Steven Seagal Makes His Debut On TNT Africa In The Month Of Love In 2020 Along With The Best Of Academy Awards

AND THE WINNER IS…
February sees the celebration of the 92nd Academy Awards and TNT channel gladly
welcomes this event. To show its respect for the most coveted award in cinema history, we´ve gathered a list of movies that have won at least one of these iconic statuettes. During the second weekend of February the channel will offer some of these prestigious movies, and on the day of the ceremony (February 9th) there will be a full day marathon. The Hurt Locker, Spider-man 2, The Dark Knight and Million Dollar Baby are a few of the films our
audience will be able to enjoy.
Friday 7th of February
15:30 – Innerspace (1987)
17:30 – The Dark Knight (2008)
20:00 – Spider-man 2 (2004)
Saturday 8th of February
15:40 – Jerry Maguire (1996)
17:55 – Batman (1989)
20:00 – The Hurt Locker (2008)
Sunday 9th of February
07:30 – Batman (1989)
09:35 – Innerspace (1987)
11:30 – Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
13:30 – The Hurt Locker (2008)
15:40 – Spider-man 2 (2004)
17:45 – Jerry Maguire (1996)
20:00 – The Dark Knight (2008)
22:30 – Million Dollar Baby (2004)
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VALENTINE’S BROMANCE
This 14th of February will not be your typical Valentine’s Day on TNT, so don´t expect flowers, kisses, chocolates or love messages. This year, the channel has chosen to break away from the conventional and shift its focus on a different type of love; particularly, that
solid, tight friendship between two or more men, also called a Bromance. The channel has programmed a list of titles full of action and adventure that put these affectionate bonds to the test, in a marathon that will include titles such as Showtime, Lethal Weapon 2 and Tango & Cash.
Friday 14th of February
14:15 – Batman & Robin (1997)
16:15 – The Karate Kid (1984)
18:20 – Showtime (2002) channel premiere
20:00 – Tango & Cash (1989)
21:40 – The Glimmer Man (1989)
23:10 – Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
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STEVEN SEAGAL FAN MONTH
Well-known for his starring roles in action films and considered one of the toughest actors in Hollywood, Steven Seagal has been able to build a profitable career for himself thanks to his martial art skills which opened the doors to Hollywood for him. He has also worked as a musician, producer, director, and screenwriter for countless blockbusters. TNT wishes to
recognize and give him credit for his hard work every Monday during February, with a double feature that will include titles such as Exit Wounds, On Deadly Ground, Out of Justice and The Glimmer Man.
Monday 3rd of February
20:00 – Exit Wounds (2001) channel premiere
21:40 – Half Past Dead (2002)
Monday 10th of February
20:00 – The Glimmer Man (1996) channel premiere
21:30 – Above the Law (1998)
Monday 17th of February
20:00 – On Deadly Ground (1994) channel premiere
21:40 – Out for Justice (1991) channel premiere
Monday 24th of February
18:25 – Half Past Dead (2002)
20:00 – Out of Justice (1991)
21:30 – Exit Wounds (2001)
23:10 – On Deadly Ground (1994)
00:50 – Above the Law (1998)
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FEBRUARY FURY
We all know movies can stir up emotions and put us in a particular mood. For this
special we have chosen movies whose themes revolve around powerful, adrenaline-
fuelled emotions. The motives that drive these emotions are different for each main
character in the special; some have a strong temper, while others are out for revenge
as a form of alleviating their spirit. Every Thursday of the month, TNT will program a
list of films that are sure to stir and provoke the audience. Titles include Demolition
Man, Inferno, and Assassins among others.
Strategy: Thematic stunt. The strongest films on access and prime time. The stunt tries to put
focus on a number of important blockbusters in the channel’s.
Thursday 6th of February
18:05 – Demolition Man (1993)
20:00 – The Crow (1994)
Thursday 13th of February
17:45 – Spider-man 3 (2007)
20:00 – Inferno (1999)
Thursday 20th of February
18:20 – Enter the Dragon (1973)
20:00 – Freddy vs Jason (1996)
Thursday 27th of February
18:05 – The Fan (1996)
20:00 – Assassins (1995)

