News Shorts: Warner Bros. Discovery Issues Brief Description Of Cartoonito Africa, The Rich Also Cry Debuts On Joy Prime In The Coming Weeks And WWE Channel Opened To More DStv Consumers Ahead Of WrestleMania

Boomerang is now Cartoonito

Home to fan-favourites Zig & Sharko, hilarious Mr Bean and inseparable buddies Masha and the Bear alongside new flagship Warner Bros. franchise programmes like Batwheels and Bugs Bunny Builders, Cartoonito provides a safe space for kids 3-7, along with their families, to spend some time together and enjoy trusted fun. With fan-favourites beloved by kids and adults alike, including the iconic frenemies Tom & Jerry, the famous dog detective Scooby-Doo, and the wackiest Looney Tunes, alongside other rising cartoon stars such as Lucas the Spider and Interstellar Ella, the channel offers a wide variety of programmes, bringing together laughter, adventure and friendship!

Cartoonito Africa is available in English-speaking African countries on DStv (channel 302), GOtv (channel 68) (channel 155 in Ghana and channel 357 in Uganda), AzamTV (channel 227) and Canal+ Ethiopia (Channel 127).

The Rich Also Cry to make a landing on Joy Prime

Based on the 1979 Mexican telenovela of the same name, The Rich Also Cry (Los Ricos También Lloran) follows an orphan of both father and mother. She is left alone in the world when her godmother dies, which complicates her life more than she could have ever imagined.

The Rich Also Cry series stars Sebastián Rulli as Luis Alberto Salvatierra, Claudia Martín as Mariana Villarreal, Fabiola Guajardo as Soraya Montenegro and Azela Robinson as Elena Suárez.

Serving as a fourth production of Dream Factory (Fábrica de Sueños). The series airs next Monday on Joy Prime in Ghana.

More wrestling action for DStv customers

During the week, MultiChoice in select African territories decided to give consumers access to all the wrestling action on channel 128 from 20 March to 2 April. As somewhat of a countdown to WrestleMania. Some of the content seen on the brand include Raw, SmackDown, NXT, Notsam Wrestling and archived material viewed on the WWE Network.

In other developments, the pay-tv company is gearing up for Ramadan with yet another Islamic pop-up channel but this time based in Nigeria, Mustaeina TV.

Breaking News From Across The World In The Last 7 Days Dated 24 March

1. Marvel Studios Present Victoria Alonso exits post after 17 years of service
2. Fall 2 is in development
3. Good Burger Sequel is in development
4. Bel-Air renewed for third season at Peacock
5. Former child star Amanda Bynes put on psychiatric hold
6. Shazam: Fury Of The Gods becomes a box office disappointment
7. Scream VI becomes a box office success yet again
8. John Wick Star Lance Riddick has died
9. Andy Kaufman will be inducted into WWE 2023 Hall Of Fame
10. Jason Derulo confirmed as coach for The Voice Australia
11. Ted Bastien, Long-Time 'PAW Patrol' Director, Passes Away
12. Kabillion Debuts New ‘Woody Woodpecker’ Animated Shorts
13. Telemundo actress Rebecca Jones dies at 65
14. The Weeknd becomes the G.O.A.T. of music
15. Demi Lovato releases a rock version of Heart Attack
16. HGTV orders Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge
17. Nickelodeon orders King Of Corn pilot
18. Disney+ adds an anime collection
19. Vanessa Hudgens working on documentary exploring Asian roots

New Development Alert: Scandal + Imbewu + Splintered Pieces S2 + Yolanda Is Swanger Coming Soon To eVOD

In 2021, eMedia Investments unveiled they are much anticipated streamer, eVOD. What was meant to viewed as a momentous occasion for the red brand ended in chaos after Asian based streamer VIU accused the company of breaching their agreement.

VIU was launched in the market by March 2019 and at the time eMedia Investments signed a content agreement which gave the streamer exclusive rights to various content including Scandal and Imbewu through 2024 but that's not the case anymore.

As seen on various outlets yesterday, eMedia Investments reclaimed these shows so where does that leave VIU - we honestly don't know. But it wouldn't be shocking if they became another Acorn TV. For now consumers can stream these shows from April 4.

Joining the lineup is the second season to Splintered Pieces of which eMedia Investments has yet to make available on their linear platforms. The series follows.

On top of that the streamer has a new production titled Yolanda Is Swanger around the time, e.tv is set to unveil Nikiwe in the coming months.

