Spice TV: Could Zee Family And Star Select Also Exit Openview's Ultraview Or Could A Possible Restructure Be Underway?

Last month, it was reported eMedia Investigation would be axing OUTtv by the end of the month. As further content fold under the eVOD streaming service, while Ultraview came with a fee content from OUTtv comes at no charge.

Of course, what eMedia Investments failed to mention was that FUSE would also exit the platform as they form part of a new joint venture on eVOD, OUTtv Proud. Thus concluding eMedia's short run in the pay-tv world or at least for Ultraview's EDGE bouquet. 

Ultraview only launched a year ago and already it is being dismantled with the Indian channels serving as the remainder.

As some readers are aware, Ultraview has been met with heavy criticism for its price rates and content offering leading some to speculate its possible demise. Taking to account, load shedding and other economic factors like competition (e.g. DStv).

Ultraview is anticipated to have attracted 3/4 digit number cause again a lot had happened in 2023. With load shedding consumers had to cutback on expenses and that included DStv and also with Netflix onboard - Ultraview never stood a stance.

Of course, from what consumer feedback seemed to hint at most of that traction came from Spice TV's Zee Family and Star Select. This is due to the existing offering already viewed on Star Life and Zee One, sister channels to the mentioned offering. 

Another having to with the timeslot as EDGE was opened between 9pm to 11pm where consumption is low.

It's likely that eMedia Investments could be awaiting on contracts to reach their duration and depart from the pay-tv world. In the last months, they haven't done much marketing for these brands and honestly it could lead up to them scrapping Ultraview. 

Another could be a possible restructuring to the Ultraview platform which would see Spice TV form part of an expansive lineup of channels. Problem with OUTtv is that not everyone is accustomed to its target audience so rather unify it with eVOD.

As for the expanded lineup, one theory would be curating eVOD into a standalone channel similar to M-Net's 1Max. It would carry eVOD originals while also supplying other content and who knows maybe the offering could be divided into multiple channels.

Sony Plans To Scrap Merger With Zee TV Parent Company

Japan's Sony (6758.T) is planning to scrap the merger of its Indian unit with Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS), more than two years after the deal was announced, over a disagreement on who will lead the $10 billion entity, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

Sony plans to file a termination notice before the extended Jan. 20 deadline to close the merger, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It added that discussions between Sony and Zee were still ongoing.

Zee and Sony did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The deal to merge Zee and Sony's TV channels, streaming platforms and film assets has been delayed after India's markets regulator, in August, barred Punit Goenka, Zee CEO and a candidate to lead the merged entity, from directorships of any listed company.

An Indian tribunal, however, lifted the ban on Goenka in October but said he would have to cooperate with any investigation by the country's markets regulator.

In November, Sony pushed for N.P. Singh, the managing director of its Indian operations, to head the merged company, instead of Goenka, local business daily Mint had reported.

Recap To Last Year: A Swahili And Hausa Dubbed Version To Zee Zonke Was Said To Be In Development, No Word On Amharic

During the year, MultiChoice and Zee Entertainment Enterprises unveiled South Africa's first Zulu dubbed Bollywood channel, Zee Zonke. Based on Zee Marathi, the channel would complement and also rival with the existing offering seen on Zee World and Star Life. 

Zee Zonke is applicable to consumers in South Africa and across Southern Africa particularly Botswana, Namibia and Malawi meaning the Western and Eastern parts of Africa such as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda don't have the channel.

Prior to its debut, Zee Entertainment Enterprises had been dubbing numerous shows from Zee World in local languages such as Jodha And Akbar and Twist Of Fate. On top of that, the company was rumoured to rolling out a general entertainment channel in the Swahili and Hausa language.

Considering that Zee Alem caters for Ethiopia with Zee Zonke catering for Southern Africa. It wouldn't seem far fetched if MultiChoice Africa and Zee Entertainment Enterprises were looking to get more local localised versions of Zee Zonke to these regions.

Zee Alem already operates in Ethiopia dubbing various content from Zee World in Amharic so content from Zee Zonke could as well just migrate the channel if not form a separate channel as seen in Southern Africa.

ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited Has Announced The Relaunch Of ZEE One In Germany Through A Strategic Partnership With Samsung TV Plus.

The Bollywood-centric channel uniquely tailored for German viewers, will provide audiences with thousands of hours of Bollywood films, including titles like ‘Happy New Year’, ‘Pardes’, ‘Rustom’, ‘Shamitabh’, and many more.

Furthermore, it offers highly successful Indian television series dubbed in the German language, such as ‘Jamai Raja’, ‘Kundali Bhagya’, and ‘Jodha Akbar’.

