Development Alert (Rumour): Star Life Reinstates Daytime Repeats Of Evil Affairs And Beyond Love, Moves Rebroadcasts Of My Identity, Game Of Love And The Evil Eye To Late Nights

During the week, it was reported that Star Life would be adding repeat slots to their late night shows, Beyond Love and Evil Affairs. After one of the two were embroiled in ongoing complaints from viewers about the visuals and themes in the shows.

The idea was to keep the uncensored entertainment in the night which was met with backlash from various viewers. As some could only catchup with daytime repeats and the decision to remove these shows only led to a decline in viewers.

Star Life opted to give these shows additional slots in the night but the times were so horrendous. Viewership for any TV channel is usually much lower in the timeslots of Evil Affairs and Beyond Love but the channel opted to worsen it by repeating them by 1am.

Viewers were once again outraged by the decision and took to Facebook and Instagram to post their displeasure with the channel.

Now it looks like Star Life will backing off in restricting these shows as an updated programme guide for next month sees Evil Affairs and Beyond Love getting their daytime slots back. So the question will there be censorship we'll have to wait and see.

But that's not the only change the channel could be making by next month. There's still no official word on any of these developments but from what we can see rebroadcasts of Game Of Love, My Identity and The Evil Eye move to the 3am to 5am timeslot. 

Similar to Evil Affairs and Beyond Love, these shows will no longer have repeats outside of these timeslots. As mentioned while Beyond Love and Evil Affairs get their timeslots back, Jhanak and String Of Love replace The Evil Eye at 11pm with Anupama at 5pm.

On the upside, viewers get Beyond Love and Evil Affairs daytime repeats and on the other any chance to relive nostalgic moments had gone down the drain. 

Repeats Are Back!!! Evil Affairs And Beyond Love Get Extended Airtime On Star Life With A Twist

During the month, Star Life halted repeat broadcasts of Evil Affairs due to several complaints about its themes and depiction of Hinduism. This had also affected their other show Beyond Love as it shares the 10pm slot with Evil Affairs.

This news was met with mostly negative feedback from consumers as some could only keep up with daytime repeats. As some consumers had been forced to miss a week worth of Beyond Love and Evil Affairs.

Based on consumer feedback at the time, Star Life had stated they would work on finding a solution to the broadcasts. As seen moments ago, the channel opted to rather keep these shows on late nights but opted to reshuffle its lineup in those hours. 

Repeats of Imlie were currently reserved at 1:30am and this was followed by Anupama at 2am. This portion will be phased out for Evil Affairs and Beyond Love with no word on when exactly when these changes will be applied. 

Judging by the timeslots and the scheduling, we presume more shows could be affected by these changes or its repeats slots e.g. The Evil Eye and Game Of Love. Beyond Love and Evil Affairs were grouped together and all of a sudden that's not the case here.

News Shorts: Play Room Acquires Broadcasting Rights To Rockabye Island, Zee World Launches Its First 30 Minute Slots With Sister Wives And Force Of Attraction And Via Launches A New Show Gesels In June

Play Room travels to the UK in Rockabye Island

Each day, Sean and Roisin hop on board their school-boat with their school friends and head off to a magical preschool, where they meet their teacher, Mister O’Dear, who just happens to be a deer!

Through imagination, adventure and teamwork, the children learn about their world and how it works, all with the support of their many animal friends on the fantastical and enchanting Rocka-Bye Island!

The series airs daily at 09:00 from 27 May.

Zee World also pulling a Star Life 

After Star Life opted to make all their primetime shows ran half an hour it appears Zee World is also dwelling in the 30 minute offering with Sister Wives and Force Of Attraction. These shows air daily at 21:00 and 21:30 despite the rest of Africa receiving it as 1 hour.

If anything, is it possible Zee World is looking to follow Star Life and make all their programs half hour. Honestly, there are shows on there which deserve that treatment like Radha Mohan and Twist Of Fate considering how often you'd hear those words "new season".

This isn't the first time Zee World had made rather odd changes aside from separate feeds. There was a case where films were viewed on one feed but excluded from the other so I guess this will be the new norm with the channel.

June and July on Via

Gesels

Season 1

22 June – 14 September 2024

Saturdays 18:00

46 minutes x 13 episodes

Genre: Talk show

Gesels is an energetic lifestyle talk show where advice and inspiration are shared to address different facets of our lives. Creating space for ourselves, for others, and for community is apparently the secret to happiness. Viewers will get the sense that they are privy to the coolest conversations where they leave with fresh insights and a list of new things to try.

