Roundups #53: eReality Documents The Life Of Charles Manson, People's Weather Hosts An Annual Event In Bloemfontein, StarSat Stirs Up Controversy With The Launch Of RT Global And Returning Comer Zee Bollymovies

Inside The Manson Cult lands on eReality

eReality, South Africa's most popular reality channel offering a mixture of local through eKasi and international content continues indulging in some of the bizarre stories with a tale of Charles Manson.

A famous musician now criminal who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders. In 1971, Manson was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, including the film actress Sharon Tate. The prosecution contended that, while Manson never directly ordered the murders, his ideology constituted an overt act of conspiracy.

Be sure not to miss out on 20 May as part of crime after dark on eReality.

 

The Bloem Show is coming to a TV near you

The Central Agricultural Society facilitate profitable show opportunities of a high standard which serve to trade, agricultural and entertainment needs of the community between April and May.

They serve 8 sections including arts and home, commerce, horses, cattles and several others. The Bloem Show airs this weekend on People's Weather inbetween the following times:

- 8:00 - 10:00
- 12:00 - 14:00
- 16:00 - 18:00

 

Zee Bollymovies has returned but with a shocking twist

StarTimes has been incredibly slow on launching new channels on top of replacing the hundreds removed over the years. Good news is they've finally added channels but one comes with extra baggage.

Zee Bollymovies (formerly on DStv) features a wide variety of Bollywood movies dubbed in English including action, romance, family, thriller/suspense, comedy and more. It covers new and classic movies, suitable for families of different ages to watch together, 24 hours a day.

 

RT Global creates news with an edge for viewers who want to Question More. RT Global covers stories overlooked by the mainstream media, provides alternative perspectives in current affairs, and acquaints international audiences with a Russian viewpoint on a major global events.

As usual, StarTimes quietly adds new channels with this time being Zee Bollymovies on channel 559 to their Super Package while RT Global launches on channel 260.

How MultiChoice Could Rollout Zee One On DStv?

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Also read:
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- The Scent Of Passion coming soon to Telemundo
- Zee World left out some content at the MultiChoice Showcase
- Could Timeless Dizi Channel and possibly tvN replace eExtra on DStv?
- List of content coming to Star Life from 2021
- Studio Dragon unveil a set of Korean dramas launching on tvN
- Telemundo and Televisa 2022 part of which will take time to arrive in Africa

Zee One has been available in Africa for a few months offering content already seen on Zee World such as Sacred Ties, My Golden Home and Reach For The Stars with a few exceptions such as Guddan.

The channel can be seen on the Indian package of StarSat while eMedia Investments view it as a replacement channel for Glow TV which will continue to be available on Openview until their contracts ends in February 2023.

Zee One in a not so surprising note can't been seen on MultiChoice's DStv and GOtv in South Africa and the rest of Africa as viewers in those regions already have Zee World and content seen on this channel will be familiar with consumers.

Zee World ranks as one of the most popular international telenovela channels in South Africa surpassing channels like Telemundo despite being on the family package while the rest of Africa can view it on Access and the DStv duplicate GOtv.

Also read:
- Blue Venom Girl and Surrender In Love coming soon to Zee World
- Unforseen Love, Bold and Beautiful and Destined Love coming soon to Star Life
- Balaji Telefilms unveils new content possibly for Glow TV, Zee One, eExtra and Star Life
- The Daughter-In-Law coming soon to Zee World while a repeat of The Vow debuts on Zee One
- The Homemaker, The Accidental Mayor and Happily Ever After coming soon to Star Life
- Two new series coming to Zee World: Luck In My Fate and Beauty And The Beast
- Upcoming programming for Telemundo Africa
- Upcoming programming for Star Life and Zee World

For anyone with these platforms, they've seen a couple of brands such as Moja 9.9., Mzansi Wethu, Nicktoons and Discovery Family follow Zee One which duplicates content for a different audience and often lure existing viewers.

Why not Zee One?

The channel didn't have much purpose on DStv aside from Zee World even eExtra was caught in that rift now that Zee World will be the only English station distributing Zee TV productions there is a bit of hope for Zee One.

Knowing MultiChoice, they don't have anything special planned for the channel number and a 195 wouldn't be a bad place for a channel like Zee One as it incorporates eExtra afternoon lineup on top of catering to repeats and not a lot of consumers are expecting anything premium in that section.