ZEE One promises to deliver high-quality entertainment from the cinematic Mecca of Asia: Bollywood. Zee One’s premium content is specially adapted for the German market. This fast channel will broadcast a highly curated mix of movies and series, starring Bollywood superstars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, and Deepika Padukone. The movies will span all genres, including romance, comedy, action, among others.

Punit Misra, President – Content & International Markets at ZEE Entertainment Enterprises, highlighted the strategic importance of this step: “We are delighted to collaborate with Samsung TV Plus to offer an enriched Indian entertainment experience for our viewers in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. As a global content company, ZEE is present in over 190 countries, entertaining over a billion viewers worldwide. With this partnership, we are recommitting ourselves to being Extraordinary Together in the service of one of the most competitive and leading content markets worldwide.”

Ashok Namboodiri, Chief Business Officer – International Business, said, “ZEE One is more than just a channel – it’s a cultural bridge that connects audiences in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria to the vibrant world of Bollywood. Our goal is to provide genuine and captivating viewing experiences that transcend borders while honoring the timeless universal language of storytelling. Partnering with Samsung TV Plus aligns perfectly with our vision of serving not just the South Asian diaspora with channels and programming in Indian languages but also the wider international audience in their native languages.”

Benedikt Frey, Country Lead DACH – Samsung TV Plus, says, “We are delighted to add ZEE One to Samsung TV Plus in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. This marks an exciting moment as we bring hours of Bollywood- centric content to the service in the DACH region. We look forward to bringing the vibrant world of Bollywood to new and existing audiences, in Indian languages.”

This new deal is another feather in the cap of Parul, who has demonstrated the might of ZEE UK and Europe by expediting its business and forging strong allegiances like this.

Samsung TV Plus is Samsung’s own FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) service; no subscription, sign-up, additional devices, or credit card are required. It comes pre-installed on Samsung Smart TVs from 2016 to 2023 and can be downloaded from the Google Play and Galaxy Store on Samsung Galaxy devices in select territories. With Samsung TV Plus, users can access numerous channels spanning news, sports, entertainment, along with a library of movies and popular shows for on-demand viewing. This ad-supported service is accessible in the UK and 15 other European regions, requiring only an internet connection.

New Channel Alert: Zee One Coming This September To Zuku TV

During the week, it was reported that the East African pay-tv broadcaster Zuku TV had acquired rights to BBC Studios' preschool brand, CBeebies. Now the brand is set to welcome another channel within the coming weeks Zee Entertainment Enterprises' Zee One channel.

Zee One is a general entertainment channel offering a variety of Bollywood dramas and films. Spun off from the pay-tv counterpart Zee World, the channel featured a variety of content already viewed on the brand alongside first run series like Carmen and Between You And Me.

The channel was made available to eMedia Investments' free-to-view Openview platform and pay-tv rival StarTimes and On Digital Media's StarSat back in 2021. It is not available on DStv as selected shows are being transmitted on Zee World.

Not long ago, MultiChoice and Zee Entertainment Enterprises unveiled a Southern African adaptation to the current Zee Marathi, Zee Zonke. Similar to Ethiopia's Zee Alem, Zee Zonke distribute various content in local languages.

Press Release: Sisonke With Zee Zonke! DStv Brings The Indian Community To DStv Access

Zee Entertainment Launches new isiZulu channel, Zee Zonke on DStv

 

23 August 2023: The home of entertainment, DStv, will be bringing a new channel to viewers screens. Zee Zonke is a 24-hour general entertainment television channel dubbed entirely in isiZulu with English subtitles, coming from Zee Entertainment.

 

Zee Zonke is set to premier on DStv channel 169 from Monday, 28 August 2023 on all DStv Premium, Compact+, Compact, Family and Access.

 

Zee Zonke is a testament to Zee Entertainment’s commitment to innovation and diversity, as it proudly brings captivating content to viewers through the power of language – isiZulu. The channel will debut with an array of riveting series across the week and weekends showcasing romance, drama, action, suspense, and crime.

 

With the many years Zee has been in South Africa, it’s localisation efforts and job creation, the brand has become a household name, one of South Africa’s very own.

 

“Our vision at Zee Entertainment has always been to push the boundaries of innovation and deliver exceptional entertainment experiences. The launch of Zee Zonke marks an exciting milestone for us as we aim to bridge linguistic barriers and provide a unique viewing experience that resonates with diverse audiences, and we feel we have done that with this channel offering in isiZulu" says Somnath Malakar, CEO: ZEE Africa.

