Warner Bros. Discovery Looking To Bundle Max With Other Streaming Services In Parts Of Europe And Africa

Following the first phase of the recent WBD’s European roll out of Max, Leah Hooper Rosa, EVP of EMEA Streaming, the company’s goal is to operate across all major markets, including the UK.

She said she expects to see more conversations in the future about launching Max in the UK. WBD previously announced it plans to launch service Max in the country by 2026. The media and entertainment powerhouse currently has a long-running licensing partnership with UK pay TV operator Sky, for its HBO content which runs until the end of 2025.

Hooper Rosa, said, “We’re in the game now of we want to be a top three global streaming service. That’s our ambition.”

“We’re on a multi-year journey in terms of our Max roll out across Europe. We’re actively in conversations. Our CEO and Gerhard Zeiler (president of WBD International)  have also shared with partners and working out what that would look like,” she added.

Referring to the company’s recently partnership with Disney to offer a bundle including Disney+, Hulu and Max in the US, Hooper Rosa said – “it’s natural that we see those types of things move into Europe”.

The streamer has launched across Europe in partnership with telcos and pay TV provider in select regions.

“We haven’t seen too many types of those relationships yet in Europe with other streamers doing streaming bundling. But I think there is an opportunity for that in the future and we’ll see how consumers react to that,” she added.

Max debuted in Iberia, the Nordic markets and parts of central and eastern Europe earlier this month, as part of a staggered roll-out for simplicity, said the WBD exec. Further launches are planned for France, Poland, the Netherland and Belgium June.

Currently the streamer is available in 20 countries, including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

At present, WBD will only introduce tis Max’s ad-supported subscription plan in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Romania, Poland, France and Belgium.

For their strategy in Europe she explained, “its really a combination of the maturity of the ad market in those regions and the of maturity of our business because we need to be able to sell ads or to be able to have the capability to work with a partner.”

Max also offers a sports add-on, providing coverage of major international and European sports including Australian Open, Roland-Garros, The Championships, Wimbledon, US Open, Giro d’Italia, La Vuelta a España, Tour de France, and every major winter sports World Championship and World Cup events.

As part of the move, Hooper Rosa said it will be scaling back its content across its other streaming services including discovery+ where Max is present, which was the streaming home for WBD’s sports content across the company’s European markets.

“Max is our flagship streaming service,” she said. “So what we’re doing now is a  wind down across Europe of our other streaming services. It’s really on a market by market basis of how we’re managing that transition.”

Development Alert: Annekan Die Swa Kry (Kardeşlerim) Currently Seen On e.tv And ATV Cancelled After 4 Seasons

Annekan Die Swa Kry (Kardeşlerim) is a Turkish television series in the genre of drama, youth and romance was broadcast on February 20, 2021. Directed and written by Serkan Birinci and Gül Abus Semerci, it starred are Celil Nalçakan, Cüneyt Mete, Simge Selçuk and Yiğit Koçak. 

The story revolves around Kadir, Ömer, Asiye and Emel, four siblings who lose their parents due to unfortunate circumstances and try to build their lives going forward with each other's support. Despite their ups and downs, they are always there for each other.

The series which consists of 4 seasons will end with its 133rd episode which will be broadcast on June 15, 2024 in Turkey. It is currently on its third season on e.tv with the latter often allocated on eVOD months prior so it's likely viewers will get the final installment by the fall.

This news was revealed across social platforms as Turkish broadcaster ATV has another program slated in place of Annekan Die Swa Kry. Prior to the news, sources outlined that writers had expressed interest in doing a potential fifth and sixth season. 

ATV is a Turkish free-to-air television network owned by Turkuvaz Media Group and is also one of the most popular channels within the market. Aside from Annekan Die Swa Kry, it is known for shows like Karadayi, Kara Para Ask (Black Money Love) and Hercai.

"Minimax": Could MultiChoice Look To Replace Me With Another TV Channel On DStv?

During the year, MultiChoice had axed both 1Magic and Me from the DStv platform. Unlike the other 9 TV channels to have closed, further content from these brands had consolidated under Showmax which inherited its own TV channel, 1Max.

Of course, MultiChoice further reduced its availability to the consumers of 1Magic, Compact Plus. Despite most consumers already having a Showmax subscription it would make sense to offer it to consumers of Compact and Family.