Hier sit die manne

Season 5

6 July – 28 September 2024

Saturdays 17:00

46 minutes x 13 episodes

Genre: Talk show / Magazine show

A male-interest talk show hosted by Frank Rautenbach. In each episode Frank interviews a guest who is relevant to the market. Additional inserts will focus on popular male interests such as cars, fishing, hunting, investing, travel, rugby, and more.

Die Babbelbende

Season 2

21 July 2024 – 19 January 2025

Sundays 07:30

23 minutes x 25 episodes

Genre: Kids' entertainment

In this children's entertainment series, we answer all the questions curious kiddies may have. Paloeka, Palawa and their bestie, Bibi, hang out in their tree house while their friends Ben visits all kinds of interesting places. For children ages 4 through 10.

Recap To The Decade: Legacy Made Its Debut On Magic Showcase On DStv Easyview, Snubbed From Mzansi Wethu On Access

After MultiChoice and M-Net opted to scrap Novela Magic to DStv and GOtv consumers Africa. Content such as Zuba, Arendsvlei and The Throne had seen then been folded under Southern African/Pan-African infused entertainment channel, Magic Showcase. 

Since the channel's inception by November 2022, Magic Showcase has not only been giving consumers content already viewed on Africa Magic and Mzansi Magic but has also been serving as open window to shows viewed on Zambezi Magic and M-Net.

This includes dramas like Legacy and as mentioned Zuba and reality shows like Date My Family Zambia. 

These are content that once had an open window on HONEY and Novela Magic but that window had since then been shattered. Particularly for Legacy, as the only other alternative Me went dark on the platform last month, where does that leave shows like Reyka and Summertide?

Mzansi Magic had further distanced themselves from 1Magic's scraps with The River that moved to an earlier timeslot in favor Champions. Mzansi Wethu hasn't bothered to broadcast any of M-Net's original shows including Legacy leaving only Magic Showcase. 

Considering the outcome of Magic Showcase could it be possible that MultiChoice will look into rolling it out on more DStv platforms. Especially with the lineup of content that has been restricted from selected consumers or is that no longer viewed as a priority. 

Although other DStv customers have access to a lineup of entertainment from Mzansi Magic, Moja Love and KykNET. That wasn't the case for MultiChoice's Easyview consumers as they were hovering around provincial channels for comfort. 

But with various channels like Real Time, BBC UKTV, Mzansi Wethu and Nicktoons having around top to mid tier consumers Magic Showcase could join the lineup with proper restructuring. 

Development Alert: The Casillas Dynasty, Lord Of The Skies Spinoff Announced For Telemundo Alongside Woman Of Steel Reboot Titled Persecuted

Rafael Amaya announced a few weeks ago that his cycle in The Lord of the Skies reached its end with its ninth season, which broadcasts currently Telemundo in prime time. "Rafael Amaya has been an integral part of the Telemundo family and the success of the franchise for more than a decade. His continued dedication and professionalism, combined with their great talent, they gave life to one of the most beloved characters and legendary of these times.

Together, We provide our audience with the series of most successful and longest-running fiction of the Hispanic television. We wish Rafael the better in your future projects and we hope have opportunities to collaborate with him again," the network then commented. But Amaya's departure from The Lord of the heavens does not imply the end of the successful superseries who for more than 10 years starred in the renowned Mexican actor. 

Telemundo announced this Thursday that the legendary saga continues with a new generation, La Dinastía Casillas (The Casillas Dynasty, provisional title).

In the continuation of this successful franchise "Rutila (Carmen Aub), Ismael (Iván Arana) and The Casillas heirs are ready to demonstrate that the family legacy runs through their veins. But what is a dynasty without challenges? His father's enemies lurk, seeking revenge and power, but the Casillas do not they retreat from any threat," the chain. "In The Casillas dynasty, the adrenaline reaches new heights as the action, intrigue and passion intertwine."

Persecuted (Persecuda, provisional title) is another of the fictions prepared by the chain. "In persecuted, the seemingly perfect life of Gloria Guzmán becomes a nightmare when hitmen invade their wedding and kill to her fiancé and father of her little son, the PGR commander Juan José Fierro. Abandoned by her family as a result of scandal, Gloria becomes the target of the media and the government for their activities dirty and covert. Gloria loses everything loves and ventures into the dark underworld of money laundering to save his son. Determined to conquer the crime bosses in charge, must use his most dangerous weapons (his cunning and intelligence) to recover his life", progress was made on its plot. 