 

“We continue to strengthen our partnerships, which in turn strengthens our content offering, therefore, we are extremely excited to introduce Zee Zonke to our viewers. What is extremely special about this channel launch is that we get to bring great  entertainment in isiZulu. As Africa’s most loved storyteller, we are always looking to offer diverse entertainment to our DStv customers and the Zee Zulu offering aims to do just that,” says Georginah Machiridza, Executive Head of General Entertainment Channels at MultiChoice Group.

 

Zee Zonke will give DStv customers never seen before series, seven days a week. Here are some of the thrilling titles to look forward to:

 

 

Zee Zonke will be available on DStv channel 169 from 28 August 2023.

New Channel Alert: Zee Zonke Coming This September To DStv

During the week, it was reported that MultiChoice had begun tests on another channel which was believed to be another duplicate to Moja Love. But in recent developments, we got to discover that the channel belongs to the makers of Zee TV, Zee World and Zee One.

Zee Zonke operated by Zee Entertainment Enterprises is a South African adaptation to the current Zee TV importing content seen on Zee TV (mostly Zee Marathi) and dubbing them in local languages as seen with rival brand eExtra's Kuiertyd operated by eMedia Investments.

This will be the second region based channel operated by Zee Entertainment Enterprises with Zee Alem currently situated in Ethiopia dubbing various content from Zee World.

As for the channel number, it will likely be allocated in the 160 section (likely 169) which is where Zee World resides and also it's the same area currently harvested by other Southern Africa brands including Mzansi Magic, Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop

When it comes to the package, impressed guess would be Access and probably Easyview seeing as consumers on these packages don't have Zee World like the rest of Africa. It would also be added to consumers on Compact, Compact+ and Premium.

Zee Zonke might be applicable to only South Africa.

Considering that all of this will be locally dubbed, the channel will most likely take up the format used on TLNovelas when distributing content. It's currently unknown whether movies will reside on the soon to be launched channel but it wouldn't be shocking if it were only dramas.

The idea of Zee Zonke might have come out after Zee World debuted Jodha And Akbar with a Zulu soundtrack. It garnered popularity with consumers that it wasn't long till they got other programming got into the local mix in South Africa and the rest of Africa.

But it's kind of surprising how Jodha And Akbar isn't part of Zee Zonke's lineup as the only confirmed series at the time include Umakwapheni, Imfihlo, We Mamezala, and Onesipho.

CONFIRMED SERIES:

• Umakwapheni (Majhya Navaryachi Bayko): The drama revolves around Gurunath who is happily married to Radhika until he falls in love with Shanaya, a colleague. What would happen when Radhika learns about this affair and what will be her move to save the marriage?

• Imfihlo (Tula Pahate Re): Vikram Saranjame is a rich and lonely businessman. He gets attracted towards Esha one of his employee whose half his age. Esha two falls in love with him after he shows kindness towards her family as they are not doing financially well. Vikrant and Esha finally get married. But Vikrant has a secret to hide behind a closed door in his mansion.

• We Mamezala (Aggabai Sunbai): A strong bond develops as Asavari, a level-headed businesswoman, tries to help her daughter-in-law, Shubhra, navigate the harsh realities of motherhood and family life.

• Onesipho (Nayan - Jo Vekhe Unvekha): Nayan, a simple small town girl, experiences the boon and bane of her power of premonition. She goes on to marry Devansh under unusual circumstances and turns out to be his saviour. 

Development Hell: Merger Between Sony And Zee Delayed Once Again

India’s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is reserving its order on the controversial merger plan between Sony’s India division and Zee Enterprises.

Sony’s local business is Culver Max Entertainment and has been planning a merger with Subhash Chandra-backed Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL). NCLT is pausing so that the two parties can make further submissions to the Tribunal.

Senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas representing ZEEL stated that non-creditor objectors in the matter, who are not even the company’s creditors, are holding the merger to ransom.

“Currently, 70 per cent of the equity is held by the public institutions, who are lenders, while about 25.88 per cent is held by public non-institutions, and merely 3.99 per cent is held by promoters,” argued Dwarkadas.

Dwarkadas’ reference to ‘the promotors’ is a reference to the Chandra family.

Development Hell: Merger Between Sony And Zee Delayed Once Again

India’s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is reserving its order on the controversial merger plan between Sony’s India division and Zee Enterprises.

Sony’s local business is Culver Max Entertainment and has been planning a merger with Subhash Chandra-backed Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL). NCLT is pausing so that the two parties can make further submissions to the Tribunal.

Senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas representing ZEEL stated that non-creditor objectors in the matter, who are not even the company’s creditors, are holding the merger to ransom.

“Currently, 70 per cent of the equity is held by the public institutions, who are lenders, while about 25.88 per cent is held by public non-institutions, and merely 3.99 per cent is held by promoters,” argued Dwarkadas.

Dwarkadas’ reference to ‘the promotors’ is a reference to the Chandra family.

