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Canal+ Group Buys Stake In African TV Production Company Marodi TV

Canal+ Group has acquired a stake in Marodi TV, a Senegalese production company which is a leading purveyor of TV series across ...

Showing posts with label Supersport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Supersport. Show all posts

Friday, May 20, 2022

Xtreme Football League Makes A Comeback On ESPN In 2023

The XFL announced a new, global multi-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company (“TWDC”) and ESPN, which includes exclusive broadcast rights for all gameday content, tentpole events and more, for its upcoming 2023 season through 2027. Each season, all 43 games (40 regular season games, two playoffs, one championship) will be featured on a combination of ABC, ESPN networks and FX. Additionally, the agreement includes exclusive content rights across TWDC and ESPN’s digital, social and direct-to-consumer outlets such as ESPN+. The XFL is excited to officially announce its 2023 season will kick off on Saturday, February 18, 2023.

The announcement was revealed at the Disney Upfront, where XFL owners Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson were in attendance and presented the news.

“Without question, we have long admired Disney’s distinct ability to engage an expansive consumer fanbase across verticals, while also maintaining a deeply authentic, nuanced and heartfelt approach to storytelling much like our own,” said Dany Garcia, Chairwoman of the XFL. “To find a partner that honors our foundation and to be able to root our vision of unwavering passion, accessibility and the future of football with Disney as our home, is a dream come true. We are extraordinarily excited to explore the endless possibilities of this partnership – today is surely just the beginning.”

 

“The XFL will tap into sports fans’ deep love of football by emphasizing competitive action while dedicating itself to innovation and entertainment,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content. “You can see a great path to success when you combine the reach and influence of ESPN and Disney with the collective vision of XFL leadership led by Dany, Dwayne and Gerry.”

Dwayne Johnson added, “This is a definitive moment for the XFL and the beginning of an incredible, long-term partnership for the league, building on my longstanding, very successful legacy relationship I’ve had with Disney throughout my career. We’re excited to be working with global visionaries that are aligned with the XFL’s values, are true team players and share our ambitious goals to grow the XFL as a global sports and entertainment business. Through the combined power of Disney, ESPN and the XFL, together we will create a new powerhouse on the sports calendar and bring a dynamic game of football to fans everywhere. Time to ball out.”

 

Gerry Cardinale said, “With today’s announcement, the XFL has launched a truly innovative partnership with The Walt Disney Company and its world-class platforms across media, culture, sports and entertainment.  It is a privilege to join forces with the incredibly talented team at Disney and ESPN and bring Dany and Dwayne’s vision for world-class football and live event entertainment to our fans and players.”

Friday, April 29, 2022

FIFA Launches Free Video Streaming Service

World football governing association FIFA has launched an online video streaming service called FIFA+.

The service’s content includes live domestic league games from around the world, an archive of previously-broadcast international football matches, and original productions.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said FIFA+ represented the “next step” in the association’s vision to make football “truly global and inclusive” and expand and develop the sport globally.

 
 

“This project represents a cultural shift in the way different types of football fans want to connect with and explore the global game and has been a fundamental part of my Vision 2020-2023.”

“It will accelerate the democratisation of football, and we are delighted to share it with fans.”

FIFA said it would be streaming 40,000 live men’s and women’s football games annually on FIFA+ by year-end. That will include matches from 100 member associations across all six confederations.

The archive section launched with more than 2,500 videos dating back to the 1950s, with more to be added throughout the year.

That will include every FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup match recorded on camera — more than 2,000 hours of footage.

In addition to videos, FIFA+ boasts a match centre with a news feed and data from 400 men’s and 65 women’s competitions.

FIFA said this section would also offer interactive games, including quizzes, fantasy leagues, and predictors.

 
 

FIFA+ Originals will include full-length documentaries, docuseries, talk shows, and shorts, localised in 11 languages.

The current list of original content includes:

- Ronaldinho: The Happiest Man in the World — 90-minute documentary about Ronaldinho’s journey to becoming one of the world’s greatest football players.
- Captains: Season 1 — Follows six captains leading their countries through World Cup qualification.
- Croatia: Defining a Nation —Full-length feature documentary tells story of how football helped unite Croatia.
- HD Cutz — 8-part docuseries with “barber to the stars” Sheldon Edwards.
 

- Dani Crazy Dream — 6-part documentary series on Dali Alves’ journey to the FIFA World Cup 2022.
- Golden Boot — 4-part docuseries with interviewers of the world’s greatest goalscorers.
- Icons — 5-part docuseries on the biggest game-changers in women’s football.
- Academies: Season 1 — Inside story of successful football talent production lines worldwide.

FIFA+ can be streamed via a web browser or mobile device through Android and iOS apps. The platform requires no subscription and is ad-supported.