This has led consumers of Me to wonder if M-Net would find other means in getting Summertide and White Lies SA to lower bouquets. Seeing as 1Max is Compact+ and a minority of consumers can't access Showmax.

Rumours had been swirling around that another TV channel was in development for lower bouquets possibly in place of Me. Of course, various details about the content or a name has not yet been disclosed at the time of publishing. 

Something that we had theorized earlier in the year was the possible demise of Me was the production of another TV channel. With the inclusion of 1Max, we presume a lightweight version of the channel perhaps titled Minimax is in development. 

With 1Max basically being 1Magic with additional content from Me alongside a demographic expansion to include the rest of Africa. Minimax would only focus on the local aspects of 1Max and perhaps infuse M-Net's existing local offering in the lineup. 

Me would initially evade themselves from airing a majority of local shows from 1Magic. Minimax on the other would further minimize the amount of content from M-Net seeing as the latter is on 1Max with M-Net being minimal on repeats on their channels. 

As seen with BBC UKTV, Minimax could as well be exempted from Premium and Compact Plus while being viewed on Family and Compact perhaps even Access seeing as the latter (e.g. Reyka) is not on Mzansi Wethu. 

1Magic was viewed as M-Net's BET channel with 1Max expanding that to include content from ROA. The content is meant to resonate with every aspect of consumer's lives but with Minimax it would be less traditional with shows like My Kitchen Rules SA and Trackers. 

The History Channel Bring You War Story Sundays This June

This year marks 80 years since the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. The seaborn invasion and airborne operations were the beginning of the liberation of France and western Europe during WWII.

In commemoration of this anniversary the HISTORY Channel Africa brings viewers D-Day: 100 Days To Beat The Third Reich. Other war stories that will be brought to life, each Sunday evening in June, includes Hitler’s Handmaidens, The Lost U-Boats Of WWII and WWII Air Crash Detectives

Catch these gripping WWII doccies this June and July!

Hitler's Handmaidens

Sundays at 20h15

Starts 2 June

The role of women in the rise and implementation of Nazi Germany is rarely featured in the history of World War II.

Hitler’s Handmaidens examines the women who played an influential role in German

society under the Nazi regime, from those who supported Hitler’s rise, to the individuals who played an active role in the Holocaust and other atrocities.

D-Day:100 Days to Beat the Third Reich

Sundays at 21h05

Starts 2 June

For the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing, this documentary will bring back to life the 100 days it took for the Allies to liberate Normandy, to break through the German line and to pave the way towards victory. It tells of 100 critical days, both heroic and tragic, that made history.

The Lost U-Boats of WWII

Sundays at 21h05

Starts 16 June

During WWII the Nazis stole billions of dollars in gold, jewels and art. To hold onto as much of their treasure as possible despite losing the war, the Nazis dispersed the valued goods all over the globe using U-boats. For almost 80 years the treasure laden U-Boats have remained in their watery graves, until now. Famed treasure hunter Darrell Miklos sets out to complete his lifelong mission of finding the missing U-boats and their multi-billion-dollar cargo. Each one-hour episode follows Darrell and his team of experts as they attempt to locate and lift the missing Nazi U-boats from the bottom of the Caribbean Sea.

WWII Air Crash Detectives

Sundays at 20h15

Starts 30 June

Uncovering the truth behind the deaths of thousands of airmen in World War II is investigator Garth Barnard. He reveals the historical events that caused vast destruction and devastation.

Not only are stories told of collisions with attacking aircrafts, but the series presents the facts behind dangerous training missions and accidents that occurred.

Join the HISTORY Channel Africa, as we uncover details surrounding the largest and deadliest conflict in human history, only on DStv 186 this June and July. 

Important Notice Dated 30 May

As some readers are aware, we have been less active on the site as this is part of many enhancements to improve reader's experience. We are currently distributing other content on X (Formerly Twitter) while our Facebook account continues to offer the best of Insidus. 

During this time, we have been prepping up new content which we will share in the coming days.

Warner Bros. Discovery Hinting At More Mergers And Acquisitions Through Interviews

Warner Bros. Discovery, just over two years after closing the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, will be “opportunistic” about seeking M&A deals in the next two or three years, president and CEO David Zaslav said.

