Showing posts with label Video Entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video Entertainment. Show all posts

Monday, January 13, 2025

More Turkish Dramas Rolling Out Soon In Africa: "Yabani" + "Kızıl Goncalar" + "Şahane Hayatım" + "Aşk Yeniden"

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Below is second batch of confirmed shows for Africa (not rumoured) each whose broadcasters have yet to be announced for reasons beyond my capacity. The list is in random order so so there's no guaranteed timeframe on when each show will be released.


Yabani

Yabani follows the remarkable journey of Ali, who was abducted as a boy and ended up working for the gang that kidnapped him. After enduring years of hardship, Ali renames himself Yaman and escapes his captors to build a new, better life together with his three friends. Things are not easy for this new family, but they work hard and are able to leave their dark past behind. Through it all, Yaman somehow manages to keep his soul pure and never succumbs to the darkness that surrounds him.

Things get complicated when Yaman meets Rüya, a beautiful girl from the rich side of town. 

Kızıl Goncalar

“Kızıl Goncalar” tells the poignant story of Meryem, who grew up in an Islamic sect and was married at 14. Now she is battling to prevent her daughter Zeynep from suffering the same fate as the bride of the sheikh’s grandson Cüneyd. They face a tumultuous journey, filled with tension and romance, as conservative and progressive beliefs clash.

The sheikh wants a morally pure bride for Cüneyd and the sect’s elders see Zeynep as a suitable candidate. Horrified by the idea, Meryem seeks guidance from her sister-in-law, a Koran teacher who was expelled from the sect. Given the sect’s power, they shy away from complaining officially and decide that they must flee.

Şahane Hayatım

The series focuses on the life of Sebnem Gümüşçü, an unfortunate woman who was born with great injustices and during her growing up journey began to work hard to overcome them and do everything necessary to forget the crimes that occurred in the past. More late in her criminal past he began to pursue her and she began to form part of her daily life, as long as she lived a wonderful life.

Aşk Yeniden

Zeynep is a headstrong and bold girl living in Istanbul with her Fisherman father Şevket, who loves his daughter unconditionally. Zeynep falls in love with a guy named Ertan, and later leaves her home to elope with him to America. In America, they live quite happily until Zeynep discovers of being pregnant, but Ertan asks her to abort the baby. Ertan leaves Zeynep after she refuses to do so. Zeynep breaks down and gives birth to a baby boy, Selim. But, she comes back to Turkey after 10 months as she unable to living with a baby and surviving in a foreign land.

On the other hand, Fatih Şekercizade, who belongs to a well-established and elite family of Turkey. He had been facing the pressure of being from an elite family from his mother who happens to be making his decisions from his childhood and has betrothed him to the girl of her own choice. 

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Turkish Drama Series Rolling Out In Africa Soon: "Annem Ankara" + "Kızılcık Şerbeti" + "Kan Çiçekleri" + "Toprak Ile Fidan"

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Below is a list of confirmed shows set to debut in Africa soon as advised we can't disclose which broadcaster picked up the mentioned programs on the list.

Annem Ankara

Annem Ankara, the 90s-set series is produced by BKM and will follow the struggles of a single mother in Ankara, evoking familiar feelings from recent times along the way. The story of ‘Zuhal,’ a mother of three children and the wife of a man who could never truly be a son to anyone, promises to tug at the heartstrings.

Based on a true story, Annem Ankara will portray the journey of a solitary but resilient woman within her home. The series is penned by Başak Angigün and directed by the veteran director Faruk Teber.

Kızılcık Şerbeti

“Kızılcık Şerbeti” tells the captivating story of the idealistic Doga falling hopelessly in love with a charming man from a devout family whose values clash with those of her mother, creating a powerful drama as they seek to overcome their differences and find harmony.

“Kızılcık Şerbeti” explores the powerful evolution in the idealistic Doga when she finds love at the start of university with a man whose beliefs conflict with those of her mother, Kivilcim. An unexpected pregnancy is set to turn Doga’s life plans upside down, shaking to the core two families from different worlds.

Kan Çiçekleri 

“Kan Çiçekleri” tells the story of Dilan and Baran, and the marriage into which they are forced to end a blood feud between their families. Baran must put aside hatred of his enemies to save his brother and overcome guilt he feels over an attack that killed his mother, as he seeks to bring peace to a family baying for a revenge.

Toprak Ile Fidan

In "Toprak ile Fidan," Toprak wakes up after five years in a coma and comes home to a family he can’t remember. Ayden, his fiancée, has loved him since they were kids but Toprak cannot remember anything. The little boy Burak doesn’t know at all. Toprak’s mother, Keriman, encourages him to finally marry Ayden and get on with his life.

Fidan lost her husband and baby in a terrible car accident five years ago. Now she lives in Şile with her sick father and stepmother, working to pay off the enormous debt they owe to the loan shark who yearns to marry her.

