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.

Recap To Last Year: e.tv's Youth Block Craze Movie Offering Axed With Series Extended To Fridays

eMedia Investments in an attempt to further limit the amount of international titles inserted on e.tv had axed the Friday afternoon movies offered on youth block Craze. Serving as the initial offering to the youth block's introduction in 2008 had been replaced with existing animated series.

A few years prior to that, they had axed the block's local programming which served as a rival offering to SABC's Hectic Nine-9 and YOTV alongside Play Room Live seen on DStv channel 300. Since then, they've been dubbing various content like Care Bears to local languages.

e.tv has yet to respond on the sudden removal of Craze films but if we had to guess probably similar to that of Craze's former local programming:

"Television is always evolving, and we are constantly reviewing and refreshing our lineup to make sure that we are catering to the needs of our viewers," says Marlon Davids, head of e.tv channels.

Besides the axing of films, there's also been a decline in primetime with Craze's current offering like Archibald's Next Big Thing and Thomas And Friends All Engines Go all residing from eToonz with few exceptions like Takalani Sesame and Pokémon.

2024 On Regular Nick (Upcoming Kids And Family/Animated Series) | Cartoon Network | Disney Channel | Nickelodeon | More Brands Including DreamWorks, Netflix, eToonz And Play Room

Cartoon Network/Max/Cartoonito

• Ijanu: Child Of Wonder: A teenage orphan girl with no recollection of her past who suddenly discovers that she has hidden powers that rival the Divine Ones themselves. 

• Hero Inside: The adventure begins after Scott, a cartoonist and free spirit, mysteriously vanishes after drawing 100 superheroes across 100 comic books, without ever publishing. His proofread books scattered across San Francisco, triggering odd occurrences.

• Totally Spies!: The anime-inspired toon about three female teens balancing spy missions and high school drama

• Invincible Fight Girl: The series follows Andy, a young girl who dreams of becoming the greatest pro wrestler of all time.

• Tiny Toons Looniversity: Babs, Buster and friends enroll at Acme Looniversity, the premier institution of higher hijinx learning.

• Jessica's Big Little World: Jessica navigates her way through a world where everything seems much bigger than she is; inspired by the grown-ups around her, she persists in conquering monumental children's tasks.

• Barney's World: Set in a local playground, Barney is joined by dinos Billy and Baby Bop and their three kid best friends. Throughout silly and imaginative adventures together, Barney helps kids explore big preschool emotions and shows them how to love themselves and other.

• Silly Sundays: A feel-good comedy series, full of heart and deeply rooted in familial themes, everything centers around Sonia, Hugo, Mel, Mom, Dad and Granny as they create unforgettable memories together during their weekend gatherings. • Spookies: Set in Castle Ravenrock, Spookies stars three wee ghosts who discover something new behind every cobwebbed corner and dusty stairwell.

• Lana Longbeard: Lana is a super-feisty, forward thinking and passionate 11-year-old girl, who is also the heir to her father's adventuring ship, the Mighty Windbreaker.

• New Tom And Jerry Shorts: the first ever Asian produced Tom And Jerry series, featuring the famous cat and mouse duo as they take their rivalry to Singapore.

• Karters: Set in a fantastical island world, the game lets players collect and tame mystical creatures called Temtem, which can be used for battling, trading with friends and breeding to create offspring with new powers.

• Kite Man: Hell-Yeah!: Kite Man and Golden Glider take their relationship to the next level by opening a bar in the shadow of Lex Luthor’s Legion of Doom. 

Disney Channel/Disney Junior/Disney+

• Pretty Freakin Scary: After her sudden demise, Frankie Ripp, a 14-year-old girl, agrees to a deal with the Grim Reaper that she would go back home but accompanied by her underground parents.

• Ariel: It follows eight-year-old mermaid princess Ariel as she and her friends embark on fun-filled, action-packed underwater adventures throughout their Caribbean-inspired fairytale kingdom of Atlantica and beyond.

• Marvel Zombies: Re-imagines the marvel universe as a new generation of heroes battle against an ever spreading zombie scourge.

• StuGo: an original animated series about six overambitious middle schoolers who are tricked into attending a fake academic summer camp by a mad scientist. 

• Dragon Strikers: When the world’s most popular sport combines with magic, awesomeness escalates quicker than a dragon-powered strike! 

