Join In On The Fun And Unforgettable Family Outings With The New Cartoonito Series Silly Sundays Across Africa

Get ready to embark on a feel-good journey filled with laughter, mayhem, and heartwarming moments as you join the Silly Sundays gang! Set against the backdrop of the beautiful coastal village known as Sunday Town, this animated series brings to life the joy of shared family adventures.

In this charming family comedy, meet Sonia, the wildly curious five-year-old, her younger sister Mel, the smallest but undoubtedly mightiest, and their sensible big cousin Hugo. Joining them are their Mom, the artist of the family; their Dad, forever the big kid at heart; and Granny, the family's music enthusiast.

One of their best friends, Nicky, occasionally joins them, who communicates using Irish Sign Language, highlighting the importance of reflecting authentic and diverse storylines on kids' television. Silly Sundays' co-director, Fabian Erlinghauser, expresses excitement about the latest character development, emphasising inclusivity. According to Erlinghauser, “We're thrilled to showcase a character with this ability, not disability. Nicky can speak sign language and lip-read like a superpower. We aim to portray Nicky as a normal kid, emphasising that this is an ability, not a limitation. It's an inclusive and authentic representation.”

Silly Sundays is set in a lively locale of narrow streets, quirky shops, and a bustling town square filled with musicians, street performers, flower sellers, and food merchants. And the inviting Sunday Beach is just minutes away, where the fun never ends.

Every week, when Sunday rolls around, Dad proudly reveals the schedule for the family day out. However, despite his best-laid plans, things are quickly blown off course by the unpredictability of everyday life. The kids soon find themselves in the middle of an unexpected adventure with a problem to solve.

But, with each other’s help, Sonia, Hugo, and Mel always find an imaginative solution to whatever obstacle they face – and have plenty of fun along the way! No matter where the children’s escapades take them, the stories will end with a joyful musical finale that brings the family together, with the characters they’ve met throughout the episode, to dance us into the credits.

Voicing the father in the series, Cian McGarrigle emphasises the central themes of Silly Sundays, stating, “The show is all about the power of imagination and the bonds of family. The kids turn everything into an adventure, and even when things don't go as planned, the family always comes together for a happy ending. It's a celebration of three generations of family unity.”

Join Sonia and her family and friends as they create unforgettable memories together starting Saturday, 9 March at 7:30 CAT on Cartoonito Africa. Fans can tune in every weekend at 07:30 CAT for two daily episodes. With stories of the ups, the downs, and mostly the fun times, embrace every little moment with them.

Reminder: TLC’s ‘My 600-LB Life’ Returns With An All-New Season Of Emotional And Transformative Weight-Loss Journeys

TLC’s hit series MY 600-LB LIFE returns for a new season on Saturday, 9 March at 8pm CAT, documenting seven all-new journeys of morbidly obese patients as they strive to lose weight in an effort to reclaim – and save – their lives. Each two-hour episode follows a different subject as they navigate the emotional ups and downs of their extreme weight loss journey with the help of Dr. Younan Nowzaradan – aka ‘Dr. Now’. Each patient must undergo major diet and lifestyle changes, including potential high-risk gastric bypass surgery, in order to achieve lasting and life-saving results.  

 

Stories this season include a paralysed man desperate to find a way to stand, a bride-to-be fighting to finally walk down the aisle and a recovering drug addict whose life is now dominated by a new addiction: compulsive eating.  

 

This Season on MY 600-LB LIFE: 

 

SEASON PREMIERE: “Krystal S.’ Journey” – Premieres Saturday, 9 March at 8pm CAT 

Krystal S. has finally met the man of her dreams, but she won’t let herself marry him until she can be sure that she won’t become bedridden and force him into the role of caretaker.  

 

Episode 2 – “William’s Journey” – Premieres Saturday, 16 March, at 8pm CAT

William was always mobile and fairly athletic -- that is, until he wasn’t. It’s been years now since a knee injury derailed his sports career, and he’s ballooned up over 600 lbs. Now, to lose weight, he’ll have to face how bad it’s gotten.  