Other shows also eyeing rollouts as previously reported include No. 309, Hercai and Kaderimin Oyunu.

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

2025 On Insidus | Channel Premieres: Iyanu: Child Of Wonder, Suits: LA And The Gelukbringers | Returning Shows Including Road To Destiny And Mr. Bean | More

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Some of these titles are rumoured 

Regular Nick

Cartoon Network/Cartoonito/Adult Swim: Iyanu: Child Of Wonder, Lana Longbeard, Dino Ranch: Island Explorers, Common Side Effects, Lazarus, Invincible Fight Girl, Dragonball: Daima (Rumour), Go Go Mystery Machine, The Karters, Mermicorno: Starfall, Baby Lemmings and Mr. Bean S4.

Disney Channel/Disney Junior/Disney+: Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, StuGo, Phineas And Ferb S5, Vampirina (Live-Action), Doomies, Hey AJ, Kindergarten: The Musical, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Reboot, Marvel's Iron Man and His Awesome Friends,  Robogobo, Messi And The Giants, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Win or Lose, Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Zombies and How We Became The Biggest Band In The World.

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr./Nicktoons: Avatar: The Last Airbender Sequel Series, Super Duper Bunny League and The Thundermans Undercover.

Other premieres Motel Transylvania, Winx Club, Long Story Short, Devil May Cry, Leviathan, Astérix and Obélix: The Big Fight, SpongeBob Squarepants (Play Room), Fireman Sam (Play Room), The Thundermans (Play Room), Archibald's Next Big Thing (DreamWorks) and The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib (eToonz).

Everyday Novelas

Telemundo: La Mujer De Mi Vida (The Woman Of My Life), The Count: Love And Honor (El Conde: Amor Y Honor), La Venganza De Analía (Ana's Revenge), Sed De Venganza (Thirst For Vengeance) and La Jefa (Woman Of Steel Remake).

TLNovelas: Un Refugio Para El Amor (A Shelter For Love), Un Camino Hacia El Destino (Road To Destiny), Perdona Nuestros Pecados (Family Sins),
Nadie Como Tú (One Of A Kind), El Amor Invencible (The Invincible Love), Eternamente Amándonos (Happily Ever After), Tierra De Esperanza (Land Of Hope) and Vencer La Ausencia (Overcoming Loss).

Zee TV channels: One More Try (Zee World SA, January 3rd), Taxi (Zee World), Driven By Deceit (Zee World SA, January 8th), Ruzia Sultan (Zee One, January 13th, Married Again (Zee One, January 13th), Curse Of The Sands (Rebroadcast on Zee One, January 13rd), Fire & Ice (Zee One, January 13th),  Age Is Just A Number (Zee One, January 13th) and My Daughter's Keeper (Zee One, January 26th)

eMedia channels: Gelukbringers, Chrysalis S3, Doodsondes S6, Bloedspoor, Eet Wit Leuen, Stout, Housewives, uMbali, Mother Of All, Nyama Battle and Splintered Pieces.

Rumoured shows include Ventino: El Precio De La Gloria (The Price of Glory, Ventino), Rojo Carmesí (Crimson Red), Escupiré Sobre Sus Tumbas (Until You Burn), Hercai (Inconstant Love) and Sefirin Kizi (The Ambassador's Daughter) and Gülcemal (Rose Faced).

DStv Flex:

M-Net/Showmax/Universal TV: Paris Has Fallen (Rumour), Shifting Gears, Doc, Watson, The Pitt, The Hunting Party, Extracted, The Americas, Suits L.A., Grosse Pointe Garden Society, FBI, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Dexter: Resurrection, Sheriff County, The Burbs, Lanterns, Murder In A Small Town, Celtic City, It: Welcome To Derry, Happy Face, Snowflakes and Revival.

• Canal+ pending takeover to acquire MultiChoice set to conclude by April 2025

• Skydance pending takeover of Paramount Global which might conclude by mid 2025

• Comcast's upcoming spinoff which comprise of SYFY, E!, MSNBC and CNBC set to rollout by fall 2025.

• Warner Bros. Discovery folding its linear operations like Cartoon Network and Discovery under Global Linear Networks with Max and Warner Bros. Pictures under Streaming & Studios which is also set to rollout by mid 2025.