• Doomies: When best friends Bobby and Romy mistakenly open a gateway to another world, they turn their sleepy coastal town into a hotspot for terrifying creatures of doom. 

• Cars On The Road: Lightning McQueen and his best friend Mater head east from Radiator Springs on a cross-country road trip to meet up with Mater's sister.

• Princess Sam: this CG-animated show stars a girl who travels to a magical planet to learn how to control her powers and defeat evil villains.

• X-Men' 97:  It serves as a revival of X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–97), and the plot will continue where the original series left off. 

• Tiana: Tiana continues to explore New Orleans in a musical series.

• Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man: will be a unique take on one of Marvel’s most famous superheroes, with surprising connections to the MCU. 

• Princess Sam: this CG-animated show stars a girl who travels to a magical planet to learn how to control her powers and defeat evil villains.

• Moana: The Series: Moana and her friends continue to explore the South Pacific in this musical animated series.

• Playdate with Winnie the Pooh follows a young Pooh Bear as he enjoys playdates with his friends. Set in the exciting outdoors of the Hundred Acre Wood, these musical shorts emphasize collaborative play and the joy of spending time with others. 

Nickelodeon/Nick Jr/Paramount+

• Erin & Aaron: Teenage stepsiblings navigate their new lives after their parents' marriage, and find strength in their shared passion for music.

• Hamsters of Hamsterdale: This series, produced by Nelvana, follows a motley crew of hamsters, the heroic protectors of their 8-year-old owner Harry, who they mistake as their King and beloved ruler of their elaborate colorful-tubed kingdom.

• HexVet And Magic Pets: follows unlikely best friends Nan and Clarion as they navigate life's weird and wacky challenges, while apprenticing to be magical veterinarians for fantastical creatures.

• Super Duper Bunny League: centers on a diverse group of bunny friends who must battle danger as they defend their city and the world from their archnemesis. 

• Avatar: The Last Airbender: The series will be an authentic adaptation of the award-winning and beloved Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender reimagined as a live-action adventure.

• Rock, Paper & Scissors: Follows 3 roommates on their hijinks, ridiculous adventures and shared love of wacky nonsense.

• Dora: The series, tentatively titled ¡Dora!, is described as a reimagining of the classic animated show which “promises to strike the perfect balance between the comfort of the familiar and the excitement of the fresh.” 

• Live-Action Dora Series: Nickelodeon's beloved Latina heroine is returning with a brand new live-action series! Not much is currently known about the show, however, it'll be aimed at kids 6-11, and will be in the vein of the 2019 live-action feature film Dora and the Lost City of Gold, which follows an older Dora!.

• Zokie of Planet Ruby: This buddy comedy, produced by Nelvana, follows quirky 10-year-old vlogger Ruby and her space alien best friend ZJ Sparkleton.

• Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Turtles, as teenagers, deal with their new life as heroes while also dealing with the pressures of going to high school in New York City.

Other

• Lyla in the Loop (PBS Kids): is a funny and engaging new animated series for kids ages 4-8 about Lyla Loops and her fantastical blue sidekick, Stu, who use creative and strategic problem-solving and critical thinking skills to help their family, friends, and community!

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (eToonz, Play Room): After getting exposed to a mutant substance, four turtles become giants and start speaking and walking upright. They are trained by a wise rat, Splinter, in order to defeat an evil man, Shredder.

• Power Rangers (Play Room): It revolves around a team of youths recruited and trained by a mentor to morph into the eponymous Power Rangers, able to use special powers and pilot immense assault machines, called Zords, to overcome the periodic antagonists. 

• Pokémon Horizons: The Series (Cartoon Network, eToonz): This series introduces two new protagonists, Liko and Roy, who team up with the Rising Volt Tacklers, a group of adventurers that explore the Pokémon world and visit various regions, including the Paldea region.

• Dragon Ball: Daima (Cartoon Network, SABC 2): new canonical mainline anime set around the same time as when Super takes place. Fans also get a look at the apparent upcoming antagonists for the anime, who’ve seemingly been watching the Z Fighters and all their past struggles this entire time.

• Masters of the Universe: Revolution (Netflix): Skeletor's final assault on Castle Grayskull caused his own demise, put an end to He-Man , and damaged the source of all magic in existence. After their battle fractured Eternia, Teela must solve the mystery of the missing Sword of Power to prevent the end of the Universe. 

