Development Alert: Disney Junior To Close In Scandinavia By The End Of March, Merges With Disney Channel

As mentioned moments ago, Disney will continue to reduce their linear portfolio in parts of Europe with Disney Junior exiting Scandinavia by the end of March. This comes a month after the channel closed in Nordic as the latter folds under Disney Channel.

In Africa, these brands will continue to operate separately for another 3 years as Disney and MultiChoice extended their partnership. This also includes factual and wildlife brands National Geographic and National Geographic Wild and the two ESPN channels. 

Press release regarding the closure 

On April 1 this year, the existing channels Disney Channel and Disney Junior will merge, forming a new Disney Channel. The new Disney Channel is described as a flagship channel for all ages, and will, among other things, offer a special Disney Junior block on mornings and weekends.

Series to look forward to on the channel include

"Spidey and his Amazing Friends," "Star Wars: The Adventures of Young Jedi" and "Ariel." 

Hans van Rijn, who is the country manager and senior vice president of The Walt Disney Company Nordic & Baltic, comments on the merger: "We are proud and happy to be able to present the strongest tableau ever during the successful 20 years that the Disney Channel has been in existence in the north. The merger with Disney Junior gives us the opportunity to create an additional fully-fed Disney Channel with the absolute most popular and beloved content for young fans of all ages based on solid viewership analytics and engagement data.”

News Shorts: Disney Channel's Southern Africa Feed Is Being Reduced Across Europe, Broken Bonds Makes It's Freemium Debut On eExtra And ST Movies Channel Relaunches On StarSat Channel 101

Disney Channel is going bust 

Last month, it was reported that Disney Junior would be exiting parts of Europe as further content folds under Disney Channel.  Shortly after, MultiChoice extended the agreement for these channels alongside ESPN and National Geographic through 2027.

Now it has been reported that more European feeds might be looking to exit the Southern African feed following its induction in 2023. This was after a viewer had spotted Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur and 44 Cats shows not seen on Disney Channel. 

Considering the launch of the Nordic feed is a few hours away, it's likely that more regions are looking to align their offering. Aside from 44 Cats and Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur, the viewer had also spotted Pupstruction alongside various content from Disney Junior.

Unlike Africa, Disney Junior is also going dark on Disney Junior in Scandinavia by the end of March.

More Zee World repeats on Openview

During the week, it was reported that Katti Batti would be rolling out on eExtra this was after the channel provided various details pertaining to the 2018 series. As seen through various platforms, that is no longer the case as the channel adds Broken Bonds from Zee World.

Broken Bonds focuses on the lives of Shubhra, Kuldeep and their kids Roli and Rishi. After 10 years of their marriage, cracks start developing in Shubhra and Kuldeep’s relationship. Will Rishi and Roli succeed in erasing the differences between their parents? 

Originally titled Kyun Rishton Mein Katti Batti, it starts 4 March at 14:35 on eExtra.

St Movies Channel on StarSat

After ripping away TNT back in 2023 following contractual issues with Warner Bros. Discovery. StarSat decided to revive St Movies on channel 101 from 10 March following an abrupt end of the open window of the current St Movies Plus on channel 100.

St Movies Channel is a channel dedicated to Hollywood films, presenting the world's finest movies to our viewers. In partnership with several major Hollywood studios, the channel's line-up will consist of various genres including action, romance, comedy, and mystery.

StarSat remains silent on which package St Movies Channel will be allocated on but if we had to guess it will probably be available to the same consumers as TNT when it first broadcast on the platform.

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.

Canal+ Forced To Acquire Remaining Shares In MultiChoice

The Groupe Canal+ approach to MultiChoice Group has taken a dramatic turn: the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) has ruled that the French broadcaster must make a “mandatory offer” to the JSE-listed firm’s shareholders.

MultiChoice had earlier spurned the Canal+ offer and told its shareholders that they no longer had to exercise caution in trading in the group’s shares.

“Shareholders are advised that the TRP issued a ruling on 27 February to the effect that Canal+ has acquired 35.01% of the voting rights in MultiChoice and, accordingly, a mandatory offer in terms of section 123 of the [Companies Act] has been triggered,” MultiChoice said in a statement to shareholders on Wednesday.

Canal+ is required to make the mandatory offer immediately, in line with the requirements of the act

“Canal+ is therefore required to make the mandatory offer immediately, in line with the requirements of the act and the regulations,” the parent of DStv and Showmax said.

On 6 February, the TRP said it was investigating the offer made by Canal+ after MultiChoice ended potential buying talks with its largest shareholder.

On 1 February, Canal+ said it had offered R105/share for every MultiChoice share it did not already own. It said the offer — worth an estimated R31.7-billion, and representing a 40% premium to MultiChoice’s closing share price of R75 on 31 January.

The offer price was rejected by the continent’s biggest pay-TV company, saying it significantly undervalued the group. MultiChoice said, however, it was open to talk to anyone about any deal provided it was at a fair price.

Threshold

By buying a stake beyond 35%, Canal+ had exceeded the threshold at which South African law requires a company to make a mandatory offer to shareholders. However, MultiChoice asked the TRP to make a ruling on whether such an offer was required.

