Lifetime Set for DStv Launch

LONDON: The MultiChoice DStv pay-TV platform in South Africa is set to begin offering its customers access to Lifetime later this month.

Launching July 22, Lifetime joins HISTORY and Crime + Investigation in the A+E Networks portfolio in Africa. It will be available to all DStv Premium customers. The channel's lineup will include dramas, Lifetime original movies and factual-entertainment series. In 2015, it will begin airing some local commissions. Key shows for the network will include Dance Moms, Kim of Queens, 24 Hours in A&E and Preachers’ Daughters; acquired drama like Orphan Black; and movies such as A Day Late and a Dollar Short starring Whoopi Goldberg, Flowers in the Attic with Heather Graham and Betty & Coretta starring Mary J. Blige and Angela Bassett.

“The launch of Lifetime in Africa is exciting for us and marks a key moment in our continuing investment in this market," said Tom Davidson, the managing director of A+E Networks UK. "With a schedule packed with powerful stories, passionate people and addictive entertainment, we are confident that Lifetime will appeal to African audiences.”

Dean Possenniskie, managing director for EMEA at A+E Networks, added: “In less than two years we have launched Lifetime into more than 60 countries outside the U.S., and during 2014, we will add over 50 more. Lifetime brings a unique offering to DStv viewers, and we believe our new channel will play a leading role in the current African female-skewing pay-TV space.”