands will often pay a premium to be involved with this expert talent and it really does work for both sides of the equation."

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Executives press conference opening remarks: 'HGTV is going to be both inspirational and aspirational'.

Left to right: Aletta Alberts, Kathleen Finch, Amanda Turnbull

Discovery Inc.'s new HGTV channel in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service will be both inspirational and aspirational, said Discovery Inc. and MultiChoice executives in their opening remarks at the HGTV press conference.

Discovery Inc. held an executive press conference for the media, with Discovery Inc. executives and MultiChoice's content boss who attended and who took a wide range of questions during the afternoon of Day 2 of Discovery Inc.'s 3-day press tour for the launch of its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel in South Africa.

HGTV was added on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers.

Held at the Table Bay hotel in Cape Town where Discovery Inc. executives, as well as the media from across South Africa and the Middle East, stayed for the press tour, the always wonderful Lee Hobbs (Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region) served as moderator.

Fielding questions from the press were the extremely capable and experienced, well-versed and knowledgeable TV executives (and an all-women panel!) Aletta Alberts (MultiChoice's head of content strategy), Kathleen Finch (Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer), Amanda Turnbull (vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region) and Tatiana Lagewaard (vice president of lifestyle and pay-TV production for the EMEA region).

Amanda Turnbull in her opening remarks said "We are delighted to bring HGTV here. We have such a huge channels portfolio (here) already. I think it's really important how we make sure that this portfolio is complementary because we need to cycle viewers around TLC, ID, Food Network and now HGTV".

"In theory, it's the same sort of demographic but in reality it's all slightly different. We're going to get very targeted. We're going to think about the daypart strategy, but the idea is with us, with our networks it is all about real-life entertainment."

"So if you like real television - and in this South African market everybody watches an enormous amount of TV - you want a trade-off. If you give your time to TV you want something tangible back in return and that's what we do. That's why people really love us."

"Specifically with HGTV, it's going to be both inspirational and aspirational," said Amanda Turnbull.

"We will give people ideas that they can potentially use, but at the same time it is entertainment and it's inspiring. It's also real people. There's always a sense of jeopardy. Will this person make it? So that's what we want to bring into the portfolio. It's going to be more great stuff."

Aletta Alberts in her opening remarks said "I think HGTV is a great brand because it's the one thing we were missing, home and garden - especially garden. People are very interested in gardening and they often ask us for gardening programmes".

"The most important thing for me is how you can migrate audiences within these brands now, because you can cross-promote, and that for me is the great thing. You don't have to lose the audience, they can stay there within the cluster," said Aletta Alberts.

"What is really, really amazing is that we see demographics that you would not expect on these channels - kids for instance. So all of a sudden they get very involved in this and we would see the kids genre losing audience and going to channels like TLC and makeover type shows which is really interesting".

Kathleen Finch, in America described as the "Queen of cable TV", in her opening remarks said "HGTV is real people, doing real things. A lot of our shows appeal to the entire family because you watch it and an interesting process unfolds".

"It's a cool before-and-after makeover, its tools, its paint, it's people moving in and out, it's earthmovers putting trees in. So HGTV is fun to watch as a family, it's very family-friendly which is something that's very important to us."

"We take great pride in the fact that your 5-year old can come into the room while mom is watching and you never have to change the channel. Ever. We're so proud of the quality of our content. HGTV teaches you, it inspires you, it never offends you. And all of our shows have a wonderful, happy ending and that's on purpose," said Kathleen Finch.

"We know that our target audience - which is a working mom - she's been working all day, she comes home, she makes dinner for her family, and she sits down and it's her time, and she wants to relax with something that is going to entertain her but it's also going to teach her something."

"We've also opened it up so much that she's watching but her husband walks into the room - he's sees something interesting, and he watches as well. So we created this really robust family viewing opportunity for people and you can watch it without any guilt because you are learning something. But you also love to see the story unfold with an ending that sometimes surprises you, but it always makes you feel good."

Tatiana Lagewaard in her opening remarks said "what's really important is that we worked really closely with Kathleen Finch and her team in the United States, because firstly they have so much experience of the brand and they know all the in's and out's with all of the data they have from viewers already".

"So we worked really closely with them to work out the schedule that really caters to the viewer. We have marathons where people can binge-watch and where they can stay on HGTV for hours and we also have themed nights, so we make it easy for viewers for instance on Mondays it's a certain type of shows, on Sundays it's another type of shows".

"We make it really easy for viewers to recognise what content they can see on HGTV on what night."

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 9 photos of HGTV's terrific 'Toolbox' lunch.

The media munched like Bob the Builders on a lovely lunch during the afternoon of Day 2 of Discovery Inc.'s official media launch event as part of a 3-day press tour for its new HGTV (DStv 177) channel.

HGTV was added on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers.

After the morning's official media launch presentation on Day 2, the Cape Town-based events solution company Show Works, that used one of the large sound stages at Waterfront Film Studios, replaced the space taken up by the white chairs in rows in front of the HGTV presentation stage, with long wood tables.

Media, clients, ad buyers as well as MultiChoice and Discovery Inc. executives sat down for lunch and got wooden toolboxes as goodie bag take-home gifts filled with snacks, besides the array of delectable platters filled with food for a finger lunch that were also on the tables.

The invited guests were told that they don't need to eat what's in their respective toolboxes and should take those home, which included ginger beer, a gourmet baguette, dried fruit and a pack of macaroons.

