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Television

The End of the Long War: MultiChoice and eMedia's Settlement

2024-11-28

In a significant turn of events, the long-standing legal disputes between South Africa's two major independent broadcasters, MultiChoice Group and eMedia, have seemingly reached a conclusion. All legal actions have been halted, and the two entities have chosen to settle privately.

"South Africa's Broadcasters Settle Amicably, Ending Legal Battles"

Section 1: The Initial Disputes

A note within eMedia's half-yearly results, issued on November 25th, revealed that the two commercial broadcasters had reached an agreement regarding two key disputes. One was over MultiChoice's removal of four eMedia channels from DStv in May 2022. The other pertained to DStv's sidelining of eMedia's Openview platform in a sublicensing agreement with pub-caster SABC for the 2023 Rugby World Cup matches.These disputes had led to significant legal fees for eMedia. However, in September, the matter was satisfactorily settled between the parties.

Section 2: Legal Proceedings and Tribunal Battles

Both MultiChoice and eMedia had frequently appeared before the nation's Competition Commission and its Competition Tribunal. Each side's lost arguments often resulted in statements promising escalations of the spats. But now, the end result is that four of eMedia's popular channels, namely eExtra, eMovies Extra, eMovies, and eToonz, are once again being transmitted on the DStv platform after being removed previously.In April this year, the Competition Tribunal granted interim relief in favor of eMedia. It prohibited MultiChoice, including its subsidiary SuperSport, and the SABC from including restrictions that would prevent the SABC from transmitting or making available sublicensed broadcasts on platforms owned or operated by eMedia through Openview in their sublicensing agreements related to sporting events.

Section 3: The Settled Disputes

The terms of the settlement between MultiChoice and eMedia are confidential. However, it is confirmed that the litigation between them has been amicably settled. eMedia agreed and stated that the issues between the two parties have been "satisfactorily resolved by agreement," bringing an end to the legal proceedings."We have entered into a confidential settlement agreement on the matter. We are very pleased with the outcome," added eMedia.This settlement not only resolves the immediate disputes but also marks a significant milestone in the relationship between the two broadcasters, potentially paving the way for a more harmonious coexistence in the South African broadcasting landscape.