For more developments you can visit the upcoming section on this link: click here

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

My Holiday Card To Readers: A Prediction Of What's To Come In 2025

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 SOUTH AFRICA


• Canal+ gets the greenlight to acquire MultiChoice 
- MultiChoice rebrands to MultiChoice: A Canal+ Company.
- Canal+ is given control over M-Net, SuperSport, DStv and GOtv while other shareholders manage the brands licenses in South Africa and focus on Showmax, Namola and SuperSportBET.
- Canal+ looks to reduce DStv's linear offering as they look to extend the reach of France24, Zacu TV and W-Sport. 
- M-Net Movies 3 and 4 merge into one channel as M-Net continues to simplify it's offering. 
- Canal+'s Novelas TV extends its reach to Anglophone countries on DStv and GOtv replacing Telemundo and also offers content in local languages.
- Cartoon Network West and East African feed is made available to consumers in Southern Africa (not South Africa) on channel 313.
- Play Room gets a branded block on Mzansi Wethu and extends its reach to other African countries.
- eMedia's 4 channels eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz exit the DStv platform with further content on Openview.
• Free-To-Air Households 
- eMedia Investments discontinues Zee Family and Star Select from the Openview platform.
- Muvhango gets cancelled for the second time on SABC 2, Isidingo revival/spin-off is being developed.
- Netflix acquires rights to SA's Got Talent previously held by the SABC and Family Feud SA from e.tv.
- SABC looks to launch two separate divisions one targeted on their archives and SABC+ with the other comprising of SABC 1-3 and Sport. They look into reducing commissions on these channels as they explore possible partnerships with VIU and Netflix.

GLOBAL

• Canal+ looks to acquire Senegalese based company Marodi TV and Nordic pay-tv provider Viaplay with MC Vision rebranding to Canal+ Mauritius.
• Star on Disney+ rebrands to Hulu 
• We Baby Bears cancelled on Cartoon Network after 2 seasons alongside Kiff on Disney Channel and Rock, Paper & Scissors on Nickelodeon.
• Skydance gets approval to acquire 77% stake in Paramount Global making them majority shareholder
- Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon fold under the division MTV Entertainment Group away from Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios.
- Pluto TV and Paramount+ are merged to one streaming service.
- BET Media Group and The Smithsonian Channel are put up for sale.
• Comcast finalizes transaction with proposed spin-off
- Comcast continues to license various content to new company which comprise of E!, USA Network, Oxygen and Syfy.
- Sky Group becomes an independent company and retains its pay-tv services and studios in parts of Europe.
- New company looks to acquire some assets from Warner Bros. Discovery.
- Universal Kids is closed down in the United States as further shows move to Peacock alongside Telemundo in Africa.
- MSNBC and CNBC retain their trademark but retract the Comcast logo.
- Last minute: Universal TV and Studio Universal undergoes a rebrand and closes down in some countries.

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Warner Bros. Discovery To Separate Linear From Streaming And Studios

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Warner Bros Discovery is to bring in a new corporate structure that will see the creation of two separate divisions, Global Linear Networks and Streaming & Studios.

The never-ending cycle of merger and demerger is described as being “designed to enhance its strategic flexibility and create potential opportunities to unlock additional shareholder value.”

The two divisions will both come under the corporate wing of Warner Bros Discovery, but ultimately this could lead to a spin off of the channel assets. A sale of linear channels in the Nordics and Poland is already under consideration and is a reflection of similar moves within the big US networks. The future is clearly in streaming service Max and the production that feeds it.

“Since the combination that created Warner Bros. Discovery, we have transformed our business and improved our financial position while providing world class entertainment to global audiences,” said Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO, David Zaslav. 

“We continue to prioritise ensuring our Global Linear Networks business is well positioned to continue to drive free cash flow, while our Streaming & Studios business focuses on driving growth by telling the world’s most compelling stories. Our new corporate structure better aligns our organization and enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities across an evolving media landscape, help us build on our momentum and create opportunities as we evaluate all avenues to deliver significant shareholder value.”

Its expected the new structure will be in place by mid-2025.

Last month, Comcast confirmed the separation of NBCUniversal’s cable television networks including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel. It might be expected for a similar move to take place at Paramount Global once its new owners are in place.

News Shorts: WildEarth Launches On Samsung TV Plus In The United States, Play Room To Broadcast DC Superhero Girls Following The Inclusion Of Batwheels And Telemundo Hits A New Low With Nurses S1

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WildEarth launch on Samsung TV Plus

WildEarth.tv, home of the largest safari vehicle in the world, announced that the channel will officially launch on Samsung TV Plus in the USA on 12 December 2024, just in time for the holiday season.

Samsung TV Plus is the go-to service for free, premium entertainment that allows content owners and advertisers to engage consumers at scale. As a leader in free ad-supported TV (FAST) and video-on-demand (AVOD), Samsung TV Plus is the #1 free ad-supported app on Samsung Smart TVs, with over 3,000 ad-supported linear channels available across 30 territories and over 630M active devices, Samsung TV Plus is exclusively available across Samsung TV, Galaxy, Smart Monitor, and Family Hub
 lineups.

Earlier in the month, WildEarth was reinstated on MultiChoice's DStv this comes after the two had a carriage dispute with WildEarth going on a rant. Since then, the CEO of the channel had issued an apology to MultiChoice regarding their past remarks with both evading questions as to how they've come to an agreement.

