Maisha Magic Vs. ZACU TV: Who Is Likely To Survive The MultiChoice/Canal+ Merger?

As some readers are aware, Canal+ intends to merge their operations alongside MultiChoice which would create an African powerhouse. This would need approval from local legislation including the Competition Commission and ICASA.

Since then, there's been a lot of concern of the implications awaiting this deal should it move forward. Canal+ serving as the new owners of MultiChoice would likely decrease the workforce on top of minimizing production and licensing agreements. 

One of the topics that up for discussion since the year started was the fate to some of their local offering seen in the market. Although, KykNET and Mzansi Magic don't have a suitor their sister channels in neighboring markets like Kenya and Nigeria do.

In Nigeria, this offering is referred to as Africa Magic which boosts over 3 channels with Canal+ ROK only consisting of 2 channels. All of which could be a subjected to a merger as to not create friction amongst their stable with iROKO being the only reminisce of ROK.

In Kenya or more frankly East Africa, MultiChoice operate the Maisha Magic channels and although Canal+ doesn't have a channel to beef up with most parts of the region they do have for Rwanda, ZACU TV. 

Unlike ROK and Africa Magic, is there a chance these two entities could just co-exist - we believe so. Mzansi Magic already caters to consumers in South Africa with Zambezi Magic catering to other Southern African regions like Zambia, Botswana and Malawi.

We don't envision Maisha Magic dying down but perhaps just reducing their focus to avoid competition. If we had to be honest, there wasn't much competition between these two brands as there was not much Rwanda coming to Maisha Magic to begin with.

News Shorts: Nick Jr. International (Global) Is Set To Enter The Splat Zone In France, African Businessman Charles Awuzie Enters Talks With Several Broadcasters Including DStv For Big Brains Naija And Maisha Magic Plus Expands To More East African Households On DStv Access And GOtv Plus As Maisha Magic Movies Goes Dark

Nick Jr. international is entering the Splat Zone

During the year, Nickelodeon unveiled a brand new on air look which saw the rebrand reprise one of their iconic logos and give it a more iconic feel. This format was duplicated across several platforms with some areas reprising their previous logos over the updated design.

Following the rebrand, consumers were curious as to when or if Paramount plans to update their designs toward their Nick Jr. and Nicktoons brands. As for right now, Nick Jr. logo's has been updated but this is applicable to consumers in the United States and France.

France being the first international region to unveil the Splat on Nick Jr. particularly on social platforms hints at the rollout of the iconic logo in other countries. Although a date has yet to be released we presume before end of 2023 if not by the end of the festive season.

Big Brains Naija coming soon to DStv???

Nigerian-South African-based businessman Charles Awuzie has proposed the Big Brains Naija reality television show as an intellectual alternative to the ongoing Big Brother Naija show. The reality show is said to handled in Nigeria unlike Big Brother which is based in France.

In a Facebook post, Awuzie revealed that negotiations are underway with several broadcasters including DStv for the game show. Should DStv acquire rights to Big Brain Naija it will likely be distributed by Africa Magic as seen with Idols and Big Brother.

Big Brains Naija is a rewarding programme that grants prizes to winners from different categories on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis. The programme is a brain challenge that tends to keep the mind alert through a series of questions and answers in a quiz format.

Maisha Magic Plus is coming to DStv Access

Last month, it was reported that MultiChoice would discontinue Maisha Magic Movies to its entirety in the coming weeks. This comes after the channel was ripped away from DStv customers in South Africa and in place was British entertainment channel, BBC UKTV.

Now a similar fate await awaits consumers in East Africa as MultiChoice unveiled two local dramas Zari and Ka-Siri for the Maisha Magic Plus brand in a campaign known as Tumefungulia Magic which will see these shows being made accessible to DStv Access and GOtv Plus.

"As industry players, we are delighted to have partners like MultiChoice who allow Kenyans tell their own stories that are authentic are speak to the cultural and societal nuances that are alive in them while creating jobs for actors, actresses, chefs, transporters, real estate owners, make-up artists, video editors, sound producers, camera crew, set designers among others in the film ecosystem.”

Roundups #37: 7 Colours Renewed For Season 2 + Premiere Date On HONEY, MultiChoice Launching Woordfees Pop-Up Channel For A Second Time And Adds Kwibuka 28 For Only 7 Days

7 Colours continues on HONEY

HONEY, Africa's first and only reality lifestyle channel home to locally produced content has just renewed the cooking show 7 Colours for a second season currently scheduled for May 19th at 16:30 CAT.