Friday, April 8, 2022

Countdown To The Wildest Stories From Dark Side Of The Ring


10. Ric Flair's actions

Plane Ride From Hell was one of the worst instances of nothing going to plan. On that fateful day during WWE's tour of the UK. The plane was delayed for 7 hours and they were on a charter plane WWE stars consumed alcohol and waited for the plane to get going unfortunately the plane stayed long enough for the stars to consume multiple carts of alcohol. While some fooled around with Dustin Rhodes or his wife, Brock Lesnar and Perfect Brawley even cutting of Michael Ace's ponytail.

Things went wrong in a different direction, Ric Flair wore a robe with nothing underneath. According to a flight attendant and several other people, the wrestler cornered her in a plane forcing her to touch him. No one who knew bothered to help except Dustin Rhodes.

Tommy Dreamer revealed the flight attendant a bribe and compared the situation to his haircut which led him to get suspended from Impact Wrestling while Ric Flair possible losing any chance of getting into AEW.

9. Owen Hart's death

One of the saddest episodes of Dark Side Of The Ring, WWE had planned his entrance at the last minute which led to tragedy where he would fall and pass from the impact.

It was revealed in the show that the original plan was to have him lowered from the ceiling but they instead used a new rigging system from one they had initially.

It turned out that the rig that was holding Owen had been built for a sailboat which was designed to hold 6 pounds of pressure. On top of that his wife and son blamed WWE for his death and chose not to let him into the Hall Of Fame. According to people at the scene, Owen Hart's last words before plummeting to his death was "LOOKOUT".

 

8. Life of Dino Bravo

Bravo was a heel of a wrestler who enjoyed a rich lifestyle. In Montreal, he was famous and respected and was suppose to face Hulk Hogan. WWE couldn't handle having their Babyface being booed at so they swapped the matches and event.

Bravo signed a new deal with WWE which would see him with new look but was repackaged as a heel. When it came time for him to retire, he didn't know what to do as he didn't save money and to try and keep his lifestyle going worked with his uncle in a crime family and a year later he would be found dead with drugs worth $400000 being confiscated.

7. Jimmy Snuka

The controversial wrestler sparked attention for allegations made on the death of his wife. Even before Snuka had killed Nancy. The family had doubts about him with her mother being supportive of their relationship.

There was a time where Snuka would struggle her throat and slapped her and she fled the scene seeking comfort with her sister who encouraged her to exit the relationship but continued on until her death.

Snuka was under investigation as he told different versions of his wife's murder saying she would fall and hit her head and that she was sleeping while he had a match.

There were allegations that WWE founder Vince McMahon offered Nancy's mother hush money of which hasn't been confirmed as there was no evidence of course the case was reopened and Snuka was unable to stand trial due to his dementia and cancer.

6. Godfather Hates Pimps

Despite his character being a pimp, it turned out in his personal life he had a history with pimps before WWE he worked as a bouncer. It was revealed he would hit any pimp that entered the strip club.

 

5. Brawl For All

JBL wanted to find out who was the toughest man in the locker room though Vince Russo was the one who conceived it. Russo didn't like JBL for the way he was bullying everyone so he figured someone would embarass him.

All those involved suffered immensely while JBL was forced to eat dirt.

4. New Jack's storyline

Jack passed away around the time he was trying a minor who had hoped to face him. Hunter Ray punched him in the face and Jack angry stabbed him multiple times only for Jack to get arrested. Red came to visit him in prison hoping to turn it into a storyline and he agreed and the two never contacted each other again.

 

3. The killing of Bruiser Brody

One of the most disturbing stories, Brody was one of the most respected wrestlers with his style being influencal. Invader and Brody didn't like each other.

When Invader came to WWE, Brody beat him badly which resulted in Invader holding a grudge. Brody went to WWC and told that he was owed money there. They were also talks of him becoming minority owner there.

Tony Atlas said the locker room there was tense and Brody wasn't looking good asked Tony to sketch a sign. Atlas came with a towel to speak with Brody and heard a punch only to see Invader holding a knife trying to stab Brody again and Tony protected him and laid him on the floor.

The ambulance arrived 45 minutes later, he needed surgeries for the cuts and bruises and Brody was alive when he left the hospital and died later in the morning. No one was arrested, Invader (Jose Gonzalez) got off saying it was self defence while police thought it had something to do with their jobs.

Brody was portrayed as a loving husband and father in Dark Side Of The Ring.

2. North Korea

In 1995, WCW teamed up with North Korea to hold a wrestling event. Ric Flair, Scott and Rick Steiner and several others made the journey. Muhammad Ali managed to make the event thanks to the organizer of the event, Antonio Anoki.

According to Eric Bishop, there was an attendance of 300000 with the audience being forced to attend. A group of wrestlers were confronted by security after trying to play pool. Scott getting his call interrupted as he had to fight with the country.

According to Too Cold Scorpio, he had considered playing the role of Warrior Hog with him taking a hit with a chopstick. Chris Benoit urged him not as he would regret it and Scorpio listened.

