Could Russia Today (RT) Be The Next Channel To Be Removed On MultiChoice's DStv Following It's Exit From Germany And Possibly The UK?

Sir Keir Starmer has called for the Kremlin’s state-controlled TV network Russia Today to be banned from airing in the UK.

The Labour leader told Parliament action was needed to curb “Putin’s campaign of misinformation” after the Russian leader furthered his bid to split up Ukraine by moving Russian troops into the country’s east.

Sir Keir said: “Putin’s campaign of misinformation should be tackled, and Russia Today should be prevented from broadcasting its propaganda around the world.”

Shadow Cabinet minister Lisa Nandy also called for action, adding: “When the Russia Report was published we asked Ofcom to review Russia Today’s license. Given what is unfolding, why is it still freely broadcasting state propaganda in the UK?”

In recent weeks, Western officials have accused Russian state media outlets of fabricating bogus provocations blamed on Ukraine’s forces in a bid to justify the conflict, while RT’s news coverage has celebrated Russia’s “friendship” with the breakaway Donbass region.

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- tvN pushing to become a permanent linear channel in Africa
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- Multichoice won't be adding anymore community channels
- Kwara TV might launch on DStv

The TV channel, funded and controlled by the Russian government, continues to broadcast an English-language channel in the UK despite moves in other parts of Europe to curb its influence.

Critics have long accused Russia Today of being a mouthpiece for the Kremlin and skewing its coverage of international affairs in favour of Russia.

The broadcaster has faced previous enforcement action from Ofcom, with a fine issued in 2019 over what the broadcast regulator said were repeated breaches of impartiality rules.

Ofcom said that numerous news and current affairs programmes had shown “serious and repeated failures” to report with due impartiality over issues including the Salisbury Novichok poisonings, which were perpetrated by Russia.

RT attempted to challenge the fine but lost at both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

Earlier this month, Germany’s media regulator moved to ban RT’s German-language channel, finding it had failed to adhere to media licensing laws. What are the chances that BRCSA or MultiChoice will do the same in Africa?

A petition was put up to have the channel removed on DStv.

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Viewership Stats For 10-17 February: A Week Of Major Declines For The Indian Channels But On The Bright Side Zee World Is Once Again The Most Viewed Indian Channel In South Africa

Star Life and Zee One both had season finales which brought the best numbers for the programming. In that, Zee One seems to have fallen to the cracks as its main counterpart Zee World gains the figures to once again become the most watched Indian channel in South Africa but experiences a decline as seen in previous weeks.

Also view: stats from 3rd to 10th February

Zee World's figures goes as follows:

Twist Of Fate (Rerun) - 1.9
King Of Hearts (Rerun) - 1.6
My Heart Knows - 2.1
These Streets - 0.6
I Do - 1.0
Twist Of Fate - 3.0
Once There Was A King - 2.4

Total: 9,1 million excluding reruns

Notes
- Reruns pulled 3,5 million during the week making them the most viewed Indian channel in repeats.
- These Streets experiences a major decline in viewership from 1,4 million in the previous week to 0,6 million in this week with a difference of 0,8 million.
- Twist Of Fate reached a new milestone 3 million viewers.
- Once There Was A King gained 0.4 million viewers within this week.
- The channel lost 0.3 million viewers in the previous week.

Star Life's figures goes as follows:

Geet - 1.0
Illusion (Finale Week) - 3.0
A Lockdown Love Story (Opening Week) - 1.3
Dream Girl - 1.4
Happy Hearts - 1.2
Never Say Goodbye - 1.6

Total: 7,2 million (excluding Lockdown and Geet) and 5,5 million (excluding Illusion and Geet)

Notes
- Illusion brought the biggest figure the channel could have even gotten in a longtime as the viewership increased by a further 2,1 million.
- Dream Girl, Happy Hearts and Never Said Goodbye all experienced small increases the following week.
- Star Life became the second most watched Indian channel for one day as Zee One fell to third place.

