Insidus

Monday, January 23, 2023

Cartoonito Is Coming!!! As Boomerang Africa Loses An Additional Two Hours Of Airtime And Possible Programming

As you already know, another Boomerang feed will be closed down and supplemented with Cartoonito which is currently seen in this region as a programming block. In CEE, shows like Tom And Jerry, Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo are expected to rollout on Cartoon Network with Mr. Bean and Grizzy And The Lemmings residing with Cartoonito.

The variations have differed in a lot of regions as Italy for starters offers Tom And Jerry with Latin America adding Scooby-Doo to the lineup. From an honest perspective, I wouldn't be shocked if the outcome seen on CEE was duplicated in EMEA.

Although, there has yet to be news of a rebrand Warner has been adjusting Cartoonito's schedule and with this latest change I wouldn't be shocked if Boomerang were to be phased out before the end of the year especially with Batwheels debuting on the channel soon.

Insidus Games:
- Bugs Bunny & Lola Bunny: Operation Carrot Patch
- Buzz Lightyear Star Command
- Fix It Fun! Bob The Builder
- Daffy Duck: Fowl Play

Boomerang hasn't got much left on their plate aside from preschool shows Legend Of Spark and The Adventures Of Little Penguin. I assume these changes were probably one way Warner intends to rollout the Cartoonito channel.

As advised, Cartoonito's additional airtime comes with mascots from the channel and not only that they appear to exist outside of the block. Basically, it appears as if there's somewhat of a merger/crossover basically taking the brand from 2 to 4 hours.

Presenting the schedule rolling out in the coming weeks on Boomerang with preschool orientation highlighted in bold italics:

00:05 Zig & Sharko
00:30 Moka's Fabulous Adventures
00:50 Moka's Fabulous Adventures
01:15 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
01:45 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
02:00 Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
02:20 Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
02:45 Mighty Mike
03:10 Mighty Mike
03:30 Mr. Magoo
03:50 Zig & Sharko
04:15 The Tom And Jerry Show
04:35 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
05:00 Masha And The Bear
05:20 Grizzy And The Lemmings
05:40 Pat The Dog
06:00 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

Cartoonito
06:33 CoComelon
06:55 DinoRanch
07:10 Thomas & Friends

07:35 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
08:00 The Adventures of Little Penguin
08:15 Grizzy and The Lemmings
08:45 Zig & Sharko
09:05 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
09:30 Masha And The Bear
09:50 Legends Of Spark

Regular Nick:
- Moonbug Kids To Distribute New STEAM Focused Series, Ocean Explorers
- New Bear Grylls series is coming soon to Da Vinci Kids
- Could Universal Kids be the next channel to close down from NBCUniversal?
- The Twisted Timeline Of Sammy And Raj coming soon to Nickelodeon

Cartoonito
10:10 Thomas & Friends
10:20 Grizzy and The Lemmings
10:45 Masha And The Bear
11:05 CoComelon
11:30 Dino Ranch
11:55 Grizzy and The Lemmings
12:10 Masha And The Bear
12:25 Lucas The Spider
12:40 Thomas & Friends

13:00 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
13:35 The Adventures Of Little Penguin
13:50 Grizzy And The Lemmings
14:10 Legends Of Spark
14:35 Masha And The Bear
14:55 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
15:20 Grizzy and The Lemmings
15:50 Zig & Sharko
16:20 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
16:45 The Adventures Of Little Penguin
16:55 Masha And The Bear
17:25 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
17:50 Zig & Sharko
18:10 Legends Of Spark
18:25 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
18:50 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
19:15 Zig & Sharko
19:35 Grizzy And The Lemmings
20:00 Pat The Dog
20:20 Looney Tunes Cartoons
20:45 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
21:05 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
21:30 Tom And Jerry Tales
21:50 Tom And Jerry Tales
22:15 Masha And The Bear
22:40 Masha And The Bear
23:00 New Looney Tunes
23:20 New Looney Tunes
23:45 Zig & Sharko

Taking the above developments to account, is it possible that just like CEE even EMEA (Africa) is doing something similar with their schedule before rolling out the channel I mean I wouldn't be shocked if that was the case.

