If Not DStv And Showmax, Could M-Net And SuperSport Rebrand Under The Canal+ Trademark?

Canal+ is a French based pay-tv provider operated by Vivendi that distribute various films, series and TV channels. It is also one of MultiChoice's biggest shareholders and as reported sometime ago are set to merge their operations within Africa 

As some readers are aware, Canal+ has acquired numerous stock in the recent years in an attempt to expand their operations. They currently own French broadcaster Orange SA's film and TV studios alongside M7 Group that is based in Europe. 

Most of these assets are being credited as "A Canal+ Company" if not rebranding to Canal+ as yet. Of course, there's questions as to whether a similar fate could be awaiting the DStv and GOtv parent company, MultiChoice.

During the month, Canal+ Group CEO was approached by journalists where he addressed several matters regarding MultiChoice. As reported, he's been given the greenlight to acquire the remaining shares and is currently drawing up a proposal to appease legislation. 

"So, you don't discard assets. Unless you have to." What is true is that we're only facing companies [like Netflix, Apple, etc.] that have one brand. And it makes them stronger. But if you ask me today, what would you do? You know, I would definitely not change the brands. They are very strong brands.

As implied these endeavors don't have to happen right away as there was a matter in Austria where HD Austria had rebranded to Canal+ Austria. The fate of DStv and Showmax will probably be dependent on where they stand with audiences in the coming years.

But from the other portion of the statement, it is also possible that DStv will remain as DStv. Even if they were to subject it to a rebrand, it will probably be what Elon Musk did to Twitter (Now X) majority referring to it as DStv another being the rapid decline in viewers. 

There wouldn't be much to salvage if your audience hadn't shown any signs of improvement. The only reason you'd hide under another identity would be cover up those losses as seen with MultiChoice in regards to their premium numbers.

Although DStv and Showmax wouldn't be subject to a rebrand one would need to turn their attention to what comes on these platforms. We don't envision them rebranding KykNET or Mzansi Magic but crediting various shows and films as StudioCanal.

If there's a brand I'd probably wonder about now it would be M-Net as their international endeavors had been reduced in recent years. They had closed 1Magic and Me earlier in the year as the latter had been merged with Showmax (which wind up with 1Max).

If this was M-Net's way of transitioning to Showmax this would be an appropriate time cause unlike SuperSport it's struggling to retain its consumers following increased competition from Netflix and Disney+.

It is true that only two things drive subscriptions, he added. Discounts and sports. When there's a specific game that everyone wants to watch, Canal+ sees a spike of thousands of subscribers.

"(But) not one movie will drive subscriptions. Still, people who like sports, they like cinema. The opposite is not true."

Movies are seen as a prerequisite for subscribers. "And the economics work because you kind of amortise one over the other," says Saada.

Canal+ Group had mentioned that discounts and sports drive subscription cause when one game comes broadcasts the subscription numbers spike but when a movie comes on not one drive in subscription. One of those reasons we should question M-Net's fate.

If anything, M-Net could become Canal+ Premiere with the group of local channels continued to be referred as M-Net. Or like SuperSport it remains on air and Canal+ looks to launch separate TV channels under the company name as seen in other markets. 

News Shorts: TPA Noticias Broadcasts The Angola ICT Forum 2024 For Consumers In South Africa, DStv Access Gets More Kids Channels Alongside SuperSport Football And TBN And Disney Channel Potential HD Feed Likely Scrapped On DStv

Angola ICT Forum 2024 is also viewable to DStv consumers in South Africa 

Mário Oliveira welcomed the participants to Angotic/2024. On the occasion, the minister listed the sector's challenges that began 45 years ago and that now allow the country to be at the forefront of leadership in the ICT sector in Africa. Despite all the achievements already achieved, the leader of MINTTICS said that the focus continues on ensuring infrastructures capable of revolutionizing communications on the continent with a focus on optical fiber and cable networks. These commitments, according to the minister, are visible in the quality of ICT services and the continuous training of national staff, to respond to the country's challenges.

MultiChoice allocated TPA Noticias on channel 530 to all DStv Premium, Compact+, Compact, Family, Access and Easyview customers from June 13th to 15th as part of the commemoration.

DStv Access gets more entertaining 

MultiChoice decided to add Cartoonito, Disney Channel, Nicktoons and DreamWorks to DStv Access from June 15th to July 7th as kids are at home for the school holidays. Weirdly enough, no open window had been announced for their Family to Compact audience.

