Catholic Church Faults DStv On Suspension Of Channel

THE Catholic Church in Nigeria has faulted suspension of EWTN, a channel that broadcasts activities of the Catholic faith, from DStv's bouquet.Head, Corporate Communications MultiChoice Nigeria/DStv, Segun Fayose, however, said the action was not arbitrary. Speaking with The Guardian via telephone, he described the suspension as research-oriented and guided by profitability of subscriber base.In a statement signed by the Director, Social Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Msgr. Gabriel Osu, the Church described the suspension as uncalled for and regrettable and vowed to challenge the action.Similarly, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, in a statement signed by Most Rev. Emmanuel Ade Badejo, Chairman, Directorate of Communications of the CBCN, described the suspension as discriminatory.'In the last two weeks, Bishops' offices in Catholic Dioceses across Nigeria have been besieged with calls from faithful who hitherto had been able to receive EWTN on your DStv bouquet in Nigeria.'Upon investigation, we found that DStv had decided to suspend this channel to the greatest bewilderment of thousands of your subscribers for whom EWTN had become their family and faith channel. We have received reports that EWTN, which by the way, was the only Catholic channel on your service, is the only religious channel that has been taken down.'While describing as false the assertion by DStv that the channel was unpopular, judging by the high volume of complaints received from Catholics against the suspension, the Church urged DStv to review its suspension of EWTN and give back the millions of starved Christian households opportunity of continually nourishing their faith at the earliest possible opportunity.In a statement on the August 31, 2012 termination of the channel, the management of DStv had stated: 'The channels (EWTN and NN24) are being terminated to make space for new channels. MultiChoice considers a number of key factors when assessing the viability of a channel on the platform. These include the channel offering within the context of similar channels in that genre, the cost of distribution, subscriber feedback and the number of viewers and popularity of that channel.
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