Entertainment Inside Us (Insidus)

The merger between CANAL+ and Multichoice continues. The two entities have just filed a joint application for merger control with legislation . CANAL+ wants to absorb Multichoice in order to become the first pay broadcaster in Africa. The two entities have just informed investors of a new step in the process.  One more step in the process  On 30 September, CANAL+ and Multichoice filed a joint merger control application with the European Commission regarding the takeover bid. The South African authority has also been notified, as well as the other regulatory authorities.  The project is seen as a "major merger" and in this case it requires the approval of the competition authority. The commission will have to examine the file and it will transmit its recommendations.  Both companies will also continue to provide shareholders with updates on this matter. The terms and conditions previously discussed in the joint circular issued last June remain in effect and have

Following the conclusion of Pokémon The Series: Journeys, eMedia Investments had acquired rights to the Japanese anime series Beyblade X following its release in the United States (Disney XD), Canada (Cartoon Network) and Australia (9Go). This would be the broadcasters first attempt at anime within the decade with the series set to aired in October. Amateur Blader Robin Kazami finds himself out of a team when he is ditched by his friends after a crushing defeat. Lucky for him, a chance encounter with former champ Jaxon Cross leads these two unlikely teammates to join forces. Jaxon intends to climb back to the top of The X under the alias "Blader X" and challenge his old teammate and current champ, Khrome Ryugu. When they find a third team member in mega-popular influencer Multi Nana-iro, the newly-formed Team Persona set their sights on going pro and claiming their spot at the top. Beyblade series veteran Katsuhito Akiyama is credited as chief director for the a

Last month, PBS KIDS ended its run in Africa after 5 years on MultiChoice's DStv scrapping it's last international operation following the channel's closure in Australia by 2023. This meant DStv consumers will be losing access to Arthur, Cyberchase and WordWorld as these shows are not accessible in Africa. eMedia Investments which serves as a rival broadcaster to MultiChoice had licensed rights to Let's Go Luna. These are one of the various shows PBS Kids hadn't licensed for viewers on DStv so those residing in South Africa will get it to see it for the for the first time when it airs on eToonz in October. Let’s Go Luna! follows the adventures of three friends – Australian wombat Leo, Mexican butterfly Carmen and American frog Andy – as they traverse the globe with their parents’ traveling performance troupe, Circo Fabuloso. At each of the Circo’s stops, Luna the Moon guides the trio as they get to know the local region and its people. Each episode of

Since its launch in 2022 by the CANAL group, the country's leading pay TV provider, Zacu TV, a 100 per cent Kinyarwanda channel, quickly become one of the country's favourite entertainment channels, by offering a mix of locally produced movies, TV series, and international shows. At the dawn of a new chapter with a focus on delivering high-quality content in the local language, Zacu TV on Channel 3, commits to fulfilling its foundational pledge and living up to its ambitions. During a press conference, on Friday, September 27, as part of the back-to-school season, Cédric Pierre-Louis, the Director of Programming for African fiction channels at CANAL, announced exciting plans for Zacu TV's upcoming lineup starting from next year. These include a variety of fresh entertainment offerings such as dubbing Hollywood blockbusters in Kinyarwanda for the first time, bringing back popular local series "Seburikoko" that have been on hiatus, and introducing new dr

After MultiChoice and SuperSport announced plans to revamp its sporting lineup from September 2020 which saw sporting events PSL and La Liga alongside other sports like tennis and cricket get its own branded TV channel. The broadcaster is said to be making some adjustments to this offering by October 9th particularly with SuperSport Variety. SuperSport Variety comprised of 4 overflow channels served featuring various sporting events from other SuperSport channels alongside other content that don't have a channel of its own like swimming and hockey. These were the only brands of SuperSport that followed that previous iterations and retained the numbering system. The pay-tv company had already lost 12 channels including PBS Kids , People's Weather , WildEarth , Ginx TV , B4U Movies and Emmanuel TV . By adding SuperSport Variety 2-4 should it include South Africa would skyrocket to 15 making it the biggest loss they've experienced throughout its existence.

• Lionsgate looking to reduce workforce by incorporating AI into their animated content • My Journey To You launches on 21 October on Zee World outside of Southern Africa  • New episodes of Unfortunate Love returns on 10 October for Zee World consumers outside of South Africa • My Desire currently seen on Star Life comes to an end in India and will conclude in Africa by 2025 • Drake Hogestyn, Days Of Our Lives actor has died at the age of 70 • Maggie Smith, Harry Potter actress has died at the age of 89 • Via (DStv 147) to debut new series Roei Vir Liefde premieres 12 October at 21:00 which consists of 6 episodes. In this dating show, a single female celebrity head off on a glamping adventure to a popular river-rafting destination. Here, they will date a pool of men out in nature by embarking on a range of outdoor activities like river-rafting and hiking. Will stepping away from the dating apps and the chaos of everyday life really help them find true love? Returning shows