Older audiences can enjoy the best sporting action on channel 205 until July 16th. Other content also offered on SuperSport Football include Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Serie A and La Liga.

TBN and Disney Channel HD is a bust

A few years ago, MultiChoice was working on two HD feeds for both TBN and Disney Channel, and from the looks of the duration had been in development hell. Now TBN had been phased out for Zambezi Reloaded while Disney Channel by Racing240.

Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network are already in high definition and were commonly known as the big 3 alongside Disney Channel. Those numbers continue to fall short on MultiChoice's end while with TBN I think what's more shocking was its nomination for such frequency. 

Is WWE Planning To Revive WCW??? After Netflix Had Gained Exclusive Rights To The Wrestling Promotion

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988. It was home to legends such as Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero all of which formed part of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Through the United States Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO), WWE seems to have filed a new trademark for the former promotion. For those who aren't aware, WWE had purchased select assets from WCW and this included contracts from various talents. 

According to the website, it is being used for entertainment purposes in the field of sports. Including the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events rendered live through broadcast media including television and radio.

Of course, this wouldn't be the first time WCW made headlines as another instance came when AEW revived Bash At The Beach. This came with a lawsuit by the WWE for trademark infringement so this was proceeded with AEW's own version of WarGames. 

Earlier in the year, Netflix had garnered exclusive rights to wrestling promotions Raw and Smackdown alongside live events like Summerslam. This leads one to wonder if WCW's possible revival may have to do with the endeavors of the streamer. 

Netflix is begun entering the world of sports as mentioned they have garnered rights to WWE for 2025 season and this was followed by an NBA Christmas special and Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson's fight.

How Canal+ Sport Could Fold Under The SuperSport Trademark?

SuperSport is Africa's biggest sports broadcaster packaged and distributed by MultiChoice and Canal+. It is home to Varsity Cup (rugby), DStv Premiership (football), PGA Championship (golf), Formula One (motorsports) and WWE (wrestling).

Known to be a male dominant field, SuperSport expanded this lineup with Here For Her campaign targeted at females. This would followup to the introduction of youth sports with the rollout of SuperSport Schools after acquiring School Sports Live.

Not long ago, it was revealed that Canal+ had got the greenlight to acquire remaining shares within MultiChoice. There's been various questions clinging around to the fate of some content. 

Acquisitions are known to have their setbacks especially with mass layoffs, content cuts and possible mergers. As Canal+ intends to merge MultiChoice with their operations and these changes consumers anticipate would take sometime to be implemented. 

With the decline in linear consumption, companies have been very cautious with the daily running of a TV channel. Changing some minor aspects like the color of a light bulb to rearranging the order of library books would need careful assessment. 

Canal+ has acquired several assets in an attempt to expand their operations and this had led to channels getting the company name. This had led to some to wonder if the same aspirations could await SuperSport and whether this would impact consumers. 

Content wise that could remain intact but most rebrands are anticipated to often lead to something else. We've got to see that with 1Max (formerly 1Magic), this had led to an increase in local productivity and distribution in third party content. 

Instead of the entire set of SuperSport being identified under Canal+ Sport we presume these changes could have a smaller effect. If anything, the existing offering SuperSport Blitz and Premier League would be referred to as Blitz+ and Premier League+.

Plus (+) is a signature trademark for the French broadcaster from what we've seen in Poland and France. If anything, instead of SuperSport being phased perhaps an merger with + trademark to form SuperSport+.

More Broadcasters Are Reportedly Set To Lose WWE Following Shift To Netflix

Earlier in the year, it was reported that WWE had signed an exclusive deal with Netflix worth $10 billion to bring the trademark exclusively to their services. This would bring WWE's run on linear TV to an end after 31 years as it broadcasts on Netflix in 2025.

Netflix would become the exclusive home to weekly shows Raw, Smackdown and NXT alongside premium live events like WrestleMania and Crown Jewel. This would affect consumers in U.S., U.K., Canada and Latin America with international expansion underway. 

Existing broadcasters such as FOX (U.S.), SportsNet (Canada), TNT Sports (UK) and ESPN (Latin America) will need to find a replacement. Sports journalist Dave Meltzer sites AEW as one of the potential leads for international broadcasting deals. 

