eToonz Has Been Licensing Content From Former DStv Channel

MultiChoice had lost a total of 11 TV channels in the previous financial year namely Emmanuel TV, M-Net's Me and 1Magic and B4U Movies. Amidst this, the company was part of a takeover procedure by Canal+ which had concluded not long ago.

PBS Kids is an educational brand operated by Public Broadcasting System which offered content for viewers aged 4 to 9. The channel formed part of the various cuts at MultiChoice with shows suddenly appearing on eToonz.

eToonz is only licensed to consumers in South Africa and operated by eMedia Investments. Following PBS Kids' closure, various shows from the brand to have now been seen in the region include WordWorld, Let's Go Luna and Pinkalicious & Peterrific.

PBS Kids was accessible to the same as eToonz being DStv Easyview so consumers aren't necessarily missing out on much. Unlike those residing outside of the region who would need to access the latter on Showmax or on YouTube.

But the reality is that eToonz is not PBS Kids as they offer lesser content from the brand. The same can be said about Universal TV and Bravo after MultiChoice opted to axe 1Magic and Me consumers on those packages can't see shows like America's Got Talent or Yellowstone.

Companies like MultiChoice believe that by merging channels or not replacing removed ones would ensure an enhanced viewing experience. When consumers would have to pay the same amount for even less and opt to find alternatives alongside cancelling their subscription.

eToonz Acquires Pinkalicious And Peterrific Following The Exit Of PBS Kids In Africa, Also Debuts New Series Tree Fu Tom

Last year, PBS Distribution halted it's international operations for PBS Kids meaning DStv consumers would lose out on shows like Arthur, Cyberchase and Wild Kratts. Since then, eMedia Investments had been licensing shows from the brand for its eToonz channel.

This includes shows like Let's Go Luna in which PBS Kids had never licensed for Africa but oddly made available to MultiChoice's streaming service, Showmax. With eToonz now looking to allocate one of the former shows of PBS Kids, Pinkalicious And Peterrific.

Synopsis for Pinkalicious And Peterrific 

Designed to encourage preschool-age children to explore the arts and develop their creativity, Pinkalicious & Peterrific follows the adventures of Pinkalicious and her brother Peter as they imagine how the world looks through her artful eye. Each episode consists of two 11 minute stories, including an interstitial live-action segment and an original song.

Pinkalicious And Peterrific airs Wednesdays at 15:30 from 1 October and two days later eToonz will be allocating another preschool series, Tree Fu Tom.

Synopsis for Tree Fu Tom 

In each episode, Tom comes out of his house, puts on a power belt, and runs across his lawn towards a crooked tree in the woods protected by a magic shield. Using the power belt, he performs some Tree Fu moves, jumps up, shrinks to insect size as he flies into the tree, and enters the world of Treetopolis. He is skilled in that world's magic, and often gets characters out of scrapes. Some of the characters are four of Tom's friends, Twigs, Squirmtum, Ariela, and Zigzoo.

Reminder: LEGO DREAMZzz To Make It's Freemium Debut On eToonz On September 19th

eToonz, South African based children's channel operated by eMedia Investments has acquired broadcasting rights to LEGO DREAMZzz. This follows a slate of content from LEGO Group to have launched on the channel including Ninjago, City Adventures and Friends.

The LEGO DREAMZzz series follows the adventures of school friends, Mateo, Izzie, Cooper, Logan and Zoey, as they join a secret agency and learn to use the power of imagination to journey into the Dream World – and learn to defeat the tyrannical Nightmare King!

LEGO DREAMZzz will launch with 10 episodes on September 19th following its debut on Cartoon Network earlier in the year.

“LEGO DREAMZzz is our very first concept that celebrates the wondrous world of dreaming and explores what happens when dreams become real, ordinary kids become extraordinary and creativity is a superpower!” said Cerim Manovi, Creative Director for LEGO DREAMZzz. “We want children to feel empowered to bring their wildest dreams to life and revel in the true force of their creative imaginations while dreaming – and this is just the beginning!”

LEGO DREAMZzz was developed by the LEGO Group alongside in-depth global research of children aged 6-12 years old from 29 different countries. The survey looked at children’s imaginations, the psychology of dreams and their importance in processing emotions, problem-solving and the importance of play for creative experimentation.

eToonz Acquired Broadcasting Rights To Mush Mush And The Mushables, Cooking Buddies And Poppy Cat

eToonz is a South African based children's channel operated by eMedia Investments that offers a mixture animated and live-action shows. The channel is animated shows like Peppa Pig and ALVINNN!!! And The Chipmunks alongside live-action like MasterChef Junior and Hank Zipzer.