1. Grizzly Smith

He wrestled between the 50s and 70s and was father to including Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Rockin' Robin, and Sam Houston. Despite Jake being the most famous no one knew he was part of a wrestling family.

His siblings were estranged to each other as they lived separately for part of their childhood where Jake had to live with his grandfather then abusive husband.

Jake was sexually assaulted by his stepmother when he told his father she abused him. He found out Grizzly had been doing the same to his sister Robin from the time she was 8.

Robin revealed her mom left with her when she told her of the situation. Grizzly's fifth child was married and had a child by the time she was 18 then she was kidnapped and her husband was convinced although no body was found.

Robin believed that her father may have some involvement in the death of her sister. One time, he showed up at her house with a 9 year old girl and discovered Grizzly had been treating her the same way as her.

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

Friday, April 1, 2022

Roundups #36: Dark Side Of The Ring Is Now Available In South Africa Through Xposed, Taffy Renewed For A Third Season On Boomerang, SABC 3 Welcomes Mother Daughter Reality Series And Star Life To Introduce New Series Lost In Love

Get ready for Hollywood's best wrestling documentaries

Dark Side Of The Ring is a documentary series by Viceland which focuses on controversial subjects and events within the realm of professional wrestling. Some of the notable topics covered include Chris Benoit, Bruiser Body and Gino Hernandez.

eMedia Investments picked up the show for their new channel Xposed alongside other Viceland productions including States of Undress, F**K That’s Delicious and Most Expensivest by 2 Chainz.

The series commences at 18:50 from Monday 4 April.

 

Taffy renewed for a third season on Boomerang

Cyber Group Studios and French kids broadcaster Gulli have announced the return of Taffy which has been renewed for a third season. Production is set to begin later in the year.

Season three of kids comedy Taffy will continue the capers of Bentley the dog, who is determined to show his owner that the cat she just took in is actually a raccoon. The format of the third season has not been finalized yet.

 

21 Again launches on SABC 3 this month

Five daughters send their mothers undercover as 21-year-olds. From dating to working to activism, the mums will be immersed in their world. Can the mums pull off being 21 Again?

Season 1 airs Tuesday, 5 April at 22:00.

 

Star Life to introduce Lost In Love

Last month, Star Life announced they will undergo some lineup changes by moving repeats to the afternoon slot and movies to weekends as they try to boost their primetime offering and launch the new series A New Life.

According to sources, the channel is said to air a Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Mein (Lost In Love) which is a remake of Bengali series Kusum Dola from Star Jalsha.

Virat, a young police officer, marries to honour the promise he made to his dying father. But when his former lover re-enters his life, he finds his heart pulled in both directions.

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

Roundups #34: eReality Becomes A Sports Channel, Akissi Launches This May On Boomerang Africa And WWE Channel Currently Has An Open Window On DStv

eReality is making some moves

eMedia Investments discontinued News And Sport and Rewind from the Openview platform later this week and questions arouse on the fate of some content seen on these stations particularly News And Sport which is home to Impact's library.

Through an updated schedule, it has been confirmed that sports will now be available to eReality as Saturday afternoons are dedicated to sports.

The new Xposed channels seems to be incorporating a bit of Rewind as High Society Scandal, 48 Hours and Hawaii Five-O can be viewed on the station.

 

Akissi coming to Boomerang

In 2021, France Télévisions and WarnerMedia were co-financing an animated special based on publishing property Akissi, which centres on a mischievous girl growing up in Ivory Coast.

The 1×26' special was produced by French animation studio Ellipsanime while African Animation Network had international dubbing rights.

Akissi is expected to air next month on Boomerang.

 

WWE Channel available to DStv Access customers outside South Africa

MultiChoice Africa recently launched a brand new Ethiopian sports channel for consumers outside of South Africa and currently opened the WWE Channel to all DStv Access customers until April 4th.

Several Access customers in South Africa complained about the lack of sports seen on the platform while consumers on Openview get EPL, La Liga with Access customers in other markets awarded a football channel and for a limited time WWE.

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

Friday, March 18, 2022

SuperSport Launches A Brand New Sports Channel In Ethiopia And The Rest Of Africa


MultiChoice is expected to close 4 channels by the end of the month and consumers will wonder why they're paying more for less channels. DreamWorks was recently added onto the DStv platform with the pay-tv company extending the reach of KIX and PBS Kids.

According to sources, SuperSport will soon be adding a new sports channel SuperSport Liyu later this week for offering the best of Ethiopian football. Of course the channel won't be made available to South Africa or at least for now.


SuperSport Liju will take up the space of the nonexistent horseracing lifestyle channel Racing240 in these regions while MultiChoice SA customers continue watching the Tellytrack killer.