But there's a catch as mentioned by Dave:

"Essentially they’re all losing their wrestling, and if the stations want to keep wrestling the best option is AEW. And if AEW is able to get deals with these stations at even half of what WWE gets, or less than half of what WWE gets, that alone would make it profitable even if the WBD deal isn’t a big increase.”

If anything, could SuperSport look into snatching AEW from TNT I mean compared to when WWE was with its previous broadcaster. All events are Express From The U.S. and unlike WWE's endeavors none of the weekly live events were shortened.

Perhaps even Ring Of Honor, it is currently owned by Tony Khan who also manage All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Then lastly New-Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), they have done several events with AEW with some familiar faces like Jon Moxley, Matt Riddle and Mercedes Moné.

If anything, don't expect this content to get a standalone channel on DStv for now at least. Considering that these promotions don't have familiarity with audiences it's future is dependent on them and that would determine its growth on SuperSport.

eMedia Investments Won't Be Able To Offer The T-20 World Cup To Openview Consumers

eMedia has said in a statement that it will not be broadcasting the T20 World Cup in June because of a constrained bidding time frame provided by MultiChoice.

This comes after MultiChoice, which acquired exclusive rights to the World Cup, only opened a tender for free-to-air broadcasters to bid for sub-licensing rights five weeks before the tournament’s start.

As a result, eMedia said bidders are “unlikely” to receive confirmation of broadcasting rights until less than two weeks before the event.

eMedia said it hasn’t submitted a bid, as there will not be enough time to secure sponsors, arrange advertising, and adjust programming schedules.

Due to this conduct, the broadcaster believes MultiChoice has violated the Electronic Communications Act and the Sports Broadcasting Regulations, which mandate prompt notification to free-to-air broadcasters.

“eMedia views the issuing of these late invitations to tender by MultiChoice as undermining fair competition and ignoring a recent Competition Tribunal order designed to prevent such restrictive practices,” the broadcaster said.

“This behaviour is not only unfair to E-tv’s dedicated viewers but also detrimental to the South African broadcasting industry as a whole.”

This is not the first time eMedia has called foul on MultiChoice’s behaviour around sports rights.

Last year, MultiChoice and the SABC concluded last-minute deals allowing the public broadcaster to show key matches from the Rugby and Cricket World Cup tournaments.

This included all matches featuring the Springboks and Proteas, as well as the semi-finals and finals, regardless of who was playing.

However, the deals explicitly blocked the SABC from broadcasting the matches on any channels carried by eMedia’s Openview.

eMedia claimed that these restrictions were anti-competitive and launched legal action against MultiChoice as a result.

The Competition Tribunal recently granted eMedia an interdict forcing MultiChoice to allow the SABC to broadcast live sports sub-licensed from SuperSport on Openview.

Development Alert: SuperScreen Pop-Up Channel To Rollout On The DStv Compact Bouquet To Kick Off The Final Premier League Season

SuperSport viewers will, for the first time ever, be able to view all 10 matches of the final Premier League season on one channel simultaneously thanks to our one-of-a-kind SuperScreen.

The innovative viewing experience is set to add to the thrill of match day 38, the climax of the 2023/24 Premier League season, on Sunday 19 May 2024.

Viewers will miss none of the action from 10 different venues across the UK as Manchester City and Arsenal compete for the Premier League title, while the final Uefa competition places will also be decided as well as the last relegation place.

The SuperScreen, which will be available only in South Africa on DStv Channel 199, will begin with the Premier League build-up that will air at 15:30 on Sunday, ahead of kick-off at 17:00 (all times South African).

SuperSport will also roll out the SuperScreen during the final match day of the DStv Premiership season on Saturday 25 May and the feature will form an integral part of the immersive viewing experience for the Paris Olympic Games starting on 26 July 2024.

Said SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha: “At SuperSport, our goal is to always innovate and to find new ways of enhancing the viewing experiences for our passionate sports fans. To be able to bring all 10 Premier League matches into one channel at the conclusion of yet another exciting season is the stuff that fans dream about.

“The channel will also be crucial for fans who don’t want to miss a moment’s action during the Paris Games. With SuperSport broadcasting every gold medal event live, with eight dedicated channels covering the Olympics, this will no doubt add to what is expected to be a memorable and spectacular event.”

The SuperSport SuperScreen on DStv Channel 199 will be available for DStv Compact, Compat Plus and Premium subscribers in South Africa.