Spice TV: Could Zee Family And Star Select Also Exit Openview's Ultraview Or Could A Possible Restructure Be Underway?

Last month, it was reported eMedia Investigation would be axing OUTtv by the end of the month. As further content fold under the eVOD streaming service, while Ultraview came with a fee content from OUTtv comes at no charge.

Of course, what eMedia Investments failed to mention was that FUSE would also exit the platform as they form part of a new joint venture on eVOD, OUTtv Proud. Thus concluding eMedia's short run in the pay-tv world or at least for Ultraview's EDGE bouquet. 

Ultraview only launched a year ago and already it is being dismantled with the Indian channels serving as the remainder.

As some readers are aware, Ultraview has been met with heavy criticism for its price rates and content offering leading some to speculate its possible demise. Taking to account, load shedding and other economic factors like competition (e.g. DStv).

Ultraview is anticipated to have attracted 3/4 digit number cause again a lot had happened in 2023. With load shedding consumers had to cutback on expenses and that included DStv and also with Netflix onboard - Ultraview never stood a stance.

Of course, from what consumer feedback seemed to hint at most of that traction came from Spice TV's Zee Family and Star Select. This is due to the existing offering already viewed on Star Life and Zee One, sister channels to the mentioned offering. 

Another having to with the timeslot as EDGE was opened between 9pm to 11pm where consumption is low.

It's likely that eMedia Investments could be awaiting on contracts to reach their duration and depart from the pay-tv world. In the last months, they haven't done much marketing for these brands and honestly it could lead up to them scrapping Ultraview. 

Another could be a possible restructuring to the Ultraview platform which would see Spice TV form part of an expansive lineup of channels. Problem with OUTtv is that not everyone is accustomed to its target audience so rather unify it with eVOD.

As for the expanded lineup, one theory would be curating eVOD into a standalone channel similar to M-Net's 1Max. It would carry eVOD originals while also supplying other content and who knows maybe the offering could be divided into multiple channels.

Recap To Last Month: Nuus On SABC 3 Gains 100,000 Viewers In April As Turkish Drama Innocence Fails To Debut In The Top 20, Afrikaans Still Looming SABC 2 With Voetspore

After the public broadcaster wase warned that the removal of Afrikaans content on SABC 2 would lead to a decline in viewers and ad revenue. March proved to be an uphill battle for SABC 3 to gain these viewers as Nuus debuted at #10 with 317K.

Now on SABC 2, it was one of the leading Afrikaans shows following 7de Laan's demise pulling 621K viewers. Now for that to be halved and also remain below the top 10 makes it lose credibility during the month of March. 

The upside is that April saw Nuus add an extra 100k to its audience from March. This could prove to be a victory for SABC 3 as most content had fallen into the abyss but Nuus is helping shape up primetime and at the moment is the only Afrikaans show.

Innocence made its debut on SABC 3 a month ago and is nowhere in site while rebroadcasts of The Estate helped give the channel some purpose. It seems like the broadcaster's first attempt at rivaling with eExtra's Kuiertyd and KykNET went unnoticed.

On top of that Voetspore is dangling around the top 20 section of SABC 2 in April after promising to move that to SABC 3 making it the main network for Afrikaans content. The channel has not only needed to compete with third parties but even a brand like SABC 2.

Worst of all, Voetspore is pulling 455K viewers in the last month on SABC 2 while a majority of SABC 3 content is struggling to reach 420K as runner up Bundesliga, Soccer Build Up and Deal Or No Deal SA repeat had reached 400K to 419K.

"Analyzing Kuiertyd": Why e.tv's Kelders Van Geheime And Annekan Die Swa Kry Have Simultaneous Broadcasts On eExtra?

During the week, eMedia Investments unveiled their first local Afrikaans soap, Kelders Van Geheime. After SABC had shuttered 7de Laan back in 2023 and moved further Afrikaans content to SABC 3, eMedia had continued to bolster the entertainment. 

Initially being reduced to merely dubbed content from Turkey, eMedia Investments expanded the lineup to include local productions Ouma Sarie and Die Fakulteit. Both of which currently have exclusive runs on eExtra serving a minority of e.tv's viewers.

