Since 2022, eMedia Investments and MultiChoice had been undergoing a carriage dispute with the Competition Tribunal. After the p...
During the year, kykNET & Kie reduced primetime for their Turkish offering with In Die Ysterhand Se Greep awaiting a replacement left Jy Is My Seun as the only source of international series on the brand. After a few months, the short lived family drama draws to a close.
kykNET had acquired rights to the Turkish series Zümrüdüanka which will be known on the channel as Verbode Liefde. Unlike Jy Is My Seun and Kind Van Die Noodlot, Verbode Liefde falls in the romance category infused with a bit of family drama.
Synopsis for Verbode Liefde:
The story of the series is of an epic and a magical
tale of two lovers Zümrüt Kuloğlu (Ceren Yılmaz) and Serhat Demirkan (Alp Navruz). After Serhat is announced dead, Zümrüt was forced to marry his uncle. This crucial decision will turn her life upside down.
It stars Alp Navruz as Serhat Demirkan, Ceren Yılmaz as Zümrüt, Ülfet as Hatice Aslan, Umut Karadağ as Adil, Selim Bayraktar as Abbas Demirkan and Ayten Uncuoğlu as Azimet Demirkan.
Verbode Liefde was produced by the FOX company which also supply shows to kykNET's rival eMedia Investments including Om Elke Draai (Her Yerde Sen), Doodsondes (Yasak Elma), Daai Crazy Somer (Son Yaz), Dokter Ali (Mucize Doctor).
The first episode of Verbode Liefde airs on Wednesday 5 June at 20:00 on kykNET & Kie.
Last year, kykNET & Kie rolled out two Turkish telenovelas In Die Ysterhand Se Greep and the latter which is currently seen on kykNET Lekker, Kind Van Die Noodlot. Serving as eExtra's Kuiertyd first competitor and also an alternative when the channel went dark on DStv.
Fast forward to 2023, the family drama Jy Is My Seun was introduced last month in place of Kind Van Die Noodlot with questions amounting to the future of In Die Ysterhand Se Greep which would conclude in the coming weeks.
As seen through an updated EPG, the channel has nothing planned for the 17:30 timeslot better yet it almost looks as if they erased it from existence as the first series currently slated to air on the soon 17:00 timeslot would be a repeat of Laeweldbewoners.
It doesn't look like kykNET & Kie will launch a follow-up to In Die Ysterhand Se Greep anytime soon as they have other shows aside from the above-mentioned currently reserving this timeslot including repeats of Getroud Met Rugby, Spoorloos and Plaasjapie.
From what I can recall from 2022, kykNET & Kie's Kuiertyd type offering caused a lot of schedule disruptions with other content viewed on the brand. There's no indicator on whether this is change has anything to do with what happened in that period.
Considering kykNET Lekker only has 1 timeslot and would have wait 6 months or a year to air In Die Ysterhand Se Greep and Jy Is My Seun it wouldn't be shocking if were permanent. Maybe kykNET & Kie is waiting on a follow-up but it wouldn't be shocking if they reduced it to 1 timeslot.
It kind of gives kykNET Lekker consumers a chance to catch-up eventually it would have been 2025 with consumers waiting on 2023 offering and maybe these changes is part of something much bigger.
eMedia Investments and MultiChoice are rumoured to be reviewing their agreement for e.tv's 4 channels maybe the reduction would see a freedom of execution for eExtra or possible a new competitor with a similar offering take on the free-to-air brand.
Donovan Pietersen as Murat
Reginald Hufkie as Hasan
Rina Nienaber as Melek
Susan Coetzer as Asiye Karasu
Eddie De Jager as Ali Kemal
Jakkie Groenewald as Osman
Lizelle Pike as Sule
Natasha Jacobs as Emine
Mari Molefe Van Heerden as Asye Sahin
Claudia Joens as Akca Yilmaz
Source: Insidus Plus
Timeless Dizi Channel, SPI International's most popular general entertainment channel home to content from the land of Istanbul, Turkey and a rival to South Africa's eExtra and kykNET & Kie more baby mama drama with Shallow Storm (Kirlangiç Firtinasi).
Ulfet has become a baby owner out of marriage. The roads are desperately in the middle of leaving her alone. Meanwhile, Kudret's wife is pregnant. Kudret finds a solution to help his sister Nathalie. Kudret, who owns his sister's baby and puts it near his own child, announces that everyone is twin children.