SuperSport once offered Ethiopian football across their stations and to South African consumers on SuperSport 10 before it turned into SuperSport Variety. During its run, it become the most sought after attraction by viewers.

Also read:
- Paramount reportedly closing MTV Base and MTV Classic in the UK
PBS Kids will be made available to DStv Easyview customers
Could G4 launch on DStv perhaps to replace a channel like Ginx Esports TV?
Why VH1 Classic was terminated on DStv?
Could Zee World replace eExtra on DStv Access perhaps?
Could Timeless Dizi Channel and possibly tvN replace eExtra on DStv?
New movie channel launching later in the year on DStv
- Cartoonito coming soon to Boomerang
KIX will be made available to DStv Family and Access customers
- Lifetime could be on the chopping block on DStv

Based on its performance, SuperSport decided to give Ethiopia its own football channel which can be viewed in most parts of Africa just not in South Africa or at least not initially.

Just like Big Brother Naija, even Ethiopian football was popular amongst customers in South Africa particularly on lower bouquets like Family and Access so it wouldn't surprise me if MultiChoice placed it under another channel number for those customers if it were to be made available to South Africa.

Compared to Family, Access customers don't have a lot on their plate in this section aside from SuperSport Variety 4 and Racing240.

On top of the new channel, DStv in the rest of Africa are hosting an open window for a couple of SuperSport channels including WWE and Motorsport on DStv and GOtv through the app and decoder.

Also read: 
EU turns off transmission for RT across Africa
SABC Encore being used for sports
SABC will launch more channels alongside streaming service
Could Moonbug Kids replace Disney Junior on DStv and Baby TV on StarSat?
tvN pushing to become a permanent linear channel in Africa
Could Nicktoons be discontinued in Africa and likely the rest of the world?
Multichoice won't be adding anymore community channels
eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz will stop airing on DStv
KIX will be made available to DStv Family and Access customers

 

You can also find me through the other platforms by pressing this link in brackets and if you're struggling to share the article through certain platforms use this link (Lnk.Bio).

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Rumor: Radio Kosmos And Radio Flanders International Coming Soon To DStv + Open Window For SuperSport

Also read:
- eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz to stop airing on DStv
- PBS Kids will be made available to DStv Easyview customers
Could Timeless Dizi Channel and possibly tvN replace eExtra on DStv?
Press release of DreamWorks Channel on DStv
Could ESPN close alongside National Geographic and Disney Channel?
New movie channel launching later in the year on DStv
Lifetime could be on the chopping block on DStv
tvN pushing to become a permanent linear channel in Africa

MultiChoice might be removing more channels by the end of the month but the good news for radio consumers is that the pay-tv platform might be relaunching two radio channels, Radio Kosmos and Radio Flanders International.

Radio Kosmos is Namibia's leading news and music station with a very modern format and professional approach. It has a definite market focus and is the only Afrikaans commercial radio station, which broadcasts from Namibia.

Radio Flanders International caters for the Dutch, English, French and German speaking subscribers. Programming includes a magazine formats, sport reviews, listener stories and reactions and greetings programmes.

Also read:
- KIX replaces the eMovies channels on DStv Family and Access
- Could Zee World replace eExtra on DStv Access?
- Could G4 launch on DStv perhaps to replace a channel like Ginx Esports TV?
Why VH1 Classic was terminated on DStv?
SABC will launch more channels alongside streaming service
- SABC Encore and SABC Children channel might be in development
Could Moonbug Kids replace Disney Junior on DStv and Baby TV on StarSat?
Could Nicktoons be discontinued in Africa and likely the rest of the world?
Multichoice won't be adding anymore community channels

On top of the radio channels, MultiChoice is said to be hosting an open window to all their customers (including Easyview) on the 19th and 20th March on the DStv app.

You can also find me through the other platforms by pressing this link in brackets and if you're struggling to share the article through certain platforms use this link (Lnk.Bio).

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Roundups #24: Several Companies Including WarnerMedia, Sony And Disney Halt Theatrical Releases In Russia, UEFA And FIFA Banned For Russia Until Further Notice And Tellytrack Is Now Available On Gallop TV As The Brand Parts Ways With DStv Yet Russia Today (RT) Can Still Be Seen Across Africa


Theatrical releases has been paused in Russia

"Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming 'Turning Red' from Pixar," Disney said in a statement to Insider. "We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation."

The announcement makes Disney the first major Hollywood studio to stop releases in Russia in response to President Vladimir Putin's attack. Global sports associations and businesses in other industries have also severed relations with the country.

"Turning Red" was slated to open on March 10 in Russia. In the US, the Pixar animation is set to debut exclusively on streaming service Disney+ on March 11, but a theatrical release was planned for countries that don't have the service — like Russia.