• Carl The Collector (PBS Kids): follows the everyday adventures of Carl, a warm-hearted autistic raccoon who loves collecting things. His talents – a laser-focus pursuit of his goals, attention to detail, and a distinctive way of looking at and experiencing the world around him.

• Hazbin Hotel (Amazon Prime Video): The series follows Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), the princess of Hell, as she sets about fulfilling her seemingly impossible dream of opening a hotel called the "Happy Hotel," which aims to rehabilitate sinners.

• PeekeeBoo (Moonbug): The preschool project, featuring 2D animation with CG-animated backgrounds, will star three tiny creatures (Pea, Kee and Boo) who are enthralled by all of the sights and sounds of nature.

• Moonrise (Netflix): A young man from Earth enlists in the army to attack rebels on the Moon, only to find that his former best friend has become his enemy.

• Noah's Park (Play Room): The little animals have left Noah's Ark and find each other sharing fun and adventure, and a few life lessons in NOAH'S PARK.

• Game Shakers (eToonz): Babe and Kenzie create a popular application named Sky Whale. However, rapper Double G threatens to ruin their business because he finds out they have been using his song without permission.

• Time Patrol Bon (Netflix): The story focuses on Bon Namihira, a teenager who becomes part of a team of time-traveling agents tasked with saving people's lives during major historical events that happen across different eras and locations around the globe.

• Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft

Asterix (Netflix): The series will be adapted from one of the classic volumes, Asterix and the Big Fight, where the Romans, after being constantly embarrassed by Asterix and his village cohorts, organize a brawl between rival Gaulish chiefs and try to fix the result by kidnapping a druid along with his much-needed magic potion. I’m not giving anything away when I tell you, it doesn’t go as planned.

• Dee & Friends In Oz: A young girl named Dee discovers a wonderful magical land of Oz, where she meets new friends and is challenged to save the day, and save Oz!.

• Hot Wheels Let's Races (Netflix): Follows the newest generation of racers as they experience mind-blowing races, extreme stunt contests, and thrill-seeking challenges.

• Megamind's Guide To Defending Your City (DreamWorks): The series will chronicle the new hero's quest to become a social media influencer and a true superhero. 

• Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (DreamWorks): Tells the story of dinosaur fanatic Darius Bowman, who visits Camp Cretaceous and, as per all prior Jurassic movies, the dinosaurs manage to get loose and cause untold chaos and destruction.

• Mighty MonsterWheelies (DreamWorks): Which reimagines classic characters as half-monster, half-truck vehicle heroes who team up to use their special powers to serve and protect the all-vehicle city of Motorvania from troublemakers like Phantom Freeze and Invisible Van.

• Exploding Kittens (Netflix): An eternal conflict reaches epic proportions when both, God and the Devil, are sent to Earth in the bodies of chunky house cats.

• Devil May Cry (Netflix): is an upcoming American adult animated dark fantasy action streaming television series based on the video game franchise of the same name by Capcom and part of Adi Shankar's Bootleg Multiverse.

• Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation (Netflix): Monsters follows Ryuma, a samurai from Wano, a country also featured in the One Piece universe. In a world disrupted by a menacing force, Ryuma must navigate the chaos caused by a powerful dragon with the ability to bring catastrophic havoc.

Most Popular Posts Of 2023: Everyday Novelas Takes The Most Wins With eExtra's Kuiertyd And Surprising Development Cennet: The Power Of Destiny And HONEY Make It To The Top 10

Presenting the reader's 10 most viewed stories of 2023

1. Development Alert: Wie Laaste Lag Currently Streaming On eVOD + Coming Soon To eExtra

2. Afrikaans Voice Actors For Roekeloos Dade, Annekan Die Swa Kry And Ramo

3. Reminder: Doodsondes Returns For A Fifth Season Likely After Roekeloos Dade On e.tv

4. New Series Alert: Powerbirds And Robin Hood Currently Airing On eToonz

5. Nigeria: Kwara TV Broadcast For The First Time On StarTimes, FreeTV And Soon On DStv + International Expansion Are On The Cards

6. New Series Alert: Telemundo To Debut First Turkish Drama Cennet: The Power Of Destiny Across Africa This October

7. New Series Alert: Soete Wraak Coming Soon To eVOD

8. Its The Moment You've All Been Waiting For NickToons Africa Debuts The New Series From Monday 13 November At 13:30 CAT Along With Breadwinners On Monday 6 November At 15:35 CAT Plus A Nick Jr Block For The Preschoolers So Much Is In Store For The Little Ones In November 2017

9. Channel Termination: HONEY To Go Dark On DStv From 31 October 2023

10. New Series Alert: As Expected, Roekeloos Dade Is Rolling Out On eExtra In The Coming Months

Notes

• Kuiertyd occupies the most spots in the top 10 (5) and Everyday Novelas offers 6 (including Cennet).

