Digital First: BBC News To Replace BBC World News Around The World

This past week, BBC Studios Director General Tim Dave unveiled plans to become a digital first platform by doing so they'll be riding consumers in the UK and global of brands like CBBC (basically CBeebies for older children) and the free-to-air channel BBC Four serving up arts and documentary.

This trend has been common with The Walt Disney Company post the pandemic which has closed several channels internationally as the consumer base for Disney+ rises so BBC Studios is basically following a pattern in order to boost their streaming endeavours.

 

After 27 years on air, sources reveal that aside from BBC Four and CBBC even BBC World News will put to sleep and referred to as BBC News dropping World from the name and continuing its commitment to audiences in the UK and international.

 

BBC Studios will reinvest £500 million to make the BBC digital-led and the 24-hour TV news channel. Of course, a timeframe for the switch to BBC News has yet to be confirmed but by hunch probably before BBC closes any more channels or the end of 2022/3.

Compared to CBBC, I'm sure not a lot of people are expecting as big of a change from BBC News. Yes, consumers will be losing their jobs so if anything BBC News will likely be a mashup of its core counterparts.

After 23 Years, PBS Kids Changes Its On Air Look Likely Streamlining

PBS Kids is educational brand owned by the Public Broadcasting Service which caters to children aged 3 to 9 years with a mixture of animation and live-action to help improve on their maths, literacy and other curriculum based activities.

For almost 23 years, PBS Kids had been going green featuring sibling duo Dash and Dot (which were part of the PBS Kids logo) before getting less screentime and ultimately replaced with twin siblings Dee and Del. Prior to that there was Hooper a pet pig for their defunct preschool block.

 

 

Through several bumpers and on-screen ads you'd see these characters goofing off within couch cushions or doing some site seeing or exploration within a fish bowl but all that's about to change.

 

As seen across several media outlets, PBS Kids is retiring their logo with it the mascots Dee, Del and when available Dot for something bland, simple and other people's terms boring. This change is likely due to PBS's current logo which was unveiled in 2019 during their 50th anniversary.

The intention for that logo was to better suit it for a digital platform and the likely reason for the change with PBS Kids was part of an realignment strategy as the kids brand had been digital since the revival of their 24 hour service.

 

 

No on screen graphics have been provided during the time of publishing but from the looks of the main PBS brand. I'm not expecting any mascots but more of what's seen on other brands like Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon.

The change will take some getting use to but the important thing is we're still getting a PBS Kids which is not joining other brands that are shutting their doors on cable but working as a multimedia outlet which helps strengthen the variety for this audience.

Roundups #61: Explore The Island Of Huttsgalor On DreamWorks Channel Africa, Universal TV Africa's Upcoming Series Fantasy Island Gets Season 2 Renewal And WildEarth Celebrates Father's Day With A Trip To The Animal Kingdom

DreamWorks Jr. launching new series

Amidst the launch on DStv, DreamWorks Channel unveiled a bunch of content that wasn't part of the channel's lineup as seen during its run on StarTimes. It looks like part of this content is starting to resurface as DreamWorks Channel picked by the second prequel to DreamWorks Dragons titled Rescue Riders.

The series follows Dak and Leyla, human twins raised by dragons who have developed, as a result, a unique ability to directly communicate with them, helping and rescuing dragons and the people of the town Huttsgalor.

DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders will likely debut by August which concides with the debut of another original series, George Of The Jungle.

 

Universal acquired rights to this FOX drama

Set in a luxury resort that aims to fulfil its guest's every fantasy. Elena Roarke (Roselyn Sanchez) who sets aside her ambitions and true love to run the family business. The series also stars Kiara Barnes and John Gabriel Rodriguez.

Last year, the series was renewed for a second season by American network FOX which is set for debut by fall 2022 which coincides with the launch of the first season on Universal TV.

WildEarth continues its exploration into the wilderness

 

Hyena Hullabaloo
“ A week long celebration of hyenas”
13th to 18th June 2022

Long misunderstood as dim-witted, gluttonous scavengers, the hyena, over the years has had a “serious PR crisis on its paws. Here at WildEarth, our beloved Djuma Clan have allowed us a chance to set the record straight. So now it's time to honor this critical animal and join our hyena Hullabaloo. Trishala Naidu, a naturalist and self confessed hyena lover, will be leading the celebrations culminating in a chance to name Ribbons new cubs and win some hyena merchandise.

