This extension of the contract, which was set to expire at the end of October, will ensure that viewers continue to enjoy their shows on History, alongside entertainment series on Lifetime.

Lifetime viewers will now be able to watch programmes including the premiere of Heartbreak Island, new seasons of Married at First Sight and the upcoming series Surviving Jeffery Epstein.

History fans can anticipate new seasons of favourites including Curse of Oak Island and Forged in Fire, as well as factual series such as Watergate and Rise of the Superbombs.

"We are excited to have reached this agreement as it allows us to ensure [that] we meet our commitment to getting the best programming for our customers, based on commercial terms that make sense and provide a value for money offering to customers," says Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice Group CEO for general entertainment.

"We are pleased that Lifetime will also now be available to our Compact customers from Friday, 1 November," adds Phahle. "We appreciate our customers' patience and feedback and have their best interests in mind as we continue to work hard to improve our entertainment offering."

"We are pleased to have agreed on a long-term renewal of our flagship brands, History and Lifetime, in Africa with our partners, DStv," says Dean Possenniskie, managing director A+E Networks EMEA.  

"As part of this renewal, the new distribution of Lifetime in Compact presents an exciting opportunity to reach millions of new viewers with our unique programming offering," concludes Possenniskie.

For more information, visit www.multichoice.com. You can also follow MultiChoice on Twitter.