New Series Alert: Om Elke Draai And The Rich Also Cry Coming To eVOD And Citizen TV Respectively

eVOD, a South African based streaming service owned by eMedia Investments home to various local productions and international content will be launching the long rumoured show to the platform titled Om Elke Draai (Her Yerde Sen).

Citizen TV which is known to selected East African audiences for its selection of telenovelas particularly Portuguese will be introducing a yet-to-be-seen TLNovelas program, The Rich Also Cry (Los Ricos También Lloran).

Om Elke Draai follows the story of a young man who buys a small architect company which is about to go bankrupt and buys his childhood house but eventually ends up sharing his house with his employee.

Everyday Novelas:
- Decisions is making a comeback on Telemundo
- Forbidden Passion season 2 not moving forward on Telemundo
- Nurses returns for a season 3
- The origin story of Forbidden Passion

It stars Furkan Andic, Aybuke Pusat, Ali Yagci, Aslihan Malbora, Ali Gozusirin, Deniz Isin, Ali Barkin, Fatih Ozkan, Cem Cucenoglu, Ayfet Tokatli, Ayse Tunaboylu, Binnur Serbetcioglu, Aziz Caner Inan and Beste Kokdemir.

Based on the telenovela of the same name, The Rich Also Cry follows Mariana, a poor woman, moves into a lavish mansion after saving the life of a wealthy patriarch. When she falls in love with the patriarch's son Luis Alberto, they must confront class differences between their family and friends.

It stars Sebastián Rulli, Claudia Martín, Fabiola Guajardo, Azela Robinson, Alejandra Barros, Víctor González, Lorena Graniewicz, Diego Klein, Arturo Barba, Thali García, Antonio Fortier and Rubén Sanz.

Om Elke Draai aired in Turkey between June to November 2019 with a total run 23 episodes each consisting of 2 hours while as The Rich Also Cry aired in Mexico last year between February to May with a total of 60 episodes each consisting of 45 minutes.

Both series are expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

eMedia Investments:
- Ultraview Pride and Ultraview Indian coming soon to Openview
- More Bollywood coming soon to Openview Ultra
- Could SABC be unveiling another two channels for Openview Ultra?
- Glow TV to stop airing on the Openview platform from next month

Roundups #133: Da Vinci Media Commissions Three Seasons Of New Bear Grylls Series, NCIS: Los Angeles Cancelled After 14 Seasons On M-Net And CBS And Starsat To Rollout CBS Reality In Various International Territories

Bear Grylls is coming to Da Vinci Kids

Da Vinci Media has set its sights on creating more inspirational content for kids and families with some help from British adventurer Bear Grylls and his co-venture studio BecomingX. The streamer has ordered three seasons of Grylls’ unscripted series Becoming Xtraordinary (30 x 24 minutes), which features influential celebrities, athletes and professionals from around the world.

Each episode will contain two interview-driven success stories encouraging kids of all ages to chase their dreams and providing advice on how to realize these goals. Some of the first season’s interviewees include actors Julia Roberts and Channing Tatum; sports superstars Roger Federer and Dame Kelly Holmes; and British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. TV host Mwaka Mudenda (Blue Peter) will serve as one of the show’s in-studio presenters.

Da Vinci commissioned the series after identifying a lack of inspirational content that kids and families can co-view together, said COO Estelle Lloyd in a release.

Pre-production is set to begin later this month, and season one is slated to premiere on Da Vinci’s platforms this spring and summer. The Da Vinci Kids app and YouTube channel will also feature full-length versions of the interviews to extend the experience of the series.

Regular Nick:
- Could Universal Kids be the next channel to close down from NBCUniversal?
- Here are other ways to view PBS Kids
- The Twisted Timeline Of Sammy And Raj coming soon to Nickelodeon

NCIS: Los Angeles is the next show to get axed on M-Net

One of CBS’ longest-running scripted shows, NCIS: Los Angeles, will be coming to an end after 322 episodes. Its current 14th season will be the show’s last, with the series finale set for May 14, airing on the network and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+.

