MultiChoice South Africa has announced that it will launch a new channel called BBC UKTV on its satellite TV service DStv in mid-December, allowing customers access to various natural history, comedy, soap, and children’s shows.
The pay-TV operator said the new channel would be available on DStv Family, Access, and EasyView subscribers from Thursday, 15 December 2022.
Speaking on the new channel, MultiChoice’s executive head of general entertainment channels, Georginah Machiridza, said, “We have strengthened our partnerships, which has, in turn, strengthened our content offering; therefore, we are extremely excited to introduce BBC UKTV to our viewers.”
The addition of BBC UKTV marks the sixth BBC Studio channel made available on DStv, adding to its BBC Earth, BBC Brit, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies, and BBC World News channels.
It will broadcast shows including the long-running sitcom My Family, the British hospital-based soap Doctors, and Top Gear.
DStv’s existing BBC Studios channels will continue to run new programming, including Strictly Come Dancing, Frozen Planet II, Come Dine With Me South Africa, and Homegrown Tastes South Africa.
Openview announced that it would add BCC UKTV to its channel catalogue on 18 October 2022. However, the eMedia-owned broadcaster postponed the launch at the last minute.
“We are disappointed to announce that the much-anticipated launch had to be postponed. However, we are working on finalising the details for the channel,” Openview said at the time.