Azoomee Acquires Da Vinci Media

Kid content SVOD Azoomee has acquired Berlin kidcaster Da Vinci Media to expand its reach. Operating under the two brands Azoomee and Da Vinci Kids, the companies will a collective 45 million global subscribers via connected TVs, linear channels and mobile apps. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Azoomee is an ad-free, subscription-based
streaming service for kids five and up, while Da Vinci’s content targets the six to 11 demo. The SVOD’s acquisition means it gets access to more than 2,500 videos; the 24/7 TV channel Da Vinci, which is available in Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mongolia, Russia, India, Canada and the US; programming blocks Da Vinci Kids and Da Vinci Learning; as well as the interactive VOD app Da Vinci Kids. Da Vinci’s catalogue includes education-focused series The History of Art, Siesta Z, Finding Stuff Out, Myth or Science and Crafty Art (pictured).

Azoomee has been steadily growing its catalogue in the past few months. Last year, it picked up all three seasons of live-action educational series Do You Know? (75 x 15 minutes) and 50 x 11-minute animated series Addison from Toronto-based distributor Portfolio Entertainment . It followed that up by snagging the 3D-animated series Dr. Panda (39 x seven-minutes) from Dublin-based 9 Story Distribution International, and 2D-animated series Urban Tails (52 x two minutes) from Irish distributor Monster Entertainment. The SVOD also expanded its reach by partnering with smart TV-focused distributor Foxxum to launch on connected TV sets from manufacturers including Vestel, Panasonic, Toshiba Polaroid and Hitachi, with plans to roll out to Apple TV, Samsung and LG in the future.

To Kick Start The New Decade Discovery Inc Brings You Findings From The Biggest Study Ever Undertaken Into Passions

The study reveals that when it comes to our favourite pastimes including sports, food, home, motoring and nature & wildlife, people are more likely to turn to TV than any other source for inspiration and information.

The global survey involving 13,000 participants, ran across 13 markets and was commissioned by Discovery, the global leader in real life entertainment.

TV is the #1 way we fuel our passions with 93 percent of respondents claiming it is their top source of inspiration. Social media was #2 with 67 percent and 'other people’ in #3 place with 66 percent.

TV is significantly more powerful than any other third party including social media for triggering a passion. Amongst the 35-54 age group, TV is five times more likely to trigger a passion than social media – and even among the hard to reach 18-24 demographic, TV is more than twice as likely to trigger a passion than social media.

More than 8 out of 10 of us have one or more passions in life, with the average number of passions amongst individuals being four. Our passions are typically developed as teenagers and are initially inspired by our parents (33%), TV (23%) and our peers (15%).

Dr Tom Chatfield, Tech Philosopher, Authors, said: “For a lot of people, television programs, have been some of the big extrinsic triggers for things that then become these big intrinsic passions. Because you get this very personal, human, visceral exposure to a story, or to an event. It's not like reading about it, it's not like hearing about it, it's like being immersed in it and that can help people discover for themselves this emotional spark that will guide them in their own journey of passion and discovery.”

According to the survey, as well as providing happiness, a sense of achievement and fulfilment, passions can help us cope with life’s ups and downs. More than 8 out of 10 of us believe that passions are more important than ever, and 9 out of 10 of us agree that having a passion can help cope with the stress of everyday life.

Having a passion also helps to build a sense of community and combat feelings of isolation in an increasingly disconnected international world. According to the survey, our passions bring us closer to other people – 8 out of 10 people share a passion with friends and family and 7 out of 10 people state that passions give us a sense of belonging.

Dr Nick Southgate, Behavioural Scientist, said: “Passions have always been important to people because they help them define who they are. In a world that seems more turbulent, where the future seems more uncertain… those things that you can turn to where you have complete agency over what you care about and what it means to you and where it’s going, will become ever more important.”

Fulvia Nicoli, EVP Content & Product at Discovery, said: “This survey highlights that people have a greater desire than ever to be connected to each other and the world around them through their passions.  At Discovery we power the passions that make us human with content and stories that inspire people to pursue their passions.  From food, to nature and wildlife, and sports including golf, motoring and cycling – we have something to make every superfan happy.”