The NCIS spinoff, starring LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell, is tied as the fifth longest-running CBS primetime scripted series ever, only behind Gunsmoke, Lassie, CSI and Criminal Minds. Among the four, the two shows that have aired in the last 50 years, CSI and Criminal Minds, both have since been revived, which bodes well for NCIS: Los Angeles‘ future.

Additionally, NCIS: Los Angeles is a rare long-running procedural drama to have had its original leads, LL Cool J and O’Donnell, stay on for the entire run. Both have spoken publicly about their commitment to the series, which hit the 300 episode milestone last May, and their fellow cast members.

According to sources, the cast and crew of NCIS: Los Angeles are being told today about the series coming to an end. A cancellation of a long-running drama with big-name leads filming in L.A. should not come as a shock given the big price tag involved, especially at a time when networks across the board are looking to cut their spending. Still, I hear the cancellation news came as a surprise to many associated with the show as it follows the strong ratings for the three-way crossover with mothership NCIS and latest offshoot NCIS: Hawai’i.

DStv Flex:
- Brand new seasons of your favourite shows coming to History
- February on The Home Channel
- February on HONEY
- Reyka renewed for season 2 on M-Net

CBS Reality is launching on DStv competitor

After closing off 30+ channels in the last 5 years, StarSat is finally in the process of rolling out new channels with Kartoon Channel set to officially launch by the end of January with other brands like FilmBox Action, CBS Reality and CBS Justice awaiting release.

As seen during the month, FilmBox Action and CBS Justice were unveiled by the pay-tv platform in selected regions with CBS Reality supposedly being the last minute entry and from the looks of it I wouldn't be shocked if they were more last minute entries.

CBS Reality is factual entertainment channel owned by AMC International and Paramount Global which offers content like Dangerous Flights, Judge Judy, Dogs Behaving Very Badly, Cheaters, Shocking Emergency Calls, Hardcore Pawn, Paranormal Survivor etc.

If I had to guess, CBS Reality was likely added to replace Discovery Family. I mean both are educational and offer factual content if anything the target group is different as CBS Reality doesn't cater much to kids and family isn't something you'd find on such a channel.

DStv:
- BBC to close linear channels and move to an internet only digital future
- kykNET Lekker Opened To More DStv Customers For A Limited Time
- What Consumers Should Be Concerned About Regarding SABC's Yet To Be Launched Channels On DStv?

Roundups #132: Moonbug Kids To Distribute New STEAM Focused Series Ocean Explorers, MultiChoice And M-Net Likely To Unveil Two New Channels Titled SWITCHED ON And Gossip Girl Cancelled After 2 Seasons On HBO Max

Moonbug Kids unveils its first new series of 2023

Kids2, a global company that designs holistic solutions to help early-stage parents and families, announced the launch of Baby Einstein™ Ocean Explorers™, a new STEAM-focused ocean adventure edutainment series in conjunction with a comprehensive line of two dozen products for children, including toys and baby gear.

Created in partnership with child development experts, Hello Einstein Studios and EDH Animation, each Baby Einstein™ Ocean Explorers™ 5-minute episode reinforces early learning skills through repetition and interactivity as beloved Baby Einstein characters Cal, Neptune, Opus, Tinker and Dean discover undersea and seaside wonders together with young viewers.

“Baby Einstein Ocean Explorers is our biggest launch of content and product yet,” said Ryan Gunnigle, CEO and Owner of Kids2 and Founder of Hello Einstein Studios. “From its expert-led creative direction to its unique format, the show reimagines how entertainment can engage, teach, and inspire young viewers. Plus, we bring the nautical theme to life with more than two dozen products that integrate the series’ songs, characters, and themes.”

Get ready to SWiTCH up the entertainment on DStv

Expanding from what was already reported from yesterday, MultiChoice and M-Net have allocated SWiTCHED ON on channels 109 and 110 probably hinting at them likely being a pop-up channel for viewers to catch-up on what they've missed out on similar to what eMedia Investments unveiled this past week.

The first channel is a kykNET and Mzansi Magic infused channel just lost as to how the second is only based on Mzansi Wethu. Is it possible that maybe kykNET Lekker is running this content smoothly so there's no need to repeat any of the content missed or that viewers won't care much about this.