The DC Universe enters Play Room

After Play Room acquired rights to the Netflix hit series Batwheels now the channel is set to expand this offering with DC Superhero Girls: Superhero Of The Year. The short series was initially broadcast on e.tv with the more longer format series and films on Cartoon Network.

DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year is an American animated superhero film based on the DC Super Hero Girls franchise, produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It follows seven female students of Super Hero High as they discover their superpowers and fight the evil Dark Opal, who intends to develop a lethal weapon.

It will broadcast at 4PM from 13 December.

A rebroadcast of Nurses S1 replaces Hidden Passions 

Nurses was acquired on Telemundo back in 2022 and serves as one of the longest time productions viewed on the channel by Colombia's RCN who also produced shows like The Chosen Granddaughter and slated to also a return in the coming weeks, The Scent Of Passion.

It was quietly scrubbed from the line-up last year forcing Telemundo to temporarily halt primetime due to a change in legislation imposed in Cameroon and Uganda which prohibited broadcasters from promoting gay content. A censored version of the show was rebroadcast on the channel later in the year.

Now Telemundo is set to rebroadcast the first season of the medical drama from 19 December despite already doing so within the year of course the third and fourth season were left out at the time for unknown reasons.

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Video: Afrikaans Voice Actors For Ramo

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Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Not Shocking!!! The Disney Channels To Go Dark In France By The End Of December With Further Content Being Allocated On Disney+

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Canal+, which launched Disney+ in the French market, is to lose the streaming service from 1 January 2025.

Disney announced Monday that its content would no longer be available to Canal’s subscribers – the day that the Vivendi-owned company was celebrating its 40th anniversary.

It is a major blow for the pay-TV operator that has successfully pivoted to a super-aggregator after an earlier loss of rights to French top-flight football. 

In addition to Disney+, remaining linear channels such as Disney Channel will also be pulled, as will content from the Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar franchises, at least in the short-term.

The decision by Disney no longer let its latest films be broadcast by the pay-TV service six months after their cinema release, as is in the norm in France means it will now take 17 months before viewers are able to stream the latest titles through Disney+.

A spokesperson for Disney told Broadband TV News: “From 1 January, Canal’s customers will no longer be able to watch our upcoming new movie releases, Disney+ or our channels through Canal’s offering. Our blockbuster movies, award-winning TV series, and exclusive Originals remain widely available on Disney+ directly and through partners for everyone to enjoy their favorite stories from our brands.”

Speaking on France Info Gérald-Brice Viret, CEO of Canal+ France, was putting on a brave face. “They had the delicacy to do it on our anniversary. And on the other hand, I can tell you that it is a fairly marginal consumption by our subscribers: they prefer, for example, MAX, Paramount, Netflix, Apple TV or Ciné+,” he said. 

In 2019, Canal signed an exclusive distribution agreement for Disney’s streaming platform, a few months before its launch in France.

Friday, November 1, 2024

The Thundermans (Pilot) | Nickelodeon

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Thursday, October 24, 2024

Afrikaans Voice Actors For Blink Kant Bo And Op Dun v

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Saturday, October 19, 2024

Marvel's Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur Cancelled After Two Seasons On Disney Channel And Disney+

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Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is based on Marvel Comics and follows the adventures of Lunella Lafayette (voiced by Diamond White) and Devil Dinosaur (voiced by Fred Tatasciore), a 13-year-old genius and her red T-Rex pal, respectively. In addition to a rather stacked supporting cast with the likes of Alfre Woodard and Gary Anthony Williams, executive producer Laurence Fishburne also voices The Beyonder.

Development began after Marvel Studios president Louis D'Esposito showed Fishburne the comic book Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. His interest piqued, Fishburne sought to make an animated series based on the duo. Production proceeded for two years before Steve Loter was hired as an executive producer. 

The series received highly positive reviews for its writing, animation, soundtrack, representation and characters. The series also won five Children's and Family Emmy Awards.

The first season of Marvel's Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur was broadcast on Disney Channel from February 10, 2023 to May 6, 2023 consisting of 16 episodes. The second season which is currently on air followed a year later on February 2, 2024 with 24 episodes said to be in development.

According to recent reports, Disney Channel will be ending the show with its current season as a season 3 will not be greenlit. Of course, writers had expressed the idea of a potential third season with a script that was said to be developed all of which will likely not fruition as the remaining episodes will likely be available within the first half of 2025.

Marvel's Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur is not the only animated show by the network to have been cancelled but also Hailey's On It and The Ghost And Molly McGee. It is alleged that Disney has been using a different ratings system (i.e. Disney+) to monitor the performance of these shows and another is them prioritising IPs.

Saturday, October 12, 2024

Important News Dated 12 October

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As some of you already know, Google has killed their traffic for a lot of independent sites so what this means rather is publishers lose about 50% to 90% of its audience and each update to their system ends up leading to more declines. So now I opted to sort of portion my content from the website with that of Insidus Television (my YouTube channel).