The channel is set to be rolling out 3 new shows in the coming weeks including Poppy Cat, Mush Mush And The Mushables and Cooking Buddies.

Synopsis for Poppy Cat

Based on a book series created by Brit author Lara Jones that sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide, the show is about the imaginative tales a young girl spins for her cat, Poppy. Over the course of each ep, she imagines fantastical animal characters that embark on extraordinary adventures to magical destinations such as the marshmallow mines and the trumpet tree forest. 

The show is co-produced by Coolabi’s television production arm, Coolabi Productions, and King Rollo Films.

Synopsis for Mush Mush And The Mushables 

Mush-Mush and the Mushables follows the forest adventures of Mush-Mush, his best friends Chep and Lilit and the rest of the Mushable community, as they explore, grow and discover just how fun and wildlife can be.

Mushables are the ‘Guardians of the Forest’, and each member has a special talent or ability – while Mush-Mush can communicate with nature, Chep has a huge memory and Lilit lights up and glows – all of this in theory at least, as they all still have a lot to learn! Mush-Mush and the Mushables is a journey of self-discovery from a child’s point of view, through exciting adventure, comedy and mush mush more!

Created by Flemish artist Elfriede de Rooster, Mush-Mush and the Mushables is produced by Perrine Gauthier and directed by Joeri Christiaen (My Knight and Me).

Synopsis for Cooking Buddies 

The show is based on Buddy Oliver‘s cooking channel — also called Cooking Buddies — which has amassed over seven million views, prompting Sarah Muller, Senior Head of Children’s Commissioning 7+ at BBC Children’s and Education, to order a ten-part series for television. The executive producer for the Jamie Oliver Group is Samantha Beddoes.

Cooking Buddies is billed as a “fun cooking show with a twist,” in which kids join Buddy as he teaches them how to cook simple meals for someone or an important occasion. In a skill-swap, his guests teach him a skill they are passionate about, from basketball to street art, football, karate, ice skating, boxing, BMX’ing, hip hop, salsa and more. 

Is MultiChoice Still Planning To Remove eToonz, eMovies, eMovies Extra And eExtra From DStv?

As some of you may have already heard, eMedia Investments had settled things with MultiChoice regarding eToonz, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eExtra by September of last year. There was very little buzz or press from both parties particularly eMedia Investments that made several attempts to retain these channels.

This led to them even going through a 2 and a half year carriage battle with MultiChoice but this didn't end because one party decided to retain these channels but rather eMedia Investments realised the money wasted on legal fees was putting a damper in their money bin so where does this leave DStv consumers if you may ask.

Well as it stood, eMedia Investments' channels were slated to go dark on DStv by August 2024 as ongoing legal action is what prompted these 4 channels to stay onboard. The year is drawing to a close and if these channels are still seen on DStv we can only assume one of several outcomes.

Firstly an extension had been reached between both parties and MultiChoice had a change of heart as seen with the relaunch of WildEarth which some are prompting to the takeover by Canal+. Of course, the duration to such agreement, settlement, obligation or however they want to put it is what's keeping eMedia Investments quiet.

Could it be that these channels aren't out of the woods yet?

MultiChoice made a similar deal with the SABC back in 2017/8 that SABC Encore would be axed on their platforms by May 2020 and this was something neither party addressed when renewing their agreement. Maybe MultiChoice just gave these channels an extended vacation and are planning to remove them later.

This whole process could take months into 2025 maybe March which is when the current financial year period ends or May which would date back to when these channels were officially removed. In general, all I'm saying here is this agreement doesn't sit well with me why the secrecy particularly with eMedia Investments.

Maybe I'm wrong or partially and MultiChoice just looks into retaining a few channels on their platforms alongside e.tv and eNCA. But then again, Disney and BBC Studios had announced extensions to their contracts yet eMedia Investments doesn't and retaining them on DStv was a priority.

e.TV Acquired Broadcasting Rights To Canadian Animated Series, Total Drama Island

Total Drama Island is the first season of Total Drama series, a Canadian animated television series created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch. The series premiered in Canada on Teletoon on July 8, 2007, and ran for 26 episodes, each 22 minutes in duration with a special 44-minute season finale. 

Internationally, Cartoon Network held rights to the first 6 seasons for consumers in Africa and some parts of the world including The Ridonculous Race which served as a spinoff. Play Room is currently distributing Total DramaRama in South Africa which is second spin-off to the franchise and in some way skewed toward a younger audience.

Now more South African households are going to garner access to Total Drama as e.tv introduces the first season to consumer's screens every Wednesday at 15:35 from 18 December. This would join Open Season: Call Of Nature and Angry Birds: Summer Madness as the many shows looking to launch on the channel.