Also read:
- Captain America and Black Adams team up for new Amazon film
- Big Cook Little Cook is back on CBeebies
- WildBrainTV launched in Canada, could it expand to more regions?
- Megamind and Abominable TV series currently in development for 2023
- The Casagrandes will be folded under The Loud House
- More Sonic The Hedgehog projects underway plus a free android game
- Jimmy Neutron revival might be on the cards
- DreamWorks Jr. greenlit several preschool content
- Ice Age character Scratch is getting a TV series

Soon after Disney's announcement, Warner Media said it would stop the release of "The Batman" in Russia, just several days before the film's theatrical debut on March 3.

Sony followed suit, saying it was also "pausing" theatrical releases in Russia, including the debut of its upcoming movie "Morbius," which is scheduled to open on April 1.

Sports has also been paused in Russia

In a joint statement the two organisations said: “Fifa and Uefa have decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both Fifa and Uefa competitions until further notice.

“These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the Fifa Council and the Executive Committee of Uefa, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions on such urgent matters. Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people.”

Uefa also announced a second highly significant move, confirming that it had cancelled a long-standing and highly lucrative sponsorship deal with Gazprom. The Russian gas company had been a sponsor of the Champions League for a decade and the final of this year’s competition was to have been played in the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg.

Also read:
- Iron Chef coming soon to Netflix
- New The Little Prince series debuts in 2023
Baby TV could be on the chopping block
Paramount+ working on first live-action series from Sonic The Hedgehog franchise
Disney closing multiple channels in Latin America
- Adult animated comedy starring Kevin Hart coming to HBO Max
Paramount+ and Nickelodeon expand kids slate
National Geographic ending in the UK and several other markets
Why VH1 Classic was terminated on DStv?
Love, Victor cancelled on Hulu

Last week Uefa moved the match to Paris, however, and has now severed the relationship entirely. “Uefa has today decided to end its partnership with Gazprom across all competitions,” a statement said. “The decision is effective immediately and covers all existing agreements including the Uefa Champions League, Uefa national team competitions and Uefa Euro 2024.”

Why is Russia Today still available on DStv as there's more closures across the globe?

A moment of silence arrived for Tellytrack when the channel was shuttered on the DStv platform across Africa for the horseracing lifestyle channel Racing240 as viewers put more focus on the Russian based brand, Russia Today (RT).

MultiChoice hasn't removed Russia's RT propaganda channel in the way that other pay-TV operators in the world have done and with the Broadcasting Complaints Commission receiving complaints from DStv subscribers, MultiChoice says it has no control over RT.

Meanwhile a DStv subscriber Jared Myroff has started an online petition, directed to MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela and the pay-TV operator's chairperson Imtiaz Patel, imploring MultiChoice to remove RT from DStv.

More than 20 local providers from Poland, Australia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Canada, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Germany, as well as representatives of international corporations have already responded to the request," 1+1 Media Group said in a press release even YouTube blocked the brand from generating revenue.

Also read:
- After a year, DreamWorks Channel replaces Disney on DStv
SABC will launch more HD channels and streaming service
Could ESPN close alongside National Geographic and Disney Channel?
Tellytrack will stop airing on DStv
Could Moonbug Kids replace Disney Junior on DStv and Baby TV on StarSat?
tvN pushing to become a permanent linear channel in Africa
Multichoice won't be adding anymore community channels
Kwara TV might launch on DStv

You can also find me through the other platforms by pressing this link in brackets and if you're struggling to share the article through certain platforms use this link (Lnk.Bio).

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Xtreme Football League Founded By WWE's Very Own Vince McMahon Returns In 2023 And WWE Nearly Sold To FOX

The revived XFL series commence in 2023

Xtreme Football League (XFL) is a professional American football league founded by wrestling executive Vince McMahon in 2018, as a reboot and successor to the league of the same name he founded in 2001.

McMahon re-founded the XFL to create a league with fewer off-field controversies and faster, simpler play compared to the National Football League (NFL), as well as one without the professional wrestling–inspired features and entertainment elements of its predecessor.

The first season of XFL began on February 8, 2020. The league planned to have a ten-week regular season through April 12, with division championships April 18 and 19, with the XFL Championship scheduled for April 26.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the XFL announced that the league would be cancelling the rest of the season, ahead of the league's suspension of operations and bankruptcy filing a month later.

On December 2, 2021, it was revealed on Dany Garcia's Instagram page that the 2023 XFL season would start on February 18, 2023, along with Training Camp in January 2023, as well as a player combine in June 2022.

XFL was distributed by a lot of Disney stations including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 with Fox, FS1, FS2 being retained by the FOX Corporation. Perhaps ESPN or SuperSport will pick up the new season in 2023.

WWE wanted to be purchased several years ago

Ex-WWE creative team member Freddie Prinze Jr told the media that FOX turned down the chance to buy the company outright back when they were negotiating terms to air SmackDown.

According to one of Prinze Jr's friends, who works as an executive at FOX, Vince McMahon's asking price was just too high - the network knocked back the chance to pursue a full purchase, and instead decided to license SmackDown for a still-hefty sum.