For now, some of the videos are in low quality but we plan to fix this overtime as we navigate this whole ordeal with Google which brings another topic to the agenda which is the fate of Entertainment Inside Us and Insidus Plus.

Before we had three websites and opted to close one of them but soon we could look to consolidate this under one umbrella but it depends on how our sites perform in the coming months. Right now, I don't see any hope coming from these updates and would rather just explore other avenues.

We have a Facebook, Instagram and an X (formerly Twitter) and similar to YouTube I might as well try to curate exclusive content for these platforms. Right now with Insidus Television we are kind of trying to navigate with what works, what doesn't or what can we improve from these results as it's different audience from that field compared to our websites.

Canal+'s Offer For MultiChoice Remains Unchanged As The Company Pivots Toward Streaming

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Last month, it was reported that the French broadcaster Canal+ and MultiChoice have begun engaging with local legislation regarding the change in ownership. As part of the agreement, Canal+ would maintain a 45% hold of the company while the remaining 55% goes to various shareholders at MultiChoice.

With its current stake, Canal+ is opting to put all its focus on DStv, GOtv, M-Net and SuperSport as mentioned by the brand's CEO a couple months back. This led MultiChoice to make Sanlam a majority shareholder in their insurance company while others like Irdeto and Namola will probably survive as little investment goes into their operation.

Both these companies are seeking to comply with government's cap to foreign ownership and this could lead to MultiChoice giving Canal+ it's ROA business which is home to brands like Africa Magic and Pearl Magic. As Canal+ seeks local partners to manage the licenses of DStv in South Africa.

MultiChoice SA is putting all their focus on Showmax as their consumer base on DStv plummets hoping to extend its reach to 50 million households by 2028. It's likely that Canal+ will manage their pay-tv operations and serve as a collaborator of some sort to Showmax.

Ideally, it doesn't really seem impossible for them to own these platforms rather than the bulk of channels under their belt which include SABC News and Moja Love as the license holder would be in charge of those brands. If anything, one could imagine Showmax getting spun off into a standalone company.

Right now, neither MultiChoice SA or Showmax can survive without the income coming from DStv which is why they're hoping to skyrocket the number of platforms for the streamer. Although subscriber numbers have yet to be unveiled it has been estimated that Showmax has around 500000 to 3 million subscribers.

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

StarSat Looking To Launch A Streaming Service To Rival With YouTube

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During the month, ICASA and SARS raided the offices of StarSat confiscating several equipment belonging to owners On Digital Media and StarTimes Media. This has led to a number of TV channels viewed in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda to have been blocked while consumers in South Africa experience a complete blackout.

In an interview on SABC News, the company's head of public affairs had outlined plans to launch its own YouTube type service which would allow bloggers podcasters and other local creators to curate content on that platform. This was part of a recovery plan as the broadcaster was dealing with financial woes during that time.

With this market already crowded with other platforms such as Showmax, Netflix, YouTube, eVOD and SABC+ the best guess here would be that this platform will rollout on the StarTimes app. With the StarSat already platform already having very little consumers this seems like the only probable option for sustainability.

Considering this will take up a format similar to YouTube, it may join the rankings of SABC+ and Freevision Play and offer no monthly fees while as offering a pay service similar to DStv Stream. A lot of streamers are struggling right now so I don't see how StarSat would be any different as some like SABC and Showmax rely on partners to survive.

Let's say this platform does launch how are local creators getting compensation and better yet will this platform ever get anywhere in terms of consumer growth. If StarSat from its 10+ years in South Africa sees their reach sitting under half a million how sure are they that these endeavours won't up like TelkomOne or Acorn TV.

With the company already facing several hurdles with their pay-tv operations, consumers are probably going to refrain themselves from these endeavours. Besides that, YouTube and TikTok are already dominant players in that regard so similar to the likes of DStv it would be challenging to find an audience in a market filled with constraints.


Thursday, September 26, 2024

MultiChoice, NBCUniversal Invest R2.8 Billion Into Showmax

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MultiChoice video streaming platform Showmax has received equity funding of $164 million (R2.8 billion), as it looks to take on international video-on-demand platforms such as Netflix and Disney+.

This, after in March last year, MultiChoice entered into an agreement with Comcast subsidiary NBCUniversal and Sky, to form a partnership for purposes of driving Showmax to become the “leading streaming service in Africa”.

Comcast, through its subsidiary NBCUniversal, acquired a 30% equity stake in Showmax, and provides ongoing support through the licensing of its Peacock platform and content from NBCUniversal, Universal Pictures, Peacock and Sky.

MultiChoice, through its wholly-owned subsidiary MultiChoice Group Holdings, and Comcast, through NBCUniversal, are providing funding to Showmax (only as and when Showmax’s board determines) during its investment phase.

According to MultiChoice, this is contributed in proportion to the companies’ respective shareholdings and they will share profits on the same basis in future.