As some readers aware, Annekan Die Swa Kry is currently being transmitted on both e.tv and eExtra in the same timeslot. Kelders Van Geheime was also anticipated to follow the same route with eExtra doing weekly repeats on Saturday nights.

From what was understood about eMedia's decision to get Kelders Van Geheime at 18:00 on eExtra. It was to give consumers on the channel time to view this new soap without it getting in the way of Elif which now comes on 30 minutes later.

But Annekan Die Swa Kry's inclusion still remains very much a mystery to date.

From what we've hypothesized is that eMedia Investments is positioning eExtra as their go to destination for Afrikaans content like KykNET. Getting Annekan Die Swa Kry and Kelders Van Geheime was probably an alignment on eExtra and with e.tv exposure.

Reducing the Guilty Pleasures a name given to the non-Kuiertyd stuff was probably a means to reduce their focus in that area. Not that consumers weren't watching Naagin or Rebel Princess but similar to Judge Judy on e.tv exist as overflows.

When a channel doesn't have much content on their plate they either reduce their duration or increase the airtime for their content. Overflow is what you consider Kuiertyd's daily repeats on e.tv or Eternal Love or Naagin on eExtra - additional content. 

You just don't prioritize these areas you would find new episodes and rebroadcasts of Naagin in the same timeslot. Then you have Kuiertyd's primetime block on eExtra where a current TV program is phased out for another with repeats loaded on ePleiser. 

News Shorts: Explore The Wilderness With Peak Zoo On Play Room And eExtra's Primetime Slot Plummets With A Repeat Of Forbidden Passion

Play Room is going Scottish 

Peek Zoo is an Irish animated children's television series based on a book series by Kevin Waldron. The show follows the life of zookeeper Mr Peek and his children Jimmy and Violet, who solve problems and mysteries with the help of the animals in the zoo.

The series airs daily at 08:30 replacing one timeslot of Magic Cellar or at least in the daytime. We presume the show will be in English which is why they're evading from airing it in the night as the channel has a one hour block for languages. 

eExtra loads up on the reruns 

As if it isn't enough that Annekan Die Swa Kry and Kelders Van Geheime is telecast on both e.tv and eExtra. The channel has even reduced the Asian offering to merely one timeslot which too is repeats now the Indian offering is set to undergo further downsizing. 

Beyhadh is currently airing on the channel at 13:45 and from 8 May this offering will be axed in favor of Forbidden Passion which ended earlier in the year.

Similar to Telemundo and TLNovelas who both saw a drop in primetime during the course of 2024. It appears that eExtra is undergoing a similar procedure but with the guilty pleasure timeslot home to English dubbed dramas from Asia and India. 

"Sisonke With Zee Zonke": Now Ranked No. 1 Pay TV Channel In South Africa

Zee Zonke is a Zulu dubbed entertainment channel operated by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that showcases romance, drama, action, suspense and crime. It is home to shows like Onespiho, Imfihlo, We Mamezala and Umakoti Oyintandokazi. 

Since its debut in South Africa, Zee Zonke has been regarded as the no. 1 pay-tv channel. Catered for adults and families, it currently sits around 276,000 in the month of April which is 67% increase from January which was merely 184,000 viewers.

The individual figures for each show has yet to mentioned which is what Zee Zonke is likely using in getting these results. But from observing through Zee World and Star Life, its likely that the 7pm to 9pm timeslot is where these shows are at its peak. 

Zee Zonke in these endeavors had allocated Umakoti Oyintandokazi in April which had proved to be a popular addition with our readers. Later this month, they will be launching their second series, Uthandolwani. 

Zee Entertainment Enterprises has been operating in the African market for several years with their most popular jewel being Zee World. It contributed to further additions within Africa aside from Zee Zonke there's Zee One and Zee Alem.

New Series Alert: The Thread Of Love Coming In July On TLNovelas Across Africa

TLNovelas, a Mexican entertainment channel operated by TelevisaUnivision that is home to various Portuguese dramas will be rolling out a new series in the coming months titled The Thread Of Love, known in Portuguese as Diseñando Tu Amor.

Based on the Portuguese telenovela Meu Amor, it followed Valentina and her sister Nora with a desire to become successful in the fashion world. As they try to reach their dreams, obstacles like family and romance complicate their journeys.

It starred Gala Montes as Valentina Fuentes Barrios, Juan Diego Covarrubias as Claudio Barrios, Sergio Goyri as Guillermo Vargas Mota, Ana Belena as Helena Vargas Reyna and Osvaldo de León as Héctor Casanova Morales.