New Channel Alert (Rumour): Super Screen, Another SuperSport Channel Is Coming Soon To DStv

During the day, MultiChoice had been conducting tests on another TV channel which we can confirm comes from SuperSport. This channel offers mainly football from what we've analyzed due to Serie A, La Liga and UEFA Champions League. 

From what we were able to pick up through other outlets the channel goes by the name, Super Screen. Which seems to be quite confusing on our part as the channel only offers repeat broadcasts to already seen matches on other channels. 

It basically a linear version of SuperSport Play although not necessarily as Super Screen is viewed as a separate channel. 

If anything, could it be possible that Super Screen is being curated for Easyview or Access consumers. Compared to other DStv consumers, the sports was lacking on these packages and it was only in recent months where one of the two saw improvements.

Super Screen would probably be the final peace of the puzzle to SuperSport's rivalry with the free-to-air sector should it launch on Easyview. Currently the only offering viewed on Easyview is Blitz, a news and highlights channel.

SuperSport And SABC In More Hot Water As Amazon And Disney Are Looking To Finalize Deal For The NBA

Amazon.com Inc. is close to a deal to bring NBA games to its Prime Video streaming service, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. 

The league is also nearing a new agreement with Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN, which is expected to keep the rights to the NBA finals but air fewer regular-season games, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic information.

Details on the number of games Amazon will have in the regular season and playoffs are still being ironed out. Rights to the women’s league, the WNBA, are expected to be included as part of both deals.

The Athletic and Puck reported earlier on the framework of the deals. Both news outlets said the agreements would last a decade. Representatives for the NBA and Amazon declined to comment. ESPN didn’t respond.

The NBA’s incumbent partners are Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. The league’s current media deals are worth a total of $24 billion, or over $2.6 billion a year. Those contracts expire after the 2024-2025 season.

The NBA is looking double its income from TV rights and add at least one or two more partners, the people said. The league is also talking to Warner Bros., whose Turner division has carried games since 1984, and Comcast Corp.’s NBC, which lost its basketball rights in 2002.

Sports are the biggest draw for major TV networks, making them must-have programming, especially as the audience for general entertainment programming has declined.

Apple Looking To Close Deal On FIFA World Cup, Might Block SuperSport And SABC

Soccer's global governing body FIFA is close to an agreement with Apple to give the tech company worldwide television rights for a new, month-long club tournament, the New York Times reported on Monday.

The deal with Apple could be announced as soon as this month and valued at around $1 billion, a quarter of the $4 billion FIFA had first estimated, the report said, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The potential agreement would give the company's streaming business an edge amid competition among streaming services providers to lap up rights for widely watched sporting events in a bid to add subscribers.

If the deal goes through, this would mark the first time that FIFA has agreed to a single worldwide contract, the report said.

Senior executives at FIFA, however, have raised concerns over the possibility of "free-to-air rights", which would make the event only available to subscribers of Apple TV+, according to the report. It is unclear whether the deal includes any such rights.

Sponsors have also been reluctant to commit the $150 million that FIFA is seeking for sponsorship packages, the report said.

The 32-team event will be held next year between June 15 and July 13. Usually, no major events are scheduled during this period in order to allow players to rest in the off-season a year before the World Cup, according to the report.

FIFA has faced criticism from players unions for not consulting them before making announcements about the event, according to the report.

"As a general practice, FIFA does not confirm or deny commercial discussions," a spokesperson for the governing body said in a response. Apple declined to comment.

Trouble for sports in SA

Seeing as Apple is looking to secure this for their platforms being Apple TV+ it's possible that SuperSport and SABC might miss out on the action. Considering that MultiChoice opted to minimize the sports on Showmax its likely that it could be televised. 

Provided that SuperSport licenses the rights from Apple same goes for the SABC as opposed to running through SuperSport. This comes after eMedia Investments had won a broadcasting dispute against MultiChoice in regards to the Rugby World Cup.

Although this news may seem pleasing to some readers, in other countries you have most sporting events from SuperSport viewed on multiple platforms (additional fees) while in South Africa it was under one tile (one fee).

The Canal+ Effect: How The French Company Might Arrange MultiChoice Going Forward?

As some readers are aware, Canal+ is looking to finalize a takeover deal with MultiChoice. This sees Mzansi Magic, KykNET and Africa Magic under the management of a French based company Vivendi whose been looking to build their global portfolio. 