Total Drama Island is set in the fictional titular reality show, which follows the competition of twenty-two unsuspecting and unwitting campers at Camp Wawanakwa, the most rundown, insect-infested, disgusting island in an unspecified area in Muskoka, Ontario. The campers participate in competitions and challenges that get more insane and dangerous each week to avoid being voted off the island by their fellow campers and teammates. 

At the end of the series, the winning contestant will receive C$100,000 (US$73,129.00). The competition is hosted by Chris McLean, assisted by the camp's chef, Chef Hatchet, who is also Chris's best friend despite being mistreated at times. 

e.TV To Kick Off The School Holidays With Angry Birds: Summer Madness

e.tv has acquired broadcasting rights to Angry Birds: Summer Madness animated series which premiered on Netflix in 2021 as it featured a teenage version of Red, Bomb, and Chuck as they head to summer camp. The broadcaster had already launched several animated series including Pororo The Little Penguin and Open Season: Call Of Nature.

The series will air as a double bill from Thursdays at 14:55 from 12 December.

Angry Birds: Summer Madness will follow the beloved birds who will be up to their regular antics and wild adventures, under the direction of their camp counselor, Mighty Eagle. Of course, the rather obnoxious Pigs won't be far away and will be setting up camp across the river, because no summer camp experience would be complete without a rival camp causing chaos.

While this is the first Angry Birds title to come to television, the franchise has already released two successful films, with the first title bringing in $107 million.

Angry Birds creator Rovio Entertainment has elected to continue its partnership with Cake Entertainment to bring the animated series to Netflix. "Angry Birds animated content plays a key role in our long-term franchise strategy," said Rovio's Ville Heijari. "After more than a decade in hit games, blockbuster movies, and licensed products, this is the Angry Birds’ first foray into a long-form series. We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Cake and can’t wait to unveil the world of Angry Birds: Summer Madness to viewers on Netflix."

"Angry Birds are about to smash the small screen and we are thrilled to be making the journey with Netflix as our global partner," said Cake Entertainment's Ed Galton.

e.TV Acquires Broadcasting Rights To Open Season: Call Of Nature And Unveils Release Date

 e.tv currently ranks as the most watched channel in South Africa during primetime as seen in their annual results dated 30 September 2024. This contributed to further launches of Isiphetho: Destiny and the broadcaster's first Afrikaans soap Kelders Van Gehieme with the channel slated to air a new animated series titled Open Season: Call Of Nature.

Produced by 9 Story Media Group and Brown Bag Films with Sony Pictures Animation, Open Season: Call of Nature is created for kids 6-11, and follows best friends Boog, a lovable, risk-averse grizzly bear, and Elliot, a fast-talking, ‘act-first, think-later’ deer. When they discover an abandoned summer camp in the middle of nowhere, they embark on a brave and hilarious adventure to create a new place to live where animals get to embrace their inner wild.

9 Story Distribution International has worldwide distribution rights for the series and 9 Story Brands has worldwide merchandising rights. Aside from e.tv, other broadcasters to have licensed the show include DRTV (Denmark), RTS (Switzerland), AMC Networks (CEE), Canal Panda (Portugal), Paramount Media Networks (U.K., Italy), Roku (U.S.), XUMO (US), and PCCW (Hong Kong and Macau).

The series broadcasts on Monday 9 December at 14:55.

Open Season: Call Of Nature would serve as the fourth additional the broadcaster has introduced to their platforms. Other shows also slated to rollout in the month include Magic Adventures: The Crystal Of Dark, ChiChi Pingping and Pororo The Little Penguin for eToonz all of which reside in Asia unlike Open Season which is filmed in Canada.

eMedia Investments And MultiChoice Silently Settle Dispute Over e.TV's 4 Channels On DStv

As some readers may have remembered from the last time we had posted eMedia Investments' 4 TV channels namely eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz were all slated to be removed from DStv by August 2024. Several months had already passed and these channels continue to distributed on DStv.

MultiChoice made the decision by March 2022 that they didn't want to include these channels on any of their platforms which led to the discontinuation of e.tv's African feed eAfrica. At the time, eMedia Investments had stated that they're changing their distribution strategy for these consumers while in South Africa they took the matter to court.

According to MultiChoice, eMedia Investments 4 TV channels had a lot of duplicate content and also the matter of transponder constraints led to the decision to terminate these services. The free-to-air broadcaster stated otherwise as they showed 2 out of the 4 channels had local content and that MultiChoice had plenty of space for more channels.

