More Channel Changes Coming Soon To MultiChoice's DStv

According to industry sources, MultiChoice’s DStv has implemented several changes to its channel line-up for 2022 and will be making announcements around the new channels “in due course”.

The pay-TV operator regularly adds and drops channels based on their performance and commercial negotiations with channel providers.

According to BMA sources, the broadcaster does not, at present, have abundant space for channels on its platform, as the satellites it uses have a limited amount of available spectrum for carrying the channels to subscribers.

As a result, the broadcaster must assess which channels attract viewers and are worth paying for to justify their availability on a DStv package.

 

It is worth noting that MultiChoice’s decoders can measure how many people watch specific programmes or channels at any given moment, gauging the appeal of certain content.

At the beginning of 2022, DStv had 156 channels on offer on its top-end Premium package. However, on 2 March 2022, the RT (Russia Today) channel stopped airing. This was due in the main, to the state-controlled Russian television news channel being pulled by its previous upstream provider following claims that the channel carried propaganda supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The pat-TV operator added the Dreamworks and KIX channels later in March 2022, which indicated a net gain of 1 channel. However, the operator has since dropped six channels and announced plans to shut down another in mid-July.

The cancelled channels included Walt Disney-owned Lifetime, community Islamic channel iTV, and four E-tv channels.

 

Overall, the pay-TV operator has only managed to add two channels while it has lost seven in 2022.

Once the FliekNET channel is closed on 15 July, the dropped channels will increase to eight.

In a statement, the pay-TV operator said it constantly reviewed its channel offering to ensure it delivered the best local and international content.

“MultiChoice continue to look for fresh content that speaks to our viewers. This commitment to delivering only the best content indicates that some channels will be dropped to make room for fresh, more popular channels,” the statement read.

Credit: BMA

‘Iyanu: Child of Wonder’ Animated Series Greenlit At HBO Max And Cartoon Network

HBO Max and Cartoon Network announced a 2D animated adaptation of “ Iyanu: Child of Wonder ,” a Dark Horse Comics/YouNeek Studios graphic novel series heavily influenced by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. The project will be financed and overseen by Black-owned animation studio Lion Forge Animation.

“Iyanu: Child of Wonder” is a superhero tale set in the magical kingdom of Yorubaland, which draws from Nigerian culture, music and mythology. The series follows Iyanu, a teenage orphan who spends her days studying Yoruba history and ancient arts but yearns for a normal life. One day, responding to danger, she unknowingly triggers her divine powers, the likes of which have not been seen since the Age of Wonders. With newly discovered superpowers, Iyanu joins forces with two other teenagers as they embark on a remarkable journey to discover the truth about the evil lurking in her homeland. Throughout her adventure, she’ll uncover the truth about her past, her parents, and her ultimate destiny to save the world.

 

The series is created by Roye Okupe, who will also write and direct multiple episodes. Lion Forge head of production Saxton Moore serves as supervising director. The writers room is led by Brandon Easton. Executive producers include Okupe, Doug Schwalbe, Carl Reed, Lion Forge’s David Steward II and Matt Heath, Impact X Capital’s Erica Dupuis and Forefront Media Group’s Ryan Haidarian.

The greenlight of “Iyanu: Child of Wonder” is notable as it continues signaling the emergence of Africa as a player in global streaming. Much of this growth begins in the kids and family space — for example, Lupita Nyong’o became an equity partner in Nairobi, Kenya-based production company Kukua in 2021 and stars in its YouTube Originals animated series "Super Sema.” African titles made for older audiences are also beginning to cross over, such as Netflix’s South African drama “Blood & Water,” which debuted in 2020 and made Netflix’s Top 10 list in the U.S. Netflix also recently released “Blood Sisters,” the streamer’s first original series from Nigeria.

“‘Iyanu: Child of Wonder’ has it all – vast world-building, authentic characters, a strong, African female hero at the center, and a first-class team of stellar creators and producers,” said ​​Amy Friedman, head of kids and family programming at Warner Bros. “While created for kids, the series will resonate with anyone looking for an adventure filled with surprise, magic, lore and legend. We feel so lucky to be the home of ‘Iyanu’ and partnering with this team.”

 

“The authenticity of the ‘Iyanu’ story means everything to us and aligns perfectly with our mission to create and deliver inclusive content to global audiences,” said Steward, founder of Lion Forge. “A powerful means of accomplishing and sustaining this is through franchise building, and the depth and layers of the Iyanu world allow us to explore and create a beautiful universe on-screen alongside tremendous partners.”

“When I set out to create ‘Iyanu’ for a global audience, I wanted to develop a world that combined everything I love about the fantasy genre with the majesty and awe that is ancient West Africa,” said Roye Okupe. “On top of that, working with Godwin Akpan, who illustrated the books, as our art director and collaborating with a thoughtful studio like Lion Forge Animation that prioritizes authenticity and diversity, is beyond belief.”

What If CBS Reality Was Added Onto DStv Easyview Perhaps As A Replacement To Real Time?

DStv Easyview is one of the mild mannered or least spoken about packages on MultiChoice's stable not only for how affordable it is to a market that caters to SABC and e.tv but also the offering in general.

There's not much to watch unless you open yourself up to endless possibilities for those who do use this platform are either watching the best of AEW which include Dynamite, Rampage and several PPVs on TNT or yesteryears batch of Valerie's Home Cooking on Discovery's Real Time.