It adds that equity funding is provided as required (either monthly or at other intervals) depending on Showmax’s working capital requirements and near-term budget (as determined by Showmax’s board) subject to a maximum capped amount.

As at 31 March 2024, MultiChoice Group and NBCUniversal provided, in the aggregate, $120 million (R2 billion) in equity funding to Showmax, each in proportion of their respective shareholdings.

“Since 1 April 2024 until the date of this announcement, MultiChoice Group and NBCUniversal provided, in the aggregate, $164 million (R2.8 billion) in equity funding to Showmax, each in proportion of their respective shareholdings,” says the JSE-listed video entertainment company.

Faced with declining subscriber numbers in the traditional pay-TV space, MultiChoice is pinning its hopes on streaming platforms Showmax and DStv Stream.

The company’s latest financial results show overall active subscribers declined by 9%.

According to the company, this was mainly due to a 13% decline in the “rest of Africa” business, with Nigeria, Angola and Zambia most affected, while the South African business was more resilient, declining by only 5%.

The results come as French-based media giant Canal+ is looking to take over the South African firm in a R30 billion deal.

Over the years, MultiChoice’s subscriber numbers have reduced amid pressure from global streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime.

To boost its streaming offerings, MultiChoice relaunched Showmax, stating its intention of becoming the leading platform in Africa.

However, research projections show the new Showmax will become Africa’s second-biggest video streaming service in five years.

According to a report by Digital TV Research, Sub-Saharan Africa will have 16 million paying subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) subscriptions by 2029, up from seven million at the end of 2023.

It notes Netflix will remain the SVOD market leader, with 6.9 million subscribers by 2029, and Showmax will be the second-largest platform, with 3.7 million paying subscribers.

MultiChoice recently enhanced its DStv Stream app
 by adding personalisation features, which it believes will draw more viewers to the platform.

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Barney's World Premieres In October On Cartoonito Across USA And EMEA

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Mattel, Inc. and Warner Bros. Discovery announced today that Barney, Mattel’s iconic purple dinosaur, will return to television screens for the first time in 14 years. Barney’s World, a new animated series featuring original music and updated takes on Barney classics, will premiere Monday, October 14 on MAX followed by a linear premiere on Cartoon Network starting on Friday, October 18. The show also launches on Cartoonito in EMEA and APAC, and Discovery Kids in LATAM.  Select episodes of Barney’s World will be available on YouTube, where the first episode will debut early on October 11 in specific countries.  

MEET BARNEY, BABY BOP, AND BILLY!

The new Barney’s World is set in a playground, where Barney is joined by dinos Billy and Baby Bop and their three kid best friends David, Mel, and Vivie. Through action-packed, music-filled adventures together, Barney helps the kids and audiences explore big preschool emotions, showing them how to love themselves, others, and their communities.

Originally launched in 1988, Barney quickly became a global sensation, captivating audiences with the friendly dinosaur and his larger-than-life personality. The Barney & Friends series aired on top broadcasters globally, including 14 seasons on PBS in the United States, with its final episode airing on November 2, 2010.

While Barney’s World was developed for preschoolers, viewers of all ages will feel nostalgic singing along with Barney and his friends again. Today’s parents, many of whom grew up with the lovable dinosaur, can now create memories with their own children as they experience this new take on a beloved classic.

Barney’s World premieres with 52, 11-minute episodes featuring familiar faces and new characters alike, including:

• Jonathan Langdon (ZOMBIES) as Barney - A singing and dancing purple dinosaur who embodies love, Barney is a great listener who helps his friends work through challenges in a way that is caring to themselves and others.
• Bryn McAuley (Hotel Transylvania: The Series) as Baby Bop - A charming and opinionated dinosaur who is an advocate for all feelings, no matter how big or small.
• Jonathan Tan (Rubble & Crew) as Billy – An energetic dino who loves action and loud sounds. With a strong sense of self awareness, Billy encourages kids to express their feelings and care for themselves. 
• Jayd Deroché (Super Why’s Comic Book Adventures) as David – An empathetic, self-aware, and caring kid, David loves giving big hugs and has an infectious laugh that he shares with his friends, older brother, and younger sister.
• Diana Tsoy (CoComelon Lane) as Mel – Mel is active, competitive, and always up for a challenge. She is multiracial from Korean and Mexican heritage, speaks three languages, and loves to share her culture with her friends. 
• Ella Paciocco (Vocal Star) as Vivie - Vivie is wildly creative and loves to paint and perform. She lives with her Nonna, and together they enjoy cooking, sharing Italian traditions, and caring for their friends and family.