Everyday Novelas:
- Radha Mohan coming soon to Zee World
- Ana's Revenge coming soon to Telemundo
- Queen Of The Night and How Do I Say This? coming respectively to Timeless Dizi Channel and Zee World
- New Series Alert: eMedia Investments Acquired Broadcasting Rights To Turkish Romcom, Aşk Mantık İntikam
It stars Fikret Kuskan, Emel Çölgeçen, Ekin Mert Daymaz, Damla Aslanalp, Ebru Aykaç, Inanç Konukçu, Gün Akinci, Deniz Bolisik, Ozan Osmanpasaoglu and Tülin Ece.
The series was broadcast in 2017 with a total of 7 episodes with a two hour runtime on the only international FOX feed to provide original programming and also home to elites like Wings Of Love, #DisComplicated, Om Elke Draai, Doodsondes and Dokter Ali.
The series is expected to rollout later in the month on various Timeless Dizi Channels internationally. In other developments, it's rival eExtra has picked up three shows Om Elke Draai (already mentioned), Hart Van Goud and Aşk Mantık İntikam.
Last month, eMedia Investments had MultiChoice unveiled a batch of pop-up channels which serve as a linear catch-up service to some of their primetime offering while eMedia only runs 1 channel Power Up with MultiChoice SWITCH'D ON comes as two components.
The first SWITCH'D is accessible to DStv Premium, Compact+ and Compact consumers on channel 109 incorporates the best of Mzansi Magic and kykNET & Kie which consists of Gomora, In Die Ysterhand Se Greep, Arendsvlei, Kind Van Die Noodlot, The River and so forth.
The second SWITCH'D is accessible to lower mass consumers particularly Family and Access package on channel 110. The channel incorporates the best of Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop with content like The Queen, The River, Lingashoni and Isibaya.
Since launch, the channels were met with mixed reviews particularly for the second SWITCH'D channel as the pay-tv holder opted to only bundle Mzansi Magic's sister channels and exclude kykNET from the offering while as the first incorporates both brands.
DStv Flex:
- Ratings for DStv from December 2022
- What to expect this February on TNT?
- Big Cat Sunday this February on National Geographic Wild
- CBS Reality acquired rights to Killer's Caught On Camera
Why kykNET is not available on channel 110?
The answer is simple MultiChoice offers two versions of kykNET one which is kykNET & Kie is accessible on the Family bouquet alongside Compact, Compact+ and Premium while the other kykNET Lekker can only be viewed on Access.
Taking that to account, both brands are at different stages with various shows take for instance Kind Van Die Noodlot which is halfway through its second season on kykNET & Kie while as the first season recently launched on kykNET Lekker.
Same goes for most of the offering including Arendsvlei, Binnelanders, Getroud Met Rugby, Suidooster and several others.
Why channel 109 is not accessible on the Family bouquet?
Kind of related to the whole reason channel 110 doesn't supply kykNET, Mzansi Magic. The channel offers the latest seasons to various local productions to which the Family bouquet can only view in the coming future so MultiChoice doesn't want to go off spoiling anything.
Thoughts:
Do viewers really need to schedule what's on the screen especially with the power outages I mean wouldn't it make more sense to launch an On Demand service in the menu bar in order to watch these shows at anytime.
Now a week's worth of episodes will be going down the drain because of Eskom and the fact that the population is too busy in their personal lives to keep tabs on daytime repeats.
DStv:
- MultiChoice shares crytpic message about eMedia's 4 channels
- MultiChoice and eMedia Investments gets roasted over load shedding plans
- BBC to close linear channels and move to an internet only digital future
- kykNET Lekker Opened To More DStv Customers For A Limited Time
During the week, MultiChoice welcomed their first channel of the year Qwest TV by multi award winning artist Quincy Jones but is this is really an official channel I mean consumers were told beforehand about the channel's presence in the market and I feel it's more 2022.
Now going to the official channels of 2023, MultiChoice and M-Net seem to be working on two new channels and trust me when I say these channels will definitely get a lot of your attention.
At first I thought viewers were getting another Moja 9.9., kykNET Lekker, Magic Showcase, CineMagic, Nicktoons, Real Time, Discovery Family and Nicktoons but it turns out this maybe another Me channel.