   

Episode 3 – “Delana’s Journey” – Premieres Saturday, 23 March, at 8pm CAT

When a regular trip to the grocery store turns into an emergency for the EMTs, Delana must admit how badly she needs Dr. Now’s help to lose weight. Hopefully, her road to recovery will also lead her to reconcile with the daughter she’s grown apart from due to her weight gain.  

 

Episode 4 – “Abi’s Journey” – Premieres Saturday, 30 March, at 8pm CAT

Abi struggled with his weight before a fluke accident left him unable to move his legs. Now bedbound for the last seven years, his weight has topped 700 lbs. Abi’s only hope to have a future with his wife is to get Dr. Now’s help to lose weight and find a way to stand up for himself.  

 

Episode 5 – “Rose’s Journey” – Premieres Saturday, 6 April, at 8pm CAT

At age 58, Rose had given up on life and was eating herself to death. But her family needed her too much to let her go. Now she has more than 400 lbs. to lose if she wants to get healthy for them and for herself, and she’ll do it if it’s the last thing she does.  

 

Episode 6 – “Shakyia’s Journey” – Premieres Saturday, 13 April, at 8pm CAT

Shakyia always struggled with her weight, but now that she has stopped leaving the house, her weight has skyrocketed. Her older sister rallies her to Houston to meet Dr. Now, but things only get harder when her mom stops caring for her. 

 

Episode 7 – “Charles’ Journey” – Premieres Saturday, 20 April, at 8pm CAT

Charles is a recovering drug addict who now has a new addiction: food. Now, his BMI is over a hundred, and he can’t stop eating. He needs Dr. Now’s help, but with his brother doing everything for him, is he too comfortable to make the trek to Houston?  

Channel X: Could eMedia Investments Also Ramp Up A Streaming Based Channel(s) Through Ultraview?

During the week, it was reported that MultiChoice would be looking to rebrand one of their current TV channels (1Magic) with Showmax filtered content. This comes with an additional R40-R50 for the affected consumers with others below paying an extra R20.

As some readers are already aware, eMedia Investments launched a rival offering to DStv, Ultraview. It consists of two packages one catered to youth audiences while the other is Bollywood both of which are filtered to the likes of M-Net's AddMovies offering.

Early reception wasn't pleased with this offering with some feeling DStv is superior as there's no sports or wide variety of channels. Then there's others that felt blackballed after being devoted Ovee fans had to miss out on shows like May I Come In Madam or Finding Prince Charming.

Despite some minor setbacks, Ultraview serves as a popular addition to fans of Bollywood drama on Spice TV alongside the music offering on EDGE. As mentioned, Ultraview doesn't have much to offer aside from 4 channels which are halved between two packages.

eMedia Investments had promised to add more channels to the mix and with the impact of load shedding. It's likely that the consumption for this offering is weak and will not meet up to their expectations.

Something that came to mind would the addition of streaming based channels. As mentioned, MultiChoice is looking to launch a linear version of Showmax under one of their existing channels and questions amount to whether eMedia will do the same on Ultraview.

These channels unlike Spice TV and Edge could fold under both packages and serve as an add-on if may be. For those serving as active subscribers on eVOD could get these channels at no additional cost similar to what MultiChoice offers with Showmax and DStv Premium.

The first channel being ePremium would be home to various local content like uMbali and Splitting Pieces. It would offer new episodes to shows like House Of Zwide, Isitha: The Enemy and Scandal before they are allocated on e.tv with an overflow of other content.

The second channel probably Kuiertyd Premium would be spun off from eExtra's Kuiertyd and offer new episodes of Elif, Roekeloos Dade and Wie Laaste Lag before eExtra. It would also include exclusives like Pad Na Die Hart, Net 20 Minute and Blink Kant Bo.

Development Alert: Moonbug's Morphle And The Magic Pets To Rollout On Disney Junior And Disney+ Internationally, Zeptolab's Om Nom Stories To Debut On Disney+

Disney+ is getting more involved with internet-native animated series and has picked up global (excluding China) streaming rights to Moonbug’s new series Morphle and the Magic Pets and Europe, Middle East, and Africa rights to Zeptolab’s Om Nom Stories.

It’s little wonder that a mostly kids and family-focused media company looking to bring profitability to its streaming platform would be interested in acquiring web-based animated series. A recent study showed that kids are spending more and more time on gaming platforms and free streaming apps like Youtube, so it makes sense that Disney would be keen to bring some of that platform’s popular content to Disney+.