There had been chatter back in 2019 about FOX potentially moving to buy WWE, but it's incredible to hear that McMahon was so willing to cede control of his baby. Freddie also said that he'd been sitting on that story for a while, but couldn't resist telling it "because it has been long enough" since FOX were in the running.

Older wrestling fans may still struggle with the thought of Vince selling WWE. There was a time when that seemed impossible, but it's interesting to learn that he has a (rather high) figure in mind for the organisation.

That number was definitely too big for FOX.

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

Read Also:
- National Geographic closing down in the UK and possible EMEA
- The CW could be purchased soon
- Travel Africa not available in the titular region
- Most anticipated terminations from DStv could be from known other than Boomerang
- Discovery World revived on DStv for at least 6 seconds
- What's coming to Disney+ in 2022?
- Tourism is seemingly declining in cable
- Bobby Flay extends his contact with Food Network through 2023
- Investigation Discovery and a set of other brands cover child abuse case of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard
- What's coming to HBO Max in 2022?
- What's coming to Paramount+ in 2022?
Moonbug Kids and Kartoon Channel expand to more markets
tvN expand their offering without DStv

Thursday, November 25, 2021

[PRESS RELEASE ON MULTICHOICE SHOWCASE]: Home Of Champions Looks Forward To A Blockbuster Year Of Sport


SuperSport celebrated a full house of international sport for 2022 at today’s MultiChoice Showcase, cementing the company’s reputation as the global Home of Champions. The company reaffirmed its commitment to bringing customers all the thrills of the best in action sports from the very best international sports events – live and packaged – from across the planet, on DStv & Showmax Pro.

Access to the 2022 FIFA Football World Cup takes pride of place in the SuperSport footballing line-up in December 2022. “Indeed, we’re the undisputed Home of Football, with Premier League, La Liga, the DStv Premiership, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League – and plenty of cup competitions in-between – offering an Unbeatable Football experience,” says Marc Jury, Chief Executive Officer of SuperSport.

SuperSport remains a long-term supporter of local sport, both as an investor and a broadcaster. “Our coverage of the DStv Premiership, Telkom KO, Nedbank Cup domestic rugby and cricket is unmatched, and we continue to grow to include a variety of other sport, including netball, basketball, boxing, hockey, golf and several others,” says Jury. The company will continue to broadcast key live sporting events which see South African teams competing with – and besting – opposition around the world, including giving fans the opportunity to follow the World Champion Springboks on their incoming and outgoing tours in 2022.

The company is also the largest funder of sports on the continent and broadcasts most of the major sporting events and leagues, sourcing content and producing its own thrilling programming.

2022 FIFA Football World Cup coverage will include all 64 matches, live and in prime time, supported by an array of highlights, historical footage, news updates and feature pieces. There’s also the UEFA Champions League and Europa League (until May 2022) and the FA Cup (until May 2022).

SuperSport has followed the marauding Springboks on their annual outbound tour to Europe this month and is set to bring viewers all the action from the all-new United Rugby Championship (until June 2022) and an old friend in the shape of the Six Nations will make a reappearance in February. We’ll also be following the World Sevens Series to each stop and supporting the Blitzbokke, every step of the way.

There's plenty of opportunity to catch global women’s sporting events as well: follow the Proteas Women take on the West Indies on an incoming tour; live the magic of the FIFA Women's World Cup; British Open Golf; Augusta National Women's Amateur; LPGA Weekly; Sunshine Ladies Tour; US Women's Open Golf and Solheim Cup. There's the FIG World Challenge Cup Gymnastics, FIG World Cup, FIH Pro League Hockey; DStv Schools Netball Challenge; Paarl Gim Netball Tournament and Spar Challenge International Netball Series. There’s also Women's Premier Division Rugby; Women's Six Nations; Women's Sevens and WTA 1000; WTA 250 & WTA 500 tennis. And that’s not counting mixed events like Athletics; Basketball National League, International Cycling; Absa Cape Epic; SuperSport Shootout Golf, Oxford v Cambridge rowing, PSA World Tour Squash; Super League triathlon and the World Triathlon Championship Series.

Cricket lovers can follow The Ashes and India’s tour of South Africa until January 2022, the IPL in March and the Proteas’ tour of England from July-September and Tennis & Golf fans have all their Majors needs covered, from January to July.

The best action on two and four wheels is sorted too, with coverage of the longest-ever F1 season, MotoGP, SuperBikes, and every major cycling event from May’s Giro d’Italia to October’s Absa Cape Epic and everything from the Amstel Gold Race to Challenge by la Vuelta and the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup and Paris-Roubaix to the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

Fight fans can get their fix with the very best big-bash boxing bouts, the entire galaxy of UFC stars and the no-holds-barred EFC. The SuperStars of WWE will continue to be a major staple of SuperSport, including headline events like the Royal Rumble in January and WrestleMania in April.