• eToonz's Powerbirds was the most popular kids show or better yet Regular Nick attraction.

• Nicktoons has the oldest post on the list which dates back to 2017.

• Roekeloos Dade has been the most mentions (3)

eMedia's 4 Channels Recieve Another Extension On MultiChoice's DStv, Might Go Dark By August 2024

Since 2022, eMedia Investments and MultiChoice had been undergoing a carriage dispute with the Competition Tribunal. After the pay-tv operated planned to remove these channels by March of that year was only fortunate enough to axe eMovies, eMovies Extra, eToonz and eExtra by the end of May.

At the time, MultiChoice mentioned that they had been phased with transponder constraints and that eMedia's 4 channels didn't fit their 5 year content strategy. eMedia Investments showed that MultiChoice did have enough satellite capacity and that their channels do abide by local quotas.

Following their cancellation, MultiChoice was met with severe backlash from various DStv consumers. Overtime, the pay-tv operator managed to supplement this offering with the expansions of KIX and PBS Kids alongside further new channels, DreamWorks and Movie Room.

By August of that year, eMedia Investments had recieved numerous extensions for their 4 Openview channels. After MultiChoice was planning to remove it by July 2023 and could have removed it by January 2024 will probably be able get it over with by August 2024.

Alas this case will have a 2 year and 6 month duration and despite how some people (including myself) wish these parties could have solved their issues much sooner.

Just know, eMedia's 4 Openview channels future were predicted by the end of May 2022 - Openview. MultiChoice has refused eMedia's attempts for a possible extension and honestly the Competition Tribunal can only help them recieve compensation at this point.

From MultiChoice's perspective, these 4 channels don't really have much to offer as I've mentioned for the past year eMedia Investments had been bundling these channel's content on e.tv and a selection of content is also accessible on DreamWorks and M-Net Movies.

That doesn't mean they aren't performing to their potential I feel similar to Zee One or BBC UKTV. These channels will hold more use to consumers that don't have access to the content residing within DStv.

The only issue here which is similar to what Nismedia had with Glow TV before it's departure is sustainability. eMedia Investments would have cutback on content in order to stay afloat as about 40% of their revenue is on DStv.

News Shorts: Fireman Renewed For Season 16 On JimJam And e.tv, History Channel Unveils It's Early 2024 Lineup Across Africa And A Magical Love Story Takes Up Primetime On Star Life (Divya Drishti Cancelled)

Fireman Sam renewed for 16th season

New international distribution deals have also been secured for previous seasons of both shows, which are based on Mattel brands, with the greenlights and distribution deals part of a multi-year co-development, production, distribution and licensing agreement between Mattel and WildBrain.

Fireman Sam will return in a new 26 x 10-minute season, which is scheduled to begin delivery in spring 2024. The new season is currently in production at WildBrain’s Vancouver animation studio.

Showmax secured Fireman Sam for S11-15 plus Heroes of the Storm and Alien Alert specials with e.tv securing the first two seasons while JimJam a pay-tv channel only picked up one season to the program.

History unveils its January lineup

Brand New Episodes HISTORY’S GREATEST MYSTERIES WITH LAURENCE FISHBURNE S4

6 January 

Saturdays 20h15 

The second instalment of season 4 of History’s Greatest Mysteries With Laurence Fishburne, cont nues to examine the top theories surrounding the world’s most confounding unsolved mysteries. In these episodes Fishburne turns the microscope on what secrets Stonehenge might hold and another archaeological enigma, the ‘Nazca Lines’ which are 2,000-year-old geoglyphs in the Peruvian desert. Fishburne, together with top historians, authors, scient sts, and researchers, invest gates enigmas such as Cleopatra’s missing tomb and the lost gold of WWII. Repeat: Sundays 19h25