“The TRP contended that the publication of…the announcement without the approval of the TRP was unlawful, being in contravention of the act and the regulations, and issued a compliance notice against MultiChoice,” the broadcaster said in its statement on Wednesday.  

Development Alert: YouTube Kids Currently Seen On DStv Explora Ultra Is Being Discontinued On Various Platforms

Google integrated YouTube Kids directly inside the main YouTube app for TVs last year. However, the company has continued up until now to run the standalone YouTube Kids app on smart TVs, streaming devices, and gaming consoles.

In July, though, Google will pull the plug on the standalone YouTube Kids app on those devices. According to 9to5Google, the outlet confirmed with the company that the YouTube kids app will be pulled from smart TVs as well as streaming devices and game consoles.

YouTube Kids will continue to exist as a standalone app on iOS and Android devices. 

Google's move to remove the YouTube Kids app from those platforms comes shortly after other big changeups in kids-oriented platforms and apps. 

Earlier this year, Paramount completely killed off its standalone Nickelodeon app, where kids were able to watch clips and full episodes of their favorite Nick Jr. and Nicktoons shows. A pop-up message told users that they would need to go directly to the Nickelodeon website to continue to access their content. Following that move, Paramount also shut down the standalone subscription platform for Noggin, a Nickelodeon-affiliated brand that provided content for preschool-aged children, earlier this month.

Unlike those platforms, YouTube Kids is not going away entirely. Parents will be able to set YouTube Kids profiles in the main YouTube app and then select that profile in the "Who's watching" section in order to access the YouTube Kids platform. Parental control settings and other YouTube Kids features will still be available within those profiles.

News Shorts: MultiChoice Rumoured To Be Adding Crown TV To The DStv Platform And Dora To Premiere On Nick Jr. Channels Globally By April 15th

Crown TV to rollout on DStv

Crown Television is Zambian based TV channel operated by Crown Communications that is female managed and consists of young journalists. Since it's inception by February 2021, the channel is currently packaged on TopStar and the StarTimes app.

The channel is more familiar with their impartial, authentic and independent news slots Truth To Be Told and Grand News. It also features reality and drama series like Four Doors, Uwauma Nafyala, Rhumba Show, The Royal Breakfast Show and Valor Woman.

This past week, several consumers had spotted Crown TV under the test card for CBC on DStv leading some to believe that a partnership could be brewing between Crown Communications and MultiChoice.

Dora makes a landing

Paramount+ celebrates the triumphant return of iconic Latina heroine Dora the Explorer with the reveal of the official trailer and key art for the upcoming original preschool series DORA. Produced by Nickelodeon Animation and featuring 26 CG-animated 11-minute episodes, DORA will premiere on Friday, April 12, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia. Twenty episodes will be available to stream in all Paramount+ international markets outside of France and Japan on April 12. The series will also air on Nick Jr. internationally.

With all-new CG animation and imaginative character-driven storylines, the upcoming DORA series follows everyone’s favorite bilingual explorer, Dora (Diana Zermeño), and her best monkey friend, Boots (Asher Colton Spence), as they embark on epic adventures in a fantastical rainforest. Guided by trustworthy Map (Anairis Quiñones), Dora and her friends must work together to overcome many obstacles while being challenged by the sneakiest fox, Swiper (Marc Weiner). Kathleen Herles, the original voice of Dora the Explorer, returns to the new series as Mami, and Mike Smith Rivera joins the cast as Papi.

As Expected, Warner Bros. Discovery Ends Merger Negotiations With Paramount

Warner Bros. Discovery has gone "pencils down" on a potential acquisition of Paramount Global, halting talks after several months of kicking the tires on merging the media companies, according to people familiar with the matter.

Skydance Media, the film and TV studio run by David Ellison, is still performing due diligence on a potential transaction, two of the people said.

Paramount Global has set up a special committee, which has hired its own financial advisor, to sift through potential bids for the whole company or certain assets. Media mogul Byron Allen offered $14 billion for the company last month, though he has a history of bidding on and not buying large media assets.

Comcast, the owner of CNBC parent NBCUniversal, isn't interested in acquiring Paramount Global assets, one of the people said. Comcast has been working with house bankers to explore a potential commercial partnership with Paramount Global, according to people familiar with the matter.

That could include bundling or merging streaming services Peacock and Paramount+, as previously reported by The Wall Street Journal, or a different arrangement. Still, it's unclear if Paramount Global would have interest in this as it explores sale scenarios.

Spokespeople for Comcast, Paramount Global, Skydance Media and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment.

PBS Kids Unveils Slate Of Content Including New Series ‘Tiny Time Travel’ and ‘Milo,’ Movies Based On ‘Wild Kratts’ And ‘Nature Cat’

PBS Kids has lined up a slate of new series, movies and shorts for audiences across the United States and later around the world.

The slate includes the premiere of Tiny Time Travel, a series of live-action shorts, along with new Wild Kratts and Nature Cat movies. In addition, PBS Kids will debut season four of Molly of Denali, along with new series Milo, new shorts series Donkey Hodie Bedtime Stories and new episodes of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

PBS Kids, which targets children ages 2-8, aims to help children “to see themselves uniquely reflected and celebrated in lovable, diverse characters who serve as positive role models and to explore their feelings and discover new adventures along the way.”

