Insidus

Monday, January 10, 2022

New Series And Movie Alert: Dayan, Destructive Beauty Currently Streaming On eVOD With Film Surviving Gaza Coming Soon

As the new year starts unfolding, eVOD updated their portfolio by adding Dayan, Destructive Beauty (Daayan) from India's very own &TV to the Indian & Korean section of eVOD. The platform is also slated to air a film titled Surviving Gaza.

Dayan, Destructive Beauty follows Janvi Maurya, a well-educated and family-oriented girl hailing from Ujjain, stumbles upon a dangerous ploy by an evil force as many unusual and mysterious happenings occur in her hometown. With a threat to her life, she must unmask the identity of a Daayan.

This will be the first Indian series starring Mohit Malhotra and Tina Datta in lead roles while Priya Bathija was cast as the titular Daayan to ditch eExtra for now and air on eVOD. Viewers will likely have to wait for the upcoming series Vishkanya: Blue Venom Girl to conclude on eExtra to see this series.

At the moment, no synopsis has been provided for Surviving Gaza but it will be the first Kwaito based film which is produced and directed by Vusi Kwasa likely in the action or crime category.

The film features a stunning cast including Aphiwe Mkefe, MonD Motadi, Ayanda Daweti, Samke Makhoba, Mpho Molepo, Otto Nobela, Shoki Mmola, Ndiyathemba Modibedi,Luxolo Ndabeni, Sophie Kabini, Mawaza Kabini, Indalo Stofile and introducing the talented Botlhale Mahlangu.

The film will premiere in 2022 and will likely be the first film of the year joining 2021's batch of films Atlantis, Piet's Sake and Daryn's Gym.

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The Last FOX Life Which Resides In The United States Ceases Transmission March 31st

Closing in the United States. Notice of the discontinuation of the American iteration of Fox Life was sent to cable providers by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution in late December 2021; the channel will be discontinued on March 31, 2022, and with it, the final iteration of Fox Life will be wound down.

Fox Life first launched in Italy on 13 May 2003 and was conceived 10 years later in the United States. Internationally, the channel was known for the selection of soaps and region based content while the United States opted for FOX reruns.

Over the years, the channel had started losing sight globally which had a negative impact on their viewership. It wasn't long till several markets announced the discontinuation of the brand including Europe, Africa and Asia.

The United States was one of the last markets to house this brand better yet they are one of the few to carry so many Disney Channels. Now another channel will be put to rest following the closure of ESPN Classic.

The channel didn't offer any original programming therefore there's not much to over while the other stack of programming being FOX repeats can be seen Hulu, the international counterpart Star and the FOX linear channel.

Disney plans to close 100 international channels which include several FOX, National Geographic and Disney Channels. So far the Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Italy and Asia have all led without some if not all these brands with more expected to join in the near future.

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Alice's Wonderland Bakery - An Upcoming Series For Disney Junior Based On Whimsical Adventures Of Alice In Wonderland

Disney Junior is baking up something truly special! with Alice’s Wonderland Bakery based on Alice In Wonderland, a fantastical animated series for preschoolers and their families inspired by the beloved world of Alice in Wonderland.

The series centers on Alice, the great-granddaughter of the original heroine and a budding young baker at the enchanted Wonderland Bakery, where treats bring a new generation of characters together.

Each episode of Alice’s Wonderland Bakery will feature two 11-minute stories that detail Alice’s recipe adventures with her best pals—Fergie, a white rabbit; Hattie, her madcap friend; and Rosa, the Princess of Hearts.

The series, which is geared to kids ages 2–7 and their families, will celebrate the culture and creativity of food, highlight self-expression and impart age-appropriate social and emotional lessons about friendship, collaboration and community.

The creative team for Alice’s Wonderland Bakery includes Emmy nominee Chelsea Beyl (Peabody Award-winning Doc McStuffins), who serves as executive producer; Frank Montagna (Elena of Avalor), who is co-executive producer and art director; and Emmy-nominated Nathan Chew (Elena of Avalor) who is supervising director. Emmy winner John Kavanaugh (Sofia the First) is the songwriter/music director, and Matthew Margeson (Rocketman) serves as composer. The series is a production of Disney Television Animation.

Joe D’Ambrosia, senior vice president, Original Programming, and general manager, Disney Junior, announced that the deliciously fantastical animated series is slated to debut February 9th on Disney Junior. “The magic and mischief of Alice in Wonderland has been treasured by millions for over a century, and we are delighted to introduce this version of a young Alice and her charming friends to a whole new generation,” he said. “Inspired by the sense of connection that food brings about—and recipes filled with enchantment and heart—the series will showcase whimsical stories with relatable themes for our Disney Junior audience.”