There's been many questions as to how Canal+ will align MultiChoice's assets and below is what we believe could be the final outcome:

StudioCanal

As the name implies, StudioCanal is a French based film production and distribution company that currently owns the third largest film library in the world. This is where ROK Studios resided after it was acquired in 2019 with MultiChoice Studios to follow. 

Interesting enough, StudioCanal also offers subsidiaries of the same name within Austria, Germany and the UK. If I had to guess StudioCanal Africa could be on the final piece of this puzzle.

MultiChoice Studios resides within 22 million households while StudioCanal resides within 8 million. Combining this would make it an African powerhouse and probably leading Africa to have its own subsidiary within the French company. 

StudioCanal is also home to the linear ROK channel and will likely be where Mzansi Magic, Africa Magic and KykNET reside.

M7 Group/Canal+ Luxembourg S.à.r.l.

M7 Group is a Luxembourg based and also one of Europe's leading pay-tv operators offering culture and language specific packages in eight countries including Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. 

As we've seen in recent years, Canal+ has been buying out companies as a means to expand. MultiChoice's DStv and GOtv packages would serve as distant relatives and also another means to get the M7 Group services into Africa.

Metropolitan France/Canal+ Premium

This section is dedicated to their linear offering which consist of self titled brands part of which reside in Africa like Canal+ Discover and Canal+ Sport. Even SPI International brands like FilmBox Africa and even FightBox have a dedicated section in this category. 

In terms of content, M-Net and SuperSport will be handled under this section. They are expected to be remain in operation but as far as branding is concerned that is yet to be determined. 

M-Net had been pivoting toward streaming in recent years by reducing their movie offering even shutting down their secondary network Me. If you look at it, M-Net could get a proper send-off or at least by name ideally it could rebrand to Canal+ Premium/Canal+ First.

Thereafter, M-Net could remain as a trademark for a collection of local channels like Pearl Magic, Africa Magic and Maisha Magic. Never got the sense in having M-Net as a singular brand and also for a collection of locally curated channels.

If the plan was to incorporate the Canal+ trademark on sports ideally Canal+ SuperSport would make a lot of sense. This is something that they could apply temporarily and overtime simplify the name to Canal+ Sport to get viewers accustomed. 

Pending Investigation: The Competition Tribunal Orders MultiChoice To Televise Their Sporting Content To Openview Consumers

The Competition Tribunal has granted interim relief to eMedia in its fight with MultiChoice over the carriage of sublicensed sports from the SABC on its Openview free-to-air satellite platform.

eMedia took MultiChoice, which owns SuperSport, to the Competition Commission last year after the pay-television broadcaster refused to allow the SABC to broadcast rugby and cricket games on its channels it broadcasts via Openview.

According to a statement by the tribunal on Monday, eMedia has accused MultiChoice of “abusing its alleged dominant position by concluding anticompetitive and restrictive sublicensing agreements with the SABC”.

“eMedia alleges that MultiChoice prevents the SABC from broadcasting major sporting events (such as rugby and cricket games – including World Cup tournaments), sublicensed to the SABC, on the SABC’s channels carried on eMedia’s Openview platform.”

eMedia lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission last year and subsequently also sought interim relief from the tribunal to “stop MultiChoice from enforcing the restriction in existing sublicensing agreements or including such restrictions in any new sublicensing agreements until the merits of the case are decided”.

“The tribunal has granted eMedia interim relief pending the final determination of its complaint to the commission, or for a period of six months, whichever occurs first,” it said.

SuperSport Vs. Canal+ Sport: Who Is Likely To Survive Canal+ Potential Takeover Of MultiChoice?

Canal+ Sport is a French based sports broadcaster owned by Canal+ that offers services in parts of Europe and Africa. Similar to the likes of SuperSport, Canal+ Sport also comprises of various linear channels featuring football, rugby motorsport and basketball. 

Last month, it was reported that Canal+ had increased its offer to takeover DStv by 19% with a sum of R35,9 billion. This comes after their initial offering of R32 billion was rejected with the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) ordering them to propose a new deal.

As some readers are aware, South African laws limit the ownership of businesses to foreign entities with Canal+ voting rights reduced to 20%. Although, they'd have majority stake of the company they wouldn't be able to exercise that level of ownership.

Since news of Canal+ possible takeover of MultiChoice came about, several consumers have been very skeptical about this ordeal. With some very keen on the fate awaiting several brands such as SuperSport for instance.

