M-Net
Encyclopedia
M-Net is a subscription-funded
television
channel in South Africa
, established in 1986 by Naspers
.
The channel offers a mix of general entertainment, children's programmes, sports and movies, most of which are acquired from overseas but some are also locally produced. While the TV signal is generally encrypted, M-Net showed some programmes 'free to air' in its "Open Time" slot between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., until the slot closed on 1 April 2007.
In the early 1990s, M-Net added a second analog channel called Community Services Network (CSN), and began digital broadcasting via satellite
to the rest of Africa
, via its sister company MultiChoice
.
With the introduction of MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite TV service, DStv
, in 1995, several different channels have been created to complement the original M-Net terrestrial channel.
M-Net launched its subscription based Web TV
service in August 2005 under the name KuduClub. The service operated in unison with the premiere of the Idols South Africa 3
series. The service hosts all of its channels described above, excluding DStv, plus exclusive content.
In October 1986, they started broadcasting for 12 hours a day, to about 500 households who had bought decoders. (Their aim at that stage was to sell 9,000 decoders per month.)
Although it was subscription-based, the Broadcasting Authority granted them a one-hour time slot each day, in which the channel could broadcast unencrypted, free-to-air content, in order to promote itself and attract potential subscribers. This time slot became known as Open Time, but was only meant to be temporary — M-Net was supposed to close Open Time immediately when it had 150 000 subscribers.
At the end of its first year, they recorded a loss of R37-million. However, it pushed forward and eventually, the public started taking notice. After two years, the loss was turned into a R20-million profit. In 1988, the channel launched Carte Blanche
, a multi-award winning actuality program hosted by Derek Watts and Ruda Landman. In only a few years, Carte Blanche
became famous for its cutting edge and fearless investigative journalism. In the process, the show also uncovered many of South Africa's most famous scandals of human rights abuse, corruption and consumer affairs.
1989 saw the launch of M-Net SuperSport, which went on to become South Africa's first dedicated sports channel.
When the channel originally started broadcasting "Open Time" in 1986, it was for two hours a day, from 5pm to 7pm.
Egoli
, which started in May 1992 and ended in April 2010. However, they began re-broadcasting BBC World Service Television
(now BBC World News) that same year.
M-Net SuperSport changed its name in 1994 to SuperSport only, in order to create a more unique brand. During that year it broadcasted live coverage of South Africa's test cricket series in Australia for the first time. At the same time, Hugh Bladen and Naas Botha - two of the channel's most colourful rugby commentators — joined SuperSport. By that time, its sports coverage became very impressive, including the US Masters, the FA Cup
Finals, the Indy 500, the US PGA Championship
, Wimbledon
, the Tour de France
, MotoGP and an ever-expanding rugby package. In 1995, SuperSport started broadcasting 24 hours per day on M-Net's spare channel, the Community Service Network, which paved the way for a 24-hour multi-channel sports network. When rugby became a full professional sport in 1995, most of the broadcasting rights in the Southern Hemisphere were sold to Rupert Murdoch
's News Corporation
. In response, they started negotiating with NewsCorp in August 1995 and in February the following year, SuperSport was granted sole broadcasting rights to both the Super 12 and Tri Nations rugby tournaments. It was a major breakthrough for the channel as well as SuperSport, which had by now expanded to channels on DStv
, Multichoice's satellite TV
service.
Premium General Entertainment Channels
Premium general entertainment channel featuring premiere movies, series, live sport and children's programs.
Premium movie channel featuring first-tier movies.
Premium movie channel featuring second-tier movies.
Movie channel.
Premium general entertainment channel featuring movies and premiere series with a strong focus on men and the action genre.
Premium series channel featuring premiere series as well as classic series.
Premium Afrikaans language general entertainment channel with series and information programs.
Premium general entertainment channel featuring premiere and classic series with a strong focus on the youth.
General entertainment channel featuring South African and African series and movies.
General entertainment channel featuring African and 2nd grade international content, as well as Poker tournaments.
General entertainment channel featuring African language content.
General entertainment channel featuring African language content.
Music channel with a strong focus on the Hip-Hop and Urban music genres.
Afrikaans
and Zulu
children's channel aimed at babies and toddlers.
Afrikaans music channel with a strong focus on the Rock and Alternative rock music genres.