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Friday, January 7, 2022

Go! Go! Rescue Squad And The Sequel Go! Go! Island Rescue Available To Download On Android

The new year celebration may be up but that doesn't mean one can't have a little fun along the way especially with these two games from Connect2Media.

Go! Go! Rescue Squad
Find the hero inside yourself with Go! Go! Rescue Squad! Join the Squad and rescue the hapless Darwins from fire ravaged buildings. Steer them to the exits avoiding fire, exploding chemicals and collapsing buildings. Offering 64 levels of unique, laugh out loud, gameplay over six different districts.

Click Here: Download Now

Go! Go! Island Rescue
This is THE Holiday from Hell! The hotels are collapsing, the robot waiters are berserking, the picturesque volcanoes are exploding! You'll be lucky to make it out alive, never mind the suntan! Time to scramble the Rescue Squad! With over 50 levels of unique, laugh out loud, gameplay, spread across four colourful areas, Go! Go! Island Rescue! will have you hooked for hours. The infamous 'Panic Rooms' return where time ticks down to disaster and fun filled bonus levels are included in every district of the Rescue Island.

Click Here: Download Now

More Mysteries: Travel Channel Has A Canadian Twin, Travel Africa Network Is Not Available In Africa And Discovery World Returned To DStv For At Least 6 Seconds

Ever wanted to see Africa from afar well Travel Africa Network got you covered

Africa recieved its first travel channel in 2019 with the introduction of Travel Africa Network (TAN) which covers 135 million homes in Europe with its extensive tourism lineup in the form of culture, luxury and adventure and many more.

Not long ago, a reader spotted the channel online and was curious to know why an African skewed brand isn't available in the same way a channel like HONEY can be seen in the market.

Similar to The Africa Channel (TAC), the content can be viewed elsewhere. In this case, Nigeria's very own Spice TV from Consolidated Media Associates.

Read the next story to see why this deal benefitted TAN in the long run. It will be shocking if TAN was fortunate to become a channel in Africa.

Travel Channel has competition

3 years after Discovery Inc. turned Travel Channel into a horror show from the main market. More countries start adapting to this format as the brand is running low on travel themed content.

Believe it or not, even Canada's Travel+Escape (T+E) from Blue Ant Media underwent the same procedure during the same period as Travel Channel.

COVID had no involvement as the changes occurred 3 years ago and this disease is a year old. It's possible that this type of content is no longer valuable for our eyeballs.

How long do you suppose it will be till TAN becomes something else?

Discovery Channel and Discovery World are now the same thing...DStv Showcase

Since last year, Discovery World owned by Discovery Inc. had been shelved with remaining shows transmitted to other brands. The lineup consisted mainly of documentaries and other entertainment elements.

The channel was available from 2010 to 2016 on MultiChoice's DStv. They hosted a media briefing unveiling a selection of content coming within the next year including two Discovery+ originals Pushing The Line And The Swim.

Through a promo, MultiChoice paid tribute to Discovery World and you had to find out moments after the showcase that these programs were for Discovery Channel.

Africa has been viewed as the hotspot for Europe's scraps but I doubt this brand will be used for anything outside programming as there's not much content to keep it sustainable.

Look at Discovery Channel's logo doesn't it remind you a bit about Discovery World?

Discovery Channel has a globe on the name while Discovery World included it as an additional accessory so the brands aren't that far apart from one another.

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#WeAreToonz: 2 Improvements eToonz Needs To Make In 2022

eToonz has been regarded as the D+ player in eMedia's portfolio that they've turned it into another Rewind channel for all the kids slate available on e.tv's youth block Craze. Even though 24/7 is out of the question here's ways the channel could improve:

1. Repeats

This is common denominator in most linear channels but the case with eToonz has worsened. Although there has been several adjustment the channel is far from finished.

In this case, we have Pokémon and Power Rangers which have dedicated slots to recycle the same batch of episodes for who knows how long.

In 2019, when production was halted on all of Craze local youth programming. eToonz temporarily adapted to a 7 day type format where the weekend slate wasn't entirely dedicated to weekday programming.

Even though, eMedia has no intention of reviving that concept. They could however give weekends its own repeats it doesn't have to be the entire schedule perhaps.

Weekends could offer a particular program in the form of a double bill and perhaps scrap those dedicated slots to give other shows some much needed space particularly the preschool slate.

2. Variety

Something that has heavily been disregarded on their stable. They offer a selection of cartoons for viewers aged 2-12 but that's the thing it's only cartoons.

e.tv's youth block wasn't only known for Power Rangers but even for programs such as Zaboomafoo, Mister Maker and Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

Through studies, its been revealed that kids watch more animation than live-action and also that the content is viewed mostly by boys.

I'm not expecting the brand to become another Disney Channel overnight only to expand from what's current even if it two slots within a week. At the moment, e.tv's youth block is no different to eToonz.

