ESPN Africa Boxing 18 Set To Entertain

Boxing fans across Africa can look forward to some of the best combat sport action when ESPN Africa Boxing 18 takes place in Johannesburg and broadcasts live on ESPN on Thursday 30 June 2022, from 19:00 (CAT). Sanctioned by Boxing South Africa (BSA) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF), this event will be headlined by a 12-round match for the IBF International Junior Middleweight title between DR Congo's Emmany Kalombo (15-1-0) and Kenyan Rayton Okwiri (7-0-1).

Known as 'The General', Kalombo was last in action in April, defeating Malawian Chikondi Makawa via third-round technical knockout in Soweto, while the unbeaten Okwiri is making a much-anticipated return to the ring. In his most recent fight, in October 2021, Okwiri knocked out John Serunjogu of Uganda in a middleweight non-title fight in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

 

 

The former African Boxing Union middleweight title holder is determined to put a major belt around his waist once again. “I have done it in the past and it’ll not be any different this time round. This is a big fight for me and the title must come back home as I’m serious to win it,” Okwiri explained.

Kalombo, however, feels that things will go differently: “I have known Okwiri as an amateur boxer for a long time and I’m gonna chop him down and stop him from taking the title."

The co-main event is a 10-round Welterweight clash between South Africa's Thulani Mbenge (18-1-0) and Idd Pialari of Tanzania (30-7-1). Mbenge was last in action a year ago, claiming an impressive third-round knockout win over Jabulani Makhense. Pialari broke a losing streak by defeating Chimwemwe Chiotcha via unanimous decision in February this year.

 

 

The main card also features an eight-round Super Flyweight clash between Sikho Nqothole (14-2-0) and Selemani Bangaiza (12-7-0); Jabulani Makhense (12-1-0) v Paul Kamanga (23-2-0) over eight rounds in the Welterweight division; and a Super Lightweight battle over eight rounds between Gift Bholo (9-11-0) and Hannock Phiri (14-0-1).

The fight card for this event, is as follows:

MAIN EVENT

Main event: IBF International Junior Middleweight Title
12 rounds
Emmany Kalombo (DR Congo, 15-1-0)
v
Rayton Okwiri (Kenya, 7-0-1)

Co-main event: Welterweight
10 rounds
Thulani Mbenge (SA, 18-1-0)
v
Idd Pialari (Tanzania, 30-7-1)

Super Flyweight
8 rounds
Sikho Nqothole (SA, 14-2-0)
v
Selemani Bangaiza (Tanzania, 12-7-0)

Welterweight
8 rounds
Jabulani Makhense (SA, 12-1-0)
v
Paul Kamanga (DR Congo, 23-2-0)

Super Lightweight
8 rounds
Gift Bholo (SA, 9-11-0)
v
Hannock Phiri (Malawi, 14-0-1)

UNDER CARD

Junior Middleweight
4 rounds
Sinethemba Blom (debut)
v
Mikaeel van Doorsen (1-1-0)

Junior Lightweight
6 rounds
Cayden Truter (4-0-0)
v
Khanyisani Mbokazi (2-3-1)

 

Featuring a diverse range of the continent’s boxing talent, the ESPN Africa Boxing events that take place on the last (or second last) Thursday of every month, are televised to an audience of up to 60 million homes across Africa and Latin America. The action starts at 19:00 (CAT) on ESPN (DStv 218, Starsat 248), SABC Sport and selected international broadcasters including ESPN across Latin America, as well as a highlights package in TKO (SABC 2, Fridays at 21:30).

How to tune in:

ESPN: DStv 218, Starsat 248 
SABC Sport
 
All times are stated in CAT / SAST.
Schedule subject to change

For updates regarding ESPN Africa Boxing and other sports, fans can connect to @ESPNAfrica on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit https://www.espn.com/. 