Zee And Sony Merger Expected To Be Completed By September

The anticipated merger between Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) is expected to be completed by the first half of the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, Sony Corp CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said during the company's annual corporate strategy meeting last week.

"By the end of the first half of this fiscal year, we are trying to complete the merger with ZEEL," Yoshida said, adding that the Indian media and entertainment (M&E) market is ripe for accelerated growth due to its large population and the creative talent that exists in the country.

"India has become the most populous country globally. There are so many growth opportunities in India, especially in entertainment. India is a creative country, and it has become the biggest producer of films since 2005," he said. Yoshida also noted that half of India's population is below the age of 30. This, he said, presents a huge opportunity in areas like anime and gaming. "There is great potential for growth in India in these areas," he added.

Apart from Yoshida, the meeting was also addressed by Sony president, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki; NP Singh, MD of SPNI, also gave a presentation on the opportunities in the Indian M&E market and the progress made by the company in its 2.5 decades of existence in the country.

Totoki noted that Sony began its journey in India with electronics and later expanded into entertainment. "Now, the proportion of entertainment is bigger than electronics in India. We feel that this is a compelling market," he said.

New Channel Alert: Openview To Add Some Spice To Ultra

Right in time for the Easter holidays, Ultraview is surprising audiences with a second bouquet on Ultra, their recently launched Pay TV offering.

Will have the latest addition of niche channels with never-been-seen programmes, and that launched at 6:30pm on 6 April 2023. It will be home to two channels: Star Select and Zee Family, and promise to be an entertainment hotspot with a variety of Hindi content.

Viewers can get a taste of the flavourful content for a limited period, at no cost. From there the Spice bouquet will be available on a subscription basis at R119,99 per month using the Openview decoder to activate the chosen bouquet.

Star Select is a premium Hindi bespoke entertainment channel, specially curated for South Africa’s Hindi speaking viewers. Star Select is the entertainment hotspot that offers something for every age group, making the channel a family destination that offers the best romantic dramas, entertaining comedy shows, popular reality TV and the biggest Bollywood blockbuster hits. Some of the shows include Banni Chow Home Delivery (Genre: Drama), Swayamvar: Mika Di Vohti (Genre: Reality), Pyar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyara Pyara (Genre: Romance), Saubhagyavati Bhava (Genre: Drama), May I Come In Madam: (Genre: Comedy). and many more.

Zee Family offers exciting and heartwarming entertainment from India in Hindi with English subtitles. The channel caters to families showcasing award-winning romance and drama series, comedies, blockbuster movies, lifestyle, cooking and reality shows. Viewers can look forward to Baal Shiv, Ghar Ek Mandir, Kripa Agrasen Maharaj, Ki Ek Mahanayak Dr. BR Ambedkar, Main Bhi Ardhangini and the acclaimed reality singing competition, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

Recap To The Past Month: The Mysterious Disappearance Of The Spice Bouquet On The Openview Platform

Earlier in the month, eMedia Investments unveiled the first batch to the pay-tv venture Openview Ultra known as Ultraview Pride or just Pride. It is basically an LGBTQ type bouquet consisting of two general entertainment channels one of which DStv reject, OUTtv and FUSE.

During the launch consumers were kind of curious as to the fate of Spice TV which is basically an expansion to the current Bollywood offering seen on the Openview which like Pride TV comes with two channels for the time being, Zee Family and Star Select.

They were rumours sometime ago that just like BBC UKTV failed launch on Openview that eMedia Investments was having issues with one of the channels in question but that seems highly unlikely as eMedia Investments held a dance party this past week.

If I had to guess, eMedia Investments was planning to do some grand gesture for the offering ahead of its debut on the Openview platform. Similar to Pride which too a similar festivity months prior.

Although eMedia Investments has yet to provide any further details about a potential rollout. I wouldn't be shocked if they unveiled it in the coming weeks or before May in fact considering when these channels were unveiled to the public beforehand.

As for the channels in question, Zee Family is said to be a direct competitor to the current Zee TV both owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. I wouldn't be shocked if Star Select did the same with StarPlus both are owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India).

Just curious as to why companies like Warner Bros. Discovery and the already mentioned like to build competition for themselves. In the above-mentioned case, you could say it helps consumers explore other parts of India but for Warner not really.

Drafted Version: What To Expect On Openview Ultra's Long Awaited Channel, Zee Family?

During the week, eMedia Investments unveiled the Pride bouquet featuring two channels OUTtv and FUSE priced at R74,99 per month and catering to the LGBTQ community with reality, lifestyle, drama series, movies, music and documentaries.

Of course details as to when the Spice bouquet would rollout remain as much of a mystery at this point considering the Pride is available for distribution it's possible that Spice will be unveiled shortly after.

