Entertainment Inside Us (Insidus)

By the end of today, Glow TV currently owned by Nismedia is expected to not only exit StarSat and Openview but it will also be exiting linear television with its future lurking around the corner we recieved word that Voot will be the new home for the channel. Voot is an Indian based streaming service owned by Viacom18 which is a joint venture between Paramount Global and Network18 Group. It launched back in 2016 and serves a multilingual platform for both original and third party entertainment. Some of the content available on the platform include Chinese Bhasad, Soadies, Sinskaari, Badman, It's Not That Simple, Badman and Marzi. As mentioned already, Glow TV will be folded under Voot and I can't say I was expecting this but the owners in question Viacom18 are also in charge of several linear channels including one which Glow TV supplies most of its soaps, Colors TV. In a way, this is sort of a good thing for the brand, Glow TV has produced a number of original content a

In the past week, StarSat had to bid farewell to Russia Today at the last minute similar to MultiChoice's DStv in 2022 as European Union (EU) in charge of distributing the channel within the African market opted to cut transmission for the channel. After the removal of Russia Today, it was shortly announced by the pay-tv platform that their contract with Nismedia for the Glow TV channel would be coming to an end in the same period as eMedia Investments current contract with the brand - 28 February. Meaning just like OnseTV, there's no way of viewing further content on your current platform but Nismedia had mentioned wanting to find other means for the channel and might address it by tomorrow or at later stage who knows. But the news of Glow TV's demise on the platform doesn't surprise me the least bit. Last year, StarSat launched a dubbing studio where various international content is being dubbed in local languages similar to eExtra's Kuiertyd and kykNET.

NEVER GIVE UP To celebrate South Africa’s world-leading establishment of Human Rights Day on 21 March, TNT presents a curated marathon of films championing freedom and justice. Even if Leonardo Di Caprio’s South African accent in Blood Diamond is a topic of debate, it’s a worthy hit to lead a lineup including Battle in Seattle, Captain Phillips, and Tears of the Sun. TUNE IN DETAILS (channel premieres) Tuesday, 21 March 12:30   –   Hurricane Season (2009) 14:10   –   Captain Phillips (2013) 16:25   –   Blood Diamond (2006) 18:50   –   Battle in Seattle (2007) 20:30   –   Tears of the Sun (2003) 22:30   –   The Shawshank Redemption (1994) TNT HIT One of Marvel’s most epic characters, Venom, is coming to TNT on Sunday, 4 March at 20:00. Starring Academy Award® Nominated actor Tom Hardy as reporter Eddie Brock, who gains superpowers after becoming the host of an alien symbiote named Venom.  Despite being designed to invade Earth – he embraces the role of lethal protector. TUNE

SABC 1: - Aka's final project The Braai Show debuts in the Top 5 - The channel continues to dominate the youth viewership with Matric Results alongside the ongoing Uzalo and Skeem Saam. - Skeem Saam rebroadcasts has more viewers than Uzalo with the most popular show on the channel occupying more slots. SABC 2: - Afrikaans news bulletins has more viewers than Sespedi, Xhosa and Setswana news. - Muvhango occupies the most slots this month. - On top of Muvhango, repeats dominate their top 20 portfolio featuring Skeem Saam and The Estate. SABC 3: - On Point is currently the most watched program on the channel. - Marvel's Spider-Man occupies the most slots on the channel. - Despite being repeats, The Estate occupies the top spot as the most watched soap on the channel ahead of 7de Laan and Generations. e.tv: - Mr Bones and Just For Laughs Fillers has more viewers than The Black Door and Durban Gen. - Imbewu is the most watched repeat on the channel. - Inhlawulo