SuperSport is the biggest player in the world of sports across the African market. It is home to major sporting events such as Premier League, PSL, La Liga, MotoGP, Formula E and WWE most of which aren't accessible on Canal+ Sport.

Even if Canal+ was successful in obtaining MultiChoice most of the company's assets could remain intact this includes SuperSport. It has more reach in the market Canal+ also resides and offers sporting events Canal+ Sport was unable to retain due to exclusivity. 

Regions with Canal+ Sport will most likely see content from SuperSport surface on their channels and overtime fold under the trademark.

News Shorts: A Rebroadcast Of Game Of Love Launches On Star Life, WWE Channel Extends Its Reach To DStv Ahead Of WrestleMania And Vodacom Will No Longer Offer Facebook Free Mode

Game Of Love returns to Star Life

The series celebrates the extended relations particular with Indian family set up while it follows the lives of three brothers as they navigate through life, career, family and falling in love. The show first follows the bond between the brothers and then shifts to the bonds they share with their significant others.

Game Of Love (Ishqbaaz) will start on 25 March replacing The Inseparables.

WWE Channel extends reach to DStv Access

With the school holidays around the corner, SuperSport will be opening up the WWE Channel to DStv Access from 28 March to 8 April as fans gear up for WrestleMania. Consumers will be able to browse various content such as This Is Awesome and WWE 24.

Prior to this, MultiChoice will be removing M-Net's Me And 1Magic channels alongside Ginx eSports TV on the DStv platform by the end of March.

Vodacom ends free mode on Facebook 

During the week, several Facebook users were alarmed after reports had surfaced that the free version to their service would end on 31 March 2024. With some confusing it for Meta when in reality Vodacom is ending its basic Free Flex campaign.

From 1st April, anyone who wishes to continue using their service would need to allocate airtime in order to get 15mb of Facebook data. Such endeavors had already been seen with other networks such as MTN.

News Shorts: SuperSport Motorsport Opens Up To DStv Compact And Compact Plus Customers In Time For The F1 Season, Undercover Billionaire Returns On Discovery Family For Season 2 And PBS Kids Loads Up On Civics And Media Literacy With New Shorts

Undercover Billionaire returns for season 2

With just $100 in their pockets, three business titans are dropped in unfamiliar cities, stripped of their names, money and contacts and given a simple challenge: Build a $1 million business in just 90 days.

First TX: 13 March 

TX Day: Weekdays 

TX Time: 19:40

SuperSport Motorsport opening up to more DStv customers

The 2024 Formula 1 season will be the longest campaign on record with 24 races and six Sprint events from March 2nd to December 8th. There were 24 races planned for 2023, but the cancellation of the Chinese GP due to COVID-travel restrictions and Emilia Romagna due to floods reduced the number to 22.

MultiChoice will be making the F1 on SuperSport Motorsport accessible to DStv Compact+ and Compact from 28 February to 11 March.

PBS KIDS enters the classroom

PBS KIDS has commissioned a collection of themed content touching on civics and media literacy in order to address a learning gap that isn’t being well-served by the US school system.

On the greenlit list is Sesame Workshop’s new series of 20 Together We Can music videos for four-to-eight-year-olds, exploring topics such as rights, voting and what it means to be part of a community. 

PBS KIDS is also reupping its civics-focused City Island series of three-minute shorts for a second season, plus working on a City Island Sings spinoff (10 music videos). The next batch of 20 City Island episodes will tackle media literacy topics like news, advertising and fact-based reporting for six to 10s in an expanded 2D-animated story world.

Recap To The Month: Could MultiChoice Look To Close/Restructure The DStv Compact And Compact+ Onto Existing Bouquet As SuperSport La Liga And SuperSport PSL Rolls Out On DStv Family And Access?

In the waking hours of NWTV and One Freestate Televisual silent dismissal from the DStv platform. MultiChoice added SuperSport La Liga to DStv Family and Access and word going around is that SuperSport PSL is next victim to have been purged to these consumers.

Similar to La Liga, PSL was being curated for MultiChoice's mid tier market being Compact. As seen in a recent conversation with several consumers, it appears that the Access households is gradually phasing the Compact as this would be the third sports channel.

In December, MultiChoice extended the reach of ESPN 1 to Access and also made it accessible to GOtv consumers in selected countries. Since last month, various questions have been looming around regarding some of the recent developments to have occured on their platforms.