“The goal of Mattel Television Studios is to develop and distribute episodic and long-form content that expands Mattel’s characters and storylines across linear and streaming platforms worldwide,” said Josh Silverman, Chief Franchise Officer, Mattel. “Barney nurtures the power of love in all of us, and we are thrilled to bring him back to fans all around the world. We hope this modern revival leaves an impression on young audiences, imparting lessons that will positively influence them as they grow up.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Mattel to bring a fresh, imaginative new take on Barney that resonates with today’s preschoolers and their families around the world,” said Vanessa Brookman, General Manager Kids, Global Streaming and International Networks, Warner Bros. Discovery.  

“This new animated series aims to blend nostalgia with modern storytelling, ensuring that the world’s beloved purple dinosaur continues to inspire, educate, and delight young audiences.”

Barney’s World is co-produced by Mattel Television Studios and Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana. It is executive produced by Michelle Mendelovitz and Josh Silverman for Mattel and by Athena Georgaklis, Doug Murphy, Mellany Welsh, and Pam Westman for Nelvana.

Sunday, August 25, 2024

How Showmax Has Become A DStv Competitor To Canal+?

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Showmax is African based streaming service operated by DStv parent company MultiChoice which is in the process of being acquired by French broadcaster Canal+. It takes on other streamers in the market like Netflix, SABC+, eVOD, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Disney+.

Since late 2023, NBCUniversal obtained a 30% stake in streaming service which gave consumers access to content from Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation and Telemundo International. This also helped the company extend the reach of Peacock after being constant to America. 

After licensing various channels like Studio Universal, Universal TV, DreamWorks, E! Entertainment and Telemundo to DStv consumers in Africa. They even curated OTT version of these channels known as Universal+ through DStv Stream with plans to get their DStv Glass service scrapped. 

MultiChoice sites the current economic climate as the reason this product had been shelved but some believe it may have to do with the possible takeover by Canal+. As the CEO of Canal+ had mentioned at some point that their prime focus is being allocated onto content and content distribution. 

MultiChoice has all these other ventures such as Namola, Showmax, SuperSportBET and Irdeto part of which just seems like a waste now based on its financial performance. Not long ago, they had reduced their stake on DStv Insurance to 25% with the rest allocated to Sanlam. 

Canal+ was able to brief the media in on the plans awaiting MultiChoice one of which having to do with another subsidiary, Showmax. With Netflix taking over how people consume content, MultiChoice had to trim the entertainment on DStv down to a point where Me had been axed.

Me was being built up as open window to M-Net for Compact consumers similar to how Mzansi Wethu wad tailored for Access. Now that portal had been closed and merged to what Compact+ consumers alongside Premium view as 1Max.

Canal+ offers the same content on different platforms through MyCanal it is basically how DStv Stream is with the DStv platform which is multimedia. Giving consumers different ways of accessing the very same content but this stopped being the case with DStv and Showmax. 

When Disney+ launched all of its existence was built around its linear offering same with Paramount+, SABC+ and eVOD. But with Showmax that changed as you get content like Chucky: The Series on Showmax but not through DStv yet M-Net has to fold all their content on Showmax.

DStv has to rely on sport to get any attention nowadays but when it comes to entertainment from Zee Zonke for instance those don't make much of an impact with Showmax. Hollywood Reporters even did an article on how content from Telemundo and TLNovelas is under siege from these platforms.

Similar to how M-Net is ramping up its local offering and going as far as partnering with international studios a similar outcome awaited Telemundo and TelevisaUnivison. In the end, these brands are trying to sustain themselves in a world where Netflix can control how you view them.

Saturday, August 17, 2024

VIU Looking To Become The Third Broadcaster To Rival With eExtra's Kuiertyd

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VIU is an Asian based streaming service that is formed as part of a joint venture with PCCW Media Limited and French broadcaster Canal+. Residing in more than 20 countries, VIU is estimated to have reached over 60 million users as the streamer plans to build up on its content slate.

Canal+ which serves as partner is currently in pursuit of Showmax's parent company MultiChoice after garnering stakes is now sitting at 45%. The plan should this acquisition succeed is to create an African powerhouse that can take on giants like Disney and Netflix. 

Another plan on the cards would be introducing international content in local languages particularly Afrikaans. eMedia Investments has been doing this since 2018 and had since then become popular within South Africa literally doubling the viewership of SABC 2's 7de Laan.

KykNET became eMedia Investments' first competitor in such pursuit as this offering was rolled out through KykNET&Kie. Both of which are owned by MultiChoice, with Canal+ looking to acquire this could lead to additional programming as the channel had simplified this offering in May.

Although Showmax had already been producing Afrikaans content for their audiences none of which rival with shows like Doodsondes or Sommerdahl Moorde. But rather the niche part of Kuiertyd with only a variant of these viewers with Bôll And Ôll and Ja, Daddy Kan Lekker Eet.

It will be interesting to see how these shows will do in terms of distribution cause with Canal+ owning KykNET they could use it promote these endeavors. Another scenario would be shopping these series to other broadcasters like the SABC since they are technically insolvent. 