As consumers wait on the Indian bouquet to rollout in the coming future, here's a list of content anticipated to rollout on one of the brands, Zee Family which is basically what Zee One is to Zee World - competition. The list of shows goes as follows:

- Main Bhi Ardhangini: Mahamaya, a transforming snake, visits the bungalow in search of Madhav who she believes has killed her family but, she finds no trace of him.
- Vani Rani: Two sisters, who are poles apart in nature, are married to two brothers in the same family. As with their nature, they have their own ways of dealing with the troubles and turmoil in their lives.
- Badho Bahu: Lakha Singh is hesitant to marry Komal, a sweet but chubby woman. However, his apprehension does not stop her from overcoming life's battles with grace and aplomb. It was broadcast on &TV in 2016.
- Chupke Chupke: A man is looking for a woman who loves reading books. However, sparks fly between him and a woman and they could not be more different from one another.
- Bitti Business Wali: It depicts Bitti as a hardworking woman who aspires to gain financial independence, being aware that it might invite naysayers in her small town. It was broadcast on &TV in 2018.
- Ghar Ek Mandir - Kripa Agrasen Maharaj Ki: It follows Genda as she faces the challenges of life with her unshakable faith in Maharaja Agrasen. It was broadcast on &TV in 2021.
- Baal Shiv - Mahadev Ki Undekhi Gaatha: Lord Shiva in his younger avatar, faces several challenges as he strives to uphold justice in his realm and facilitates the destruction of evil forces. It was broadcast on &TV in 2021.
- Ek Mahanayak - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: Preyed upon due to socio-economic discrimination, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a young boy from a poor family, strives for basic human rights and equality for all. It was broadcast on &TV in 2021.
- Meetha Toh Banta Hai: Chef Akansha Khatri starts her journey of Meetha Toh Banta Hai with traditional Indian sweets made with ingredients that are easily available at home. It was broadcast on Zee Zest in 2021.
- Goan Gullies: Food enthusiasts Rocky and Mayur explore all things food and bring out untold stories from the bylanes of Goa. It was broadcast on Zee Zest in 2021.
- Sa Re Ga Ma Pa: A nationwide talent hunt for budding singers, which brings together the best-untapped talent in the country and provides them with a platform to begin their careers as playback singers. It was on air since 1995 on Zee TV with 2021's batch on Zee Family.
- Hoshiyar…Sahi Waqt, Sahi Kadam: An Indian crime reality show which broadcast on &TV in 2016.
- Yaaron Ki Baraat: The hosts interview renowned celebrities who are also friends in real life and test their friendship through various challenges. It was broadcast on Zee TV in 2016.

New Channel Alert (Rumour): OUTtv + FUSE + Zee Family + Star Select Coming Soon Exclusively To Openview Ultra

eMedia Investments is prepping up the pay-tv version to the current Openview platform and from what is seen these past weeks I wouldn't be shocked if it was unveiled before the end of the month and before we get to the four channels, here's what you should know.

For those using Openview, there was 4 test channels and from what was seen through those lab experiments were SABC 2, SABC 3, Zee TV and Colors TV and as predicted these were just placeholder channels for the final product which turns out to be OUTtv, FUSE, Zee Family and Star Select.

OUTtv is a general entertainment channel owned by OUTtv Media Global Inc. which is meant to promote the LGBTQ community with drama series, reality shows, movies and documentaries. Some of the content include Absolutely Fabulous, Call Me Mother and Brideshead Revisited.

It was launched as a pop-up channel on DStv back in 2018 unfortunately MultiChoice opted not to have a 24 hour channel but rather to bundle it with Showmax and with this news I wouldn't be shocked if they tried prepping up a similar offering.

eMedia Investments:
- Ultraview Pride and Ultraview Indian coming soon to Openview
- More Bollywood coming soon to Openview Ultra
- More e.tv coming soon to DStv customers
- Could SABC be unveiling another two channels for Openview Ultra?
- Glow TV to stop airing on the Openview platform from next month
- Could Openview+ lead to 24 hour capability of these channels?

FUSE owned by FUSE Media LLC from what I can gather is a music and lifestyle channel similar to OUTtv it celebrates the LGBTQ community with shows like Made From Scratch, Sex Sells, We Need to Talk About America and Stay True.

The other two remain as much of a mystery to me but here's my hunch about both brands.

Zee Family is a general entertainment channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises while as Zee World and Zee One rely heavily on soaps to keep their lineup afloat this channel will incorporate that and explore other aspects of India including reality, lifestyle, kids movies and doccies.