 

Wild Dads
“A week-long celebration of fathers in the animal kingdom.”
19th to 24th June 2022

As we prepare to sing paternal praises this Father’s Day, let us not forget the Dads in the animal kingdom. Unfortunately, when it comes to paternal instincts, there are more than a couple of lousy dads in nature. Most are programmed to produce as many heirs as possible but their role as protectors are beyond important. In aid of fathers day this year, we are going to look at all males in the wild and the critical part that they play. Join us for a week of fun as we celebrate the wild men of the bush.

#BoycottKykNet: A Possible Outcome To The Demise Of eExtra

eMedia Investments got into a fist fight with MultiChoice when the pay-tv platform decided to scrap 4 of their e.tv channels before handling the matter with Competition Tribunal with outcomes to the agreement set to be unraveled.

As seen this past week, kykNET's duplicate channel kykNET & Kie will be adapting to the concept seen on eExtra's Kuiertyd block where they dub various telenovelas particularly Turkish in Afrikaans and giving the free-to-view brand some steady competition.

As mentioned in an early press release:

World-class TV has been dubbed into Afrikaans for decades. Over the past few years, South Africa's excellent reverberation skills have been used to bring Turkish telenovelas to local screens - in Afrikaans. The plot, action and romance in these telenovelas keep viewers glued.

 

 

kykNET obviously got this entail from e.tv as series like Droomvelore can pull close to 2 million views while a show like 7de Laan has less than 900000 views monthly. Even eExtra despite not being as accessible as the main brand was fortunate enough to surpass 7de Laan.

As seen for the past 4 years, this content was exclusive to eExtra before being duplicated on more eMedia brands now DStv consumers will be getting more alternatives to but the decision to keep the e.tv channels is entirely up to DStv.

 

Firstly, kykNET's attempt could be met with severe backlash not because of the cancellation of Tussen Ons or reduction in local content but MultiChoice's decision to not keep eExtra alongside the 3 other e.tv channels.

After that close scare in March, several consumers opted for Openview in case things don't work out between those parties and these shows are divided between platforms.

 

eMedia was the main reason these stories went on to be as big as they are today. The only way most if not all consumers would view this content on DStv is to be assured that eExtra will remain unscathed throughout kykNET's introduction to the Turkish market.

eMedia Investment's Financial Reports: Viewership, Finances And More Channels

eMedia’s Financial Performance
For the year ending 31 March 2022, eMedia has experienced a resounding bounce back in its fnancial performance after the impact of the pandemic on businesses and the economy generally. This resounding bounce back is evident in a signifcant increase in proft from continued operations of R426.4 million as compared to the previous year’s proft of R138.5 million.

The year’s proft is also signifcantly better than the pre-COVID-19 year fiscal which ended in March 2020, which ended with an adjusted proft after adding back the goodwill impairment of R241.6 million. This fscal as compared to the pre-COVID-19 March 2020 proft shows a R184.8 million increase or a 76.5% increase and as compared to March 2021 is R287.9 million more and 207.9% better.

Revenue and Market Share
The Group’s revenue for the fiscal of R3.2 billion is the highest ever achieved, underscored by an increase in television advertising revenue to R2.1 billion. The television advertising revenue ended 39% better than the prior year and approximately 15% better than the market.

 

 

The Group beneftted from the resurgence of television advertising revenues as compared to the pandemic affected years which experienced a decline in advertising spend. This beneft in advertising revenues can be attributed to an increase in the Group’s prime time audience market share from 29.6% in March 2021 to 34.1% in March 2022, an increase of 15.2%.

Further analysis of the Group’s market share reveals an increase in both shoulder and prime time. The share ended at 31.8% and 34.1% respectively, making the Group the biggest broadcaster in audience share in both categories in South Africa.

e.tv
The increase in audience market share has driven up eTV’s advertising revenue. e.tv’s local dailies such as Imbewu, Scandal, House of Zwide and Durban General have driven the surge in market share in prime time. Edged on by this, management have invested in another local daily soap at 9.30 pm called The Black Door. With a few schedule changes Management is confdent of increasing market share.

e.tv may well be affected by the imminent analogue switch of facing the country but the group is confdent that the audience share will be carefully managed. At present the Group is awaiting a Constitutional Court decision on whether the switch off would be delayed giving more time to assist ordinary South Africans to be well accommodated and not be left without TV.