Also read:
- My Heart Beats For Lola coming soon to Telemundo
- News And Sport will stop airing on Openview in March
- SABC Encore and SABC Children channel might be in development for Openview
- More about TLNovelas upcoming series Keeping My Family Together
- Should eReality merge with News And Sport?
- The Estate cancelled only on SABC 1 for new drama series
- Doodsondes S4 coming soon to eExtra
- Saloni and East Meets West coming soon to SABC 2
- Overcoming Fear coming soon to TLNovelas
- Dokter Ali S2 coming in April on eExtra
- Malverde: The Patron Saint coming soon to Telemundo Africa???
- In March, E! will also be hosting the Oscars live from the red carpet and launch the cover bands
- The Search For Frida March 2022 teasers
- Nurses March 2022 teasers

Zee One's figures goes as follows:

Guddan - 2.9
Reach For The Stars (Finale) - 2.0
The Heir - 0.6
Lies Of The Heart - 1.3
My Golden Home - 0.1

Total: 6,9 million

Notes
- Guddan and The Heir experienced no change in viewership.
- Reach For The Stars and My Golden Home both experienced increases in viewership.
- My Golden Home dropped by 0,5 million.
- Reach For The Stars finale hit their biggest peak 0.6 million.

Glow TV's figures goes as follows:
This Is Love (Rerun @5) - 0.7
A Touch Of Love - 1.0
Emperor Ashoka - 1.5
A Love To Die For - 0.9
True Love (Rerun @9) - 0.6
This Is Love (Rerun @10) - 1.6

Total: 3,4 million (excluding reruns)

Notes
- Second most watched channel on the terms of repeats 2,2 million excluding the 5pm rerun.
- Primetime series have all experienced declines.
- This Is Love rerun becomes the most watched show on the channel.

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Roundups #20: Scrat TV Series And Local Drama Mathata Coming To Disney+ And Cape Town TV Respectively In April, CBeebies Working On New Cooking Show Big Cook Little Cook And FOX News International Streaming Service Launched In South Africa And 6 Other Countries

Disney+ sets release date for final Blue Sky Studios project, Ice Age: Scrat Tales

This is a series of six all-new animated shorts starring Scrat, the hapless saber-toothed squirrel of the “Ice Age” adventures, who experiences the ups and downs of fatherhood, as he and the adorable, mischievous Baby Scrat, alternately bond with each other and battle for ownership of the highly treasured Acorn.

Featuring the vocal talents of Chris Wedges as Scrat and Kari Wahlgren as Baby Scrat, the series is produced by Anthony Nisi, with Robert L. Baird and Andrew Millstein serving as executive producers.

The series will be available for streaming by April 13th.

Mathata has a release date on Cape Town TV

Last year, several crew members began promoting the long awaited Limpopo based drama series Mathata for Cape Town TV which is set in the areas of Seshego and Polokwane.

Mathata S1 will start to play from 04 April 2022. The drama will play Every Monday's at 21:00. On Cape Town TV channel 263 on DStv.

CBeebies bringing back a famous cooking show

The BBC’s preschool channel is teaming up with London’s ​​Dot To Dot Productions to revamp 20-year-old show Big Cook, Little Cook for a modern under-five audience.

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CBeebies has ordered 50 x 19-minute live-action episodes, and the first five are set to launch on February 28. This comedy-driven educational series features two cooks—one life - sized, and one the size of a pepper pod—making recipes that kids can try at home. Each ep will feature an animated segment and shots of various real-life locations around the UK, such as factories and fields.

FOX News is available to stream

The American channel FOX News will start streaming in South Africa and 6 other African countries from today with the FOX News International streaming service that is launching with live streams and on-demand content in countries ranging from Nigeria and Zambia, to Egypt, Ivory Coast, Rwanda and Kenya.