Overshadowed Timeless Dizi Channel Expands Its Reach To More African Households On StarTimes

Timeless Dizi Channel is a a general entertainment channel from SPI International which serves to be one of the sought after channels in their portfolio for its variety of Turkish dramas mainly Black Money Love, Karadayi and The Red Scarf.

It's been available in the African market for 2 years and due to the successes of eExtra's Kuiertyd block it got MultiChoice to ramp their offering on kykNET & Kie but as for Timeless Dizi Channel things have rather progressed slowly.

 

 

After the pop-up version's termination on the DStv platform, there isn't much hype from the channel or the media in regard to what's on or potential new shows from the channel.

The closest anyone has ever gotten to know about upcoming shows is through the main page which can be of no use from time as some new may have already been seen on the channel or in South Africa through eExtra.

The current partnership they have with StarTimes seems somewhat complicated. In August 2020, just a few months after its launch it was announced by the pay-tv platform will stop airing the channel and from what is already seen by viewers that's not the case.

 

 

Even more strange is how there's still more regions across Africa through StarTimes that still don't have Timeless Dizi Channel as markets like Kenya and Malawi welcome it as a "new channel" despite its availability elsewhere for the past 2 years.

At this point, you're better off downloading the mobile app to view these programs if there's gonna be so many inconsistencies.

Cartoon Network EMEA Might Have Acquired Rights To A New Season Of Totally Spies! Alongside New Series Goat Girl

Speaking at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, Sean Henry, VP of content strategy and acquisitions for kids, EMEA, explained that the company is looking to co-produce and acquire shows that appeal to “all kids aged 6+”.

Currently, “more boys have been watching our network channels than girls,” said Henry, who oversees the kids and family content pipeline for brands including HBO Max, Cartoon Network and Cartoonito in EMEA. He points to upcoming shows such as Goat Girl and the returning Totally Spies! that are “quite different to what we have done before” and of broader appeal.

 

“But we’re also looking for things that might skew a little bit older, something that a tween audience can enjoy, maybe families as well. Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai , which is coming next year, is a really good example of that.”

Henry said that this upcoming animated spin-off from the Gremlins feature films was the kind of co-viewing event experience that he believes can “help us broaden the appeal beyond the existing core.”

Comedies have “always been at the heart” of Cartoon Network, added Henry, who said his team is always looking for such projects as the genre “really drives peak viewing.”

 

Speaking in a panel session at the festival, Henry said that WBD wants to see “everything, content for all kids ages, all demos,” and, expanding on the point, explained: “What we are doing as a team is to not set too many parameters for people who are pitching to us.

“Sometimes you don’t know a great idea until you see it, so what I’d encourage creators and distributors to do, if they think it’s relevant for the brand and the audience, most importantly, 6-12-year-olds, pitch it to us and let’s have a discussion.”

 

Henry revealed that his team is “not really in a position to develop an idea from scratch” and won’t fully fund any productions, so are always looking for co-production partners.

“It’s great for you to come to us with a financing plan and then that’s something we can take forward,” said the exec, adding that if a promising project in need of further development was brought to him, it could potentially be taken forward by the development team at Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe.

Racing 240 Audience Up 24% On Tellytrack Numbers In First Independent Viewership Report

4RacingTV’s horseracing channel, Racing 240, recorded a unique reach of 462 221 viewers between the tracking period 18 April to 26 May 2022, as reported by Nielsen Sports, the global leader in research and data intelligence.

Jean Willers, Nielsen Sports South Africa Managing Director, said Racing 240’s viewership was 24% higher than its predecessor Tellytrack (372 445 viewers) over the same period in 2021.

“Since being added to the Broadcast Research Council’s (BRC) panel of channels, we are now able to accurately analyse and report on independently verified audience numbers,” says Willers, who said Racing 240 had shown a strong performance in its first month of being tracked and independently verified.

