Entertainment Inside Us (Insidus)

Cartoonito is an international channel operated by Warner Bros. Discovery dedicated to preschoolers and families. Since its launch in 2021, the channel had garnered traction globally for shows like Bugs Bunny Builders, Batwheels and Masha And The Bear.  Since 2022, Cartoonito has replaced various Boomerang feeds in Latin America, Turkey, Europe and Africa. With the United States, Taiwan Oceania and South Korea serving as one of the few markets where content is allocated on Cartoon Network.  Through a promo, it was revealed Boomerang would rebrand to Cartoonito in South Korea from July 1st with the region serving as a late entry. It is currently unknown how much content from Boomerang would fold under Cartoonito when the rebrand occurs. However,  Jessica's Big Little World will form part of the launch lineup alongside Lamput, Esme & Roy and Bugs Bunny Builders.  Warner Bros. Discovery's decision for replacing Boomerang with Cartoonito in EMEA which might be c

Canal+ is a French based pay-tv provider operated by Vivendi that distribute various films, series and TV channels. It recently acquired remaining shares in MultiChoice after serving as its largest investor with the company seeking approval from local legislation.  They intend to merge operations should this deal move forward but alas the two had been rivals years prior and this comes with a similar lineup of entertainment. In this case, Canal+'s ROK Studios and M-Net's Africa Magic channels as mentioned sometime ago .  Unless some restructuring plan is underway for both these brands it's likely that the ROK channels and Africa Magic would be subjected to a merger. Sort of as a streamlining attempt as seen with Africa Magic Urban as the latter would fold under Showmax and iROKO TV. Of course, Canal+ did acquire the TV channels and studios and not the iROKO+ streaming service. If anything, Canal+ could reduce their investment on iROKO TV now that they have Afr

eVOD is a South African based streaming service operated by eMedia Investments that offers a mixture of locally produced and international content. It also serves as a competitor to existing streamers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Showmax. As some readers are aware, eMedia Investments was planning to invest at least 100 million yearly on local productions for eVOD. Not only that, content viewed on the streamer was said to also be accessible to Openview consumers overtime. This was usually between a period of 6 months to a year but as some viewers had noticed this had gone on for a much longer duration. eVOD has been introducing productions like Mother Of All, Splintered Pieces and Net 20 Minute (dubbed program). Instead of these shows being allocated on e.tv or any of eMedia's other channels, they have an alternative lineup put in place. If we had to guess, eMedia Investments is probably trying to lure consumers to eVOD and rushing their releases on Openview

SuperSport is Africa's biggest sports broadcaster packaged and distributed by MultiChoice and Canal+. It is home to Varsity Cup (rugby), DStv Premiership (football), PGA Championship (golf), Formula One (motorsports) and WWE (wrestling). Known to be a male dominant field, SuperSport expanded this lineup with Here For Her campaign targeted at females.  This would followup to the introduction of youth sports with the rollout of SuperSport Schools after acquiring School Sports Live. Not long ago, it was revealed that Canal+ had got the greenlight to acquire remaining shares within MultiChoice . There's been various questions clinging around to the fate of some content.  Acquisitions are known to have their setbacks especially with mass layoffs, content cuts and possible mergers. As Canal+ intends to merge MultiChoice with their operations and these changes consumers anticipate would take sometime to be implemented.  With the decline in linear consumption, companies h

A MultiChoice independent board has recommended that shareholders accept a takeover offer from Canal+, but the groups still have major regulatory hurdles to overcome. In a joint circular, the board said that the offer consideration of R125 per share is fair and reasonable and recommended that shareholders accept it once it becomes unconditional. However, that point has not yet been reached, as the deal is still conditional on obtaining the approval of several government authorities inside and outside of South Africa. Canal+ and MultiChoice are in the process of assessing and finalising a possible reorganisation. Shareholders have until 22 April 2025 to trade in MultiChoice Shares to participate in the offer. The timelines set out by the circular can be found below: “In the circumstances, the Independent Board recommends that, in the event that the offer becomes unconditional, MultiChoice Shareholders accept the offer.” Canal+ has been attempting to purchase MultiChoice si

Canal+ company, SPI International, has expanded its partnership with the French OTT service Molotov, owned by streaming platform Fubo.  SPI International has introduced Fast&FunBox and FightBox, to Molotov’s lineup which will be available in Molotov’s extended basic package. SPI International builds on its partnership Molotov, with it currently offering the gaming channel Gametoon on the service. Fast&FunBox delivers programming of action/adveenture sports including car racing, motocross, snowboarding, and skateboarding. While, FightBox is dedicated to combat sports, offering a selection of exclusive content, live events and weekly programming across mixed martial arts, boxing, wrestling, karate, kickboxing, taekwondo among other disciplines. “We’re excited to further strengthen our relationship with Molotov by introducing Fast&FunBox and FightBox to French audiences. These offerings, alongside Gametoon, cater to MMA, extreme sports, and esports enthusiasts, in

The BBC First brand premiered in Czech Republic and Slovakia as an SVOD collection via T-Mobile and Slovak Telekom in November 2023, but this will be the first time the brand will be available as a linear channel in these countries, according to BBC Studios. The channel’s June’s highlights include Six Four, a four-part thriller starring Grey’s Anatomy’s Kevin McKidd, which will premier on June 5 BBC First will also air seasons one and two of Maigret, starring Rowan Atkinson, and season one of police drama Hope Street. BBC First will be available fully localised with Czech subtitles to T-Mobile and O2 subscribers in Czech Republic and Slovak Telekom in Slovakia and joins BBC Earth and BBC News, which are already available in both countries. “We are thrilled to witness the continuous growth and success of our global brand, BBC First, over the past decade. I cannot envision a better way to commemorate this milestone than by expanding its reach to new audiences, together with

Paramount and Skydance have agreed to terms of a merger. A deal could be announced in the coming days, he said. A Paramount special committee and the buying consortium — David Ellison's Skydance, backed by private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR — agreed to the terms. The deal is awaiting signoff from Paramount's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, who owns National Amusements, which owns 77% of class A Paramount shares, Faber said Monday. The agreement terms come after weeks of discussion and a recent competing offer from Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures . "We received the financial terms of the proposed Paramount/Skydance transaction over the weekend and we are reviewing them," said a National Amusements spokesperson. The deal currently calls for Redstone to receive $2 billion for National Amusements, Faber reported Monday. Skydance would buy out nearly 50% of class B Paramount shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion, leaving the holder

Last month, I did a story about Showmax and how rumours had swirled around that MultiChoice was looking to separate it from DStv with some talks expanding further to a possible sale. Canal+ is looking to acquire the pay-tv company and merge their operations. As some already know, Canal+ is a foreign entity and there's various legal hurdles they'll have to overcome before claiming victory. Since then, they've continued acquiring additional shares and this may a reason and in part it could have to do with its other assets. MultiChoice isn't the first pay-tv company they sought after as there was Orange SA's film and TV division alongside M7 Group in parts of Europe. The main reason this may prove to be a challenge in Africa has to do with MultiChoice's dominance.  SuperSport had become the leading destination for sports in Africa and often this had led to legal disputes with various broadcasters such as eMedia Investments. Canal+ is also a monopoly i