At the moment, most parts of these unofficial channels have yet to be filled up. From what is already seen they broadcast 18 hours a day apparently similar to eMedia's Power-Up and there's nothing worth exploring.

Judging by the content, I'm guessing that DStv Compact, Compact+ and Premium will get both channels while as other packages but Easyview get the other for the time being as Eskom doubles down on power cuts.

* Take into account, nothing is official for now.

HBO Max unsurprisingly cancels another series

HBO Max has cancelled the Gossip Girl reboot show after two seasons, just days before the premiere of the final episode of the second season on January 26.

Like the original show, which was developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the new reboot series was also based on the book by Cecily von Ziegesar and was developed by Joshua Safran.

Set eight years after the parent series, the reboot follows a new generation of New York school teens who get to know about the social surveillance of the Gossip Girl site. It stars Jordan Alexander, Julien Calloway, Whitney Peak, Thomas Doherty, Evan Mock, Eli Brown, Tavi Gevinson, Emily Alyn Lind, Zion Moreno, Elizabeth Lali, and Savannah Lee Smith, among others.

“We are very grateful to showrunner/executive producer Joshua Safran, and executive producers Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz for bringing us back to the Upper East Side and all the scandals at Constance Billard,” HBO Max said in a statement to Deadline. “Although we are not moving forward with a third season of Gossip Girl, we thank them for the enticing love triangles, calculated backstabbing and impeccable fashion this series brought to a new audience.”

YouTube Premium:
- HBO Max's new series Velma scaring away viewers
- VH1 is making a comeback to international shores through BET
- DStv Streama bundles Disney+
- The Walt Disney Company to expand the reach of Star Channel

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Friday, January 20, 2023

New Channel Alert: eMedia Investments Planning To Combat Load Shedding With The Launch Of New Pop-Up Channel, Power-Up

In a time when South Africans feel helpless and crippled by load shedding, Openview is once again stepping up as a beacon of light and giving households nonstop entertainment with their favourite shows. The industry-first initiative also adds value to brands and advertisers by repeating their ads on a pop-up channel 18 hours per day, every day. “We’ve got you, South Africa - as a brand of our own, we believe it’s the little things we do to support households that will make a difference in the long run.”

Catch it when you catch it, as long as you catch it – with 18 hours daily of local dramas, Power-UP! is the new pop-up channel that ensures viewers never miss a show again – no matter how your load shedding schedule changes.

eMedia Investments:
- Ultraview Pride and Ultraview Indian coming soon to Openview
- More Bollywood coming soon to Openview Ultra
- More e.tv coming soon to DStv customers
- Could SABC be unveiling another two channels for Openview Ultra?
- Glow TV to stop airing on the Openview platform from next month
- Could Openview+ lead to 24 hour capability of these channels?

Power-UP! (Channel 114 on Openview) is available from 23 January 2023 and will repeat all the e.tv hit prime-time shows like Durban Gen, House of Zwide, Scandal!, and Imbewu from Monday to Friday, running with 2-hour loops. The channel will be on from 6 am – midnight every day. The Black Door will repeat on weekends from 11 pm.

Afrikaans telenovela true-at-hearts will also not be lost in the dark ... Power-UP! will showcase the omnibus repeats of all the best loved Afrikaans dramas on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays). #DisComplicated, Daai Crazy Somer, Die Vertroueling, and more will be available if you missed it during the week due to load shedding.

Power-Up will likely go off air as soon as the matter will load shedding is resolved and we all know how that will turn out.

New Channel Alert (Rumour): More Channel Changes Coming Soon To DStv??? As Several Content From kykNET & Mzansi Magic Channels Uploaded Onto New Channels, SWiTCH

During the week, MultiChoice welcomed their first channel of the year Qwest TV by multi award winning artist Quincy Jones but is this is really an official channel I mean consumers were told beforehand about the channel's presence in the market and I feel it's more 2022.

Now going to the official channels of 2023, MultiChoice and M-Net seem to be working on two new channels and trust me when I say these channels will definitely get a lot of your attention.