The Thread Of Love debuted on Las Estrellas 26 April to 7 October 2021 with 120 half hour episodes having been filmed. Before it's rollout on TLNovelas, TelevisaUnivision had licensed the content to various broadcasters in the African market.

The series will air on 22 July replacing The One Who Couldn't Love and prior to this another series My Secret rolls out in June replacing Thinking Of You.

Development Alert: Danilo Carrera And Isabella Castillo Will Be Protagonists Of Telemundo's Upcoming Telenovela Thirst For Vengeance (Sed De Venganza)

Telemundo Studios announced its next original production, Sed de Venganza, which will begin filming at the state-of-the-art Telemundo Center studios in Miami this summer. This new drama follows the life of Fernanda Ríos, a beautiful and resourceful woman determined to escape the terrible abuse she experienced in her childhood. 

Thirst for Vengeance is a series written by Eric Vonn, directed by Camilo Vega and Miguel Varoni, under the executive production of Ximena Cantuarias and Rafael Uriostegui. Danilo Carrera (Dangerous Liaisons) and Isabella Castillo (The Lord of the Skies, Malverde: The Patron Saint) will lead an all-star cast for this fascinating story of revenge, love and deception. 

Sed de Venganza marks the first leading role for both actors in a Telemundo series. 

Ronald Day, President of Entertainment and Chief Content Officer of Telemundo, said they are focused on creating high-quality Spanish-language content made by Hispanics, for Hispanics. "The stellar cast, led by talented actors Danilo and Isabella, along with our exceptional teams behind the cameras, will undoubtedly bring this series to life in true Telemundo style." 

Thirst for Vengeance, an unforgettable new drama, follows the life of Fernanda Ríos (played by Castillo), a beautiful and resourceful woman determined to escape the terrible abuse she experienced in her childhood. However, her plans go awry when deception and blackmail lead her into the dark world of Eugenio Beltrán. A spiteful and cruel businessman who has sworn revenge on the Del Pino family, it is Fernanda who must execute Eugenio's nefarious plans. To complicate things even more, Fernanda finds love with Francisco (played by Carrera), a young man whose life she destroyed in the past and who, when she confirms that she is the culprit of everything, will dedicate herself to satisfying her infinite " Thirst for revenge. 

New Series Alert: Uthandolwani Coming Soon To Zee Zonke

After launching Umakoti Oyintandokazi last month which proved to be a popular addition with our readers. The Zulu dubbed broadcaster Zee Zonke is set to rollout another TV series onto viewer's screens in the coming weeks titled Uthandolwani (Dildariyan).

Uthandolwani followed a story of rich man who generally hates women bumped into a girl who is extremely different in nature and instantly expresses his discomfort towards her. Navdeesh Arora and Priya Arora starred in leading roles.

It debuted on Zee Punjabi from 14 November 2022 to 6 October 2023 with 235 half hour episodes produced. Based on the Telegu drama series Varudhini Parinayam, it served as one of the eight remakes to have been filmed from Zee Telegu series.

Zee Punjabi is well-known for the series Geet Dholi (also known as Dholi Beats) on Zee World. Similar to Uthandolwani, even Dholi Beats is a remake of another program from one of the Zee branded channels.

Uthandolwani will air daily at 18:00 replacing We Mamezala on Zee Zonke from 16 May. Prior to this Zee World, a sister station will rollout Force Of Attraction to consumers in Southern Africa and ROA.

"The Mighty Have Fallen": Beyond Love Will Also Lose Daytime Repeats With Evil Affairs As Game Of Love And The Evil Eye Take Center Stage From May 6th On Star Life

Last month, it was reported that Evil Affairs will no longer get daytime repeats and zero mentions by the channel. This comes due to onslaught of complaints from several consumers about the show's dark nature and depiction of religious norms and values.

At the time of publishing, not much was known about how Star Life will fill up the timeslot for Evil Affairs or the rippling effect it would have to its other shows. But through an updated programme guide we've got to see the harsh realities of these changes.

From May 6th, Evil Affairs will only air daily at 22:00 with repeats of Game Of Love at 09:00 followed by The Evil Eye at 13:00. The channel had failed to mention Beyond Love had been caught in the crossfire as it too will be losing daytime repeats.