The corner of the sound stage for the HGTV media launch included an open bar area, serving an array of drinks, including wine and champagne, while tables had salads, a selection of cheeses and cold meats, fruit, bread and condiments.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: MultiChoice's content boss Aletta Alberts says Discovery Inc.'s new HGTV channel will do well on DStv because 'HGTV fits so well with South African consumer culture'.

Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's content boss, says she believes that Discovery Inc.'s new HGTV (DStv 177) that was just added to MultiChoice's satellite pay-TV service in South Africa will resonate very strongly with local viewers since HGTV's channel proposition fits in very well with South African consumer culture.

Discovery Inc.'s HGTV channel has been added in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, and DStv Compact subscribers.

Aletta Alberts flew to Cape Town, South Africa, for the official South African media launch event of the HGTV channel, where she addressed the press during the official presentation. She also did a press conference session with the media later during the afternoon.

"I think HGTV is just going to go from strength to strength. We're so happy to welcome HGTV on DStv," said Aletta Alberts during the official presentation.

Discovery Inc. now has 8 TV channels on MultiChoice's satellite pay-TV platform.

"When we go and do - we are like this horrible people, we do 'channel reviews' for those of you who don't know, a 'horror of horror' for everybody - but it's actually just a good way of making channels even better, bringing the repeat rates down; and we're very happy that there's so much new content on HGTV," joked Aletta Alberts.

"Having said all of that, you know that at DStv our big aim in life is to be the most-loved, number one African storyteller on the continent while we still bring the best home. I think HGTV is an absolute example of that."

"HGTV is the number one pay-TV channel in the United States and I've got no doubt that HGTV will within weeks be the number one channel on our platform - not only I think in the lifestyle channels section but I see this as a complementary channel in every single DStv bouquet where we're going to put it."

"HGTV has to deliver for us because we know there's a huge amount of viewing time spent in this territory," said Aletta Alberts.

"When I look at HGTV it's just so visually spectacular. Really Kathleen Finch (Discovery Inc.'s chief lifestyle brands officer) you've done a fantastic job on this channel. HGTV fits so well with South African consumer culture."

"Whether it's a very expensive home or something humble, it doesn't mean it has to be a R20 million house for it to look amazing. We all know as Africans we are incredibly creative. So while some of the shows might seem familiar because it has been licensed to other channels before, you will not see any old seasons of any of those shows on HGTV, it will all be the latest and the greatest."

"It's 800 new hours a year which is phenomenal for a channel like this - a very rich entertainment channel; most channels don't have this amount of hours. Therefore we know this is going to be just incredible and viewers are going to love HGTV," said Aletta Alberts.

"This is what makes people dream and save up. We know when we go out shopping on Saturdays you see lots of people buying DIY things. It's really become such a big part of our culture."

"From MultiChoice and DStv to everybody at HGTV, thank you for being a part of our vision to be Africa's number one entertainment platform and thank you for giving us this incredible, real characters."

"That is what Discovery Networks is really known for. When you go to their upfronts and you meet the people who are presenters or cast, these are real people - people with real businesses. And whether it's Honey Boo Boo or Deadliest Catch or Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss, what you see on screen is exactly who they are and that's why they're so successful," said Aletta Alberts.

"So as I always say, especially to my friends in the media, if they do it well, write about that. Tell everybody. Post on social media because we want to tell people. We want you to recommend it to your friends and everyone who might be interested in this channel."

"But also if we do things that you think we don't do well, also tell us, because ultimately for us it's all about the customer and we need to make sure that the customers get the best value, and launching HGTV I really, really think they're going to get great value."

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.

HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Discovery Inc.'s Africa boss Amanda Turnbull says new channel HGTV on DStv is about real people but also aspirational, 'which is why we fought really hard to have it on Compact as well so more people can see it'.

Discovery Inc.'s new HGTV (DStv 177) channel on MultiChoice's DStv would originally only have been available on the most expensive DStv Premium package but because the channel is about real people entertainment but also incorporates an aspirational element, Discovery Inc. executives negotiated hard with MultiChoice to make HGTV available on some of its lower-tiered packages as well.

Discovery Inc.'s HGTV channel has been added in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service for DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, and DStv Compact subscribers.

Discovery Inc.'s Africa boss, Amanda Turnbull, who is the vice president and general manager at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region, flew to South Africa from Dubai for the South African media launch event of the HGTV channel, where she addressed the press during the official presentation.

Amanda Turnbull said "What we try to do at Discovery Inc. is this concept of real-life entertainment but with HGTV it's a bit of aspiration as well. That's why we're so glad that we're in the DStv Compact tier and above".

"Originally HGTV was only going to be a DStv Premium channel and we fought really hard ... we discussed ... to have it in DStv Compact so that more people can see it."

"It's not really about how much money you have. It's about your eye, and your pride and what you want to do to your home. So HGTV is here and we hope that we will inspire and entertain at the same time."

"What excites me in this market particularly about HGTV is the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours of new content we have. It's the fact that we can serve up to the South African market so much brand-new content."

"Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's head of content and strategy, has been a true champion of HGTV and I genuinely feel that without her internal championing we wouldn't be in this position today, so I really just want to say a heartfelt thank you to her," said Amanda Turnbull.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 1: IN PICTURES - 37 photos of HGTV's beautiful cocktail party at sunset at the infinity pool of a Upper Clifton mansion in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: IN PICTURES - 29 photos of HGTV's official South African media launch event presentation.

ALSO READ: HGTV DStv channel launch Day 2: Lee Hobbs, Discovery Inc.'s global brands boss for EMEA, says HGTV channel will bring 'loads of new and unseen content' to South Africa.