7 Colours is a loved South African meal. Most families pride themselves in being able to prepare the best version of this meal. In this show, the to put that theory to the test. Three teams will go head-to-head to cook the perfect 7 colours plate, they will also host each other in their homes. The teams judge each other and the ones with the most points take the prize.

Other continuing shows include Battle of the Ankara Season 1, Sangoma, Khanyisa! Season 1, My Horror Love Story Season 1, My Big Bozza Cook-off Season 1, Hair to the Throne Season 1, My Kenyan Plate Season 1, Will He Say Yes? Zambia Season 1, The Ten Season 4, Ehe! It’s A Match: Nigeria Season 1 and Wawu, That’s My Dress: Kenya Season 3.

 

Woordfees is back by popular demand

MultiChoice and the Stellenbosch Woordfees will once again run the Woordfees TV arts festival pop-up channel on DStv in July 2022 for a second time, after starting it in 2021.

In October 2021, MultiChoice and the Stellenbosch-based Woordfees festival decided to work together to run South Africa's first-ever arts festival channel, Woordfees TV on DStv channel 150, with the pop-up channel's run that was extended for a further 3 days due to feedback from the public and DStv subscribers.

For South Africa's winter school holiday, MultiChoice and the Stellenbosch Woordfees are planning to run the Woordfees TV pop-up channel again from 1 July, again on DStv channel 150. DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact and Family subscribers will have access to the Woordfees TV pop channel on DStv from July 2022.

Kwibuka 28 is now available on DStv

DStv Premium, Compact Plus, DStv Compact, DStv Family and DStv Access customers are in for a treat this April, as DStv Launches a brand-new pop-up channel Kwibuka 28. This inspirational and informative channel is set to launch on Thursday, 7 April to Wednesday, 13 April 2022.

 

Kwibuka 28 is a special commemoration Pop-Up Channel that highlights the impact of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and the subsequent process of reconciliation and healing. During this 28th Commemoration, the channel will broadcast a series of exclusive LIVE events and talks-shows, with a daily Kids block, inspiring testimonials, as well as curated youth programming and special reports.

The channel will spotlight Rwanda’s resolute spirit to Remember-Unite-Renew. With programming running for 24 hours a day, the channel will be available on DStv and customers can look forward to programming such as:
• Kids: Junior React – a show where the younger generation share their perspective of the impact of the Genocide and give a view of their aspirations for a united, renewed Rwanda
• The Then and Now (LIVE) Talkshow – hosted by Eric Utuje, this is a platform for guests to discuss a variety of informative social, economic and political topics related to the Genocide
• Features: Testimonies – a show where survivors share their inspirational stories of healing, reconciliation, courage and hope
• The LinkUp 28: Blend of talk, music, and interactive segments with Rwanda superstars as special guests who will share their views and perspectives on Genocide curated daily topics.

DStv is always looking for ways to better customer viewing experience, giving them great value, choice and some of the best local and international shows. It is with this in mind that the platform offers great new channels, Pop-Ups and Studio stunts sure to keep viewers glued to their TV screen.

You can also find me through the other platforms by pressing this link in brackets (Lnk.Bio).

3 Possible New Channels For DStv

This year, MultiChoice has been kind of slow on the new channel front with only 3 channels that launched within a space of 6 months and 2 of them serve as repeat channels, Maisha Magic Movies and Moja 9.9.

Besides, the long awaited Mozambique entertainment channel it looks like MultiChoice might be rolling out more channels such as GH One TV, SuperSport Maxìmo Direct 2 and Maisha Magic Plus.

GH One TV is a Ghana-based entertainment TV channel, whose content includes lifestyle, music, fashion, series, children's programs, comedy, and tourism. It is now owned by Excellence In Broadcasting (EIB) Networks. According to a survey conducted by GeoPoll, GH One is the 5th most watched TV station in Ghana.

SuperSport Maxìmo Direct 2 serves as the English version of the current SuperSport Maxìmo channel available on Premium which mashes sports from other channels. This channel would have joined Telemundo as the only station with a duplicate channel in another language.

Maisha Magic Plus serves as Kenyan version of Mzansi Wethu offering series and movies in both English and Swahili. This one would kind of serve as a complimentary to the movie channel and it would be interesting if MultiChoice were to create a seperate feed which not only took from Kenya but Uganda and Tanzania as well.

For now, there's no confirmation from either MultiChoice or the service provider but these 3 channels do raise questions on whether this will be the only thing viewers will be getting for the years to come or whether there's hope for something out of your comfort zone.