Brand New & Exclusive SECRETS IN THE ICE S3

16 January 

Tuesdays 19h25 

Secrets In The Ice S3 goes to the most remote, cold, and inhospitable places on the planet to reveal great mysteries that were once frozen in t me. Merging CGI re-creat ons, advanced scanning technology and scient fi c research, the series invest gates many curiosit es that have been lost for millennia, or never seen before. Secrets In The Ice explores how and why they ended up in the most desolate and distant corners of the planet, and contemplate what may st ll be concealed in the frozen depths. Repeat: Next Day 11h45

Brand New & Exclusive CURSE OF OAK ISLAND S11

26 January 

Fridays 20h15 

The hit series The Curse of Oak Island returns for season 11, with the Lagina brothers’ boldest plans yet to solve the 228-year-old treasure mystery. Cont nued dig eff orts take place within the infamous Money Pit, Lot 5 and beyond while stunning discoveries cont nue to be unearthed on Oak Island. Addit onally, the team’s research leads them to embark on a journey overseas that will off er new and shocking evidence that could fi nally connect the Knights Templar to the centuries long tale. Is this the year that marks the end of the world’s longest treasure hunt? Repeats: Mondays 12h35

Star Life cutting back on shows

Star Life is an international entertainment channel operated by Disney Star which is home to variety of English dubbed Bollywood series and movies. The channel currently offers 13 TV series which is somewhat around the range of its premium counterpart, StarPlus.

Last month, it was announced that Star Life would be rolling out its third supernatural drama Divya Drishti in place of Night Of Doom in its conflicted primetime schedule serving as one of the few 45 minute offerings on the channel as the latter is padded with 21 minute shows.

As seen through an updated EPG, the current rebroadcast of A Magical Love Story will also be airing at 23:00 once Night Of Doom ends on 13 November. Theoretically, it is believed that Divya Drishti could commence in 2024 perhaps in place of Mismatched.

Interesting to note, A Magical Love Story will be ending soon so maybe Mismatched moves to 23:00 as Divya Drishti takes up the 22:00 timeslot.

News Shorts: Showmax Debuts Another Original Animated Series Twende, Once Upon A Studio To Rollout On Various e.tv And Disney Platforms And Help I'm In A Secret Relationship Returns For New Episodes On MTV Across Africa

Meet ‘Twende,’ Showmax Africa’s First Original 2D Toon

Showmax has released a trailer for Twende — the first Showmax Original 2D animated series. The show follows a pangolin — an endangered species which is the slowest on the savannah and the most-trafficked type of animal in the world — who makes up for his natural lack of speed by driving a motorcycle taxi.

Twende will premiere on Showmax across Africa on December 4. New episodes will roll out on Saturdays.

Once Upon A Studio debuts in Africa

Featuring 543 characters from more than 85 Disney feature-length and short films, Once Upon a Studio welcomes heroes and villains, princes and princesses, sidekicks and sorcerers - in all-new hand-drawn and CG animation - to celebrate 10 decades of storytelling, artistry and technological achievements.

Will be on Disney+ from 09h00, Disney Channel from 16h55 and on e.tv at 18h20.

Also on OpenView at these times:

- eExtra: 17h50

- eSeries: 18h15

- eToonz: 18h50

- eReality: 18h50

- eMovies: 19h50

- eMovies Extra: 19h50

- ePlesier: 20h00

November on MTV

Help, I'm In A Secret Relationship S2B

Monday, November 27th @20:00

Episodes 211-224

The broken hearts professionals are back in action! In season 2 of HIIASR, Travis and Rahne return to the streets to help suspicious and confused partners find out why their relationship’s being kept secret. But with the trend of hiding more prevalent than ever…they’ve got their work cut out for them this around.

On season 2 of HIIASR, our hosts are dealing with wilder stories, even crazier twists, and more jaw-dropping, shocking reveals than they’ve ever encountered before.

Recap To The Decade: eToonz Remains As The Only Source To Kids Entertainment On Openview

eToonz is currently South Africa's only children entertainment channel operated by eMedia Investments which feature a mixture of animation like Peppa Pig, SpongeBob SquarePants and Voltron alongside live-action like Victorious and Power Rangers.

Since it's inception, the channel has remained the only source to kids entertainment on Openview and also the least mentioned brand amongst eMedia Investments' stable with a lineup bombarded with repeats as other brands continue to boost their offering.