“I think some companies will be for sale,” Zaslav said, speaking Thursday at the Bernstein 40th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference in New York. “We can be opportunistic but we’re going to be very disciplined.”

“I think there’s likely going to be some consolidation. There are a lot of players. There are a lot of players that are losing a lot of money,” Zaslav said. “One of the reasons why we really fought to drive our free cash flow and pay down our debt is to be in a position — as we roll out globally, as we fight to build our business — that we’re a healthy company.”

Speaking of losing money, Warner Bros. Discovery reported full-year 2023 revenue of $41.3 billion, down 4% on a pro-forma basis, and a net loss of $3.13 billion (versus a net loss of $5.36 billion on a pro-forma basis in 2022). The media conglomerate during the first quarter of 2024 repaid $1.1 billion of debt to end the quarter with $43.2 billion of gross debt.

“Over the next two to three years, I expect that there’s going to be some opportunities,” Zaslav said. “There’ll be some players that want to get out of the business, that will look to consolidate their streaming businesses with others. And so I think we will look to be opportunistic during that time,” he said, adding that he believes there will be 4-5 dominant global streaming platforms as things shake out.

“The global nature of this business is going to require a number of players to decide whether they want to go it alone,” according to Zaslav. He said “consolidation can happen in a lot of different ways,” including through bundling — such as WBD and Disney’s forthcoming Disney+/Hulu/Max bundle — and he also suggested “over the long term some of the smaller players in streaming will end up wanting to be part of a bigger global organization.”

Regarding Paramount Global — which has been in talks about a potential sale to Skydance Media and has been reviewing a joint bid from Sony Pictures-Apollo — Zaslav didn’t address WBD’s recent interest in exploring a merger with the company, but he commented in a lightning-round Q&A about Paramount, “Great storytelling heritage.” Zaslav met briefly late last year with Paramount’s then-CEO Bob Bakish to size up a potential merger but those talks didn’t continue.

Skydance Sweetens Offer For Paramount Global

David Ellison’s Skydance has sweetened its offer to acquire Paramount Global, Deadline has learned, in an attempt to make it more palatable to the company’s Class B stockholders after they trashed the outlines of a previous deal and threatened to sue.

Ellison’s original offer was to buy out Par’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone for a significant premium, resulting in a windfall for her, and then merge Skydance into Paramount keeping the combined company public. Stockholders wanted to be bought out at a premium as well.

Skydance, backed by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, sweetened the offer once late last month — offering to buy out a certain number of Class A voting shares from stockholders other than Redstone — as an exclusive monthlong negotiating period with Par ended. But it wasn’t enough to woo holders of the Class B non-voting stock, who are the majority of shareholders.

As the Skydance exclusive talks ended with no deal, Sony jumped in for a $26 billion bid with private equity giant Apollo, that was later downsized in some fashion as Sony signed a non-disclosure agreement with with Par about two weeks ago that would let SPE access Par’s books and talks to start in earnest. Those conversations were not exclusive, however, and Skydance remained very much in the mix, continuing to talk with Par as well.

The issue for Sony is not shareholders but regulators. Foreign ownership rules likely prevent Sony from owning CBS broadcast assets, which likely why its offer became more targeted. But it might not be a cakewalk to merge two major studios either. Skydance is safer, more certain on the regulatory front and wouldn’t require a prolonged review amid possible opposition that can drag a deal out and sometimes end without one.

All offers are being evaluated by a special committee of Paramount’s board of directors. Three on that committee — Dawn Ostroff, Nicole Seligman and Frederick Terrell — will formally exit the board as of the company’s annual shareholder meeting next Tuesday. Another board memeber, Robert Kieger, will also be leaving. Par announced the upcoming departures — which will leave it with a greatly downsized board — earlier this year to widespread speculation on what it meant for a deal.

Par hasn’t said whether the three had continued to serve actively on the pared down committee after their pending departures were announced or what the committee composition is now, or will be after the meeting where shareholders vote for directors among other issues on the agenda. The committee in any case is just there for a recommendation, with Redstone the decider and, some feel, a wildcard.

Says one source with knowledge of the dealings, “At the end of the day, whatever the committee recommends to Shari, it’s up to her to decide. A deal’s not a deal without her.”