The American Indoor Track League, Diamond League, IAAF World Indoor Tour and World Athletics Continental Tour are crown jewels in their own right, but July & August see SuperSport deliver the Commonwealth Games from Birmingham.

There’s National League Basketball and all the major road running marathons from Lagos to Milan and Hamburg to New York City.

Beyond traditional linear television, SuperSport is available on multiple platforms, including the all-new SuperSport app, supersport.com, dstv.com and on the Catch Up service.

SuperSport is also available on Showmax Pro, the streaming service that bundles the best of African and international entertainment with a selection of live sport from SuperSport (showmax.com).

Sport is back – and there’s nowhere better to enjoy it all in one place, than with SuperSport.

You can find me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Big Brother Africa has been greenlit in 3 markets

Friday, November 12, 2021

Women Of Wrestling (W.O.W.) An All New Female Wrestling Series Owned By Impact Wrestling's Parent Company AXS Entertainment Relaunches Next Year In 160 U.S. Territories, Could e.tv Or SuperSport Perhaps Get It?


It's a very interesting and prosperous time across the wrestling industry right now. At no time before were there more wrestling promotions on major TV networks, giving more wrestlers the chance at a big stage in front of millions. And at no time have more non-traditional or even underseen wrestlers been given a shot at the main event scene.

Of course, no group of wrestlers has seen a bigger rise up the ranks like the women of the industry, who have shattered through the glass ceiling of Bra & Panty matches and silent valets to main eventing WrestleMania.

This renaissance of women's wrestling has now reached the apex, as there will now be an entire show featuring solely women's wrestling on major TV networks with the announcement that the recently shuttered promotion WOW – Women of Wrestling will be returning in 2022 and on major television networks in 160 U.S. markets in a new deal with ViacomCBS.

WOW Superhero Tessa Blanchard in the teaser trailer for the WOW reboot in 2022, courtesy of WOW.

While WOW had a brief run on the specialty TV network AXS TV from 2019-2020, this will be a huge step up in visibility for the promotion. New episodes of WOW will air in weekend syndication on 160 ViacomCBS networks across the U.S., which accounts for 70 percent of the country. And if you're looking for older seasons of WOW, those are anticipated to be available to stream on the CW Seed and Pluto TV platforms starting in December of 2021.

Jeanie Buss , the owner of WOW (along with WOW creator David McLane) and the Los Angeles Lakers said the following about the promotion and its big relaunch :
"Wrestling's presentation of women has long been very important to me, and we now are presenting the epitome in sports entertainment that will highlight the athleticism of these superstars as we reintroduce WOW.

Our partnership with the entire ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group family allows us to continue our mission of providing wrestling fans and WOW Superheroes what they have all deserved: a global platform for a dedicated women's wrestling league."
Dan Cohen , President of ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group also included the following statement about WOW:

"We are thrilled to partner with Jeanie Buss and David McLane to create a significant global footprint for WOW and expand our diverse, world-class content portfolio.

This series offers audiences unique, compelling and creative entertainment that features female 'superheroes' in the ring, behind the cameras and in all aspects of the business. Both in the U.S and abroad, we believe this is an event program that will make some noise in the marketplace."

Also included in the big WOW reboot news today is what should serve as a big confidence-boost to fans that AJ Mendez (formerly AJ Lee in WWE) will follow her husband CM Punk in a return to the wrestling industry by becoming both an Executive Producer and color commentator on the rebooted WOW.

There's no word on an official launch date yet for 2022, but WOW did release the following teaser video featuring returning former WOW Champion Tessa Blanchard.

e.tv used to air WOW every Wednesday at 8pm now they house it's former sister brand Impact Wrestling which was once available through SuperSport.

You can find me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow Doodsondes for Kuiertyd updates.

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Friday, August 20, 2021

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.

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Friday, April 23, 2021

School Sport Live Rebrands Into SuperSport Schools, Could A Linear Channel Be In The Works In The Near Future


SuperSport has recommitted to its proud history of growing sport across the continent with the launch of SuperSport Schools, a ground-breaking initiative to change the future of South African schools’ sport. As part of the strategy, SuperSport acquired a majority stake in Schools Sport Live, which will see the business rebranded as SuperSport Schools.

Schools sport is the foundation of South Africa’s sporting success and this venture will aim to identify and expose young talent by broadcasting as many schools sporting fixtures as possible. The production plan will embrace new technology by giving schools access to innovative artificial intelligence-based production to deliver a dynamic multi-screen viewing of schools and youth sport.

Outside of the coverage across SuperSport channels, the SuperSport Schools mobile application will provide parents and other interested parties access to view schools sport anytime, anywhere, live and on-demand.