FOX News as a traditional pay-TV channel has been available on China's StarTimes pay-TV service in Africa, operating under the StarSat brand in South Africa, on channel 261.

FOX News Media has been rolling out its FOX News International streamer it launched in August 2020, globally, with South Africa getting access on 17 February to the FOX News (FNC) and FOX Business (FBN) live linear TV channels as digital streams, accessible in South Africa, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and Zambia.

"The service's expansion into Africa will increase FOX News Media's international reach to 44 countries and allow more fans around the globe to access their favourite live and on-demand FOX News Media programmes at their fingertips," the company says in an investors' statement.

Priced at R105 per month, FOX News International is accessible in the 7 new African countries for download on iOS, tvOS, Android and Fire TV, bringing the total countries where FOX News International is now available to 44.

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Travel To The Deserts With This New Documentary Special On Curiosity Channel Africa And Secrets Of The Universe Is Back For New Adventures - March 2022 Highlights

SUPER SCIENCE MONDAYS

SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE
Brand New Episodes - premieres 07 March 2022
CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 8 x 60 mins – ends 11 April 2022
Secrets of the Universe launches viewers on eight mind-blowing adventures to seek answers to some of the Universe’s biggest mysteries.

HISTORY LOVER TUESDAYS

EGPYT’S UNEXPLAINED FILES
Brand New Episodes - premieres 01 March 2022 CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 4 x 60 mins – ends 22 March 2022
Technology is decoding some of Egypt’s most enduring enigmas.

FIGHTING FOR LINCOLN: The Wide Awakes
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 01 March 2022 CAT: 21:00 Episodes: 1 x 60 mins
Torch-lit marches down Main Street... at first glance, images like these conjure up some of America's darkest moments. But this wasn't the Klan. These black- clad torch-bearers were the Wide Awakes: a para-military political machine that some say delivered the presidency to Abraham Lincoln.

THE STORY OF GERMAN BEER
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 08 March 2022 CAT: 21:00 Episodes: 1 x 60 mins
This documentary looks at the history of beer, starting with the Sumerians who invented it 5 000 years ago, through to the leading export of today and the new trend of the future: craft beer. Prost!

RETURN OF THE TRADE WARS
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 15 March 2022 CAT: 21:00 Episodes: 1 x 60 mins
“Trade Wars are good and easy to win,” wrote US President Donald Trump on Twitter. What has history taught us about trade wars? What has led to the outbreak of trade wars in the past?”

Also read:
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- More Hoarders on CBS Reality while Justice welcomes back a fan favorite
- Tellytrack will stop airing on DStv
- Celebrate St Patrick's Day only on Curiosity
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WILDLIFE WEDNESDAYS

ELEPHANTS: Changing Lives
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 02 March 2022 CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 1 x 60 mins
Few animals have more complex societies and interactions than elephants. For these slow-growing, long-lived animals, survival is totally dependent on knowledge passed down from family members and from the constant support of the herd. It’s no wonder we find them so endearing.

LAKE MAGIC
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 09 March 2022 CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 1 x 60 mins
Mini oceans inland, lakes are treasure troves of aquatic wonders, each zone, from the depths to the surface, the banks to the mud at the bottom, hosts its own animal communities of predators and prey. Fish, birds, insects, even mammals, enjoy the bounty of their freshwater home.

DESERTS
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 16 March 2022 CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 1 x 60 mins
All habitats present challenges to life, but few more so than the desert, but still, even here, life abounds, from little foxes to speed lizards and light-footed gazelles to huge camels. Each one finds its own ways to exploit and conserve food and water, creating new dramas every day.

CLEAN UP CREW
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 23 March 2022 CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 1 x 60 mins
Imagine if all waste just lay where it fell. We’d all be drowning in faecesrotting plants and animal corpses, were it not for the cleanup crew. Often unfairly despised, we should see these animals, crabs, dung beetles, vultures and crows as our heroes, keeping us safe from diseases.