Synopsis for Yolanda Is Swanger:

Yolanda (Lindsey Cele) has a secret – she might be pregnant. This is a huge problem for her as she lives in a small, coloured community known as Toekies near Randfontein, where everyone knows everyone's business. Her conservative and deeply religious family attend the local Dutch Reformed Church where her mechanic father, Pieter (Theo Jantjies), is a deacon. Her mother, Karen (Megan Carelse), receives weekly prayers from the church because of her chronic illness, and news of her daughter’s pregnancy might be a nail in her coffin. What will happen if they find out?

The series stars Lindsey Cele, Adrien Steyn, Loi Duplessis and Roderick Jaftha. Yolanda Is Swanger will be available to stream on the platform from April 18.

New Series Alert: Cabo Coming Soon To ZAP Novelas

Zap Novelas, a telenovela channel promoting the best of Turkey and Latin America will be joining a list of broadcasters in East Africa in sourcing content that has yet to be seen on the African feed of TLNovelas with Cabo.

Based on the 1985 Mexican telenovela Tú o nadie created by María Zarattini, Sofía and Alejandro get married in a dream wedding, but when Alejandro dies in a plane crash and Sofia travels to Cabo to meet his new family, she realizes that Alejandro is alive and that his real name is Eduardo.

The series stars Bárbara de Regil as Sofía Chávez, Matías Novoa as Alejandro Noriega, Eva Cedeño as Isabela Escalante, Diego Amozurrutia as Eduardo Torres, Rebecca Jones as Lucía de Noriega and Rafael Inclán as Alfonso "Poncho" Chávez.

It debuted last year on Las Estrellas pulling 3 million viewers at launch with its final episode drawing another million. The series currently has 85 episodes each consisting of 42-45 minutes.

Cabo will debut on Zap Novelas across Angola and Mozambique in April. There's no confirmation as to whether the series will be viewable in English but for now it's likely to only be viewable in Portuguese as seen with most of the content on the channel.

Recap To Last Year: Housewives + Splintered Pieces + uMbali Have Yet To Be Seen On e.tv And eXposed

Last year, eMedia Investments scrapped most of the international offering formerly viewed through weeknights on e.tv as they try to bolster their original portfolio with the likes of The Black Door, Daryn's Gym, Is'phindiselo and Christmas Without Gogo.

As seen since eVOD's rollout, eMedia Investments has been distributing content from the platform across their channels but there's still some portions of the content that have yet to find a home which includes shows like Splintered Pieces and uMbali.

e.tv amidst this reshuffle in 2022 had sourced selected content from the streamer which include various films such as An Eye For An Eye, Surviving Gaza and Atlantis with the first notable program, Is'phindiselo.

Is'phindiselo was actually the only drama on eVOD to air it's full run on the channel and it was meant to be used for the above-mentioned shows but after films struggled in their new timeslots. eMedia Investments backtracked on the plan for these shows.

Durban Gen, Imbewu and Isono are set to be ending on the network and it doesn't seem like eMedia Investments intends to use the above-mentioned shows to supplement this timeslot as they've begun filming replacements apparently.

If I had to guess, these shows will probably be allocated in the 10pm timeslot on e.tv which just like most of their schedule comes with a lot of conflict. But most of the timeslots are used for doccies so I can see them cutting back to accomodate these shows.

Besides that, if eMedia Investments wants these shows to succeed in terms of viewership an earlier timeslot would very much be needed. But by looking at the schedule this is probably the only way to get the shows onboard the brand.

Another brand, I wouldn't be shocked to see these shows on eXposed. They are more edgy or adult oriented with their offering I mean they offer rebroadcasts to The Black Door and have a lot of short-form series that fit their description.

Would it be shocking if these shows were Openview exclusives I mean most of eReality's offering unlike eExtra haven't been viewed on e.tv as yet. Most of the time you'd be lucky to view them if a certain program leaves the lineup which is kind of depressing.

New Series Alert: e.tv Welcomes First Local Telenovela Of The Year, Nikiwe

Last year, it was announced that e.tv would be bidding farewell to the medical drama Durban Gen after 2 seasons. Not long ago, it was reported that Imbewu and Isono would be following the drama in the second quarter of the year.

After months of anticipation as to what would await the future of these timeslots on the channel. eMedia Investments unveiled a brand new local drama Nikiwe which is set to replace Durban Gen from Monday 24 April in the same timeslot, 18:30.

The series follows the lives of the Radebe family, witnessing the rise and fall of a family empire based in the surrounds of Diepkloof Extension, Pimville and Orlando, Soweto.

It's executively produced by Thomas Gumede and Lungile Radu for Parental Advisory Productions, creators of game shows Uyang'thanda Na? and Perfect Match, and the Mzansi Magic drama series Abomama. Thomas Gumede also serves as director.