Star Select is a general entertainment channel owned by Disney Star likely serving as a competitor to Zee Family with a similar offering while as serving as an expansion to the current Star Life channel.

As to whether these channels are dubbed in English that is unknown but I'm expecting them to be Hindi with English subtitles. Makes sense as we don't want to burn off so much money.

As for the pricing you may want to sit down when reading this, remember when Openview Ultra was first announced as Openview+ with a price tag R150 well that's not the case with revamped package.

Apparently, Openview Ultra has priced these channels under two tags Ultraview Pride which is R75p/m with Ultraview Indian being priced at R119p/m together that takes you to R194p/m almost R200p/m for just 4 channels.

Take to account, Openview Ultra is just a newbie to the market and overtime we will see more entertainment. For those who've been followed DStv for a while would understand that pricing is not determined by quantity but quality which is the case right here.

MultiChoice's premium package for starters almost priced at R900p/m has most funds going onto M-Net and SuperSport and with Openview Ultra I believe people will have a better understanding as to how MultiChoice actually prices their packages.

The Whereabouts Of Sony Channel And Sony Max

Sony Channel (also known as Sony Entertainment Television) was a general entertainment channel based of the branding of the same name in India alongside defunct sister channel, Sony Max both of which were available in the African market in 2007 and 2011 respectively.

Some of the programming featured on these channels included The Amazing Race, Scrubs, Baywatch, Baggage, Drop Dead Diva, 1000 Ways To Die, Fear Factor, The Boondocks, Fatal Attraction, My Wife And Kids, Friends, Crossing Lines and Impractical Jokers.

The channel were seen as another alternative to brands like M-Net, Universal and BBC Brit and went as far as competing with the likes of Comedy Central and MTV. Sony Channel and Sony Max had everything going for themselves until that fateful show Gogglebox changed everything.

In 2015, Sony made their first attempt in producing local content with the launch of Gogglebox a series where random people watch various content particularly on DStv and you got to see their reactions to whatever was viewed on the platform.

It was this same show that caused a lot of scandal not only to the production crew but Sony in general. The crew of the show claimed to have viewed content that MultiChoice wasn't giving their consumers which led to the cancellation of the series.

Reruns were made available but from that point forward Sony had been alienating themselves from society offering less new content and often shuffling shows between channels despite their accessibility to the market.

In 2018, Sony Crime was introduced as a replacement to Sony Channel offering shows like Orange Is The New Black, Person Of Interest, CSI and Law And Order which kind of signalled the end of the brand in Africa of course most hoped that they would be saved.

But from what's been seen with several linear channels like Disney XD, FOX, FOX Life and EVA usually when a channel stops offering new content it usually means the channel is on the chopping which was the case with DStv as viewers had to resort to M-Net and Universal.

The Sony Channels were made available for another year until they were subsequently discontinued on another defunct platform Cell C's Black.

Sony Entertainment Television operated a number of linear channels like the kids channel POP and music channel KISS all of which were terminated as the company now opts to supply content to the market and not linear channels.

As of 2022, the only regions to supply a Sony linear channel are in Latin America and Germany while others like Turkey, Asia and the UK join Africa on their demise.

As mentioned, the names of the Sony Channels in Africa were derived from India which remain active but for different programming and audience while DStv uses the channel numbers for Sony Channel and Max for sports or as Vince McMahon calls it Sports Entertainment.

But that's the only thing Sony took from India the brand names as the channels were managed by the UK which has since then been acquired by Narrative Capital with the Sony branding removed from all assets.

Sony Max never existed in those regions and most if not all the Sony Channels are using the "Great!" branding and Sony Channel now Great TV! features shows like Castle, M*A*S*H and The Persuader and Hart To Hart basically old series.

Is Sony's linear offering in better hands I guess but with streaming taking the media by storm you never know if some restructuring will take place but all the best for the new management.

Zee/Sony Merger: Set To Close A Major Entertainment Channel And Auctioning Off A Further 3 Channels

ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd is reportedly planning to shutdown a “major entertainment channel” as a part of concessions to merge with Sony Pictures Networks.

The plan has been considered to ease competition concerns and secure the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) approval for their $10 billion merger.

LiveMint reports that the “major entertainment channel” currently has a huge 20-30% market share. Rumours surfacing online indicate that it could be one of the Marathi TV channels ran by ZEEL.

ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) also offered to sell three Hindi TV channels, as per the remedial proposal to the competition authority, in its ongoing merger with Culver Max Entertainment (Sony).

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it will sufficiently address the competition-related concerns made in the proposal by ZEEL. The broadcasting giant said it would sell Hindi GEC Big Magic, along with ZEE Classic and ZEE Action.