At first I thought viewers were getting another Moja 9.9., kykNET Lekker, Magic Showcase, CineMagic, Nicktoons, Real Time, Discovery Family and Nicktoons but it turns out this maybe another Me channel.

For those who weren't aware before Me, we had M-Net City and VUZU and this merger saw us rewatching the season last viewed on the two brands while others like Ellen had their entire season restarted and it appears these channels will be doing the same but for some of M-Net's local brands.

The first channel has shows like The River, Arendsvlei and Kind Van Die Noodlot basically content from kykNET and Mzansi Magic and the other still lacking much of a schedule also supplies similar content seen on the first channel.

Now what has me and everyone else reading this more concerned about is the message written on the screen: "Switch to channel 163 or 164".

We know now that Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop affected by all this but if the change is to happen I doubt they'd write that on the actual channel numbers so it's likely to affect kykNET & Kie seeing as the content resides from them.

MultiChoice had opened kykNET Lekker to several DStv customers and my hunch was right about the open window coming of as suspicious. Firstly, no one at MultiChoice had much to say about it and the other having to do with the load of rebroadcasts consumers will be annoyed to see.

If I had to look at the content, here's my theory about the channels affected.

Firstly, Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop are likely being discontinued and merging to become what is known to some channel 164 or SWiTCH and seeing as no content from kykNET can be viewed here it means kykNET Lekker is safe for now.

As for channel 163, several content from kykNET & Kie is visible on this channel so I'm guessing several content is moving over to this channel while others like Binnelanders, Getroud Met Rugby and various reality shows kept with the relevant brand.

Unlike kykNET Lekker, it seems as if the offering on kykNET & Kie is being adjusted not really sure it leads leading to a closure or not. It's probable that they're repositioning the channel I mean if the Access counterpart is safe why not this one, right?.

Of course, SWiTCH appears to be replacing whatever is left of Mzansi Magic as several content from the channel including Gomora, Lingashoni and the new Empire series is on this channel so maybe kykNET & Kie and Mzansi Magic are merging too or one is just moving their offering on 1Magic and the other kykNET.

The future of Mzansi Magic and kykNET & Kie are at stack as one Binnelanders is not on this channel and kykNET Lekker is very behind with kykNET a season ahead of the affected channel.

MultiChoice has been trying to balance between 1Magic and Mzansi Magic now they'll be unified so all is well, probably not at the same time.

As for the remains of Mzansi Wethu and Mzansi Bioskop, I may have a good hunch as to why this might be happening.

Firstly, Mzansi Wethu had a lot of unnecessary content to begin with that kids block that aired the same shows for a decade and that music block which already has a dedicated channel to the consumers affected.

As for Mzansi Bioskop, the channel functioned more like fliekNET these days. To some you could say it was shocking that MultiChoice managed to put up with the channel for this long considering how much repeats were available on the channel and lack of fresh original content.

What about Mzansi Magic?

As seen when VUZU AMP was still around, VUZU became obsolete to the audience that grew beside the brand that would dish out shows like Glee, Supernatural, The Simpsons and Vampire Diaries.

Then when it got axed for 1Magic, lots of media outlets knew that Mzansi Magic time was numbered eventually but hey not all of the content is being shelved on SWiTCH or at least from the draft.

If kykNET & Kie and Mzansi Magic is still having content leftover, does this mean it would be put on a channel of its own, or maybe it's being shelved on kykNET and 1Magic or maybe M-Net felt these channels had too much and are trying to reduce their lineup we'll just have to wait and see.

Everyone seems to be screwed here except for kykNET, kykNET Lekker and probably kykNET NOU! and Mzansi Music.

What about M-Net and 1Magic?

If Mzansi Magic is merging with 1Magic then some of the current offering such as Wipeout, Gossip Girl and The Power Trilogy would have to move over to M-Net in order to make space for Date My Family and Our Perfect Wedding.

It would make sense if 1Magic moved over to Compact, right??? especially now that it might become the new Mzansi Magic.