Perhaps get some factual or reality based content such as MasterChef Junior and Little Big Shots and combine that with the missing slate of series from Nickelodeon.

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Predictions: What To Expect On SABC's Long Awaited Streaming Service?

It's been months since we got an update on SABC's long awaited streaming service. Through financial statements, it was estimated that the platform will be functional by the end of March 2022.

Don't be surprised if it missed the deadline, I could think up a number of reasons why the platform failed to materialize back in 2018 one of them have to do with the Asian streaming platform VIU.

As some were aware last year, eMedia Investments breached their contract with the brand for their content and they can only stop distributing content to them by 2024.

Just by looking at eVOD, you can clearly see that there's several loopholes in this agreement and SABC could have complicated things for themselves in this area maybe their agreement with them is different from eMedia Investments.

The only thing everyone knew about this streaming service was the fact no new content would be invested toward the platform and that it will be similar to BBC's iPlayer. Here's a couple of my own predictions for the brand:

1. Fast Forward: Shortly after eVOD introduced this method several other streaming services followed so wouldn't be shocking if the platform were to include such.

2. Payment method: similar to eVOD I'm expecting a free version with TV licence possibly being required that is if the licence will be around and monthly fees.

3. Sports: Most of them are currently folded under Showmax so a portion of what you're seeing on SABC 1-3 will likely be available to the platform at no additional cost.

4. International programming: SABC had stated that the platform would promote their rich archives which is a lot comparing to eMedia Investments. I'm not putting much faith in this area considering that large stack of programming.

5. News: Showmax does offer news channels primarily Newsroom Afrika and AfricaNews. Although, SABC News might not form part of the service perhaps they could offer livestreaming. For now they could source from SABC 1-3.

6. Live TV channels: TelkomOne currently supplies their linear channels so why should this streaming service think otherwise.

7. New content: It had been stated that they're currently no plans to add new content aside from that. The public broadcaster is bankrupt not saying such option won't happen but with all these streaming services investing locally they might give in eventually.

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Cartoon Network Has A Secret Space Project (Fingers Crossed For Galactic: Kids Next Door) And New Winnie The Pooh Series Rumoured To Be In Development For Disney+

Winnie The Pooh could be heading to streaming services

According to DisnInsider, a project featuring the lovable bear was in early development for Disney+. It will likely be animated since Winnie The Pooh has been more known for animation than live action.

This will be the first TV animated Winnie Pooh Project in 15 years since Playhouse Disney My Friends Tigger And Pooh.

Back in 2015, the Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon pitched a Winnie The Pooh Reboot to Disney with a full animated pilot in hand, sadly in 2016 the pilot was passed.

Cartoon Network is heading to space

Last year, Cartoon Network was looking for storyboard artists for a untitled space adventure which is said to carry a lot of comedic storytelling and dynamic action. They seem to be concealing details about the show.

The only known facts about the project is that it will be an animated series which will be held in space and carry a lot of action adventure. Judging by the facts it could be new concept or Galactic: Kids Next Door.

Galactic: Kids Next Door would be considered a revival to Codename: Kids Next Door and take place after the original series incorporating a more darker tone. The series fits the description for this secret project.

The creator of the franchise had pitched the idea of a possible spinoff to Cartoon Network and he still looks interested as he recently uploaded a new version of Galactic: KND.

Go to rainbowmonkeys.com and type GALATIC you'll see an unlisted link written "stop the gknd 2021".

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National Geographic Reportedly Closing Down In The UK And Possibly The Rest Of The World

After 24 years, National Geographic and possibly National Geographic Wild end their run in the UK as The Walt Disney Company moves further content to their streaming service Disney+ as direct-to-consumer business is the company's top priority.

According to a source from Digital Spy, there's currently discussion between Sky and Virgin with The Walt Disney Company over switching to a new feed. As of right now, National Geographic is expected to migrate onto Disney+ next month.

Still no confirmation if this includes National Geographic Wild but it seems very likely.

Last year, it was reported National Geographic production hub in the UK had been aligned with Disney EMEA. This only increased suspicion for the brand's possible demise for viewers in that region.

Aside from that, their linear offering in the main market has seen a decline in households with all brands losing between 7-10 million consumers as Disney+ viewership skyrocketed.

Internationally, The Walt Disney Company has closed down several FOX and Disney Channels in phases and the UK will supposedly be the first to close National Geographic.

In EMEA, the channel(s) will likely close down by the end of 2023 or sometime in 2024. Something to mention about this market is that they usually target the A before the EME.

Disney XD closed down in Africa by September 2020 and the rest of Europe followed by the end of 2020. FOX closed down a year after the channel with other parts of Europe packing the channel for now.

It's likely that Disney Channel and National Geographic will close down in Africa before the rest of Europe. Disney+ is launching in South Africa later in the year and rollout in more markets overtime and 2024 gives them plenty of time to expand their reach.

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