“The Divestment Business consists of ZEEL’s and/or the Resultant Entity’s (as the case may be) ownership interest in Big Magic which is engaged in the Hindi GEC market segment and Zee Action and Zee Classic which are engaged in the Hindi Films channels market segment,” the CCI order reads.

Furthermore, the CCI order stated that the divestment TV channels will include:
1) license for trade-marks, channel names, and logos for a reasonable period agreed with the approved purchaser.
2) applicable licenses, permits, and authorisations,
3) applicable agreements concerning the licensing of content from the relevant licensor entity(ies)
4) the employees exclusively dedicated and working for these channels.

MultiChoice Bundles Two More Movie Channels To AddMovies

During the year, MultiChoice and M-Net ripped away fliekNET from DStv customers in South Africa and Namibia with the brand now reverted back to yearly pop-ups and kykNET now leading the pack with primetime movies.

AddMovies was introduced by September 2020 as M-Net was restructuring their movie offering for which was met with mixed to negative reviews primarily for those who were fans of M-Net Movies Premiere, M-Net Movies Action, M-Net Movies All-Stars and M-Net Movies Zone.

But thanks to the efforts of AddMovies they were able to keep the spark alive to even more households. Although, it will cost you extra which will be included in your monthly fees imagine bundling that with the Explora Ultra you're probably paying close to thousand.

Regardless AddMovies has seen a surge in subscribers but they're plenty of consumers who weren't as impressed with their selection of movies or at least the quantity of within the offering for which was lacking.

AddMovies initially started with 3 channels plus future popup channels or at least in the above mentioned regions but fliekNET didn't really have much impact as to why people got it in the first place and you can tell with the amount of rebroadcasts how miserable that channel was.

Honestly, fliekNET is better off as a pop-up or as seen with eExtra's Kuiertyd a block which airs at certain times of the week which is what I'm anticipating from kykNET's movie endeavours.

Anyways, MultiChoice seems to have added two of DStv Indian's current movie offerings SET Max and B4U Movies to the AddMovies family. Now I'm kind of curious as to what awaits from MultiChoice's next financial year.

Honestly, this just seems a bit much for AddMovies not that it's bad but the fact that one of them is stylised as the Bollywood version of M-Net Movies Premiere. Is it possible that maybe they'll hike it with the addition of these two?

All in all everyone but DStv Premium and Compact+ is a winner as Comedy Central, BET and MTV found their way to more households and Magic Showcase which is just MultiChoice's way of reinventing SABC will be rolling out in the coming month.

Bollywood Updates: StarPlus Will Be Airing All Their Shows Everyday, MultiChoice Silently Changes Channel Numbers For Two Channels And Zee One Picks Up Two New Series One Of Which Debut In October

Primetime gets a major boost on StarPlus

Star Plus is India’s #1 phgec channel, and always delivers the best, chart- topping shows. Now the great news is that viewers will get to see their favorite shows on Star Plus all seven days of the week starting from this Sunday, 2nd Oct, 2022.

Each and every show of Star Plus is utterly cherished by the audience for its gripping plots and realistic storylines. And now the viewers will get to see their favorite couples MaAn, AbhiRa, Yuvanni and others more often, which is sure to be delight for everyone.

The channel has continuously conquered the leadership on TRP charts with all its shows, i.e, ‘Anupama’, ‘Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin’, ‘Yeh Hai Chahatein’, ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’, ‘Imlie’, ‘Pandya Store’, ‘Rajjo’, ‘Anandibaa aur Emily’ and others. Now that we are being blessed with seeing these shows, not just 6 but all 7 days, it will absolutely change the viewing experience for many. It truly showcases the channel’s commitment to the audience and unwavering faith in their content.

Zee Cinema and WION move up on DStv

Last year, MultiChoice unveiled two new channels for the Indian bouquet Zee Cinema from Zee Entertainment Enterprises and WION from Essel Group as both were slotted respectively on channel 470 and 471.

After almost a year on air on the platform, MultiChoice decides to silently move them 10 spaces up with Zee Cinema now channel 460 and WION on channel 461 with no explanation as to why but our hunch has to be that they're trying to get the channels close together.

Honestly it didn't make any sense to have them with those numbers considering that there was hardly any barrier keeping them apart from other Indian channels.

Carmen and Untangled to be added onto Zee One

Zee Entertainment Enterprises wasn't kidding when they said Zee One was trying to be a spin-off to Africa's #1 Indian entertainment channel Zee World which is exclusively available to MultiChoice's DStv as they acquire two new dramas for the channel, Untangled and Carmen.

Untangled, Diya, a gully badminton player, meets Arjun, a former badminton champ from an affluent family, who resents his own kin. Will Diya bring back the much-needed positivity and hope in Arujns life? Don't miss the premiere on October 7th at 6pm CAT.

