MultiChoice Oscar Pistorius channel pulled down until judgment

The MultiChoice channel dedicated to relay the murder trial of South African Olympic and Paralympic star, Oscar Pistorius has been pulled down for the last time, until September 11 when judge Thokozile Masipa will hand down judgment on the trial.

The channel transmitted until midnight, August 10, and has now been taken off air, MultiChoice said.

The DStv provider said the channel will resume at 8am on the morning of the September 11th, in anticipation of court beginning at 9.30am.

Launched in January, the channel – DStv channel 199 – has provided live trial coverage, analysis, profiles and exclusive interviews throughout the duration of the murder trial.

Pistorius shot his girlfriend, model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day last year.

The state has charged Pistorius, 27, with premeditated murder in the death of Steenkamp, 29. But the athlete contends he mistook her for an intruder when he fired four fatal shots through a locked bathroom door at his home in South Africa.