As some readers are aware, MultiChoice was slated to axe 1Magic and Me earlier in the month. There was no plans to substitute the content immediately after they went dark leading to the possibility that M-Net could be extending its reach to more households I mean it wouldn't seem far fetched.

M-Net has been losing viewers on a yearly basis and this is due to rise in costs and existing competitors such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. I mean if MultiChoice were able to add La Liga and PSL to Access what's stopping M-Net from finding its way to more households.

If there's one thing that some of these developments could be hinting at would be a possible restructure to their services. Similar to the premium market, Compact hasn't been in the best shape and with the current economic climate things aren't looking well for DStv.

The only consumers I'm not expecting any of these changes to affect would be their lower mass market which range from Family to Easyview. There's been a surge in consumers although MultiChoice is discreet on figures for each individual package as seen with their mid tier market.

As for Compact and Premium, those numbers continue to decline and with channels like Trace Urban, E! Entertainment and ESPN 1 finding their way to more households and reducing the value of these packages. A possible restructure to this line-up wouldn't seem far fetched.

Through financial records, Compact+ is regarded as premium and with 1Magic's possible demise it could revert to that. As for Compact, MultiChoice could merge it with Family under on its tile and separating it from Access and Easyview I mean the offering is almost identical.

About SuperSport PSL

SuperSport PSL focuses mainly on domestic soccer matches in South Africa and other African countries

through live broadcasts, magazine shows and

highlights. Aside from Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches, it is also home to various PSL themed programs like PSL News.

As reported, MultiChoice extended the reach of SuperSport PSL to their DStv Family customers across Southern Africa including Namibia and Botswana while in South Africa it is also available on DStv Access.

When WWE Will Start Streaming Exclusively On Netflix And Exit SuperSport, DStv And GOtv Across Africa?

Last month, it was reported US streaming giant Netflix that it had acquired the broadcasting rights for WWE shows and specials in the US, Canada, Latin America and other international markets. With growing fears looming around DStv, MultiChoice had issued a statement.

"WWE events, including RAW, Smackdown, NXT, Wrestlemania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble will continue being available on SuperSport".  "As Africa's premium sports broadcaster, we're pleased to continue entertaining our viewers with the best in international wrestling".

In November 2022, MultiChoice and the WWE announced a major broadcast partnership and said in a statement that it will see Showmax becoming the new home of WWE Network in Africa. Only the streaming portion never to pass as seen with the linear offering on DStv.

Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of Raw in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, with more territories to be confirmed soon and others added overtime. Raw will be exiting linear television since it's inception 31 years ago.

Although Netflix won't get access to WWE's extensive line-up of shows when it streams in selected territories by 2025 due to an existing agreement with MultiChoice. They may be able to snatch the rights from the pay-tv company once it expires in 2027.

This means Netflix can only become the official home of the WWE Network in Africa two years after it launched elsewhere meaning by late 2027 or early 2028. Raw, SmackDown and various other content from WWE would have exited linear television after 26/7 years in Africa.

News Shorts: MultiChoice Silently Adds SuperSport La Liga To DStv Access Consumers, Eureka! Cancelled After One Season On Disney Junior And Telenovela Channel Phillipines To Close By The End Of February

SuperSport La Liga on Access

Home of the Spanish La Liga & UEFA Europa League while also showcasing overflow matches from the UEFA Champions League. Several DStv consumers had spotted the channel on their package alongside Zee World, Star Life, and various others.

In an enquiry to MultiChoice, they mention that SuperSport La Liga will be opened until further notice (likely permanent) while all other channels will remain temporarily. Taking to account that NWTV and One Freestate Televisual had closed these channels are probably a distraction.

MultiChoice will be announcing their new annual prices which will come into affect from April. With these recent closures of channels, one has to wonder if MultiChoice has more developments up their sleeves aside from cost adjustments.

Another bites the dust

Eureka! is an American-Irish animated children's television series produced by Brown Bag Films. It premiered on Disney Junior in the United States on June 22, 2022. Set in the Stone Age within the location of Rocky Falls, it followed the eponymous girl Eureka who enjoys going on adventures and building gadgets.

According to Disney TVA News, Eureka! had been quietly cancelled after one season at Disney Junior, many members of the crew moved to Robogobo and non-Disney shows at Brown Bag Films. It would join The Ghost And Molly McGee, Secret Of Sulphur Springs and Bunk'd as shows to have been axed by the network.