“This spring, PBS Kids provides an opportunity for families to embark on exciting adventures with kids’ favorite characters, and a chance to meet some new ones, too,” said Sara DeWitt, senior vp and general manager of PBS Kids. “Our content this season aims to nurture an appreciation of the natural world among our young audiences while also sharing important life lessons and reinforcing some of the key social skills kids need for success in school and beyond.”

Kicking off the spring lineup on March 15 is Tiny Time Travel, a new series of “funny and fast-paced” live-action shorts. The series follows an 11-year-old inventor, Tyler, and his outgoing best friend, Tony, as they use their time machine to go back in time a tiny bit (sometimes just a few minutes or hours) to solve problems in their neighborhood, like stopping a friend from spoiling a movie or giving a customer a re-do after an ordering mistake at a restaurant. 

The show, aimed at kids ages 5-8, teaches social language skills, like understanding nonverbal communication; taking others’ perspectives into account; and resolving miscommunication. The series is created by Tim McKeon (Odd Squad, Gravity Falls) and produced by Marobru Productions and Easy as Pie Productions. 

Molly of Denali, which will return March 25, follows the adventures of 10-year-old Molly Mabray, an Alaska Native girl who lives in the fictional village of Qyah, Alaska. The new episodes follow Molly as she continues exploring with friends and family, from tracking down a fallen meteorite with Tooey, to connecting with her heritage by building a kiidhah zhee (a traditional steam bath) to help cure her mom’s cold, to helping a rival basketball team find an authentic mascot to represent their team. The show, produced by GBH Boston, also incorporates media literacy learning.

Meanwhile, the Wild Kratts and Nature Cat movies, derived from the two series, premiere April 1 and April 22, respectively. A new Wild Kratts game, “World Rescue,” will be available on the PBS Kids Games app and pbskids.org, with new episodes of the show premiering April 2. Meanwhile, the Nature Cat movie features three original songs written by Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner Bill Sherman and performed by the cast: Taran Killam, Kate McKinnon, Bobby Moynihan and Kate Micucci. Chris Parnell is also in the voice cast. In addition, a new short-form series, Nature Chat With Nature Cat, will debut digitally on April 22.

Another new series, Milo, will premiere across PBS Kids streaming platforms on May 13. The show, co-produced by Fourth Wall and DeAPlaneta Entertainment, follows an adventurous cat who loves to use role-play to explore the amazing world of jobs and vocations with his best friends, Lofty and Lark. Milo, who loves meeting all of the different people who come into his parents’ dry-cleaning shop, is curious about what it would be like to be a fireman, detective, astronaut and many other kinds of jobs when he grows up. 

Meanwhile, new episodes of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood premiere May 6, exploring concepts like putting things away and finding surprises wherever we are.

New short form series Donkey Hodie Bedtime Stories, which premieres May 27 across streaming platforms, derive from the puppet series Donkey Hodie. The shorts are designed to fit into kids’ bedtime routines and feature characters reading bedtime stories and showing their strategy for calming down before bed.

Paramount Global To Launch Paramount+ Branded Destination With Multichoice In Africa

Paramount Global Content Distribution announced a licensing deal today with MultiChoice to create a Paramount+ branded destination on the pan-African platform. This agreement is part of Paramount's strategy to expand the Paramount+ brand in more ways around the world, including making it available as a direct-to-consumer streaming service, through bundled partnerships in key markets as well as through branded destinations in local markets through licensing deals. Branded areas are currently available via Cosmote in Greece, Streamz in Belgium, Blast TV in Philippines, JioCinema in India and more to come.    

 

The branded destination offers African audiences’ direct access to new and returning television series as well as feature films and marks the debut of the Paramount+ brand in pan-Africa. MultiChoice viewers will have access to world-class content from CBS, Paramount+ Originals, SHOWTIME®, Paramount Pictures, and they will find iconic films and hit television series such as YELLOWSTONE, 1883, 1923, POKER FACE, SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS, LAWMEN: BASS REEVES and upcoming new series LANDMAN as well as returning series like SURVIVOR.

 

“The expansion of our long-standing relationship with MultiChoice from a traditional licensing deal to a fully dedicated, Paramount+ branded destination on the platform is a testament to the tremendous effort of Paramount Global to continue to build the offering from multiple content pillars,” said Lisa Kramer, President, International Content Licensing, Paramount Global Content Distribution. “Consumers in the growing African market already equate Paramount with quality entertainment and we’re thrilled to now offer them a devoted space in which they can both access their favorite programming and discover new hit titles.”

 

"MultiChoice is excited to expand our partnership with Paramount Global to bring the Paramount+ brand to African audiences through our platform,” says Nomsa Philiso, CEO: General Entertainment, MultiChoice South Africa. “This agreement reflects our commitment to providing our viewers with world-class entertainment options and expands our offering with iconic content. We are proud to offer African viewers direct access to a dedicated space where they can enjoy their favourite programming and discover new hit titles, further enriching their entertainment experience."