To top it off, MultiChoice forged ahead and allocated several placeholders on each DStv package: Movie Room (Access), DreamWorks (Compact), PBS KIDS (discontinued, Easyview) and KIX (Access). They even ramped up a rival offering to eExtra's Kuiertyd with the addition of Turkish dramas on KykNet & Kie.

In the financial year results ending 30 September of this year, eMedia Investments had confirmed that they've reached a settlement with MultiChoice after two and a half years. This means eExtra, eToonz, eMovies and eMovies Extra will remain on DStv but what's odd about this is the lack of engagement by both parties.

eMedia Investments didn't want these channels removed now they're getting what they asked for but still you'd think they'd be a celebratory mood. But questions amount to what prompted MultiChoice to suddenly join hands as eMedia Investments mentioned paying significant costs in legal fees.

In a couple of days, MultiChoice will be reinstating WildEarth to their platforms which served as one of the 12 TV channels to exit the company's platforms in the year. If one had to guess maybe the transaction to have Sanlam acquire majority stake in NMIS Insurance Services helped them build up their capital.

Another could as well be the onslaught of TV channels to have exited their platforms during the year with One Freestate Televisual, NWTV and People's Planet being based in South Africa. Maybe eMedia's 4 channels are being used as leverage for the fallen either that or the drastic takeover by Canal+ which is awaiting approval.

eToonz Acquires Broadcasting Rights To 3rd Korean Series Within The Month, Magic Adventures: The Crystal Of Dark

eToonz is a South African based children's channel operated by eMedia Investments that distributes a mixture of animated and to live-action content. The channel is also looking to bolster it's Asian lineup with Magic Adventures: The Crystal of Dark which joins other series such as Beyblade X and soon ChiChi PingPing and Pororo The Little Penguin.

The series are slated to air on the channel from Monday 2nd December at 13:15 while ChiChi PingPing airs at 06:00 with Pororo The Little Penguin at 14:00.

Synopsis on Magic Adventures: The Crystal of Dark

The main character of the story is Olivia. She is from a fantasy world called Magic Land. Her hometown is under threat by an evil wizard Dark. Olivia is sent to Earth to collect magic crystals. The crystals can save Magic Land from Dark. While on earth, Olivia makes two new friends, Jack and his sister Bella. Together they go on a magic adventure both on earth and in magic land to save Olivia's hometown from destruction.

Magic Adventures: The Crystal of Dark serves as a coproduction between Hongdangmoo (Korea) and Cartoon Tendering. It was the most screened series at the MIPJunior event in 2017 alongside 44 Cats which had also been picked up for eToonz and Nickelodeon in Africa.

eToonz Acquires Broadcasting Rights To The 3rd Season Of ChiChi Pingping And The 7th Season Of Pororo The Little Penguin

 eToonz is a South African based children's channel operated by eMedia Investments that distributes a mixture of animated and to live-action content. The channel is looking to rollout two new preschool shows in the coming months: ChiChi PingPing and Pororo The Little Penguin both of which reside in Asia.

Both series are slated to air on the channel from Monday 2nd December with ChiChi PingPing airing weekly at 06:00 with Pororo The Little Penguin at 14:00.

Synopsis on ChiChi PingPing

ChiChi PingPing is an animated fantasy-adventure series based on the classic novel, “Around the World ‪in 80 Days‬”. The series involves exciting stories of Chi Chi, Ping Ping and their friends traveling around the fantasy world to win the World Adventure Tournament and unexpected events that follow along the way.

It is an animation series with a mix of fantasy, adventure and action that helps children learn to become global leaders by encouraging creativity and imagination. By presenting a group of friends who travel to unknown places, meet diverse people and face new challenges, it is packed with a wide range of values and friendship among the characters.

Synopsis on Pororo The Little Penguin

Fun adventures await in the forest named Porong Porong Village where Pororo and friends live. New friends show up in the village and many exciting things happen in the forest. Our playful little penguin Pororo, naughty dinosaur Crong, sweet and lovely beaver Loopy, cheerful and sporty penguin girl Petty, clever fox Eddy, strong robot Rody, trustworthy polar bear Poby, happy-go-lucky hummingbird Harry, magical dragon wizard Tong-Tong, and a red sedan car Tu-Tu live in this snow-covered wonderland. 

Every one of themselves has different characteristics, looks different and each of them want to do different activities. By disporting themselves, they learn about their own merits and faults and how to be considerate of others.

Sentech's Freevision Delists eMedia's Openview Channels From Their Platforms

Sentech's Freevision which serves as one of the various rivals for eMedia Investments' Openview platform alongside PremiumFree TV started its services back in 2015. Similar to DStv's Easyview package, it mainly consisted of religious and provincial stations alongside various SABC and e.tv channels.