TNT is general entertainment channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery that offers mainly films and also the home to wrestling promotion, All Elite Wrestling. It is also ranked as the most popular movie channel in South Africa reaching 10 million households. It also makes itself an easier target for MultiChoice if they want to scale back on the volume of redundancy seen across their movie brands. Even after the attempted removal of eMovies and eMovies Extra, not much has changed in the content recieved. If there's one thing I can agree on, TNT has got a lot of potential and for several years has proven to be a worthy opponent to the likes of M-Net Movies and Studio Universal. But so much has changed in the world that you got to wonder if MultiChoice sees value for money. To be honest, TNT kind of resembles eMovies in a way as they were very much popular and also snatched films that the lower tiered M-Net Movies channels took longer in sourcing with some never making it to the

Qwest TV is jazz infused channel owned by multi award winning artist Quincy Jones that launched on the DStv platform earlier in the year presenting live concerts, specials and documentaries on top of the already existing music offering from DStv. For several years, MultiChoice has been feeding DStv consumers with the same content on Channel O, MTV Base and Trace Urban. Compared to the three, Trace Urban has more of an identity and variety as it isn't heavily reliant on Gqom or Amapiano. MTV Base hit rock bottom at launch it was more of a censored version to the current Trace Urban now I find it hard to seperate from Channel O as they borrow each other's lineup and do what's common amongst DStv's portfolio - repeat. Repeats are one aspect I'm not expecting to go away but this 320 section in particular needs some looking into I for one would target Channel O and MTV Base as there's not much variation going between the two. As for the rest it's mostly g

Novela E Plus, a general entertainment channel home to English dubbed telenovelas from Mexico, Philippines and Turkey 24 hours a day had acquired rights to the 2021 romcom Marry Me, Marry You currently viewed on The Filipino Channel. Marry Me, Marry You follows the story of a couple who navigates the traditional expectations attached to marriage that extends beyond one's partner including their family and friends. It stars Paulo Avelino as Andrei P. Legaspi/Andrei M. Legaspi, Janine Gutierrez as Camille Miraflor-Legaspi, Cherry Pie Picache as Elvira "Elvie" T. Manansala-Zamora, Vina Morales as Marvi de Luna-Jacinto and Sunshine Dizon as Maria Pauleene "Paula" Justiniano. Since the series debut in 2021, it managed to accumulate 95 episodes each consisting of 20-45 minutes between 2 seasons. 87% of Google users liked the TV show with reviewers on IDMB giving it a 7.5/10. As mentioned through several banners, Marry You, Marry Me debuts on Novelas E Plus fro

During the month, it was reported SuperSport was looking to bolster the amount of linear channels currently residing on the DStv platform with the launch of South Africa's and possibly the world's first ever youth oriented sports channel, SuperSport Schools. SuperSport Schools came out of an online brand known as School Sports Live and after SuperSport acquired majority stake expanded the presence of the brand with the launch of a dedicated app on top of hosting several content across its stations. As spotted by several consumers yesterday, MultiChoice is gearing up to rollout a dedicated channel for the highly anticipated SuperSport Schools (also known as SuperSport Variety SS Schools/SS Schools) from March 1st at 8AM. As mentioned, SuperSport on top of stacking up original programming has licenced several shows for the upcoming channel including 50+ Years Of Sports, Spirit Of Yachting, The Outdoor Sports Show, The Greatest Of All Time

For several months, here at Insidus we've been conducting several tests to see sticks and what doesn't and after doing some analysis. We feel that it's best to recommend a couple of stories as to boost the original portfolio and also give readers time to catch-up on some of the stories on our site. Meaning it could be a while before some sections are well catered for and others like Cartoon Network which would announce show cancellations and renewals will fold under here as we embrace our roots. Hence the segment, Breaking News which from the looks of it kills off roundups after a year or so. We had fun grouping the content but we feel this works better some parts of roundups probably felt forced will finally get some air to breath. In this section, we cover several aspects that interest the readers as well as some personal faves from music to possibly even books. Anyways we hope you like it, just to let anyone know there's no ranking so it's all out basically.

