Entertainment Inside Us (Insidus)

Today, the Walt Disney Company has released its latest quarterly results for the fiscal second quarter 2023, and that means we get an updated look at how many subscribers Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ have. This gives us a clear indication of how the apps are doing, especially with growth or decline in subscriber numbers. These subscriber numbers are based up to April 1st 2023. Disney+ now has 157.8 million subscribers globally, down over 4 million subscribers from 161.8 million subscribers last quarter. All of these losses have come from subscribers leaving Disney+ Hotstar in India, following the loss of the cricket and, most recently, HBO content. In the US and Canada, they lost 300,000 subscribers, likely due to the recent price rise, less content and political issues. However, Disney+ subscribers in other areas, including Latin America, Europe and Asia, increased by 900,000. While Hulu has added around 200,000 subscribers, ESPN+ has also added 400,000 subscribers in the US. Disney CEO B

It’s finally happening. Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced plans to bring together its streaming services in the United States under one app, bringing Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ content all together to offer subscribers a better experience but it also comes with many business benefits. The details of how all of this will work are still very much unknown. Bob Iger was very vague about how Hulu content would be added within Disney+, but there are some key things we know. • It will be happening by the end of 2023 • Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu will still be offered as separate services • Hulu content will be available within Disney+ • More advertising is going to be offered • Price rises for Disney+ However, we still know very little about how all of this will work out because the Hulu situation is very complicated. First off, Comcast still owns 33% of Hulu and due to a contract that was put into place when Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, which means Disney or Comcast can force Disney to buy ou

During the year, Paramount revived the Splat logo on Nickelodeon which at the time was only viewable at the 2023 KCAs and applicable to consumers in the United States. As reported a few days ago, the revamped look is set to hit international shores by July 2023. “It was time for us to really look at the brand, and look at our audience, and talk with our audience and revisit all the pieces of Nickelodeon,” Sabrina Caluori, evp of global kids and family marketing at Nickelodeon and Paramount, told sources. As seen already, Nickelodeon is the only brand to have gotten a makeover while sister channels, Nick Jr. and Nicktoons in Africa alongside international brands TeenNick and Nick@Nite have yet to make the switch despite various reports claiming otherwise. I mean idea of these brands aligning their logo to match that of Nickelodeon doesn't seem far fetched as BET and MTV had all undergone something similar years prior followed by various brands in their division so questions l

In the latest wave of industry layoffs, the recently combined Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios as well as Paramount Media Networks, overseen by the division’s President and CEO Chris McCarthy, is reducing its domestic team by 25% today. McCarthy addressed the cuts, which he called a “very hard but necessary decision”, in a company memo. According to sources, the basic cable networks were most heavily impacted, with a number of units being shut down as part of consolidation, mostly on the operations side. Also folding is MTV News, the news production division of MTV, which was launched in the late 1980s. The unit already had undergone significant downsizing over the last six years. MTV News staffers took to social media to share the layoff news. Among the senior-level executives impacted are Jessica Zalkind, SVP, Talent and Series Development, MTV Networks, and Todd Radnitz, SVP of Original Unscripted Series at MTV Entertainment Group and Paramount+, we hear. East Coast casting is

Warner Bros Discovery announced that it has picked up the new CG-animated series Barney’s World for Cartoonito on Cartoon Network and streaming on Max. The series, announced earlier this year as part of Mattel’s Barney franchise relaunch, will aptly be titled “Barney’s World” and will revamp the iconic character for modern audiences. Co-produced by Mattel Television and Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, “Barney’s World” will debut globally in 2024. With all the heart and comfort of the original iconic dinosaur, “Barney’s World” is modernized with dynamic characters and music-filled storylines that highlight themes of love, community, and encouragement. 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. “Barney’s World perfectly exemplifies our ‘best in animation’ approach. It strikes t

The network will spend the rest of 2023 rolling out a new brand identity and refreshed on-air look that’s designed to invoke nostalgia and return to its history. “It was time for us to really look at the brand, and look at our audience, and talk with our audience and revisit all the pieces of Nickelodeon,” Sabrina Caluori, evp of global kids and family marketing at Nickelodeon and Paramount, told sources. The “Portal to Fun” campaign launched yesterday with the first of five spots. “Quartet” shows a bored kid at a family dinner, who then notices the orange splat above them on the ceiling. After sticking their head through the splat, the kid finds a barbershop quartet performing. Nick found after internal research that the “core DNA” of the brand still resonated with kids today, according to Caluori. “We take that to the best and the mess of being a kid,” said Caluori. “We did learn that, what’s fundamentally different now than when the brand was initially taking shape, is kids’ rel

Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan on the HISTORY Channel Africa (DStv 186) will bring to life some of the most devious and high-stakes heist attempts of all time, every Saturday evening starting 20 May. Throughout history people have done anything and everything in their power to get their hands on lots of money, including formulating some of the most scheming heist attempts. Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan (Saturdays at 20h15) delves into these intricate schemes and the audacity of the criminal masterminds who risked their freedom for a shot at a lifetime of wealth and riches. Greatest Heists is hosted by the legendary Pierce Brosnan, who is best known for playing James Bond in the Bond movie series. In this latest HISTORY Channel series, the multi-award-winning actor is embedded into each heist through state-of-the-art technology. Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan breaks down every aspect of the plan including the conniving team, the mark, the execution and finally the afte

e.tv, South Africa's most watched English channel featuring various local and international productions has acquired rights to NBC's The Neighborhood which was renewed for 6th season during the year with M-Net currently on the fifth season. Synopsis for The Neighborhood: The Neighborhood follows Dave Johnson, the "nicest guy in the Midwest," who moves his white family into a predominantly African American neighborhood in L.A., where not everyone appreciates his extreme neighborliness. That includes their new next-door neighbor Calvin Butler. It stars Cedric the Entertainer, Max Greenfield, Sheaun McKinney, Marcel Spears, Hank Greenspan, Tichina Arnold and Beth Behrs. The series debuted in 2018 and has since then accumulated 102 episodes each with a 22-24 minute duration across 5 seasons. It has also been met with mixed reception for its poor character development and also the misuse of the social environment. The first season to The Neighborhood airs Saturdays

Star Select, a general entertainment channel owned by Disney Star serving as a freemium version to the current StarPlus channel is gearing up for the rollout of two new series, Bohot Pyaar Karte Hai and Ajooni. Synopsis for Bohot Pyaar Karte Hai: The show is about a girl named Indu who lives with her younger sister and parents. Indu loves a guy named Mahesh and wants to go meet him and propose to him for marriage. She goes to meet him with her dad but finds that he has already married someone else. It stars Karan Grover as Ritesh Malhotra, Sayali Salunkhe as Indu Raina Malhotra, Kiara Sadh as Zoon Raina Malhotra, Shireen Mirza as Kamna Pankaj Malhotra and Sanjay Swaraj as Pankaj Malhotra. Synopsis for Ajooni: It is the story of a woman named Ajooni Vohra who will go to any lengths to fight for her rights. Rajveer Singh Bagga belongs to the Bagga family, known for their power in Punjab. The Baggas, headed by Rajveer's father, Ravindra Singh Bagga, are rooted deep in traditio