High Definition (HD) (HD 1280x720p/1920x1080i) M-Net Channels:
Premium general entertainment 720p HD channel featuring premiere movies, series, live sport and children's programs.
Premium movie 720p HD channel featuring simulcast content from M-Net Movies 1.
Pay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
channel in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, established in 1986 by Naspers
Naspers
Naspers is a South Africa-based multinational media company with principal operations in electronic media and print media Naspers is a South Africa-based multinational media company with principal operations in electronic media (including pay-television, internet and instant-messaging subscriber...
.
The channel offers a mix of general entertainment, children's programmes, sports and movies, most of which are acquired from overseas but some are also locally produced. While the TV signal is generally encrypted, M-Net showed some programmes 'free to air' in its "Open Time" slot between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., until the slot closed on 1 April 2007.
In the early 1990s, M-Net added a second analog channel called Community Services Network (CSN), and began digital broadcasting via satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
to the rest of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, via its sister company MultiChoice
MultiChoice
MultiChoice is a South African company which operates the DStv satellite television service, the main satellite TV service in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was formed out of the subscriber-management branch of the M-Net terrestrial pay TV company, and broadcasts the full range of M-Net channels on the...
.
With the introduction of MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite TV service, DStv
DStv
DStv is MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite TV service in Africa, launched in 1995. It operates from two satellites over Africa, broadcasting on Ku band via Eutelsat W7 and Intelsat 7 , which only requires a small satellite dish...
, in 1995, several different channels have been created to complement the original M-Net terrestrial channel.
M-Net launched its subscription based Web TV
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
service in August 2005 under the name KuduClub. The service operated in unison with the premiere of the Idols South Africa 3
Idols (South Africa)
Idols is a television show on the South African television network M-Net, based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in South Africa....
series. The service hosts all of its channels described above, excluding DStv, plus exclusive content.
The Early Years (1986-1989)
The idea of a pay-TV network in South Africa came to life in the mid-1980s, when Nasionale Pers (Naspers) - headed by executive Koos Bekker — started to promote the idea to the country's other three largest media corporations: Times Media Ltd (now Avusa/BDFM), Argus (now the Independent Group) and Perskor (which is now defunct). The newspapers and magazines published by Naspers had lost a lot of advertising revenue to the SABC after the arrival of television and for this reason, according to some sources, the National Party government wanted Naspers to run its own television network. Initially, the plan was for M-Net to be jointly owned by the four media corporations, with the Natal Witness also having a small share in the station. However, as time went on, the project became that of Naspers only.In October 1986, they started broadcasting for 12 hours a day, to about 500 households who had bought decoders. (Their aim at that stage was to sell 9,000 decoders per month.)
Although it was subscription-based, the Broadcasting Authority granted them a one-hour time slot each day, in which the channel could broadcast unencrypted, free-to-air content, in order to promote itself and attract potential subscribers. This time slot became known as Open Time, but was only meant to be temporary — M-Net was supposed to close Open Time immediately when it had 150 000 subscribers.
At the end of its first year, they recorded a loss of R37-million. However, it pushed forward and eventually, the public started taking notice. After two years, the loss was turned into a R20-million profit. In 1988, the channel launched Carte Blanche
Carte Blanche (TV series)
Carte Blanche, produced by Combined Artists, is the flagship magazine and actuality programme on M-Net, a pay-TV channel broadcasting in Southern Africa. Carte Blanche was launched in 1989 and broadcasts during prime time viewing on Sunday evenings....
, a multi-award winning actuality program hosted by Derek Watts and Ruda Landman. In only a few years, Carte Blanche
Carte Blanche (TV series)
Carte Blanche, produced by Combined Artists, is the flagship magazine and actuality programme on M-Net, a pay-TV channel broadcasting in Southern Africa. Carte Blanche was launched in 1989 and broadcasts during prime time viewing on Sunday evenings....
became famous for its cutting edge and fearless investigative journalism. In the process, the show also uncovered many of South Africa's most famous scandals of human rights abuse, corruption and consumer affairs.
1989 saw the launch of M-Net SuperSport, which went on to become South Africa's first dedicated sports channel.
When the channel originally started broadcasting "Open Time" in 1986, it was for two hours a day, from 5pm to 7pm.
