Entertainment Inside Us (Insidus)

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 lin

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

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 Nic

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 fea

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.

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 appre

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

BBC Studios in Africa has revealed that its multi-genre channel, BBC UKTV, has attracted record numbers, reaching over 12.9 million people. Viewers have grown by 135 per cent and the channel share has increased by 99 per cent among all individuals since launching on DStv in December 2022. BBC UKTV features a range of genres scheduled for all ages, from Lifestyle programming, Come Dine With Me South Africa S1 and 10 Years Younger to soaps Eastenders, Doctors and Casualty, entertainment Total Wipeout: Freddie & Paddy Takeover, dramas The Mallorca Files, Call the Midwife and Shakespeare and Hathaway and factual series including Life Below Zero. Since launching in 2022, audiences have tuned into the daily schedule and Secrets of the Supercars, Come Dine With Me, Bake-Off Crème de la Crème, The Musketeers (pictured) and The Great South African Bake-Off have become the most viewed shows to date. Pierre Cloete, Commercial Director at BBC Studios in Africa, commented “BBC

In a mega deal in the entertainment segment, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Walt Disney Co have signed a binding agreement to merge their media operations in India, according to a Bloomberg report. As per the agreement, the media unit of Reliance and its affiliates are expected to own at least 61 per cent in the merged entity, with Disney holding the rest. Disney reportedly agreed to sell 61 per cent of its India business to Viacom 18 at a valuation of $3.9 billion. Viacom18 is owned by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani. There were reports earlier this month that Disney had agreed to sell 60 per per cent of its Indian business to Viacom18. The deal is expected to be a significant move in the Indian media and entertainment industry. Last month, Sony of Japan dropped its merger plan with Zee Entertainment ended due to disagreements regarding the leadership of the proposed merged media entity. In the line of fire from activist shareholder Nel