According to several consumers, e.tv channels had been ousted from the platform and this would include eExtra, eMovies and eToonz which serve as the initial offering on the platform. This would only leave mainly SABC channels particularly SABC 1-3, SABC Sport, SABC Education, SABC Lehae and SABC Variety.

eMedia Investments is already running through a similar hurdle with MultiChoice after they made the decision to exclude these services from DStv by 2022. Unlike Sentech's Freevision, these channels have a lot more viewers there of course with its pending demise one could say eMedia Investments is under siege.

With MultiChoice betting their odds on Showmax, Sentech had made similar pursuits with Freevision Play featuring a range of local content from various provincial stations some of which like Cape Town TV were exclusive to DStv.

Freevision Play taps into the same market as SABC+ and eVOD which is free and if we had to compare the three they're all winners in some way. Freevision Play has a catalogue of local content and TV channels, SABC+ is good for sports and local news and eVOD offers a mixture local and international content.

But the reality to all this only one out of three favour eMedia Investments and it's sort of this scenario of them being less reachable by fans. Right now, they're fighting to prevent analogue signals from going off the deep end as there's still households dependant on them for content and contribute to their ad revenue.

eToonz To Broadcast New Series "Karma's World" In November

“Karma’s World,” which is aimed at children aged six to nine, is inspired by award-winning artist Ludacris’ oldest daughter Karma and is described as a coming-of-age story about a young Black girl finding her voice and using it to change her world.

The show follows 10-year-old Karma Grant, an aspiring musical artist and rapper with big talent and an even bigger heart. Smart, resilient, and deeply empathetic, Karma pours her soul into songwriting, channeling her feelings into whip-smart rhymes with passion, courage and her signature brand of humor. In this series, Karma is only beginning to grasp the incredible emotional power that words and music can have. She doesn’t just want to share her music with the world…she wants to change the world with it!

The series hails from 9 Story Media Group and Karma’s World Entertainment. Other than Ludacris, executive producers on the project include Vince Commisso, Cathal Gaffney, Darragh O’Connell, Angela C. Santomero, Wendy Harris and Jennie Stacey from 9 Story Media Group. It will feature original songs tackling issues such as self-esteem, body positivity, discrimination, creativity, expressing emotions, and celebrating differences.

Karma's World broadcasts on Mondays at 16:45 on eToonz from 4 November. Prior to this, the channel had introduced a slate of content including Let's Go Luna, Peter Rabbit and Beyblade X.

In other developments, the channel's parent company had decided to axe Isiphetho: Destiny after its current season with the last episode schedule for April 2025. Prior to this, rebroadcasts of Vierspel Vuurspel and Ramo are scheduled to air on eExtra and e.tv respectively in the coming months.

Beyblade X Will Be Making A Dash To e.tv This October

Following the conclusion of Pokémon The Series: Journeys, eMedia Investments had acquired rights to the Japanese anime series Beyblade X following its release in the United States (Disney XD), Canada (Cartoon Network) and Australia (9Go). This would be the broadcasters first attempt at anime within the decade with the series set to aired in October.

Amateur Blader Robin Kazami finds himself out of a team when he is ditched by his friends after a crushing defeat. Lucky for him, a chance encounter with former champ Jaxon Cross leads these two unlikely teammates to join forces. Jaxon intends to climb back to the top of The X under the alias "Blader X" and challenge his old teammate and current champ, Khrome Ryugu. When they find a third team member in mega-popular influencer Multi Nana-iro, the newly-formed Team Persona set their sights on going pro and claiming their spot at the top.

Beyblade series veteran Katsuhito Akiyama is credited as chief director for the anime, while Sotsu Terada (Beyblade Burst Turbo, Beyblade Burst GT episode director) is directing the anime at OLM. Hikaru Muno (High Card) is credited for original series concept and scenario assistance, while Kazuho Hyodo (ReLIFE, Kiratto Pri☆Chan, TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You) is in charge of the series scripts.

The anime series has released 39 episodes so far as of this article's publication in Japan. The animation is being helmed by studio OLM. Studio OLM is one of the oldest anime studios in Japan, and some of its popular works include The Apothecary Diaries (alongside TOHO animation studio), Don't Tease Me Nagatoro, and Komi Can't Communicate.