Also read:
- Paramount reportedly closing MTV Base and MTV Classic in the UK
- PBS Kids will be made available to DStv Easyview customers
- Could Zee World replace eExtra on DStv Access perhaps?
- New movie channel launching later in the year on DStv
- KIX will be made available to DStv Family and Access customers
- SuperSport launches new sports channel in Ethiopia and the rest of Africa
- eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz will stop airing on DStv
- KIX will be made available to DStv Family and Access customers

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Predictions: Zee World And Zee One Folded Under Sony Pictures India Following Zee Entertainment Enterprises Merger With The Brand, What Does This Mean For Viewers?

Last year, it was reported that Zee Entertainment Enterprises would be merging with Sony Pictures India. Sony will be majority stakeholder with 51% in their grasp while Zee gets the remaining stake 49%.

If you compare the properties of both companies you can clearly see Zee Entertainment Enterprises has more in their pockets as opposed to Sony meaning they'll have to reduce their portfolio to meet up with the requirements.

This could lead to the cancellation and merger of several Zee channels. If I had to guess one of the items Sony could get out of this merger is their regional offering available globally which include Zee World, Zee Magic and Zee One.

Similar to Star India that no longer caters for the English market their rivals Zee undergoes the same procedure. Sony has always been the understudy to these two and this merger changes that.

Sony could take up the international and regional operations of the company which include supplying customary channels while Zee supplies existing channels such as Zee TV, Zee Cinema and WION.

Although Zee World, Zee Magic and Zee One would be folded under Sony's portfolio presumably Sony Prime, Sony Now and Sony One. Viewers aren't losing much from the switch but gaining more.

As mentioned, Zee has more junk in the trunk which will likely be scrapped or form part of Sony. These new brands will distribute content from Sony while as incorporating content from Zee.

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

Read Also:
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- Digital brands that love local content
- Kuiertyd Premium coming soon to eExtra with Impak
- Is'phindiselo might be coming soon to e.tv
- SABC registered three more channels
- Dream Girl and Never Say Goodbye coming soon to Star Life
- The Search For Frida coming soon to Telemundo
- Afrikaans voiceovers for Elif and Wrede Stad
- As Die Skoen Pas and Vierspel Vuurspel coming soon to e.tv
- Upcoming shows on eReality
- Could The Estate be cancelled on S3?
- Our Perfect Wedding coming soon to e.tv
- What happens to Days Of Our Lives on e.tv?
- Upcoming programming for Zee World and Star Life
- Droom Velore and Die Put makes its linear debut on e.tv and eExtra
- eExtra acquires rights to the Indian horror Vishkanya: Blue Venom Girl and K-drama High Society Scandal
- Openview becomes Bollyview
- Kuiertyd doesn't care about repeats
- More Zee World repeats for Zee One and eExtra
- Could SABC Children be an exact replica of SABC Education?

#WeAreDrama: Zee World Left Out Some Content During The MultiChoice Group Showcase + A New Drafted List Of Programs Coming To Star Life

Extraordinary everyday, Zee World
MultiChoice held a showcase last month which turned out to be an epic snooze fest. Of course the almighty Zee World managed to headlines for the long running series Twist Of Fate which is scheduled for 2022.

Believe it or not, there's more to the story and yes I was expecting this from a miles radius. MultiChoice just had a showcase and Zee World instead of unveiling their content slate all eyes were on one program.

As mentioned a month ago, Guddan and 7 Bridges To Cross will make their way to the channel and several content is missing from this list in favour of a bigger portfolio.

Other shows which are set to air on the brand include Can You See Me, Once There Was A King, This Is Fate Season 5, Woman Of Life, Beauty And The Beast, Sacrifice For Love and Bridal Dreams.

Luck In My Fate which is the third installment to Twist Of Fate is also rumoured for the channel.

Inspired by Casper Scare School, Can You See Me (Bootu) revolves around a friendly girl ghost who always tries to help others, often causing light mischief and mayhem in the process.

Set in the 1940s this periodic drama, Once There Was A King (Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani) tells the story of Ranaji who returns to Ameerkot after six years of fighting the war against the British. Gayatri, the daughter of a rich zamindar, but she is considered Manglik (inauspicious by birth).

