DSTV won’t show any more LGBTQ content in Uganda after new law

The South African based satellite cable television provider says it will abide by Uganda’s recently passed and signed Anti-homosexuality law (2023) which provides tough sentences for among others, promotion of homosexuality.

President Yoweri Museveni signed the law on May 26th, amid outrage from the international community, and threats for aid cuts to Uganda.

Answering queries from South African media, Multichoice said it will not broadcast any content that contravenes Uganda’s new legislation.

"MultiChoice takes into account all laws and regulations under which we are governed and aims to adhere to those set rules in the countries in which we operate," the company said.

"We are a business that enriches the lives of many people through film and television in our quest to remain Africa's best-loved storyteller."

The company however, declined to answer specific questions on how it intends to keep any LGBTQ content away from Uganda, given that their satellite transponder covers several other African countries.

Over the past few years however, Multichoice has been cutting down on LGBTQ content across the board over, amid rising anti-gay sentiment in parts of Africa.

For instance, In June 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery, which ran a Pride Month content line-up on its TLC channel in South Africa, kept this content away from the TLC channel version running across MultiChoice's other satellite transponders so that it wouldn't air in countries like Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.