Disney is focusing on building out its multicam strategy and that includes prioritising shows that are based on Disney-owned IP, and creating global tentpole programming.

Telenovela Channel Phillipines to go dark

Telenovela Channel served as the first and only telenovela channel in the Phillipines in 2011. Owned by Beginnings at Twenty Plus, Inc. with the partnership of Grupo Televisa would broadcast various Mexican dramas viewed on TLNovelas including Sortilego, La Rosa De Guadalupe and Las Amazonas.

After 12 years, it was reported the channel's website that Telenovela Channel Phillipines will end transmission after 12 years by the end of February which would coincide with the closure of Disney Junior in the Nordic market as further content integrates with Disney Channel.

End Of The Road For SuperSport And WWE??? As Netflix Banks On RAW, SmackDown, NXT And Premium Live PPVs

In 2022, MultiChoice and WWE were looking to bundle Raw, SmackDown, NXT alongside various PPVs like WrestleMania and SummerSlam on Showmax. But the deal appeared to have fallen flat as this never materialized with the streamer now partially owned by Comcast.

After e.tv halted further distribution of Raw, SmackDown and various other WWE content from their platforms in 2017. SuperSport became the official home to the WWE Network for the past 7 years and all of that is likely to change in the coming future.

As reported moments ago, Netflix had exclusive rights to Raw and various other content from WWE which will start streaming in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America beginning January 2025. There are plans underway to add more international markets to the lineup.

This puts SuperSport's current linear offering in a precarious position especially the WWE Channel. As Netflix scooped up WWE’s award-winning documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects alongside the premier shows Raw, SmackDown and NXT.

The mere thought of less sporting events on SuperSport wouldn't seem far fetched a stretch. Initially, they weren't going to broadcast AFCON as they were more focused on European football even the rebranded Showmax service will only feature Premier League.

Last year, MultiChoice shuttered Showmax PRO which served as digital counterpart for SuperSport with La Liga, PSL and various other sporting content. Now the streamer will only offer a price plan for Premier League while further sports can be streamed on DStv Stream.

 

As mentioned, Netflix will become the exclusive home to WWE in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America by January 2025. It's currently unknown whether WWE will be purged on Netflix for consumers across Africa at the same time.

Its also possible that SuperSport could slide in a better deal but from what we've already seen in the past months there's some doubts. Another would be for Raw, SmackDown and NXT to be retained on the platform alongside PPVs with everything else on streaming.

SuperSport is structured for first run programming and not delayed or week old sporting events. With the possible discontinuation of channel 128 alongside various content from WWE, I wouldn't be shocked if MultiChoice were to add SuperSport Action in place.

SuperSport Action serves as an alternative offering to WWE as it broadcasts a range of extreme sports as well as major boxing matches and EFC mixed martial arts programming. They are also home to UFC which alongside WWE are owned by TKO Group Holdings.

Netflix To Become The Exclusive Home Of WWE Network Beginning In 2025

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, Inc., and Netflix today announced a long-term partnership that will bring WWE’s flagship weekly program – Raw – to the world’s leading entertainment service. This marks a major programming shift as Raw leaves linear television for the first time since its inception 31 years ago. 

Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of Raw in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories, with additional countries and regions to be added over time. Likewise, as part of the agreement, Netflix will also become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S. as available, inclusive of Raw and WWE’s other weekly shows – SmackDown and NXT – as well as the company’s Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble. WWE’s award-winning documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects will also be available on Netflix internationally beginning in 2025. 

“This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO President and COO. “It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”

“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria. “By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members. Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”

“In its relatively short history, Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling,” said Nick Khan, WWE President. “We believe Netflix, as one of the world’s leading entertainment brands, is the ideal long-term home for Raw’s live, loyal, and ever-growing fan base." 

With 1,600 episodes to date, Raw is the most iconic show in sports entertainment. Since its debut in 1993, Raw has delivered action, compelling drama and unmatched athleticism – 52 weeks a year. Blending the best of scripted content with unpredictable live entertainment, the three-hour show has helped launch the careers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple  H, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair. 

The show is currently the No. 1 show on USA Network, where it brings in 17.5 million unique viewers over the course of the year. One of television’s best performing shows in the 18-49 advertising demographic, Raw trends on X 52 weeks a year while each new episode is airing. On social media, WWE has more than one billion followers across its platforms.