Beauty And The Beast (Jeet Gayi Toh Piya Morey), the series follows the story of Devi Chauhan, who is married forcefully by Adhiraj Rajawat as part of his revenge plans.

Sacrifice For Love (Qurbaan Hua), the story revolves around the famous chef Neel and the happy-go-lucky girl Chahat and they're mad desire to destroy each other's families.

Bridal Dreams (Kaleerein), tells the tale of Meera Dhingra a free-spirited, independent woman who does not want to be well-groomed for her future husband. Things change when she meets Vivaan a rich business tycoon and a NRI from London.

Hailing from a middle-class family, Lakshmi's life is upended when she realises that her marriage to Rishi Oberoi, an industrialist's son, is a sham to keep his death at bay. Luck In My Fate is rumoured to air in March followed by This Is Fate in April.

Zee One which is the apple to Zee World's eye reportedly gets rights to the paranormal anthology series Fear Files in 2022.

Twinkle twinkle little star
Later in the year, there were reports that Star Life will be adding 10 new series to their lineup of which almost half remain in the air while the others float on the surface.

Now there's new list that was drafted and surprise surprise Illusions is the only show present from the previous list alongside new entries such as Broken Vows, The Homemaker and The Accidental Mayor.

Although there's no clue on what will happen to the shows previously announced. Here's some brief info about the new entries:

This one is a shocker apparently one of Life OK which was a former counterpart of Star Life is bringing their series to the channel with Broken Vows.

Broken Vows (Dil Se Di Dua...Saubhagyavati Bhava?) tells the story of Jahnvi whose involved in an abusive marriage with business tycoon Viraj who portrays different characters in and out of the relationship.

Set in a small village in Bihar, The Accidental Mayor (Nimki Mukhiya) deals with the life of Nimki, a carefree, materialistic girl who accidentally becomes the Mukhiya (chief) of the village. Nimki is mad about cinema, a dreamer and unaware of the darkness of the world.

The Homemaker (Anupamaa) Anupamaa, who parts with her ambitions and goals in a bid to raise her family, feels dejected when she fails to get any credit for her sacrifices and trials. She then decides to live on her own terms.

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

Read Also:
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- Star Life rebranding to Life OK???
- Cartoonito returning as a linear channel likely for DStv
- Could SABC Children be an exact replica of SABC Education?
- A+ possibly coming to DStv
- More Africa Magic channels on DStv???
- Travel Channel going off air on DStv???
- SABC Encore and SABC Children channel might be in development possibly for Openview
- SuperSport unveil their offering for 2022
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- Could G4 launch in Africa perhaps to replace Ginx TV? 
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Could Zee One Launch On MultiChoice's DStv Despite Zee World's Existence On The Platform? + Possible Launch Date For Zee Cinema And WION

In September, WION let the cat out of the bag by announcing their presence through the pay-tv giant in October only for it to be a no show thereafter MultiChoice tested out what appeared to be a Indian movie channel which was confirmed to be Zee Cinema.

Two months later, Zee Enterprises unveiled Zee One alongside 2 other channels for StarTimes and Openview but of course the latter coming to DStv weren't part of this ring of announcements.

It seems odd how Zee TV's presence was uttered for DStv and a month later a similar report surfaces but for customers on Openview and StarTimes. Is it possible Zee One has some involvement? Maybe its coming to DStv alongside the two other channels.

The idea seemed far fetched seeing that Zee One is a repeats channel for Zee World on top of that the content is very accessible across Africa but it's been proven on several occasions that none of it matters.

MultiChoice already supply a handful of rerun channels including Mzansi Wethu, kykNET Lekker, Me, Real Time, Novela Magic and Moja 9.9. and formerly BET2 and EVA+.

Zee One could launch like EVA+ which is tailored for certain customers while accessible to those who don't deem it as necessary or launch like kykNET Lekker where a certain number of customers can access the channel.

At the moment, there's no update on when Zee Cinema and WION will be made available to MultiChoice's DStv but the company is holding some presentation on November 11th where they'll likely mention details of the channels.

You can find me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Read Also:
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- Universal Kids will make a suitable candidate to take Disney Channel's spot
- TLNovelas might be switching to HD
- African Animation Network launching an experimental animation block
- Toei Animaton teaming up with tvN parent company on anime
- Magnolia Network launching in 2022 in the United States, could it perhaps replace a channel like Travel Channel and Fine Living?
- Will M-Net's new addition Me have any ripple effects on Mzansi Magic and Mzansi Wethu? 
- Big Brother Africa has been greenlit in 3 markets
- Warner TV might be replacing TNT
- Could DStv Flex become DStv Premium's successor?