While others such as eExtra and eMovies got additional channels based on their content. eToonz on the other hand was left as a singular brand with content sharing happening across eMedia's linear platforms.

As mentioned in a previous article, adults dominate cable TV and unlike DStv there's not a lot of households on Openview with children or in particular ones that would view the content especially if a selected portion can be viewed on the main channel.

So the idea of an eToonz Extra wouldn't really have been the best implementation strategy for eMedia Investments. As seen already, eToonz doesn't have enough content to carry onto a second channel and should eMedia opt for one it would probably need to be a random channel.

In this case, something like Da Vinci or SABC Education would help fill that gap at this point. As it doesn't clash with the existing offering seen on eToonz but gives consumers more content to browse that is if eMedia Investments chooses to revisit this section.

Play Room Vs. eToonz: MultiChoice's Third Attempt At Phasing Out An e.tv Channel

Since last year, eMedia Investments and MultiChoice have embroiled in a carriage dispute regarding the 4 Openview channels currently viewed on DStv. Since then the pay-tv company had introduced several new channels including Movie Room, DreamWorks, BBC UKTV and Magic Showcase.

At the time, this news had garnered backlash particularly on how MultiChoice opted to supplement each channel which saw several consumers inherit only a single channel out of 4. When really it should have been about catering to the package(s) these brands were allocated on.

As seen in the last months, MultiChoice seems to have found other ways to rectify their mistakes from last year. Zee Zonke was introduced in August and if anything some would say this was the pay-tv company's way of phasing out eExtra as it's the exact opposite of the channel.

Movie Room launched last year and had proven to be a popular addition to DStv consumers. Although, Ngwato Nkosi Group doesn't disclose any figures but we assume it's enough to fill up the gap left by eMovies and eMovies Extra together with the help of TNT and M-Net Movies.

eToonz being the last contender in the game will be facing off against Play Room in the coming months. We're aware that there are other brands on DStv like Cartoon Network and Disney Junior but we've thought of looking for a brand that was more up their alley which is Play Room.

Similar to the previous comparisons, Play Room has a limited amount of original productions as the latter is said to be rehashing shows something we've seen on eToonz for several years. Another thing would the addition of dubbed programming something lacking within the red brand.

Unlike eToonz, Play Room will be doing a lot of language switching with select content viewed in English with others in Zulu and a bit of sign language. Another as mentioned would be the local production which again is very much lacking within the red brand.

If anything, Play Room is believed to not be giving their content much exposure market wise something that has been seen with eToonz. Honestly, it wouldn't be shocking as Movie Room barely market their offering probably because there's nothing newsworthy at this point.

From what I can sum up, Play Room doesn't seem to be animation centric at least to a wider audience which works in eToonz favour as that's substituted with educational material, content which is very much lacking on the red brand and content that's been in demand on Openview.

Openview Plus Updates: eMedia Investments' eToonz To Get It's First Ever Official Competitor From Ngwato Nkosi Group And e.tv Scraps uBettina Wethu Season 4 As Die Kontrak Returns With A Season 3 On eExtra

DStv to rollout a premium eToonz channel

Last month, MultiChoice and Zee Entertainment Enterprises unveiled a Zulu dubbed Bollywood channel titled Zee Zonke. In some way, it sort of seemed like this was the pay-tv operators way of doing eExtra's Kuiertyd dirty by launching the exact opposite.

Play Room appears to be more enhanced version to the current eToonz channel as it set to carry a number of repeats like Paw Patrol, CoComelon and Akili And Me some of which will be dubbed in local languages and also get a sign language interpreter something not offered to Openview.

Why we consider this the first eToonz competitor? Simple, brands like Cartoon Network and PBS Kids are considered premium channels to some extent as they serve original productions and Play Room offering is limited which is why we pinned these two with each other.

Die Kontrak is back for a season 3

Last year, eMedia Investments revived Die Kontrak (formerly seen on Via) for a second season which had proved to be a resounding success if the show was fortunate enough to get a third season. Similar to Idols and The Voice, musicians are given a chance to own the stage with a winner set to get a recording contract.