Discovery, Inc. powers people’s passions across the globe and on every device with its portfolio of real-life entertainment brands including Discovery, Eurosport, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, and Animal Planet. With a growing portfolio of direct-to-consumer services that enable fans to ‘view and do’ including dplay, GolfTV and Food Network Kitchen.

Starsat And StarTimes Subscribers Lose 2 More Channels: Smile TV And Animaux

Just as the whole drama concerning the Disney channels came to light with Starsat on a fast track to source out more replacement channels. Viewers woke up to the loss of two more channels Smile was removed sometime last year while Animaux was removed a week ago.

Smile (formerly Smile of a Child) is Christian-based network owned and operated by the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The network is aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 12 years, and offers a mix of children's religious and family-oriented programming. Trinity also supplies several channels and programming across Africa through DStv, OpenView, Azam and several more.

Animaux is a French television channel run by AB Group with animal-based/inspired programming for the whole family.

Subscribers have been rampaging onto Starsat and StarTimes account demanding answers on the sudden loss of these two channels and after week they finally reply and yes they confirmed that they'll no longer supply those channels and are looking into possible replacement channels.

So far, they only managed to National Geographic and Wild with cheaper and more affordable channels such as Love Nature and Smithsonian channel. Now they have to source out even more replacement channels Lord only knows how many of these channels are likely to being replaced. With a channel such as POP it wouldn't matter since you can find something similar on Star Kids of course it's not the same but both channels don't have original content and target the same audience.

Theory: The Future Of Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, And Nick Jr In Africa

Nickelodeon the number one platform for kids worldwide by ViacomCBS International launched 11 years ago on DStv. You had a variety of programming from animated to live-action skewed towards preschoolers such as Dora The Explorer and Peppa Pig and preteens such as iCarly and Legend of Korra.

In 2014, Nickelodeon expanded the brand with two more channels to take up Koowe and KidsCo's place. Since the launch the two channels have been performing well with the likes of Paw Patrol and ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks.

These channels were Nick's successors not to mention their downfalls starting 2015 all the acquired animated stuff which Nick usually airs were handed over to Nicktoons leaving the original stuff on the main channel with Jr inheriting all the preschool content.

In the same year, Nickelodeon was on a cancelling, delaying, next big thing or a short series spree thanks to the person handling the channel in the United States (Cyma). She's the same person that helped kill the remaining action genre in the kids animation industry and left you with goofy series like Teen Titans GO! and Rise of the TMNT and graced us with popular series such as The Loud House.

Due to Cyma's misdeeds and mismanagement, Nickelodeon lost more and more viewers on a yearly basis compared to Disney Channel and Cartoon Network. By the time she left her position and Brian came in he's been working really hard to bring the channel to its former glory including making and distributing content to Netflix, working on more reality series and acquiring animated series.

Throughout 2019, the Nick channels were filled with too many marathons, stunts not to mention reruns which were taking up most of the premieres slots. Trust me there was premieres but the old stuff was overairing in a TTG type of manner.

The deal with Netflix means viewers will see less programming or less exclusive programming across the Nick channels and viewers may have to wait even longer to see some of these programs on Nickelodeon that is if they're made available.

If Nickelodeon doesn't resolve the matter within the next year or 2 with reruns, marathons and stunts very soon you may see operators across the world cut down or scrap the brand.

With South Africa and the rest of Africa alone you may find a case where Nick Jr and Nicktoons dissolve with all the remaining programs like ALVINNN!!! and Paw Patrol heading to the main channel with a reruns channel carrying acquired series similar to Nickelodeon 2 or Splat take their place.

VIMN Africa now known as ViacomCBS Africa has renewed their partnership with MultiChoice in this agreement it's not stated how long the agreement lasts so maybe just maybe they are reviewing their portfolio in the market due to the merge with CBS which may include cutting back on channels e.g. MTV and/or CBS Reality, Nick Jr and/or Nicktoons.