From our understanding, Star Life's schedule follows a particular format ABC-123 and breaking that would cause disruption. Seeing as Game Of Love And The Evil Eye didn't get that much airtime in its current state slotting them in minimized the problem.

Instead of Beyond Love getting double bill repeats the channel probably wants to give all their other shows a fair amount of airtime. Of course, the decision to remove Beyond Love and Evil Affairs from the daytime had only stirred up criticism amongst consumers.

Some are led to wonder if more censorship could be instilled from this point on. If StarPlus had a another program like Evil Affairs it could be excluded another instance is that Star Life follows Telemundo and makes 22:00 their "Super Series" slot.

But then there comes issues with Star Life in this matter, Telemundo is willing to repeat these shows throughout the night until no later than 5am. Star Life to make 15 shows look bloated at this point offers zero repeats for the affected shows in the night. 

It's more of a you snooze you lose type of scenario here as some consumers would probably have to wait a couple of months or years for a rebroadcast of Beyond Love. Unlike Evil Affairs, it is more of a victim and that is due to its current timeslot. 

Notes

• Evil Affairs airs daily at 22:00 followed by Beyond Love at 22:30 from May 6th.

• Repeats of Game Of Love airs daily at 09:00 and The Evil Eye at 13:00 also from May 6th.

• The schedule remains the same for other shows.

Development Alert: By Public Demand, Star Life Will No Longer Air Daytime Repeats Of Evil Affairs

During the week, it was reported that Star Life will be rolling out a new series Jhanak replacing Faltu once it comes to an end in May. But that's not the only surprise set to hit viewer's screens later in the month as another deals with their current show, Evil Affairs.

The supernatural drama alongside Beyond Love debuted earlier in the month replacing Divya-Drishti. It was met with an onslaught of complaints from viewers about its dark themes and depiction of Hinduism with some viewing it as scary. 

Last minute notice, the channel published on their Facebook page plans to halt daytime repeats of Evil Affairs. Not only that further alienate it from other shows in terms of promos meaning consumers can only enjoy at 22:00 and possibly anytime in the night. 

👻📺 Big news! You shared, we heard! Starting TOMORROW, "Evil Affairs" won't haunt your daytime screens anymore. No...

Posted by Star Life Africa on Tuesday, April 30, 2024

It also means that consumers who had been catching up to Evil Affairs in the daytime will miss out meaning the show would have lost an audience and also not much advertising would be expected for that show as the audience would be limited. 

Since then consumers have gone to the page to express their displeasure with the decision including: 

Faith Choolwe Maambo who said some of us we only manage to watch evil affairs during the day why removing it Star Life Africa watching it at night is very scary

Lesego Lesh Gaitsiwe who said some of us work night shifts nd the only time we got is during the day star life nonono

Euphemia Mwema who said now what is going to be airing on the time of their repeat??this is not fair for us who don’t manage watching at night we prefer watching repeats so please spare us and we are tired of ANUPAMA,My Desire and Lost in Love.🙏And that 30 minutes or 25 is too little

Several consumers had since then asked the channel what program will occupy the repeat slot at the time of publishing. From what we can presume, Beyond Love could as well air double repeats or the existing lineup could take up its timeslot. 

But the channel also lagging around 15 shows as seen with sister channels StarPlus and Star Bharat. Competitive channels Zee World is following a similar route in terms of content by focusing more on fresher releases.

News Shorts: CBeebies Picks Up Rights To New Series Piggy Builders, Bob Bakish Exits Paramount Global’s CEO Position Amidst Acquisition Talks With Skydance And Every Girl's Dream Makes Its Freemium Debut On Zee One

BBC Children’s, France Télévisions and Germany’s ZDF have ordered Piggy Builders

Created by Marie Manand, Julien Hazebroucq and Emmanuelle Leleu, this 52 x 11-minute series stars three pig siblings who are very different individually, but who all share a passion for building projects in their forest home and fending off a meddlesome wolf named Vern.

Romain Villemaine (Ricky Zoom, Maya the Bee) is on board to direct, and Piggy Builders‘ first episodes will be unveiled at MIPCOM in October, followed by premieres on CBeebies, France Télévisions and ZDF in Q3 2025.

Piggy Builders was originally pitched at Cartoon Forum 2021, where it was well-received, according to Xilam founder and CEO Marc du Pontavice. It’s the studio’s second CG-animated series after Oggy Oggy, which has been acquired by the likes of France Télévisions, Discovery (Italy) and Super RTL (Germany) following its global premiere on Netflix in 2021.   