 

 

Openview
There has also been an improvement in the ratings of the other six channels produced by the group. eExtra, eMovies Extra and eReality rank in the top 15 of all satellite channels available in South Africa. A few more channels will be launched on the Openview platform.

This DTH unit of the business accounted for 21.9% of the advertising revenue amounting to R468.1 million which is up from R269.6 million in the previous year. Proftability in this unit has been achieved for the frst time with content costs for the fscal being pegged at R446.3 million.

The distribution of the four Openview entertainment channels on Multichoice, which contributed to the Group’s audience and revenue share, is presently under investigation by the Competition Commission after non-renewal of the channel carriage agreement. At the time of this report the channels remain on the Multichoice bouquet as a decision is yet to be received.

The set-top box activations for Openview are increasing on a monthly basis from an average of 35 000 per month to 40 000 per month. At the end of the period a total of 2 774 454 boxes were activated.

 

Technological advancements being the focus of the business will bring in the next upgraded phase of the Openview set-top box, a smarter set-top box which will have memory facilities and Wi-Fi capability.

eNCA
The news channel, eNCA, is the most watched news channel in the country, although it’s not offered on all tiers of the DSTV bouquet, whereas the competition is on all tiers. The advertising revenue targets were achieved through the pandemic affected years while its costs were carefully maintained.

The group has secured a further fve year agreement with Multichoice for the carriage of eNCA. The channel will remain exclusive to Mutichoice.

eVOD
In August 2021 eMedia launched an OTT platform, eVOD which has been well accepted in its target market. The number of registered viewers to date has been very encouraging with the average daily minutes viewed in excess of 1 000 000. The eOriginals offering on eVOD is the leading audience generator on eVOD making the group bullish about investing a further R100 million in local original content which will be amortised across the Group’s platforms and channels.

 

Other Subsidiaries
All of the groups subsidiaries which include Media Film Service, Sasani Studios, The Refnery, Cape Town Film Studios and YFM have posted better results having recovered from the COVID-19 years and all have returned to proftability.

Costs
Administrative and other costs have been well maintained although an increase of 19.7% has been revealed. This increase is mainly due to certain companies within the Group returning to 100% of salaries after reductions in the period of lockdowns and an increase in marketing activities after the lull brought on by the pandemic.

Cost of sales, which mainly consists of the cost of content, in the case of e.tv and employee costs in the case of eNCA, increased from R1 494.2 million to R1 748.1 million. Much of this increase is because of the bold step of introducing a new prime time daily “soap”, Durban General which launched in October 2020. This calculated risk was rewarded by the outstanding performance of the programme in its time slot. The fnancial year has also seen another new “soap”, House of Zwide replace Rhythm City. House of Zwide improved the group’s market share in the time slot. This increase in share of both of the new soaps underwrites an increase in revenue.

Proftability
The only asset of the group is a 67.69% interest in eMedia Investments the company that owns etv, eNCA, Openview, eVOD among other businesses.
The Group ended the year with a net proft of R420.8 million, which is inclusive of the loss of R5.6 million relating to discontinued operations, made up of losses from operations that the Group has considered non-essential and will be exiting or closing in the next fnancial year.

 

 

The above proft should be viewed in the context of the proft of the prior year of R107.9 million and an adjusted proft of R225.0 million in the year ended 31 March 2020. The year before the impact of the pandemic.

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization for the Group ended on R677.9 million compared to R302.9 million in the prior year, a 123.8% increase year-on-year.

Conclusion
The Group is forging ahead with numerous technology advances and strategic planning to continue to be the audience share market leader. The investment in Openview provides the Group with the strategic flexibility and is the plan to address the challenges of the transition that digital migration brings with it.

With the closure of non-core assets, the Group is now focused on its core business of broadcasting, content creation, platform advancements and a granular focus on technology that improves broadcasting.