The public broadcaster has been looking at cost cutting measures aside from possibly selling SABC 3 another was reducing budget costs for shows like Muvhango. VIU has been the official distributor to some of their shows like Uzalo and Skeem Saam.


Press statement about the inclusion of dubbed programming 

The demand for foreign content is so great that part of Viu’s strategy for the next year is to dub more and more of these titles into South African languages to make them more accessible.

While K-dramas are geared more towards English speakers, Turkish content is more aligned with Afrikaans audiences. Kelly said part of the growth in demand for Turkish content is due to the gap left by long-running Afrikaans shows like 7de Laan reaching end of life.

For Viu, the dubbing of content in Afrikaans gives the company an opportunity to use internationally sourced content to contribute to the local economy by employing local vocal talent. “The Turks are doing well in TV production, particularly in the long-running dramas. We work with some of the best dubbing providers in the country and we want to make sure we don’t do our audience a disservice in that,” said Kelly.

Friday, August 16, 2024

Showmax And VIU Are Likely To Remain Unscathed In Canal+'s Pursuit Of MultiChoice

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VIU is an Asian based streaming service that is formed as part of a joint venture with PCCW Media Limited and French broadcaster Canal+. Residing in more than 20 countries, VIU is estimated to have reached over 60 million users as the streamer plans to build up on its content slate.

Canal+ which serves as partner is currently in pursuit of Showmax's parent company MultiChoice after garnering stakes is now sitting at 45%. The plan should this acquisition succeed is to create an African powerhouse that can take on giants like Disney and Netflix. 

Of course, one of those burning questions is how VIU and Showmax will be able to co-exist seeing as they'll have the same owner - Canal+. Both have been producing content locally and licensing from international studios and the fear here is that this acquisition could reduce that. 

But that may not be the case here exactly although Canal+ is obtaining MultiChoice the only way this deal could move forward would be the assistance of another business. Canal+ is still trying to build its stake in VIU and its very unlikely that they'd pursue full ownership. 

If anything one can only estimate that similar to France, Canal+ is probably trying to do what MultiChoice has with SABC News and eNCA and flex their dominance. VIU and Showmax will most definitely be treated as individual broadcasters in the streaming regime. 

VIU is constrained to Asia, Middle East and South Africa and Showmax extends to other parts of Africa. So content wise, there may not be that much changes of course nothing can be guaranteed here I can imagine select content from M-Net most probably popping up there.

Then there's that whole matter with the SABC, how different will VIU's relationship be by then when its parent company acquires its rival. Do these just fall off the schedule in favor of M-Net's local offering or does this offering remain constraint on separate platforms.

Canal+ had been producing content through StudioCanal and with MultiChoice it plans to increase local investment. Showmax instead of being a platform with content from M-Net, NBC and so forth switches to become some M-Net based streaming service with select international content on VIU.

If there's one thing that was kind of speculated for sometime was Canal+ looking to possibly trim or lessen some of the agreements put in place for content. In place of reduced international offering would be content generated from France and parts of Europe.

Saturday, August 10, 2024

Cartoon Network's Future In Doubt As Warner Bros. Discovery Pulls The Cord On Its Website

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During the week, it was announced that Warner Bros. Discovery had closed/merged Cartoon Network's websites in America with the Max streaming service. Home to clips, video games and and other content from various shows on the network had been axed without prior notice. 

According to Warner Bros. Discovery who have accumulated 40 billion dollars in debt making a sale impossible less people people were using this website. So they'll put more focus on Cartoon Network as a channel alongside its multiple social platforms including Facebook and YouTube. 

Whenever users try to access CartoonNetwork.com consumers are being directed to Max probably an attempt to get consumers to pay. What is also odd in this scenario is that all of Discovery's channels websites even Adult Swim were unaffected unlike Cartoon Network. 

Now questions amount to whether a similar fate could await consumers in Europe and other parts of the world as well. Warner Bros. Discovery is technically insolvent and the only option they have is to sell portions of the company in order to reduce their expenses if not close them.

Although the linear part of Cartoon Network remains intact in other countries whose to say that this will be like that for the foreseeable future. Look at Paramount for starters before Skydance made its bid to acquire the company a lot of feeds within Europe for the MTV and Nickelodeon channels had merged.

On top of that, Nickelodeon Africa's Facebook page had a regional block (for some weird reason) and consumers were redirected to one used by America while the page continued adding new content. Whose to say that Cartoon Network may not as well undergo a similar fate as Nickelodeon. 

There's a lot of fear amongst consumers of Cartoon Network potentially shuttering its doors or for Adult Swim to someday takeover its operations. It has more hours on the channel in America than Cartoon Network itself on top of that there hasn't been much content coming to the channel. 

That's exactly what happened with Boomerang before becoming Cartoonito in other parts of the world. It started out as a block on the channel before gaining more hours and taking whatever content was left of Boomerang while others like Mr. Magoo reverted to Cartoon Network. 

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