Carmen, follows a young woman who comes to Cairo to become famous and rich. She starts working at a big company and as a presenter in Alwan radio station. Having lied in order to win the position; the lies that follow give rise to many comic situations. Carmen falls in love with Tawfeeq and faces many problems, but finally wins Tawfeeq and marries him.

NCLT Directs Zee To Convene Shareholders Meeting On Its Merger With Sony On October 14

Passing an order, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had on August 24 directed to call a meeting of the equity shareholders of Zee Entertainment to consider the merger, said a statement from the media major.

The National Company Law Tribunal has directed Zee-Entertainment Enterprises to convene a meeting of its shareholders to get approval for its proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment, formerly Sony Pictures Network. Passing an order, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had on August 24 directed to call a meeting of the equity shareholders of Zee Entertainment to consider the merger, said a statement from the media major.

"The NCLT Mumbai bench has directed in its order, that a meeting of the Equity Shareholders of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. be convened and held on Friday, 14th October 2022 for the purpose of considering, and if thought fit, approving the proposed merger of the Company with Culver Max Entertainment Pvt Ltd," said a company spokesperson.

The NCLT had directed to convene the shareholders' meeting virtually through video conferencing or other audio-visual means for approving the proposed scheme.

The merger, which will create the largest entertainment network in India with a 26 per cent viewership share, is presently before the scrutiny of the fair trade regulator CCI.

According to some media reports last week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) made some observations about the merger.

Earlier in July, Zee Entertainment had said it has received approval from stock exchanges BSE and NSE for its proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment.

Last year in December, the two media companies signed definitive agreements for the merger of ZEEL into Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) following the conclusion of an exclusive negotiation period during which both parties conducted mutual due diligence.

When the merger deal was announced in September last year, the two networks had stated that Sony would invest USD 1.575 billion and hold a 52.93 per cent stake in the merged entity and Zee the remaining 47.07 per cent.

After closing, the new combined company will be publicly listed in India.

Zee Is In Talks With CCI To Get Approval For Merger With Sony Entertainment

As per the BARC data for the ongoing financial year (2023), the merged entity has 36 per cent TV viewership market share in the Hindi GEC segment, and 33 per cent in the Hindi movies channels.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises has written to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in order to get the latter’s permission to merge its operations with Sony Entertainment. The firm is citing the latest TV viewership data which shows that the merged entity would have lower market share and will not lead to any concentration of power.

Zee has submitted the TV viewership market share data for the financial year ending March 2022 and year-to-date data of the ongoing financial year (FY23). The data shows that the shares of four channels of the merged entity in has come down compared to the financial year ending March 2021 – the data used by the CCI to scrutinise the Zee-Sony merger.

According to data by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) for the ongoing FY23, the merged entity has a 36 per cent market share in the Hindi GEC segment, and 33 per cent in the Hindi movies channels. In the Bangla GEC, the combined TV viewership market share is 38 percent and 26 percent in the Marathi GEC, as per an industry official.

In the entire fiscal year ending March 2022, the merged entity had a market share of 39 per cent in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) segment and 38 per cent in Hindi films. In Bangla, the combined entity had a market share of 38 per cent and in Marathi, the combined entity had a market share of 31 per cent, according to BARC.

"There is no 40-per cent (market share) rule. It’s an indicative benchmark adopted by the CCI when assessing combinations. However, even where the combined market share is over 40 per cent, the CCI may ultimately decide to approve the transaction without remedies," said Abdullah Hussain, Partner, DSK Legal.

Some independent lawyers said if the merger is causing a concentration of over 40 per cent in the merged entity, then it becomes fit for scrutiny. The CCI approval for the Zee-Sony merger can go through if there are certain adjustments made to the transaction, including selling majority stake in the four channels by either Zee or Sony to get the approval, they said.

“The CCI will examine if the combined entity would reduce competition or if the other competitors could maintain sufficient pressure on the combined entity. If the combined market shares are very high and other competitors are not able to exert sufficient competitive pressure, the CCI may ask parties to give certain remedies (including divestitures) as a condition for approving the transaction. The CCI has asked parties for remedies in the past where the combined market share was as low as 30 per cent,” said Vaibhav Choukse, Partner & Head of Practice, Competition Law at JSA.

The lawyers also said the combined entity will have over 75 channels of different genres. “The CCI could ask the proposed combine to sell a part of the channels in those genres to another company to ensure there is no concentration in that market. The deal could go through if these adjustments are made," a Mumbai-based competition lawyer said.

Reuters reported that the CCI is probing the merger between Sony and Zee Entertainment saying it will potentially hurt competition by having "unparalleled bargaining power".