 

Racing 240, which launched on DStv on 19 January 2022, has been attracting new viewers on a daily basis. The top performing broadcast to date was the “World Sports Betting Becoming Champions Winter Series” race day at Kenilworth Racecourse on 20 April 2022, including the WSB Maiden Plate, which attracted a unique audience of 66 025 viewers.

The initial TV viewer profile indicates that the horseracing viewer mirrors the demographic profile of all South Africans, with 51.9% male viewers and 48.1% female viewers of the channel.

The average age of Racing 240 viewers is 40 years old and the highest percentage of viewers came from KwaZulu Natal (25%), followed by the Western Cape (19%), and Gauteng and North West (12%) and Eastern Cape (10%).

 

“We are encouraged by Nielsen’s first report on Racing 240. We will continue to engage with the various industry stakeholders, our existing racing community and our targeted audiences to shape our content and channels. Measuring the impact of any change is key and we will continue working closely with Nielsen to regularly assess and report on this,” said Stephen Watson, Head of 4Racing.TV’.

Racing 240 will broadcast the showpiece Hollywoodbets Durban July on Saturday 2 July.

Roundups #69: Nigerian Bans New Kiddies Animation Movie Lightyear, Game Of Thrones' Jon Show TV Series Has Been Greenlit And Snowpiercer Cancelled After 4 Seasons

Nigeria is banning more content

According to multiple media outlets, countries in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and a handful of Asian countries banned the film over the seconds-long scene featuring two lesbian characters.

While Nigeria's National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) is yet to comment on the film's conspicuous absence from the big screens, Disney's official West African film distribution partners FilmOne Entertainment announced on Friday, that the film will screen in Ghana.

Since its release, the 'Toy Story' prequel has become a stage for major controversial LGBTQ+ takes. It's been over a decade-long debate with a majority of Disney's critics objecting to the studio's move to introduce inclusive content.

 

 

In 2006, executives at Disney asked that the same-sex scene be yanked off the G-rated (appropriate for all age groups) film. Disney CEO Bob Chapek reacted by ordering that the scene be put back.

Another Games Of Thrones spinoff is underway

As HBO is preparing to launch of a Game of Thrones prequel series, the network also is exploring a potential sequel centered around one of the original series’ most recognizable characters, Kit Harington’s Jon Snow, Deadline has confirmed. The project is still in exploratory stages, sources said.

If the series come to fruition, it would chronicle the post-Westeros story of Jon Snow, aka Aegon Targayen, with Harington expected to reprise his role.

The project, first reported by THR, would mark the first spinoff from and first sequel to the mega hit fantasy drama, which ran on HBO for eight seasons. Over the past several years, HBO has been focused on prequels to Game of Thrones. One, House of the Dragon, is set to premiere this summer with several others, including Dunk and Egg, and The Sea Snake, in development. The shift in strategy also coincides with the recent WarnerMedia-Discovery merger, which brought in a new leadership over HBO and the rest of the WarnerMedia divisions.

 

 

TNT loses out on another series

Fans of the post-apocalyptic series will be disappointed with the announcement that following the filming of Season 4, which is currently underway, the dystopian thriller Snowpiercer will not be returning with more episodes, according to Deadline. The series centers on a group of the last humans on Earth seven years after an apocalyptic event that causes the world to freeze over. The last remaining humans stay alive in a giant moving train that never stops.

Snowpiercer's cancellation definitely comes as a surprise, especially after the major events of the Season 3 finale seemingly promised that the storyline was heading to bold new territory in the coming seasons. The cancellation of the series follows the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia, TNT's parent company, which will completely restructure the business models of Warner Bros. and will likely lead to the cancellation of other projects in the near future. Alongside Snowpiercer, TNT's Animal Kingdom.

 

After years of development hell, the first season of the series premiered on TNT in 2020 and continued for three more seasons until its recent cancellation. The first three seasons of the show so far have received a moderately positive response from critics with some praising it for its ambition and style while also saying it does not live up to the subversiveness of the film.