Beyblade X airs every Friday at 15:45 on e.tv replacing the live-action series Bajillionaires while as eToonz will be adding two new preschool shows to its offering, Dylan's Playtime Adventure and Let's Go Luna.

eToonz To Broadcast Let's Go Luna And Dylan's Playtime Adventures In October

Last month, PBS KIDS ended its run in Africa after 5 years on MultiChoice's DStv scrapping it's last international operation following the channel's closure in Australia by 2023. This meant DStv consumers will be losing access to Arthur, Cyberchase and WordWorld as these shows are not accessible in Africa.

eMedia Investments which serves as a rival broadcaster to MultiChoice had licensed rights to Let's Go Luna. These are one of the various shows PBS Kids hadn't licensed for viewers on DStv so those residing in South Africa will get it to see it for the for the first time when it airs on eToonz in October.

Let’s Go Luna! follows the adventures of three friends – Australian wombat Leo, Mexican butterfly Carmen and American frog Andy – as they traverse the globe with their parents’ traveling performance troupe, Circo Fabuloso. At each of the Circo’s stops, Luna the Moon guides the trio as they get to know the local region and its people.

Each episode of the series created by animator-writer-artist Joe Murray (Rocko’s Modern Life, Camp Lazlo) is made up of two 11-minute stories aimed at preschoolers. It’s produced by 9 Story Media Group’s animation studio Brown Bag Films.

9 Story Media Group's animation studio Brown Bag Films is also responsible for another upcoming show on eToonz in which CBeebies is also set to air, Dylan's Playtime Adventures.

Dylan’s Playtime Adventures features both 2D and CG animation and follows a highly imaginative, multi-colored striped dog who is eager to role-play every career, from a train conductor to a nurse to an astronaut. With just some basic props and some great friends, Dylan transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, jumping feet first into every adventure that comes his way.

Both shows will be made available on eToonz every Thursday at 14:30 from 10 October with repeats on Friday at 06:45. Also within that month, e.tv will broadcast the Japanese anime series Beyblade X.

eExtra, eToonz, eMovies And eMovies Extra Continues On MultiChoice's DStv As eMedia Investments Looks To Take Legal Action Over Their Pending Demise

Since 2022, eMedia Investments and MultiChoice have been embroiled a carriage dispute regarding eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz. These channels are also allocated on the Openview platform with eExtra that is available on StarSat in a separate agreement. 

A hearing was scheduled for this August but according to a report it has been delayed once again with a date that has to be finalized. 

eMedia Investments is looking to take legal action against MultiChoice over the impending demise of these money grabbers. These channels ranked first, fourth, seventh and tenth serve as additional revenue stream to aid in the distribution and licensing of content. 

Other disputes these two parties engaged in revolved on the 2023 Rugby World Cup where SABC and MultiChoice reached an agreement worth R57 million. Of course, this agreement restricted these matches from being allocated on Openview and StarSat as they failed to obtain free-to-air rights.

In a court ruling, MultiChoice wasn't allowed to make such restrictions forcing the SABC to have their current agreement set in place scrapped. Following SABC’s absence from these events, sports minister warned a warning to these broadcasters for their failure to come into terms with a new agreement. 

eMedia Investments Unveiled Annual Performance From 31 March 2024 And Plans Ahead For Their Platforms

eMedia’s financial performance

eMedia presents a satisfactory financial performance for the 2024 financial year given its mitigation against continued loadshedding, which had a negative impact on overall viewership and saw a further decline in television advertising spend of approximately 1%.

The actors and writers’ strike in Hollywood at the beginning of the financial year also had a severe negative impact on one of the subsidiaries in the Group, Media Film Service, which made R31.5 million less in profit after tax when compared to the prior year. The Group also continued its legal battles against Multichoice during the current financial year spending R8.8 million more in the current year when compared to the prior year.

Notwithstanding all the negative impacts to business operations in the macro-economic environment in South Africa, the Group was able to return favourable results and further continues with the declaration of dividends to its shareholders with a dividend of 16 cents per share at the close of the financial year.

Revenue and market share

The Group’s revenue for the fiscal of R3.1 billion is only 2.1% less than the previous year which can be mainly attributed to the decreased revenue earned by Media Film Service as mentioned above. This was further underscored by television advertising revenue ending on R2.165 billion an increase of 3% despite the television advertising cake declining by 1%. This is the highest television advertising revenue earned by the Group in its history.

The Group once again outperformed the market in terms of advertising revenue in the television market. This benefit in advertising revenues can be attributed to the Group maintaining prime-time audience market share at 33.5% in March 2024 from 34.5% in March 2023, a slight decrease year on year.