Becoming a hit (1990-1996)
1990 was the first year that they made a profit and also the year that saw a few major changes for the channel. It launched K-TV, a daily time slot specialising in kids entertainment, and Open Time was expanded from the initial one hour per day, to two. They applied for a licence to broadcast news and the application was granted in December 1990. (Former State President P.W. Botha once claimed that "M-Net would not broadcast news as long as he was State President.") but during June 1991, they announced that it was putting its plans for news broadcasts aside and that, instead, more money would be invested in local productions, including South Africa's first local soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Egoli
Egoli: Place of Gold
Egoli: Place of Gold is a long-running bilingual South African soap opera which first aired on M-Net on 6 April 1992. South African television's first daily soap opera, on 3 December 1999 Egoli became the first South African television program in any genre to reach 2,000 episodes. As of 3 August...
, which started in May 1992 and ended in April 2010. However, they began re-broadcasting BBC World Service Television
BBC World Service Television
BBC World Service Television, often abbreviated to WSTV, was the name given to two of the BBC's international satellite television channels between 1991 and 1995. It was the BBC's first foray into worldwide television broadcasting...
(now BBC World News) that same year.
M-Net SuperSport changed its name in 1994 to SuperSport only, in order to create a more unique brand. During that year it broadcasted live coverage of South Africa's test cricket series in Australia for the first time. At the same time, Hugh Bladen and Naas Botha - two of the channel's most colourful rugby commentators — joined SuperSport. By that time, its sports coverage became very impressive, including the US Masters, the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
Finals, the Indy 500, the US PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, MotoGP and an ever-expanding rugby package. In 1995, SuperSport started broadcasting 24 hours per day on M-Net's spare channel, the Community Service Network, which paved the way for a 24-hour multi-channel sports network. When rugby became a full professional sport in 1995, most of the broadcasting rights in the Southern Hemisphere were sold to Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
. In response, they started negotiating with NewsCorp in August 1995 and in February the following year, SuperSport was granted sole broadcasting rights to both the Super 12 and Tri Nations rugby tournaments. It was a major breakthrough for the channel as well as SuperSport, which had by now expanded to channels on DStv
DStv
DStv is MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite TV service in Africa, launched in 1995. It operates from two satellites over Africa, broadcasting on Ku band via Eutelsat W7 and Intelsat 7 , which only requires a small satellite dish...
, Multichoice's satellite TV
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
service.
Channels
Standard definition (PAL 768x576/576i) M-Net Channels:Premium General Entertainment Channels
- M-Net:
Premium general entertainment channel featuring premiere movies, series, live sport and children's programs.
- M-Net Movies 1:
Premium movie channel featuring first-tier movies.
- M-Net Movies 2:
Premium movie channel featuring second-tier movies.
- M-Net Stars:
Movie channel.
- M-Net Action:
Premium general entertainment channel featuring movies and premiere series with a strong focus on men and the action genre.
- M-Net Series:
Premium series channel featuring premiere series as well as classic series.
- KykNETKykNetkykNET is a South African television channel, which broadcasts in Afrikaans. Owned by pay-TV operator M-Net, it was launched on the DStv satellite service in October 1999.-Programs:Some of the programs broadcast on kykNET:*DKNT*Trompie...
:
Premium Afrikaans language general entertainment channel with series and information programs.
- VuzuVuzuVuzu is a South African youth-oriented television channel produced by M-Net for sister pay television platform DStv.-History:The channel launched in mid 2009, replacing the popular M-Net channel, Go. This occurred during the second phase of the network's reshuffle of its youth channel offering...
:
Premium general entertainment channel featuring premiere and classic series with a strong focus on the youth.
- Mzansi Magic:
General entertainment channel featuring South African and African series and movies.
- Magic World:
General entertainment channel featuring African and 2nd grade international content, as well as Poker tournaments.
- Africa Magic:
General entertainment channel featuring African language content.
- Africa Magic Plus:
General entertainment channel featuring African language content.
- Channel O:
Music channel with a strong focus on the Hip-Hop and Urban music genres.
- Koowee:
Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
and Zulu
Zulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
children's channel aimed at babies and toddlers.
- MK:
Afrikaans music channel with a strong focus on the Rock and Alternative rock music genres.
High Definition (HD) (HD 1280x720p/1920x1080i) M-Net Channels:
- M-Net HD:
Premium general entertainment 720p HD channel featuring premiere movies, series, live sport and children's programs.
- M-Net Movies 1 HD:
Premium movie 720p HD channel featuring simulcast content from M-Net Movies 1.