Hollywood insiders favor a Skydance deal over a Sony/Apollo takeover of Paramount Global. The reduction of a major studio strikes fear throughout the exhibition sector that fewer event films would exist in the long run, the sector currently weathering the aftermath of Covid, two strikes and a Disney-Fox merger which has reduced the supply of movies at multiplexes.

"Trouble In Bollywood": You Have My Heart Rolls Out On Star Life From June 8th, Titli's Future Remains Uncertain

During the month, Star Life made the dastardly deed of halting daytime repeats of Evil Affairs and Beyond Love. This had caused an uproar of angry viewers demanding for them to be reinstated with Star Life only opting to move further repeats to late nights.

Now it looks the channel will be embroiled in more drama in the coming days as a new titled You Have My Heart is slated for June 8th. The only problem would be the timeslot allocation as it takes up 21:30 where Titli's is currently residing. 

Various consumers are concerned that Titli could suffer a similar fate as Beyond Love. As some readers are aware, Beyond Love has several seasons fully develop and Star Life is ending its journey with only 1 season currently and not airing back to back.

Titli will end with only 71 episodes having being aired on the 21:30 timeslot. There were rumours that the nature of the show had to do with its demise and although that's not proven we presume Titli could replace Beyond Love as opposed to Lost In Love.

Let's analyze the facts here, Star Life had promised to air repeats of Evil Affairs in late nights but programme guide shows no such thing. Then there's You Have My Heart, Star Life didn't have any new show slated on that day as Titli is still listed. 

Based on the Malayalam drama series Karuthamuthu, You Have My Heart (Anurager Chhowa) follows an ordinary girl and a doctor who fall in love as they discover each other's real beauty despite facing various trials and tribulations.

It starred Dibyojyoti Dutta as Dr. Surjo Sengupta, Swastika Ghosh as Deepanwita "Deepa" Majumdar, Ritu Pyne as Dr. Ira Sengupta, Arjun Chakrabarty as Dr. Arjun Chakrabarty, Sristi Majumdar as Rupa Sengupta and Mishita Roy Chowdhury as Shona Sengupta.

Important Notice: SPI International's Kino Polska Is Getting A New Logo On June 3rd

Kino Polska will feature a completely new visual setting, more modern and adapted to current trends. According to the broadcaster, its introduction is intended to both encourage new viewers to discover the rich world of Polish cinematography, as well as to more strongly emphasize the film character of the channel, which is inscribed in its DNA. 

With the introduction of a new channel design, we want to intrigue both our existing viewers and attract the attention of new ones. We are passionate about Polish cinema, so we want to encourage everyone to choose Kino Polska - both younger and older, representatives of different generations. The station plays an important role in building the identity of different generations and connecting them, educating younger viewers about their roots and history, and reminding older viewers of their youth. In this way, we build the value and impact of the Kino Polska brand, whose mission is important for subsequent generations - says Patrycja Gałązka, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer at SPI International. 

As part of the new setting, Kino Polska has gained a new color palette that responds to the trend of popularity of vintage style. Another element of the changed design is the new Kino Polska logo, in which the channel name has been retained, gaining a refreshed font and a different form of notation. Next to the name, there is also a new signet ring depicting a frame. 

The new logo of Kino Polska additionally emphasizes the film character of the channel and reminds that by reproducing the frame with our hands, each of us can look at the world through the prism of the creator looking for the right shot - informs the broadcaster. 

Along with the refreshed look of the channel, its sound design will also change, which has been adapted to the more modern visuals of the channel, but at the same time refers to the existing musical theme, keeping viewers feeling that it is a well-known channel that accompanies them on their film journeys. 

The new musical setting is universal, suits various moods as well as film genres, it is light and positive. It was composed by musician and composer Szymon Wysocki - adds the broadcaster. 

New programming offer of Kino Polska The Kino Polska channel will gain both a new setting and programming offer. The station is changing for viewers, offering a completely new version of Kino Polska, wanting to reach a younger audience, the broadcaster informs. Starting from June 9, every Sunday of the month, viewers will be able to watch a special film series "Cinema of Generations", dedicated to different generations. The station will take viewers on a film journey through decades of Polish cinema, from the 1980s to the present day. The film proposals include: "Dogs", "Kill me cop", "Sztos", "Fuks", "Controlled conversations" and "No one will sleep in the forest tonight".

Source: Satkurier