Further analysis of the Group’s market share reveals an increase in both shoulder and prime time. The share ended at 33.0% and 33.5% respectively, making the Group the biggest broadcaster in audience share in prime time and second to DStv in shoulder time in South Africa.

e.tv

The prime-time market share for e.tv has shown a slight decrease of 0.7% to 20.7% audience share. Of interest, however, is that e.tv is now the biggest channel during both prime time and shoulder time surpassing SABC1. The continued loadshedding saw a change in viewer patterns and this saw an impact on some of the shows. Scandal (19:30 to 20:00) and House of Zwide (19:00 to 19:30) continues to have a demanding market share in their respective timeslots with Scandal, however, coming into some competition with SABC1 moving Skeem Saam from its 18:30 slot to the 19:30 slot.

During the year, e.tv launched new dramas, Smoke and Mirrors at 21:00 to 21:30 and Isitha at 21:30 to 22:00. Both these dramas command the number one position in their timeslots. The 18:30 drama, Nikiwe was withdrawn from the schedule as it was not commanding a satisfactory market share and was replaced by a new drama, Isipetho, which has more than doubled the market share.

e.tv now spends approximately R600 million annually on local drama series and again shows the dedication of the Group to grow the local television industry.

e.tv continues to face the impact of the uncertainty of the imminent analogue switch-off facing the country but the Group is confident that the audience share will be carefully managed. At present the Group is once again engaging with the Department of Communication in relation to the switch-off date regarding e.tv analogue transponders. The Group is firm in the belief that too many ordinary South Africans will remain without TV in a hard switch-off environment.

Openview and multichannel

The non-linear eMedia channels continue to improve their ratings with eExtra, eMovies Extra and eReality which rank in the top 15 of all satellite channels available in South Africa. A few more channels will be launched on the Openview platform in the new fiscal year.

The rest of the eMedia channels, available on multiple platforms accounted for 26.9% of the advertising revenue amounting to R610.6 million which is up from R501.3 million in the previous year. Profitability in this unit has been maintained with content costs for the fiscal year being pegged at R325.6 million.

The distribution of the four eMedia entertainment channels on Multichoice, which contributed to the Group’s audience and revenue share, is still under investigation by the Competition Commission after non-renewal of the channel carriage agreement. At the time of this report, the channels remain on the Multichoice bouquet, and the court case is set down for August 2024. As mentioned, this has attributed to the year-on-year increase in legal costs.

The set-top box activations for Openview for the year amounted to 377 916 taking the amount of activated set-top boxes to 3 428 523 activated at the end of the period. Technological advancements being the focus of the business will bring in the next upgraded phase of the Openview set-top box, a smarter set-top box which will have memory facilities and Wi-Fi capability.

eNCA

eNCA continues to perform satisfactorily in its targeting of the discerning news viewer. In an attempt to engage the viewer, the channel has changed its positioning from ‘No Fear, No Favour’, to ‘Question, Think, Act’. It also continues to be the leading advertising revenue generator in the news market.

Other subsidiaries

All of the Group’s subsidiaries, with the exception of Media Film Service, have performed exceptionally with Y ending the year on a profit after tax of R16.8 million, an increase of 6% year on year.

Costs

Administrative and other costs were well maintained, increasing by only 2.35% year on year. This increase is mainly due to marketing activities returning back to normal, increases in legal fees as previously discussed and the adverse impact of the rand fluctuation.

Cost of sales, which mainly consists of the cost of content, in the case of e.tv, employee costs in the case of eNCA, and cost of the Openview decoder sales, decreased from R1 629.4 million to R1 584.8 million. A significant portion of the decrease can be attributed to close control of content costs across the channels and the retrenchments to create efficiencies within eNCA.

Profitability

The only asset of the Group is a 67.69% interest in eMedia Investments, the company that owns e.tv, eNCA, Openview, eVOD among other businesses.

eMedia Investments ended the year with a net profit after tax of R353.2 million, compared to a profit of R404.7 million in the prior year. The above profit should be viewed in light of the continued loadshedding and the impact this had on the advertising cake, foreign exchange rate and the impact of diesel usage on the business, as well as the increased legal and marketing costs together with the impact of the actors and writers’ strike in faraway Hollywood.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the Group ended on R628.3 million compared to R667.2 million in the prior year.

Conclusion

The Group is forging ahead with numerous technology advances and strategic planning to continue to be the audience share market leader. The investment in Openview provides the Group with the strategic flexibility and is the plan to address the challenges of the transition that digital migration brings with it. The Group also intends to launch a number of digital developments to enhance its revenue generation capabilities and take advantage of our highly in-demand content.

The Group remains focused on its core business of broadcasting, content creation, platform advancements and a granular focus on technology that improves the broadcasting process.