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish is stepping down, will be replaced by a trio of executives

Bakish climbed the corporate ladder after joining Viacom in 1997, until he became CEO of the company in 2016. Following the merger of Viacom and CBS, he became CEO of the combined company in 2019, which was later renamed Paramount Global. He is also leaving the company's board of directors, Paramount said Monday.

Bakish will be replaced by what the company called an "Office of the CEO." Paramount will now be led by CBS president and CEO George Cheeks; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, the head of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon. The company said the three executives will work closely with Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra and the board.

In the release Monday, Paramount said the new leadership is "working with the board to develop a comprehensive, long-range plan to accelerate growth and develop popular content, materially streamline operations, strengthen the balance sheet, and continue to optimize the streaming strategy."

Zee World repeat launching on Zee One

After debuting on the pay-tv channel in 2022, Zee One is set to give other consumers within Africa an open window to access to Every Girl's Dream from the 5th May replacing King Of Hearts.

Every Girl's Dream (Tere Bina Jiya Jaye Na) which was launched in November 2021 on Zee TV revolves around Krisha a hospitality graduate, trying best to prove herself and help her family financially by working at her father's friends' royal hotel in Udaipur. It was there where she meets her Prince Charming, Devraj.

 

Anjali Tatrari and Avinesh Rekhi played the lead with other stars like Leenesh Mattoo, Romil Chaudhary, Simran Sharma, Rakshanda Khan, Farah Lakhani, Utkarsha Naik, Leena Balodi, Karuna Verma, Aashish Bhardwaj serve as supporting characters.

New Series Alert: Force Of Attraction, Spinoff To Radha Mohan Debuts In May On Zee World

During the week, it was reported Star Life would be rolling out a new Hindi drama Jhanak in May after Faltu. Now Zee World is also looking to debuting a program from Zee TV titled Force Of Attraction (Pyar Ka Pehla Adhyaya: Shiv Shakti) a spinoff to Radha Mohan.

Force Of Attraction follows Shakti Sharma a kind woman who aspires to be a doctor. After losing her parents, she lives with her uncle and aunt in Varanasi. She crosses path with Shiv Kashyap a doctor, who has a hurting past and is unable to heal. 

It starred Arjun Bijlani as Dr. Shiv Kashyap, Chinmay Patwardhan as Ravi Singh, Megha Singh as Janvi Sharma, Parineeta Borthakur as Gargi Rameshwar Sa, Seema Pandey as Gayatri Kashyap and Ashman Kumar as Ayush Singh.

Force Of Attraction debuted on Zee TV from 3rd July 2023 and since then 289 episodes has been filmed so far each with a 22 minute duration. It will commence on Zee World in Southern Africa from 22 May and a week later for consumers in ROA from 29 May.

This will be the first Zee TV series within the decade to get its very first spinoff with the other Twist Of Fate that rolled out 2 other shows This Is Fate and Unfortunate Love within the previous decade.

Development Alert: KykNet&kie Gets A New Schedule In May With Binnelanders Moving To 17:30 And Moederhart At 20:00 Replacing Skerpioen

Since the first broadcast on 9 April 2013, kykNET&kie has not only shown the cream of kykNET's programs, but also provided new content produced exclusively for kykNET&kie. The award-winning Suidooster, winner of the Safta in 2022 for the best soap opera, and the telenovela Arendsvlei brought real South African stories to viewers, put a host of new talented actors in the spotlight and made for a huge injection into local TV - operation taken care of. Then there are programs like Say your say, KLOP! and the dubbed Turkish telenovelas that keep viewers buzzing.

kykNET&kie's schedule change in May will give viewers the luxury of sitting back and relaxing with excellent entertainment in the evening.

So, put down that remote control and enjoy prime viewing in premium time.

• Binnelanders' twelfth season starts on Tuesday 7 May at 17:30. The series is broadcast from Mondays to Fridays.

• Deep Waters' first season can be seen from Tuesday 7 May at 18:00. In the first week, an episode is also broadcast on Friday 10 May, but after that it is on air from Mondays to Thursdays.

Suidooster is still on the box from Mondays to Fridays at 18:30.