DStv Flex:
- Brand new seasons of your favourite shows coming to History
- February on The Home Channel
- February on HONEY
- Reyka renewed for season 2 on M-Net

If 1Magic and Mzansi Magic are being merged curious on the channel number I wouldn't be shocked if it was 161 but wondering on the name does 1Magic perhaps remove the 1 from its name.

M-Net as some would place it doesn't cater enough to blacks or better yet doesn't have the Mzansi Magic vibe so these shows will give consumers a new appreciation for the brand.

What about the music portion?

Mzansi Music and kykNET NOU! don't appear to be affected but all these changes but nothing can be certain at the moment as the music section is super repetitive and a reduction wouldn't be the worst thing to have happened.

How do I feel about the rumoured SWiTCH channels?

Just like Me, I'm expecting this brand to bomb hard not really expecting them to get scrapped. Those who were watching kykNET may not be comfortable seeing Gomora and the same goes for Mzansi Magic viewers when seeing In Die Ysterhand Se Greep.

All in all, change is constant and with Netflix dominating the airwaves we might as well reach a future where you need such app in order to watch TV.

* Take into account this is theoretical of course the SWiTCH part is real maybe it's for their terrestrial customers or Portuguese customers but that seems unlikely.
* If this turns out as how I'm predicting then Access are getting 1 less channel while others are losing more than they bargained for. Take into account it's best to wait on the necessary parties.

eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra And eToonz Future On DStv Reportedly Revealed

As mentioned a while back, MultiChoice was instructed to keep eExtra alongside eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz on the DStv platform for another 6 months and based on the timeframe it means that these channels are set to go dark by the end of January.

Before I actually give my reasoning behind the timeframe let's look at the matter at hand.

As seen last year, MultiChoice won their case with eMedia Investments and these channels were terminated successfully with other having to pay their expenses and few months later the roles were exchanged with 6 months included in this deal.

My hypothesis was that the 6 months were as seen in society a jail sentence for the pay-tv company and worst of all the necessary alternatives such as Movie Room and DreamWorks were added while upcoming channels such as the rumoured/possibly scrapped Via+ channel.

Take to account 31 January may not be the closing date but if you take to account the timeframe these channels were reinstated which is August it does take up to 6 months.

As you browse DStv's EPG, you'd notice that eExtra, eToonz, eMovies and eMovies Extra all have schedules ending 31 January while as e.tv crosses over to the new month all the more reason to believe their demise is just around the corner.

Sure it's possible that maybe they haven't updated the schedule for these 4 channels but some like eExtra follow the same timetable but cover a different topic every now and then.

Besides, eMedia is never this late to update these channels sure some things may not stick part of time but a schedule was always visible for these brands and with their demise it means viewers will have to spend most of their time on e.tv if they wish to catch-up to some of their shows.

Just like Glow TV, I'm not really expecting a miracle I feel these channels will benefit more to Openview consumers as there's not much alternatives as seen with DStv. I just can't help feel sorry for all the viewers who don't have a dedicated telenovela channel or an alternative better yet even a channel for quality animation.

New Series Alert: The Promise Of Changan Coming Soon To St Sino Drama

Sino Drama, a Chinese entertainment channel owned by StarTimes which offers various drama series and movies most of which are dubbed in English is set to air a new martial arts musical drama titled The Power Of Chang'an.

A story that follows a young woman who once naive and carefree who matures into a wise ruler. Hers is a legendary journey about overcoming trials and tribulations to become the empress dowager of the Great Sheng nation.

It ensembles the cast of Yi Cheng, Chaoyue Yang, Lin Wang, Youming Huang, Jinsong Wang, Dong Han, Yingzi Zhao, Ray Zhang, Vicky Liang and Zhonghua He. It is also Chaoyue Yang's first acting gig.

Since it's launch in 2020, The Power Of Chang'an has been met with mostly favourable reviews with brands such as IDMB giving it a rating of 7.2 out of 10 amongst 37 reviewers with 77% of users on Google approving the show.

The Power Of Chang'an is expected to air weekdays at 19:50 from 23 January.

StarSat:
- CBS Justice to launch on StarSat
- FilmBox Action and Kartoon Channel to launch on StarSat
- The Smithsonian Channel closing down in the UK