Pending Court Verdict Keeps Kuiertyd And The Rest Of eMedia's Offering On DStv Until August 2024

Since 2022, eMedia Investments and MultiChoice have been embroiled a carriage dispute regarding eToonz, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eExtra. These channels were initially slated to go dark by the end of March of that year but got an extended stay on DStv for 2 years.

eMedia Investments had accused MultiChoice of anti-competitive behavior resulting in the removal of the channels. MultiChoice on the other based the removal on transponder constraints and also the load of DStv content viewed on eMovies and eToonz.

These offering was supplemented by DreamWorks and Movie Room as KykNET&kie launched its rival offering to eExtra's Kuiertyd. Other channels that formed part of this expanded offering to select DStv consumers include PBS Kids and KIX.

As seen in the start of the year, MultiChoice had removed at least 11 channels in under 4 months. These included People's Weather, B4U Movies and WildEarth with M-Net's Me and 1Magic that merged to form 1Max and was the only channel to be replaced.

If there's no further delays this time, the number of channels to have departed DStv would increase to 15 should no other channel exit prior. Of course, with the rate of TV channels to have exited without a replacement MultiChoice could lose more DStv customers. 

Despite these channels residing on the Openview platform with eExtra on StarSat in a separate agreement. eMedia Investments would see a reduction in revenue for these channels and viewers as e.tv, eNCA and eNuus on KykNET remains on DStv.

News Shorts: Harold And The Purple Crayon Returns With New Live-Action Film, Prime Video Greenlights New Competition Series From MrBeast And DC Studios Announces A New Live-Action Film Based On Teen Titans

Harold is a middle aged man

Starring Zachary Levi (Shazam!), Harold and the Purple Crayon is set to be released in theaters by Sony Pictures on Aug. 2. Months ahead of the release, Sony has shared two posters for the movie, with one of them highlighting the magical purple crayon that brings to life everything Harold draws. Another poster reveals Levi in character as Harold along with some of his co-stars and the various creations he will be making with the titular crayon. 

Along with Zachary Levi, Harold and the Purple Crayon stars Lil Rel Howery (Get Out), Zooey Deschanel (The Happening), Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows), Ravi Patel (Wonder Woman 1984), Camille Guaty (The Rookie), Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education), and Pete Gardner (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). Carlos Saldanha (Ferdinand) directed the movie with a screenplay penned by David Guion and Michael Handelman.

MrBeast is heading to Prime Video 

Beast Games, which is based on Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast’s already successful YouTube show, is set to become the biggest reality competition series with 1000 contestants competing for a $5 million cash prize—the biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming.

Beast Games will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Teen Titans live-action film in the works

DC Studios is adding to its newly rebooted cinematic universe with a live-action film adaptation of “Teen Titans,” tapping screenwriter Ana Nogueira to pen the feature.

The news comes only four months after Nogueria was reported to be writing “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” for Warner Bros. Discovery’s comic book adaptation division. An actor and playwright, Nogueira has been involved with DC for several years now, having been originally tapped by the previous regime to write a “Supergirl” movie that would’ve seen Sasha Calle reprise the character after debuting in last summer’s “The Flash.” That project was scrapped after James Gunn and Peter Safran took on leadership roles, setting plans for a rebooted continuity of on-screen DC Comics adaptations. But the pair have maintained a relationship with Nogueira, which is further growing with “Titans.”

Why eToonz Now Offers Shows Like MasterChef Junior?

eToonz is South Africa's first free-to-air children's channel operated by eMedia Investments. It broadcasts daily at 6am with preschool shows like Peppa Pig, Postman Pat and Bob The Builder alongside with other content like Trollstopia, All Hail King Julien and Ninjago.

Launched in 2013, eToonz initially served as a preschool filtered brand and to date remains as the only youth brand on Openview to feature animated and live-action shows. Despite the rise in competiton with MultiChoice ramping up a duplicate offering on Play Room.

There was a lot of commotion pertaining to its performance regardless eMedia Investments had continued to bolster the entertainment. The channel now offers its own slate of live-action something formerly offered on Craze on top getting more first run programs.

As seen in recent months, eMedia Investments opted to add MasterChef Junior from eReality to eToonz current line-up. The inclusion of MasterChef Junior would further expand its line-up.

Openview launched in 2013 and as mentioned eMedia Investments remains hush hush on eToonz performance. There's been rumours that not much consumption is being poured on the brand as sources site Openview's demographic for the low numbers.

If anything, the inclusion of MasterChef Junior helps draw in numbers as well as more mature content like The Thundermans, Hank Zipzer and Backstage. Such content is relatable with fiction cast aside viewers are able to envision themselves within these characters.