Read Also:
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- Big Brother might be adapted in more African markets
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- BVN stops airing on DStv from October
- StarPlus, Star Life and Star Gold likely rebranding to Utsav Plus, Utsav Life (presumably) and Utsav Gold
- Disney+ Hotstar's content (Indian) coming soon to Disney+ globally
- Peacock TV rolling out internationally likely through Paramount+
- TNT Africa might rebrand into Warner TV Africa
- Discovery and WarnerMedia could launch a joint streaming service
- Is a new kids brand on the way through Warner Bros. Discovery?
- tvN working to become a permanent brand in Africa
- Boomerang might be discontinued

New Channel Alert: Maisha Magic Plus And Maisha Magic Movies Might Be Launching On DStv In Southern Africa

On top of the news that MultiChoice plans to rollout an East African movie channel I mentioned earlier called Maisha Magic Movies. It looks like they want to compliment the offering with Maisha Magic.

Maisha Magic Plus is the Kenyan version of Mzansi Wethu which features a variety of local series including Selena Kona, Kiva, Sol Family and Hullaballo Estate. This one has been active in Kenya since 2020.

Maisha Magic Plus is a new East African movie channel MultiChoice was hyping about in their FY22 presentation. According to the guide, the channel will showcase the best of Ugandan, Tanzanian and Kenyan films so yeah it exists to compliment Africa Magic Epic.

Details on the dates and channel numbers will be unveiled VERY SOON. From what I can tell both channels won't be available in HD and it seems more likely for them to be available in Southern Africa since most of the series isn't viewable on Novela Magic while the movies can't be distributed on Africa Magic since it's focus is on West Africa.

Maisha Magic Plus is available on channel 163 in Kenya to DStv Access customers so if I had to guess South Africans will likely find it on channels 140-159 from Access and upwards while the new channel Maisha Magic Movies is made available to either Compact or Family customers in the same channel number area as Maisha Magic Plus.

According to sources in other African markets, Maisha Magic Movies launches 26 July and broadcasts 15 hours a day from the Compact package.

Read Also:.
- Could FOX, Star Plus and Star Life be rebranding soon?
- Will Timeless Dizi Channel relaunch on DStv?
- New East African movie channel on DStv possibly called Pearl Magic
- tvN working on become a permanent addition to DStv
- TNT might be rebranding next year
- BET gets a makeover
- Will Cartoonito be the future of Boomerang in the UK and EMEA?
- Is Discovery Family going off air on DStv possibly for Discovery Science?
- Could Warner Bros. Discovery form a new kids brand?
- Australia launched BBC Kids, could it perhaps expand in more countries?

New Channel Alert: Untitled East African Movie Channel Using An Existing Brand Name Is Coming Soon To DStv

In the financial year end of March 2021, MultiChoice unveiled two channels the first being an entertainment channel for Mozambique with the other being a movie channel for East Africa.

It looks like the movie channel will be launching soon there's no reason for it to not be this channel seeing as they have large stack of fresh movies from 2020 featuring a ton of African stars.

For some strange reason the channel is using the name Pearl Magic which exists in Uganda so this may be a placeholder name for something surrounding that brand or it could be put under brand well-known by Kenya and Tanzania which is Maisha Magic since both are located in East Africa.

Now the question remains on why such channel is popping up in Southern Africa's airwaves. Could it be possible that MultiChoice SA and other parts of Africa are planning to ignite some of their brands.

West and East of Africa has got channels from the other parts of Africa while our market hasn't gotten any from one part being East Africa so could it be possible that this new movie channel as well a channel which was playing in the test channel section before going dark Maisha Magic be part of our region to introduce viewers to Swahili.

MultiChoice has been Afrocentric for a while now with the likes of fliekNET, kykNET Lekker, Wild Earth, Novela Magic, Moja 9.9. and Honey. They even got some local productions launching on M-Net within the next year and have launched Mzansi Magic adaptations in other markets ranging from Pearl Magic (as mentioned), Akwaaba Magic, Zambezi Magic, Abol TV and OneZed TV.

Read Also:
- BET gets a makeover
- Is Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet launching on StarSat?
- Will Cartoonito be the future of Boomerang in the UK and EMEA?
- Is Discovery Family going off air on DStv possibly for Discovery Science?
- Could Warner Bros. Discovery form a new kids brand?
- Australia launched BBC Kids, could it perhaps expand in more countries?
- TNT might be getting another rebrand