Canal+ is currently finalizing a new structure after obtaining a 45% stake of MultiChoice making them one of company's largest shareholders. After their initial bid of R29 billion was turned down earlier in the year the French broadcaster had up it's bid to R32 billion with an interim board deeming it "fair and reasonable". Something that various readers had asked me in the past months is how this impacts DStv and whether they could be any content changes once the takeover concludes by April 2025. Although, there's not much details about their plans with that platform even GOtv there is some differences between MultiChoice and Canal+. Firstly, MultiChoice is content oriented this was seen when eNCA made less money than the former Gupta owned news channel ANN7 despite having more viewers. Then there's BBC Lifestyle, Food Network and HGTV all of which come with their own set of content for viewers. Then you turn to Canal+ which operates in bulk or

Canal+ has managed to have upped its stake in MultiChoice to 45% home to brands like SuperSport, M-Net, DStv and GOtv which is awaiting regulatory approval. With both parties that will be spending the rest of 2024 looking to assess a possible structure as Canal+ being a foreigner has to navigate the restrictions to foreign ownership. The likely scenario here is that MultiChoice Africa will be managed by Canal+ with existing shareholders voting rights being reduced as they will be in charge of the services within South Africa. Residing within Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria, MultiChoice Africa offers brands such as Africa Magic, Zambezi Magic and Maisha Magic. With Canal+ obtaining a 20% stake in MultiChoice South Africa which is the maximum amount a foreigner can get of a local company. It's possible that shareholders may look to increase Canal+ influence over MultiChoice Africa by 80% or at least on the content side. Canal+ had outlined that they don't believe in the d

Following the channel's rollout in 2023, Zee Zonke had proved to be a popular addition with DStv consumers after accumulating over 200,000 viewers. The parent company Zee Entertainment Enterprises distributes various other channels within the African market including Zee World and Zee Alem on DStv with Zee Family and Zee One on Openview. Now the channel is gearing up to boost its primetime offering with the addition of Bollywood movies with Darlings opening up the block on Sunday 27 October at 18:00. In the film we are introduced to Badru and Hamza as a cutesy couple, probably in their early 20s, thinking of marrying each other. Three years later, we see the couple is still in love until Hamza finds two small pebbles in his food. Here, the act of domestic violence is hinted at for the first time. Hamza is an unhinged character who physically abuses his wife after getting drunk.  Badru is more or less done with Hamza, but because of the ideology of marriage and Hamza’s

MultiChoice video streaming platform Showmax has received equity funding of $164 million (R2.8 billion), as it looks to take on international video-on-demand platforms such as Netflix and Disney+. This, after in March last year, MultiChoice entered into an agreement with Comcast subsidiary NBCUniversal and Sky, to form a partnership for purposes of driving Showmax to become the “leading streaming service in Africa”. Comcast, through its subsidiary NBCUniversal, acquired a 30% equity stake in Showmax, and provides ongoing support through the licensing of its Peacock platform and content from NBCUniversal, Universal Pictures, Peacock and Sky. MultiChoice, through its wholly-owned subsidiary MultiChoice Group Holdings, and Comcast, through NBCUniversal, are providing funding to Showmax (only as and when Showmax’s board determines) during its investment phase. According to MultiChoice, this is contributed in proportion to the companies’ respective shareholdings and they will sh

StarSat is a satellite based pay-tv service that StarTimes managed to acquire a 20% stake for those using their services in South Africa with On Digital Media being majority shareholder. As reported sometime ago, the pay-tv operator has been operating illegally in South Africa for over a year and now ICASA is looking to action. Since StarSat's inception into the market, they've managed to accumulate over half a million subscribers in South Africa alone which is baffling considering how long Openview had been operational in the market. They also have over 6000 workers whose jobs are as well at stake as they roam around their offices aimlessly. StarSat is insuring consumers that they won't shut down by all means and it's comes as somewhat of a shock that they've been operating without a license for this long. But there's no guarantees that they'll be able to keep up with their word as ICASA could as well look to have their signals getting shut off

In this supernatural saga, a malevolent Chudail named Nishigandha is on an obsessive quest for Suhaag ki Nishaniyan, ‘Solah Shringars’ – 16 mystical adornments that will bestow upon her unparalleled beauty and the ultimate prize of immortality. With each ‘Shringar’ she collects by sacrificing her husbands, her dark powers grow stronger. Now, she has set her sinister sights on ensnaring her 16th and final target, Moksh, to unlock the final ‘Shringar’. However, Nishigandha faces an unexpected challenge from Deeya, a courageous woman determined to protect her beloved Moksh from the enchantment of the Suhagan Chudail. Deeya must wage a desperate battle to break Nishigandha’s enchantment before it’s too late. With Moksh’s life hanging in the balance, will Deeya’s love triumph over Nishigandha’s dark magic? The series cast Nia Sharma as Nishigandha, Zayn Ibad Khan as Moksh, Debchandrima Singha Roy as Deeya, Aradhana Sharma as Rachna, Jyoti Mukherji as Moksh’s Mother as Sachin K