GLORIOUS GRASSLANDS
Brand New Documentary Special - premieres 30 March 2022 CAT: 20:00 Episodes: 1 x 60 mins
Like a sea of grass, the savannah, prairie, and meadows are among the most productive habitats on Earth, housing some of the greatest concentrations of big game and the most dramatic interactions of predator and prey.

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America’s Top Soccer League Premieres On ESPN Africa This Weekend

After the shortest off-season in history, the 2022 Major League Soccer (MLS) season kicks off this weekend. Set to premiere live on ESPN Africa (DStv 218, Starsat 248),  America’s top Soccer league gets underway on Saturday 26 February with Philadelphia Union taking on Minnesota United at 20:00, followed by the clash between Columbus Crew and Vancouver Whitecaps at 22:30 The action continues on Sunday with Orlando City facing CF Montreal  at 20:00 and Atlanta United going head to head with Sporting Kansas City at 22:00 (CAT).

Also read:
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This season, an exciting slate of African players will show their prowess on the field. Minnesota United beat off a number of clubs to sign promising Bafana Bafana international striker Bongokuhle Hlongwane from Maritzburg United. South African youth prospect Tsiki Ntsabeleng joins FC Dallas after being selected as the number 28 pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. Ntsabeleng signed a one-year deal with the Texan club, with further club options until 2025.

Yaw Yeboah, capped four times by the Black Stars of Ghana, has signed a three-year deal with Columbus Crew, joining from Polish team Wisla Krakow. Nigerian left winger James Igbekeme has also signed with The Crew, on loan from Spanish club Real Zaragoza. Meanwhile veteran Ghanaian fullback Harrison Afful left Columbus Crew after a seven year spell with the club, to sign a one-year deal with expansion club Charlotte FC.

Also read:
- DreamWorks Channel will be added to MultiChoice's DStv
- Coroner and Tell Me Your Secrets coming soon to Universal TV
- Modern Family is back on Comedy Central with Love And Hip-Hop on MTV
- Kidz Club is back for the March holidays and more on Studio Universal
- In March, E! will also be hosting the Oscars live from the red carpet and launch the cover bands
- More Hoarders on CBS Reality while Justice welcomes back a fan favorite
- Tellytrack will stop airing on DStv
- Celebrate St Patrick's Day only on Curiosity
- Morgan Freeman is coming to History for a new series
- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire coming soon to Africa Magic

Senegalese goalkeeper Clement Diop has inked a one-year deal with Inter Miami while Ghanaian striker Abu Danladi joined Minnesota United on a one-year deal from Nashville SC, his second spell with the club affectionately known as The Loons. 37 year-old striker Kei Kamara, currently fifth on MLS's all-time scoring list, returns to MLS this year after signing a one year deal with Canadian club CF Montreal.

The competition on the field will be fierce as multiple international new signings enter the fray this season. Swiss dynamo Xherdan Shaqiri, nicknamed the “Alpine Messi”, has signed for Chicago Fire while LA Galaxy have added mercurial Brazilian winger Douglas Costa from Italian Serie-A club Juventus. Atlanta United have completed the acquisition of 20 year-old Argentinean prodigy Thiago Almada from Velez Sarsfield. Toronto FC recently announced the signing of Italian Lorenzo Insigne from Napoli who will join the club in June once the European season has concluded. Insigne, who will earn roughly $13 million-per-year, will become the highest-paid player in MLS history.

The 27th campaign of MLS will have 28 teams, with Charlotte FC making their debut as the new expansion franchise. New York City FC will enter the season as defending champions, having defeated the Portland Timbers in MLS Cup 2021. The New England Revolution will enter the season as the reigning Supporters' Shield winners. The entire MLS 2022 regular season will play out over 225 days with the MLS Cup Final scheduled to take place on 5 November 2022, sixteen days prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place in Qatar.

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