DStv Easyview priced at a monthly rate of R29 is operated by MultiChoice and serves as the cheaper attire to the current Premium package while as Openview which is operated by eMedia Investments comes with a once off fee then it's free entertainment forever. Since last year, MultiChoice has been strengthening the Easyview offering following the additions of Magic Showcase and CineMagic alongside BBC UKTV which failed to launch on the freemium competition prior to the addition of these channels. Other entertainment residing on the platform range from reality, movies, news, religion, provincial, music (or audio) and kiddies. Now available in 3 million households, Openview is proving to be a worthy competitor for DStv as more consumers are looking to fill their pockets. Some of the channels residing on the platform include the most popular brands eReality and SABC Sport. Other entertainment residing on the platform range from reality, dramas, movies, kiddies shows, sports and m

In 2022, MultiChoice as part of an attempt in reviewing their offering was planning to remove the educational brand, Da Vinci Kids from both DStv and GOtv platforms across Africa but due to a growing demand for their content amongst parents the channel was reinstated. Prior to that, the channel was formerly available on the South African based platform Openview currently owned by eMedia Investments as Da Vinci Learning before the switch to Da Vinci Kids offering shows such as History Hunters, When I Grow Up? and Operation Ouch. During the week, Da Vinci Kids rebranded for the fourth time in a row within 11 years now known simply as Da Vinci. Interesting fact, this switch happened back in 2018 but their owners for some reason were on limbo when it came to an actual brand name. The Da Vinci Kids brand name was the most used amongst all as Da Vinci was used for the night owl offering which consists mainly of documentaries and short films. Weird thing about this was how Da Vinci Lear

Last year, WWE and MultiChoice announced a major broadcast partnership that will see Showmax – the leading streaming service available in the region – become the new home of WWE Network in Africa. The partnership incorporates all WWE Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, as well as WWE Network’s vast library of original and archived programming available to stream on-demand. Additionally, SuperSport, the sport broadcasting subsidiary of video entertainment platform MultiChoice, will continue to broadcast live weekly episodes of Raw, SmackDown and NXT as well as all of WWE’s Premium Live Events in a multi-year extension. Of course, WWE Channel wasn't mentioned in this multi-year extension. In a media enquiry, as to whether the channel could be slam dunked from DStv consumers across Africa. MultiChoice responded to say the channel would remain aboard the platform. But questions amount to why this wasn't mentioned by neither SuperSport or WWE in press statements. Co

StarSat: - FilmBox Action and Kartoon Channel launch -  The Smithsonian Channel closing down in the UK -  Delayed SABC channel launch on StarSat explained -  Russia Today to launch South African hub RT, the Russian state-owned news channel formerly known as Russia Today, was removed from the DStv platform in 2022. But the decision was out of the pay-television broadcaster's hands as sanctions in Europe prohibited the distribution of the channel. The channel returned to South Africa by May of last year on rival platform StarSat after the pay-tv operator got permission from ICASA to broadcast the channel with Russia Today at the time made viewable SES S.A.'s SES-5 satellite transponder which is similar to Intelsat. Within that year, Russia Today was eyeing a potential African expansion after setting up headquarters on the continent in South Africa where the Kremlin-funded TV channel is carried and supported by China. Paula Slier, the South African TV reporter who prev

Everyday Novelas: -  TLNovelas unveils a bold new look -  Die Put S3 to stream on eVOD this March -  Zee World to add an additional 3 shows to their lineup -  Second Chance and Hart Van Goud coming soon to Zee One and eExtra respectively Since December 2022, eMedia Investments has restructured the telenovela slate on their platforms and in a way this new positioning kind of favours Kuiertyd not jumping to conclusions but there's still The Rebel Princess but others are rebroadcasts. As you browse the channel's lineup for the coming month, they're expected to rollout their 4th repeat Dare To Love (Tashan-e-Ishq) joining existing ones likes Ice Adonis , Blue Venom Girl , Kurt En Shura and in some way Naagin. It's about a love triangle between a fierce young woman Twinkle, a possessive guy named Yuvraj and of course a wealthy man named Kunj. Twinkle is madly in love with Yuvraj, unfortunately their mothers share a bitter history that gets in the way of their love