* Check out the SuperSport Schools Website *

SuperSport Chief Executive, Marc Jury, says the success of schools sport is fundamental to producing a winning sporting nation.

“This initiative is a natural extension of our mission to play our part to grow the pipeline for South Africa’s future sporting heroes. Schools Sport is the foundation from which great sporting nations are built. The stronger the foundation, the brighter our future sporting stars can shine,” said Jury.

Proteas netball captain, Bongi Msomi and World-Cup wining Springbok, Lukhanyo Am, will be leading the campaign with the hope of taking SuperSport Schools to every corner of the continent. Both stars were discovered late in their careers and speak directly to the gap the new platform is trying to close. The focus will be on netball, hockey and rugby for initial implementation phase, with cricket and water polo following suit as the programme extends.

This initiative would not be possible without enablement partners, Nashua. Their national footprint of engineers provide a world class service offering to install, maintain and support the project, especially as they have a great understanding of the school’s infrastructure environment. Nashua will play a key part in rolling out the artificial intelligence automated cameras which are designed to produce and distribute live + highlight content via the mobile application and social/digital channels.

Corporate South Africa and businesses will have an opportunity to be involved in the initiative, with specialised commercial sponsorship packages available to enable and fund the installation of the camera equipment across regions and schools.

Further to this, SuperSport has partnered with the MEC of Sports in the Eastern Cape in an effort to showcase more sport in the talent-rich region.

“The Eastern Cape has produced many of South Africa’s finest sporting stars, we hope our contribution will help to start unveiling talent from all corners of the province,” Jury concluded.

Schools Sport is well and truly alive

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Utsav branding takes affect on Star Life and StarPlus
Will Paramount+ cancel several linear channels like Comedy Central and MTV?

Friday, April 16, 2021

Good News: WWE Channel To Become A Singular Channel Again On DStv


Another channel bites the dust... this time it's none other than the duplicate WWE Channel occupying channel 236 which annoyed a lot of DStv customers.

The channel launched in September 2020 alongside SuperSport expanded sports lineup and lasted about 6 months on DStv.

At the time, MultiChoice explained to both channels will remain as they are mirrored channels with the same content, the reason is to try and get WWE closer to their sports content (SuperSport), without affecting those who are accustomed to 128.

In short, they chose to remove 236 since it was hardly appreciated by most viewers and those that noticed only complained about the resemblance to 128. It's nice to see there's some justice with viewer's subscription.

If I had to guess which channel will likely go off air in the coming months on DStv. My pick would be M-Net +1 thanks to Catch Up and Showmax and the fact MultiChoice has started streamlining entertainment which led to the cancellation and restructuring of several channels.

WWE Channel 236 goes off from May



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Friday, January 29, 2021

The Mind Bongling Reason SuperSport Has Two WWE Channels


SuperSlam (former name) launched as a a promotional channel back in August 2019 with some outlets referring to it as The WWE Channel and would continue running until the end of that year. The pop-up version was bombarded with repeats and yes Total Divas would constantly hit the restart button.

From January 2020, the channel was officially renamed into The WWE Channel and became a full-time brand for SuperSport not only that they incorporated NXT and 205 Live which weren't available on SuperSport at the time e.tv lost rights to WWE alongside content that was only found only on the WWE app.

2020 was also the year where COVID-19 became a trendsetter causing setbacks in people's daily lives. On cable, you got to see viewers lose out on several channels while others were reshuffled and that's where SuperSport comes in.

In September 2020, the brand followed Sky in the UK and launched thematic channels. Not only that WWE could also be found on channel 236.

Now here's the issue, SuperSport gave the WWE Channel a different logo on top of that other channel number and viewers woke up and saw two WWE Channels and it wasn't even using the SuperSport logo.

Since then viewers have been complaining about it not only that UFC had its own channel now viewers have a hard time catching up due to the reshuffle. Once again proving that bigger brands (in this case cash cow) get most of the spotlight.

According to their customer care, both channels will remain as they are mirrored channels with the same content, the reason is to try and get WWE closer to their sports content (SuperSport), without affecting those who are accustomed to 128.

Now this is just ridiculous, viewers experience change everyday so I'm certain they're immune to these things look at BBC First and Disney XD for starters. Now tell me where was that energy when those channels were canned. Perhaps the other reason 128 is alive to keep Ginx TV on 127 company since they're both sports and entertainment brands.

The least SuperSport could have done was perhaps make 236 a timeshift channel where viewers get to watch everything an hour later kind of like what M-Net has with its M-Net +1 on channel 901 but hey that would impact negatively as it already is with DStv attempt to cutback on duplication and 236 is not a place for timeshift channels.

So how long do you suppose M-Net +1 will stick around with the likeness of Catch Up and the fact that content from M-Net resurfaces on its other channels. In the end, MultiChoice just proved to everyone once again why viewers should be disappointed and rather downgrade, cancel or look into other alternatives.

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