Back By Popular Demand Nobody Knows As Zee Bollymovies Might Be Making A Comeback On DStv Under The Name Zee Cinema

MultiChoice has started testing out another Indian channel which is none other than the Zee Cinema channel or as you put it Zee Bollymovies main counterpart as two films from Zee Enterprises has been added to the lineup which are Mitron and Rock On.

That's not the only channel coming from Zee Enterprises apparently MultiChoice in SA will be adding the Indian news channel WION to the lineup meaning the Zee supremacy lives on.

Zee Bollymovies launched in March 2017 on DStv and lasted a year. Of course no reason was given as to why the channel was removed but it's main counterpart Zee Cinema has been operating for a while on StarSat.

One of the likely reasons this channel is launching could be due to the massive loss of several international channels on the platform so Zee Cinema could have been the last alternative.

Zee Bollymovies launched on channel 114 so it wouldn't surprise me if the main counterpart occupied channel 113 seeing that KIX took up it's previous space or 142 to compliment Maisha Magic Movies and it was seen as a Compact channel maybe it will be put on Family and in some way this would make up for the loss of M-Net Movies All-Stars on that package seeing that the replacement went into Compact.

Meaning now MultiChoice has more than 10 movie channels if you exclude the regional channels e.g. eMovies and include the African movie channels.

WION could be added in channel 418 seeing that some African markets have Arise News on channel 415 and AfricaNews is on channel 417. It wouldn't surprise me if it were made available to Access customers which would be MultiChoice's way of not making them feel left out.

In other news, TLNovelas is not a pop-up which leads to the question. Could what several sources have speculated about MultiChoice be true that they're possibly looking into reviving past channels seeing that this Zee Bollymovies copy is gracing viewers screens?

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Read Also:
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- Could DStv Flex become DStv Premium's successor?
- Star India channels rebranding into Utsav?
- Disney+ launching in South Africa
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Sony Pictures Networks India And Zee Entertainment Enterprises Are Set To Merge

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) announced that they have entered into an exclusive, non-binding Term Sheet to combine both companies’ linear networks, digital assets, production operations and program libraries. The non-binding Term Sheet provides an exclusive negotiation period of 90 days during which ZEEL and SPNI will conduct mutual diligence and negotiate definitive, binding agreements. The combined company would be a publicly listed company in India and be better positioned to lead the consumer transition from traditional pay TV into the digital future.

The merger of ZEEL and SPNI would bring together two leading Indian media network businesses, benefitting consumers throughout India across content genres, from film to sports. The combined company is expected to benefit all stakeholders given strong synergies between ZEEL and SPNI.

Under the terms of the non-binding Term Sheet, Sony Pictures Entertainment, the parent company of SPNI, would invest growth capital so that SPNI has a cash balance of approximately USD $1.575 billion at closing for use to enhance the combined company’s digital platforms across technology and content, ability to bid for broadcasting rights in the fast-growing sports landscape and pursue other growth opportunities. Sony Pictures Entertainment would hold a majority stake in the combined company. Current ZEEL Managing Director & CEO Punit Goenka is to lead the combined company.

About Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI):
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, Japan. SPNI has several channels in Africa including Sony Entertainment Television (SET and SET HD), one of India's leading Hindi general entertainment television channels; MAX, India's premium Hindi movies and special events channel, the digital entertainment.
SPNI reaches out to over 700 million viewers in India and is available in 167 countries.

About ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.:
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is a media & entertainment powerhouse offering entertainment content to diverse audiences. With a presence in over 173 countries and a reach of more than 1.3 billion people around the globe, ZEEL is among the largest global content companies across genres, languages, and platforms. The company operates brands such as Zee TV, Zee Cinema and Zee World.

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- Disney closing down 100 international channels in 2021
- Paramount+ or Showmax might distribute content from NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock
- Could Warner Bros. Discovery roll out a new streaming service across Europe?
- Is a new kids brand on the way through Warner Bros. Discovery?
- Disney+ launches in South Africa next year
- Upcoming shows for Disney Channel and Disney Junior