Outrage at MultiChoice broken promise spells end for WildEarth on DStv - Andre Crawford-Brunt

WildEarth, a beloved channel on MultiChoice renowned for its captivating African stories and wildlife content, faces imminent removal from DStv. Having been a staple on MultiChoice for over three years, WildEarth has become a household name, entertaining and educating a global audience. Despite prior assurances from MultiChoice, the company has failed to uphold its commitment to fund WildEarth, prompting WildEarth’s decision to remove itself from DSTV at the end of April. In response to the decision, a petition has been initiated by a viewer to rally support for WildEarth, and a fundraising campaign has thus far managed to garner R4.7 million ($250,000) in just 72 hours. The Chairman of WildEarth, André Crawford-Brunt, said in an interview with Biznews that he hoped that MultiChoice would reconsider its stance and honour the earlier commitment it made to fund WildEarth. Without that, WildEarth can’t afford to stay on DSTV. Crawford-Brunt described it as a David versus Goliath scenario whereby WildEarth, with 72 people, is standing up to MultiChoice, a multi-billion rand company. He said MultiChoice purported to support local content and creative talent in South Africa and are prepared to pay for channels like National Geographic and Discovery, but not for great content from South Africa like WildEarth. This channel has enabled audiences to see a little piece of Africa from their couches, he said, and has grown over the past three years to become a household name. WildEarth is being “dismissed by a big corporate in a White Ivory Tower,” he said