There is also precedent for this kind of move paying off in a big way. Last year, Netflix shared viewership data from the first half of 2023, which showed that the platform’s most popular animated series was Cocomelon, another Moonbug property that started life as a web series.

Morphle and the Magic Pets

Morphle and the Magic Pets was co-developed by Mark Palmer and Jill Sandford and is being animated by Toronto’s Guru Studio. The show is based on the hit Youtube franchise created by Arthur van Merwijk in 2011. The Morphle TV Youtube channel, launched in December 2011, has 11.7 million subscribers, and its videos have been watched over 8 billion times.

Moonbug’s Morphle general manager Olivia Chausson said of the Disney deal:

We are very excited to expand Morphle’s fantastical world in close partnership with Disney. We have big aspirations for the franchise, fueled by Morphle’s transformational powers and the richness of the magic pet universe. This year, we are supercharging growth across new audience touchpoints and are delighted to share Morphle and the Magic Pets with families across the globe.

Disney Junior senior VP of development, series, and strategy Alyssa Sapire added:

At Disney Junior, we are always looking for new ways to connect with our young audience of preschoolers and their families. We knew Morphle was already a big hit on Youtube with our core audience of kids three to five and were thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the Moonbug team to build out the world and characters.

Morphle and the Magic Pets will debut on Disney Junior and Disney+ in the U.S. on Wednesday, March 20. International rollouts will begin at a later date.

Om Nom Stories

Disney has picked up all 25 seasons of the Youtube hit series Om Nom Stories, produced by Spanish video game developer and animation studio Zeptolab. The franchise’s main Youtube channel was launched in March 2011 and has 4.11 million subscribers. It hosts more than 2,000 videos which have been watched more than 3.5 billion times. The 250 episodes heading to Disney+ each run 3.5 minutes, and will be presented in a format that accommodates adaptation into 17 languages.

Anna Shchur, executive producer and content distribution director at Zeptolab explained in a release:

The collaboration with Disney+ not only amplifies the reach of Om Nom Stories animation content throughout Europe but also aligns with the family-oriented values synonymous with our beloved Om Nom brand. This shared commitment to wholesome entertainment is of utmost importance to us, and we are excited about the positive impact this collaboration will bring. Moreover, we anticipate that our audience will be overjoyed to experience their favorite Om Nom stories on Disney+, creating an even more delightful and memorable viewing experience for fans of all ages.

Natalia Hebel, senior business development manager at Zeptolab, added:

We are incredibly excited about the opportunity to bring Om Nom Stories to Disney+ in Europe. It’s a fantastic platform with a rich history worldwide, and we are honored to be a part of it. We are committed to providing high-quality content to meet the high standards, and we are looking forward to contributing our share to the magic of Disney+.

Om Nom Stories will debut on Disney+ in Q4 of this year.

MultiChoice Might Be Looking To Close The Two SWITCH'D ON Channels On DStv

Following the impact of the load shedding, MultiChoice curated two catch-up channels for DStv consumers in South Africa and Lesotho. SWITCH'D ON channel 109 would be available to consumers above Compact while channel 110 would cater for Family and Access.

These two channels would offer content viewed on channels offered under Mzansi Magic and kykNET a few hours after it aired. It was met with praise by various DStv consumers but as seen in 2023 it didn't retain their remaining consumers with MultiChoice reporting zero growth.

During the week, MultiChoice adjusted the prices for each DStv package which comes to effect in April. They've also unveiled several attractions like La Liga and ESPN on Access with Compact Plus customers set to get revamped offering curated on Showmax.

According to News24, they're also working on adding power banks to their decoders this way consumer's entertainment can still be enjoyed even after load shedding. If anything, it's likely that they'll look to phasing out older decoders and replacing them with these modules. 

This potential feature could help retain existing consumers and also assist in growing their consumption base. With more integrating with this offering, MultiChoice will most likely close SWITCH'D ON as less viewers tune in or when these products are on market.

Freeing up SWITCH'D ON will open the door for more channels as some readers are aware that MultiChoice has been battling with transponder constraints. For all we know, they could even revive M-Net Movies pop-up channels as they haven't launched one in 2023.