Premiering episodes are on eExtra every Sunday at 18:00 with repeats said to be allocated on e.tv in an undisclosed timeslot.

uBettina Wethu has been removed from primetime

Last month, it had been reported that uBettina Wethu would return to e.tv for a fourth season as SABC lost rights to the fashion drama. But as seen in recent weeks, eMedia decided to pull the show off the schedule with its timeslot bombarded with content from eReality.

Several things came to mind and that was the possibility of this recent adjustment being permanent. Since rolling out local dramas in the 20:30 timeslot none of them have managed to immense as much success as Scandal or House Of Zwide.

Theoretically, could it be possible that uBettina Wethu could perhaps debut on a new timeslot perhaps 18:30 as Nikiwe has been struggling to garner much traction with consumers making it a very easy target and also another way to give the upcoming season exposure.

New Series Alert: SpongeBob SquarePants + The Thundermans + More Nick Classics Make Their Freemium Debut On The eBranded Channels

During the year, eMedia Investments scooped up various content for their linear platforms particularly from Nickelodeon like Dora The Explorer, The Loud House and The Fairly OddParents. Now eMedia is set to expand their stake on Nickelodeon with the following programs:

e.tv

• SpongeBob SquarePants: A yellow sea sponge named SpongeBob SquarePants, who enjoys being a cook at Krusty Krab, lives in the Pacific Ocean. He embarks on various adventures with his friends at Bikini Bottom. The series airs Mondays to Thursdays at 14:30 from 28 August.

eToonz

• Victorious: Tori Vega, a sixteen-year-old girl, finally gets a chance to prove herself and shine away from her sister's shadow after she gets to attend a well-known high school of performing arts. The series airs Wednesdays at 18:00 from 23 August.

• The Thundermans: Max and Phoebe are the Thunderman twins who belong to a super cool family of superhumans. While Phoebe wants to use her abilities for good, Max is hell-bent on becoming a villain. The series airs Friday at 18:00 from 1 September.

• Game Shakers: Babe and Kenzie create a popular application named Sky Whale. However, rapper Double G threatens to ruin their business because he finds out they have been using his song without permission. The series airs Mondays at 18:00 from 28 August.

Pending/Rumoured

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: After getting exposed to a mutant substance, four turtles become giants and start speaking and walking upright. They are trained by a wise rat, Splinter, in order to defeat an evil man, Shredder.

• Henry Danger: Henry Hart, a thirteen-year-old boy works secretly as Kid Danger, a sidekick to superhero Captain Man. He must protect his own exploits from being discovered by his family and friends.

• School Of Rock: Misadventures of Dewey Finn, a rocker who poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school as he teaches his unconventional and overachieving students to play and love rock 'n' roll.

• Sanjay & Craig: The always odd and often gross-out adventures of a young boy named Sanjay Patel and his talking pet snake Craig.

TOLDJA! e.tv's 4 Channels Were Meant To Go Dark On DStv By August But Were Extended, Might To Go Dark By The End Of 2023 If Not Early 2024

Last month, eMedia Investments' 4 Openview channels on the DStv platform were meant to go dark as the team advised consumers that eExtra, eToonz, eMovies and eMovies Extra would be booted and would remain exclusive to the Openview platform with eExtra on StarSat.

Fast forward to the present, these channels are still onboard the DStv platform and through an enquiry it was revealed that eMedia Investments had got another months extension (possibly the rest of 2023) by the Competition Tribunal - you'd think they'd let this matter rest.

And also it was mentioned that eMedia Investments had tried to get an extension on DStv but MultiChoice refused which led them to run through the Competition Tribunal for help once again.

Amidst this extension, MultiChoice was looking to launch further channels like the Zulu dubbed Bollywood channel Zee Zonke later this month (possible replacement to the Afrikaans offering on eExtra) but was delayed to September likely due to this matter.

Last year, MultiChoice had mentioned that they were battling with transponder constraints which partly led to the cancellation of eMedia's offering while the other party claimed they had plenty of space for more channels. But it's possible MultiChoice's case was accurate as they closed several channels in the previous financial year.

With this extension you kind of wonder if the upcoming offering would make it to DStv or likely get scrapped as seen with Media24's Via duplicate for Access consumers. Aside from e.tv, other channels whose future are in question include National Geographic and Disney Channel.

As outlined through my research, Disney Channel (and if possible Disney Junior) might be the next channels to exit the platform as further content will be folded under another streaming platform if not Showmax as Disney is looking to streamline the business.