DStv clings to a partnership with Warner Bros.
Right around the time Mariah Carey defrosted in December 2025, it seemed certain that DStv would lose access to its longtime partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery — a move that would ultimately lead to the loss of twelve of its premium channels for paying customers. According to The Citizen, it seems that new owners, Canal+, managed to find common ground with the company in a last-minute deal that saved those channels.
The channels at risk of disappearing were Discovery, CNN, TLC, Discovery Family, Real Time, TNT Africa, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, and the Travel Channel. Had the deal failed to materialise, DStv customers would have lost access as of 1 January 2026. A notification was sent out to customers via SMS just hours before the channels were set to be terminated for good.
The two have since agreed on a new multi-year deal that spans multiple regions, including South Africa and some parts of Europe. It’s not clear how long the deal is set to last, nor whether the deal will see the return of the many HBO series that disappeared on Showmax over the holiday period.
“This expanded agreement covers both the distribution of HBO Max and the renewal of several Warner Bros Discovery thematic channels across numerous regions,” Canal+ said.”It includes the renewal of the distribution of 12 Warner Bros Discovery thematic channels across MultiChoice Group territories, with some offered exclusively. [This] enables Canal+ to strengthen its entertainment, kids, news and documentary channel offering in African markets.”
Keeping it Xreal
It’s not often you see a company iterate on what came before while also keeping costs down for the consumer. Xreal has done the impossible, unveiling its new Xreal 1S AR glasses at CES 2026 with a slate of decent upgrades and an even more affordable price of $450 (∼R7,400) — beating out the $500 attached to the Xreal One.
It can’t boast many major upgrades, but we’ll never say no to a price cut. Up front sits a 1200p display and a wider 52-degree field-of-view (up from the 1080p display it previously offered). Brightness has seen a bump to 700 nits, too, and the same 120Hz refresh rate has stuck around if you prefer to have your games up in your face.
The biggest change has to do with a feature Xreal calls ‘Real 3D’, which claims to 3D-ify any 2D content you throw its way, courtesy of the company’s X1 spatial computing chip. Better yet, Xreal One Pro owners will soon get hold of this feature as part of a software update in the future. There’s no telling when the 1S will make its way to South Africa, though judging by the company’s local presence, we’re betting it’ll be along sooner rather than later.
We don’t need Belkin’s Switch 2 charging case (but we really want it, anyway)
CES 2026 wasn’t just about wacky Wall-E robots or whatever new TVs Samsung or LG are shilling. Belkin made an appearance at the show too, boasting a new ‘Charging Case Pro for Nintendo Switch 2‘ that does exactly what it says on the tin. Now it’s not like we’re exactly starving for a new Switch 2 case, but we can’t deny that Belkin’s latest bit of kit would make a fine addition to our collection.
Belkin reckons the case has been designed for “long-term durability” (duh) and uses some premium materials to make it happen. It’s a rather flashy affair, but it’s the 10,000mAh power bank, coupled with 30W charging abilities, that caught our attention first. It even comes with a little LCD screen on the outside to keep an eye on the console’s charge while you’re out and about.
It’ll even double as a tabletop stand, relieving the sturdy-but-still-plastic kickstand ’round the rear of the Switch 2. Inside lives a flap capable of hoarding twelve Switch cartridges, with extra room to store an AirTag or something similar. It’ll be available in off-white, sage, and dark grey — and can be picked up for $100 (∼R1,600) come February, plus whatever it takes to convince Belkin to get it into South Africa.
Eleven years later, The Witcher 3 still ain’t done with you
We thought CD Projekt Red’s free next-gen upgrade for The Witcher 3 would be the last time we ever set foot in Geralt of Rivia’s shoes, particularly with The Witcher 4 moving along nicely. But no. A Polish leaker by the name of Borys Nieśpielak alleged that the decade-old game would soon receive yet another round of DLC… sometime.
Unfortuantely the leaker’s initial prediction that the DLC would be unveiled at the Game Awards didn’t quite pan out. But rather than slink back to a cave somewhere, their claims were backed up by CD Projekt Red itself. According to chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz, There is a chance that new content hinted upon in recent calls and reports may see release in the coming year,” he said in a CDPR earnings call.
On top of Nielubowicz’s comments that the move would boost the company’s financial results, Polish securities analyst Mateusz Chrzanowski believes that the DLC is set to be released in May 2026, which will, in turn, kick off the actual marketing campaign for The Witcher 4.” What the DLC will look like is still a mystery, but if they’re anything like Hearts of Stone or Blood & Wine, we’re in for a real treat.