In a statement with e.tv Executive Producer Mark Madai:

“Exciting times are ahead of us, as a channel we fell in love with this story concept because it also follows the lives of the youth, we’ve explored all possible dilemmas that this market would go through and translated them to screen, giving viewers a product that they’ll resonate with, night in, night out."

Ahead of its debut, e.tv will debut a trailer for the show on Friday, 24 March at 10:00 click here

Destined By Fate: Woh To Hai Albelaa And Bohot Pyaar Karte Hai Are Also Rumoured To Be Rolling Out On Star Life

In the last few months, Star Life has been unsatisfying adjustments to their lineup. Instead of pumping the breaks on some of their shows they'd rather cut their airtime even worse take another show for a ride as seen with Closer To My Heart and Lost In Love.

This is only due to the fact that Lost In Love was starting to catch-up to their Indian counterpart so they rather retain the show instead of following what fellow competitors Zee World and Star Life would do by dividing the episodes between seasons.

Now sources have confirmed the presence of another new series, Destined By Fate. It is set to occupy the second half of Anupama's timeslot meaning just like Closer To My Heart and Lost In Love these shows will all be allocated in a 30 minute timeslot.

Compared to most other series, the channel hasn't provided much info about the show but from what our sources conducted it's likely the rumoured shows Woh To Hai Albelaa (He Is Very Unique) or Bohot Pyaar Karte Hai (Love You So Much).

Based on the Tamil series Eeramana Rojave, Woh To Hai Albelaa tells the story of former best friends Balwant Sharma and Dhanraj Choudhary who due to a fight between their children Krishna and Sayuri, their families become enemies.

It stars Shaheer Sheikh as Krishna "Kanha" Choudhary, Hiba Nawab as Sayuri "Sayu" Sharma Choudhary, Kinshuk Vaidya as Nakul Choudhary and Rachi Sharma/ Dharti Bhatt as Rashmi "Rashu" Sharma Choudhary.

Bohot Pyaar Karte Hai tells the story 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.

Destined By Fate will replace Anupama daily at 18:30 from 3 April.

RUMOUR: Warner Bros. Discovery Latin America Dives Into The World Of Soap Operas With TNT Novelas

Turner Network Television, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery, registered a new trademark derived from TNT in Latin America, for the moment only in Argentina and Chile, as verified by INPI and INAPI, industrial property institutes for both countries, respectively.

The new trademark registered in recent days bears the name of "TNT Novelas", and it is unknown exactly what it is, although the company has already presented a logo.

One of the most logical theories indicates that TNT Novelas could become a successor or a relaunch of the current cable channel TNT Series, launched in 2015, which in recent years has incorporated multiple soap operas into its daily programming. The creation of a new channel is not ruled out either, although there is no basis to support this hypothesis.

There is no official information regarding TNT Novelas at the moment.

In other developments, Warner Bros. Discovery has been phasing out the TNT brand name across Europe in the general entertainment category. Not sure where that leaves the current TNT Africa but for now we assume the channel will remain intact in the market.

Warner Bros. Discovery kicked off its global centennial campaign in January, under the banner Celebrating Every Story, in advance of Warner Bros. Studios 100th Anniversary on April 4, 2023. Several of their channels have been joining the festivity with a lineup of content.

Recap To The Past Month: The Mysterious Disappearance Of The Spice Bouquet On The Openview Platform

Earlier in the month, eMedia Investments unveiled the first batch to the pay-tv venture Openview Ultra known as Ultraview Pride or just Pride. It is basically an LGBTQ type bouquet consisting of two general entertainment channels one of which DStv reject, OUTtv and FUSE.

During the launch consumers were kind of curious as to the fate of Spice TV which is basically an expansion to the current Bollywood offering seen on the Openview which like Pride TV comes with two channels for the time being, Zee Family and Star Select.

They were rumours sometime ago that just like BBC UKTV failed launch on Openview that eMedia Investments was having issues with one of the channels in question but that seems highly unlikely as eMedia Investments held a dance party this past week.

If I had to guess, eMedia Investments was planning to do some grand gesture for the offering ahead of its debut on the Openview platform. Similar to Pride which too a similar festivity months prior.

Although eMedia Investments has yet to provide any further details about a potential rollout. I wouldn't be shocked if they unveiled it in the coming weeks or before May in fact considering when these channels were unveiled to the public beforehand.

As for the channels in question, Zee Family is said to be a direct competitor to the current Zee TV both owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. I wouldn't be shocked if Star Select did the same with StarPlus both are owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India).

Just curious as to why companies like Warner Bros. Discovery and the already mentioned like to build competition for themselves. In the above-mentioned case, you could say it helps consumers explore other parts of India but for Warner not really.