For those who weren't aware before Me, we had M-Net City and VUZU and this merger saw us rewatching the season last viewed on the two brands while others like Ellen had their entire season restarted and it appears these channels will be doing the same but for some of M-Net's local brands.
The first channel has shows like The River, Arendsvlei and Kind Van Die Noodlot basically content from kykNET and Mzansi Magic and the other still lacking much of a schedule also supplies similar content seen on the first channel.
DStv:
- BBC to close linear channels and move to an internet only digital future
- kykNET Lekker Opened To More DStv Customers For A Limited Time
- What Consumers Should Be Concerned About Regarding SABC's Yet To Be Launched Channels On DStv?
- Press Release: DStv Welcomes The Launch Of Quincy Jones’ QWEST TV Onto Screens This Month
Now what has me and everyone else reading this more concerned about is the message written on the screen: "Switch to channel 163 or 164".
We know now that Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop affected by all this but if the change is to happen I doubt they'd write that on the actual channel numbers so it's likely to affect kykNET & Kie seeing as the content resides from them.
MultiChoice had opened kykNET Lekker to several DStv customers and my hunch was right about the open window coming of as suspicious. Firstly, no one at MultiChoice had much to say about it and the other having to do with the load of rebroadcasts consumers will be annoyed to see.
If I had to look at the content, here's my theory about the channels affected.
Firstly, Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop are likely being discontinued and merging to become what is known to some channel 164 or SWiTCH and seeing as no content from kykNET can be viewed here it means kykNET Lekker is safe for now.
As for channel 163, several content from kykNET & Kie is visible on this channel so I'm guessing several content is moving over to this channel while others like Binnelanders, Getroud Met Rugby and various reality shows kept with the relevant brand.
Unlike kykNET Lekker, it seems as if the offering on kykNET & Kie is being adjusted not really sure it leads leading to a closure or not. It's probable that they're repositioning the channel I mean if the Access counterpart is safe why not this one, right?.
Of course, SWiTCH appears to be replacing whatever is left of Mzansi Magic as several content from the channel including Gomora, Lingashoni and the new Empire series is on this channel so maybe kykNET & Kie and Mzansi Magic are merging too or one is just moving their offering on 1Magic and the other kykNET.
The future of Mzansi Magic and kykNET & Kie are at stack as one Binnelanders is not on this channel and kykNET Lekker is very behind with kykNET a season ahead of the affected channel.
MultiChoice has been trying to balance between 1Magic and Mzansi Magic now they'll be unified so all is well, probably not at the same time.
As for the remains of Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop, I may have a good hunch as to why this might be happening.
Firstly, Mzansi Wethu had a lot of unnecessary content to begin with that kids block that aired the same shows for a decade and that music block which already has a dedicated channel to the consumers affected.
As for Mzansi Bioskop, the channel functioned more like fliekNET these days. To some you could say it was shocking that MultiChoice managed to put up with the channel for this long considering how much repeats were available on the channel and lack of fresh original content.
What about Mzansi Magic?
As seen when VUZU AMP was still around, VUZU became obsolete to the audience that grew beside the brand that would dish out shows like Glee, Supernatural, The Simpsons and Vampire Diaries.
Then when it got axed for 1Magic, lots of media outlets knew that Mzansi Magic time was numbered eventually but hey not all of the content is being shelved on SWiTCH or at least from the draft.
If kykNET & Kie and Mzansi Magic is still having content leftover, does this mean it would be put on a channel of its own, or maybe it's being shelved on kykNET and 1Magic or maybe M-Net felt these channels had too much and are trying to reduce their lineup we'll just have to wait and see.
Everyone seems to be screwed here except for kykNET, kykNET Lekker and probably kykNET NOU! and Mzansi Music.
What about M-Net and 1Magic?
If Mzansi Magic is merging with 1Magic then some of the current offering such as Wipeout, Gossip Girl and The Power Trilogy would have to move over to M-Net in order to make space for Date My Family and Our Perfect Wedding.
It would make sense if 1Magic moved over to Compact, right??? especially now that it might become the new Mzansi Magic.