• Arendsvlei remains in the 19:30 time slot from Mondays to Thursdays. The last episode of this boundary-pushing telenovela, which ran for six seasons and 160 episodes, will be broadcast at the end of June. It is directly followed by a new telenovela, Skemergrond, which starts on Monday 1 July at 19:30. Skemergrond takes place in Gemoedsdrif, a small town in the Western Cape, and revolves around the Louw family and their beautiful flower farm.

The Turkish telenovela Skerpioen's last episode will be broadcast on Monday 6 May at 20:00. Moederhart, which currently airs Mondays to Thursdays at 17:30, moves to the 20:00 time slot from 7 May, but is still on air from Mondays to Thursdays. Keep an eye on the news for an announcement about a new Turkish telenovela that starts when Moederhart comes to an end.

Other programs on kykNET&kie that belong on every good watch list include:

• Medical (Tuesdays at 9.30pm)

• KNOCK! (Sundays at 18:00)

• Have Your Say (Sundays at 7pm)

• Super Rugby (Mondays at 9pm)

• Toks & Tjops (Fridays at 20:00)

• eNews (daily at 19:00)

 

Superrugby, Toks & Tjops and eNuus are also broadcast simultaneously on kykNET (DStv channel 144).

New Series Alert: Ajooni, eExtra's First Series From Star Bharat Debuts In May

eExtra, a general entertainment channel operated by eMedia Investments that is home to international dramas from Turkey, Asia and India is set to rollout a new series titled Ajooni. eMedia has yet to release further details about the show.

But from what we presume here this could be a reference to the drama from Star Bharat. Of course, the reason we've been doubtful pertains to the misinformation regarding Broken Bonds and This Is Love.

The story Ajooni is set in Haryalipur, where the titular character and Avinash are to be engaged but then she accidentally meets Rajveer in the market and he falls for Ajooni - love at first sight. He starts stalking her and breaks her engagement with Avinash.

It starred Ayushi Khurana as Ajooni Bagga, Shoaib Ibrahim as Rajveer Singh Bagga, Drisha Kalyani as Meher Vohra, Pankaj Dheer as Ravindra Singh Bagga and Shraddha Singh as Harman Ravindra Singh Bagga.

Ajooni aired from 26 July 2022 to 23 August 2023 on Star Bharat with 316 episodes filmed each with a 22 minute duration. Now the series is slated to rollout on eExtra daily at 13:45 from 8 May with an 18+ age restriction, could censorship be included?

Bomber Shorts: NickMusic Being Burned Off On Weekday Mornings On Nicktoons, Guddan Unexpectedly Resurfaces On Zee World And A Rebroadcast Of Ana's Revenge And El Baron Launch On Telemundo Across Africa m

NickMusic's demise on weekday mornings 

NickMusic is a basically a youth oriented version to the current MTV that features a mixture of local and international hits catered toward a younger demographic. Internationally, it operates as a programming block (if not TV show) and 24 hour channel.

Since its inception on Nicktoons, the show has been going through numerous timeslot changes and in recent months getting phased out from the lineup. Usually Nicktoons would restart NickMusic from the beginning but now it can go unnoticed for several months. 

As some readers are aware, NickMusic airs daily at 16:10 and from May 6th these episodes will air in its repeat slot at 09:00. I don't get why they'd want to air new episodes that early when a majority of the channel's viewers aren't tuning in.

Another why let The Casagrandes get another timeslot as the channel had become bloated with its repeat alongside SpongeBob SquarePants. Is this the channel's way of axing shows perhaps or another way to view it as a liability?

Zee World to hit a new low with a rebroadcast 

A rebroadcast of the first season of This Is Fate was currently airing on the channel weekday afternoons at 3pm. Zee World suddenly decides to yank the show of the schedule for a rebroadcast of Guddan from the third season. 

Now why let Guddan back on the channel particularly from season 3 considering this is the first time reruns come on it would have made a lot more sense to restart from season 1 unless the channel has something else on the cards.

Telemundo is offering double the Zee-nanza

Unlike Zee World, Telemundo is no stranger to rebroadcasts as primetime had continued to plummet on the channel with 22:00 remaining the sole survivor with Come Back To Me. As two reenter the channel for a share of repeats, Ana's Revenge and El Baron.

Ana's Revenge followed a young woman who decides to avenge the death of her mother.

El Baron followed a young Mexican dreamer and rebel helps Pablo Escobar change the world of drug trafficking forever.

Ana's Revenge will air daily at 21:00 replacing The Chosen Granddaughter while El Baron replaces Queen Of Miami at 23:00 from 7 May.