M-Net

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M-Net is also the name of a computer bulletin board service operated by Arbornet in Ann Arbor, Michigan.


M-Net
Launched	1986
Owned by	Naspers (60%) Johncom (40%)
Slogan	Where magic lives

M-Net (originally an abbreviation for Electronic Media Network) is a subscription-funded television channel in South Africa, established in 1986 by a consortium of newspaper companies, including Naspers.

Similar to Canal Plus in France, 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 shows some programmes 'free to air' in its "Open Time" slot between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.. This time slot will close in April 2007.

In the early 1990s, M-Net added a second channel on the analog service (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.

1 History
- 1.1 The Early Years (1985-1989)
2 Programs
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] The Early Years (1985-1989)

In 1985, an initiative was launched by Naspers - South Africa's media network - to develop a pay-television service in the country. The initiative was led by Koos Bekker, one of Naspers' directors. Although the South African press was overall skeptical about the idea, the plan was seen through by Naspers and in October, 1986, M-Net started broadcasting for 12 hours a day. At that time, it was only the second pay-TV service outside of the United States..^[1]

Although it was subscription-based, the Broadcasting Authority granted M-Net 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.

Although M-Net failed to meet many of its targets during the first year, the company pushed forward and eventually, the public started taking notice. It was the first television network in South Africa (and still the only one) to broadcast movies free of any commercial breaks. In 1988, the channel launched Carte Blanche, a multi-award winning actuality program hosted by TV legends Derek Watts and Ruda Landman (Tim Modise also joined the crew in recent years). Over the 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. Originally only a regular sports time slot on M-Net, SuperSport was relaunched in 1992 as a stand-alone brand and eventually a company on its own. One of SuperSport's greatest breakthroughs came in 1995, when it secured exclusive broadcasting rights of rugby in South Africa. Soon, more exclusive rights came SuperSport's way, including Formula One, all the tennis and golf majors, MotoGP and boxing. It also became famous for its dedicated broadcasting of the Olympic Games (during which eight channels are usually reserved for live events) and the Sun City Million Dollar Golf Challange (for which nine channels are reserved annually).