DStv Flex:
- Brand new seasons of your favourite shows coming to History
- February on The Home Channel
- February on HONEY
- Reyka renewed for season 2 on M-Net
If 1Magic and Mzansi Magic are being merged curious on the channel number I wouldn't be shocked if it was 161 but wondering on the name does 1Magic perhaps remove the 1 from its name.
M-Net as some would place it doesn't cater enough to blacks or better yet doesn't have the Mzansi Magic vibe so these shows will give consumers a new appreciation for the brand.
What about the music portion?
Mzansi Music and kykNET NOU! don't appear to be affected but all these changes but nothing can be certain at the moment as the music section is super repetitive and a reduction wouldn't be the worst thing to have happened.
How do I feel about the rumoured SWiTCH channels?
Just like Me, I'm expecting this brand to bomb hard not really expecting them to get scrapped. Those who were watching kykNET may not be comfortable seeing Gomora and the same goes for Mzansi Magic viewers when seeing In Die Ysterhand Se Greep.
All in all, change is constant and with Netflix dominating the airwaves we might as well reach a future where you need such app in order to watch TV.
* Take into account this is theoretical of course the SWiTCH part is real maybe it's for their terrestrial customers or Portuguese customers but that seems unlikely.
* If this turns out as how I'm predicting then Access are getting 1 less channel while others are losing more than they bargained for. Take into account it's best to wait on the necessary parties.
New Bollywood series coming soon to Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon International teamed up with Nickelodeon India, a part of Viacom18 that is a joint venture between Paramount Global (formally ViacomCBS) and Network18, to co-produce The Twisted Timeline of Sammy & Raj. The new series marks the first collaboration between the top kids’ entertainment brand and the leading Indian kids’ category brand from India’s fastest growing entertainment network.
The Twisted Timeline of Sammy & Raj was commissioned in September 2020, with animation and storyboards for the new 20 x 30-minute 2D animated series being developed in India, scripting in the U.S. and U.K., and casting being initiated in the U.S.
With a mysterious time-altering app at their fingertips, Twisted Timeline of Sammy and Raj follows the reality-bending adventures of a pair of cousin-brothers, as they pause, rewind, fast-forward and slow-motion their way into a whole host of rowdy laugh-out-loud exploits.
Regular Nick:
- Predictions: Nicktoons and Boomerang's untimely demise
- Avatar to return with new animated series on Nickelodeon
- Best & Bester coming soon to Nicktoons
- January on Cartoon Network and Boomerang
DStv Access customers can now have access to the Turkish antics
Last month, MultiChoice gave several DStv customers above Access including Family, Compact, Compact+ and Premium customers access to kykNET Lekker with no exact details as to why that is so as they were trying to block out repeats which includes this channel.
As some consumers on Access aren't aware, eExtra's Kuiertyd recieved its first rival last year as kykNET's sister channel kykNET & Kie welcomed In Die Ysterhand Se Greep with consumers having access to Kind Van Die Noodlot.
Consisting of 148 episodes, Kind Van Die Noodlot follows Defne and Kahraman Yorukman a wealthy and childless couple whose family rejects them and this drives Defne to find an alternative way to give her husband an heir: She decides to hire a surrogate mother to give birth to a child for them.
DStv Flex:
- What to expect this January on Curiosity Channel?
- What to expect this January on The Home Channel?
- Reyka renewed for season 2 on M-Net
- What to expect this January on Qwest TV?
Between You And Me coming soon to Zee One
Zee One a Bollywood entertainment channel which is meant to serve as the more freemium tier to the pay-tv brand Zee World is set to introduce another exclusive series titled Between You And Me (Meri Hanikarak Biwi).
This show revolves around the life of two completely different individuals, Akilesh Pandey and Iravati aka Ira Desai. Aksilesh is a village simpleton and an ardent follower of Bajrang Bali. He is illiterate, but a great wrestler, while Ira is an aspiring medical student. Destiny had meant these two individuals to meet and unite.
The Hindi drama series aired between 2017 to 2019 on &TV starring Karan Suchak and Jiya Shankar and is expected to air on Zee One from 3 January at 7pm.
Evil: Curse Of The Sands was abruptly scrapped although they had 30 episodes remaining.
Everyday Novelas:
- Eternal Love coming soon to Star Life
- Nurses S3 coming soon to Telemundo
- Fearless Heart coming soon to Telemundo
- Prediction: What to expect on Telemundo by next year?