Of course for those who've been around this package the longest know how it's like when adding or losing a family member.

 

You get Blackbelt, KidsCo, AMC and MagicWorld only for them to be deprived either from the supplier or distributor and when seeking alternatives they aren't always available like on the higher figures which is what led this package to reserve the name Easyview.

Easyview is a gamble sometimes the price of 3 channels is the value of 1 channel and other times when a channel e.g. TV Mall is scrapped the value is close to 0.

Which brings the topic of today, CBS Reality.

CBS Reality is a general entertainment channel from Paramount and AMC International that garnered attraction on its portfolio for its selection of factual and reality programs like Hardcore Pawn, Operation Repo, Dogs Behaving Very Badly and Confessions.

 

One of the things that kind of cloud the channel's judgement is shows like Judge Judy and Cheaters as both recycle the same batch of episodes with come in the form of a marathon similar to HGTV weekday offering.

Another setback on the channel includes the faulty connection as it's sometimes met with signal interruptions.

An ideal channel for Easyview right???

 

Easyview can get more channels and that's a fact the issue relies on MultiChoice as they haven't hike the fees for nearly a decade as the consumer base on the package followed when attempting to hike it several years back.

Channels come and go on that package as stated not all of them are replaced as stated and a channel like CBS Reality would put a damper on MultiChoice's money bin unless it came at the expense of another channel, Real Time.

The value of these channels are more or less and the variety comes in opposite angles. Real Time can introduce you to a variety of flavours and other explorations while CBS Reality functions more like a cinema with endless storytelling.

SpongeBob Learns How To Speaks Zulu With Nicktoons

Nickelodeon is about to make history again as they become the first international brand for children in South Africa as SpongeBob SquarePants has just learnt another language, Zulu.

SpongeBob SquarePants follows the adventures of a yellow sea sponge of the same name who enjoys being a cook at Krusty Krab, lives in the Pacific Ocean. He embarks on various adventures with his friends at Bikini Bottom.

 

Since its inception in 1999, the series has become a top ranked show for children accumulating every Nickelodeon KCA it could grab its hands on. It also accumulated several video games, feature films and shortly after creator Stephen Hillenberg's passing spinoffs.

You can kind of get why SpongeBob would be their first pick. Despite being the eldest in their stable, it has managed to live longer and remain relevant than most shows on the channel that live on through memes used on The Rise And Fall Of Nickelodeon (TRAFON)

 

Aside from SpongeBob, Paramount also supplies an Ethiopian dubbed Nick Jr. alongside a Portuguese dubbed Nickelodeon channel for viewers in some parts of Africa with its focus within South Africa continuously expanding following the launch of NickMusic last year.

Nicktoons will telecast the first Zulu episode to SpongeBob SquarePants from the 14th of July at 17:30.

Journey Into The Unknown With CBS Reality And CBS Justice Africa - August 2022 Highlights

CBS Reality:

WOMEN ON THE FORCE
Season 1 & 2
Channel Premiere
Weekdays at 07:30,12:45, 21:35, from 1st to 22nd August.
With unprecedented access to West (Season 1) and North (S2) Yorkshire Police, from the Chief Constable to emergency response officers on the frontline, this landmark series reveals the realities of policing in Britain today and the everyday pressures and challenges which women officers at every level have to confront.
Each episode charts the unfolding stories of three women across a week long shift for the force. With frontline policing tougher than ever, every shift gives an insight into the demands the job can place on their lives – both while on duty and at home.
Over the past 20 years frontline policing in Britain has been transformed and the percentage of women on the force has almost doubled. But the dangers these officers face and the impact the job has on their private lives have also increased.

MY EXTREME OCD LIFE
2x60min
Channel Premiere
Saturday, August 20th and Sunday, August 21st, at 07:05 and 20:40.
In this powerful documentary mini-series we follow the lives of 8 young people as they attempt to live a normal life in the face of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. These extraordinary first-hand accounts reveal young people whose daily lives are consumed by routine and ritual. They fight an internal and often secret war with frightening intrusive thoughts, which compel them to complete endless rituals- convincing them that terrible things will happen if they don’t. We meet them as they take those first steps into adulthood battling to conquer their OCD demons.

 

EATING OURSELVES TO DEATH
1x60min
Channel Premiere
Saturday, August 27th at 07:05 and 20:40.
The obesity epidemic is becoming a crisis. It currently kills more people than road traffic accidents, terrorist attacks and Alzheimer’s disease combined.
And for Darren who is super morbidly obese his weight is now a matter of life and death. His fast food lifestyle has led to serious heart complications and the problem is, surgeons fear his huge weight will mean he won’t survive surgery. We follow Darren on his journey to lose weight as the clock is ticking.
Mum of two Alice now tipping the scales at 35 stone (over 220kg) is worried that she may not live to see her children grow up. But unable to change her ways, will an ultimatum from husband Mark give her the jolt she needs to turn her life around?
In Falkirk, Alex’s love life has been destroyed by his food addiction. Now a virtual recluse, he needs a cocktail of drugs every day just to keep himself alive. Ex-boyfriend Ben is worried that Alex is eating himself to death, can he step in in time to break his downward spiral?

MY OBESE LIFE
1x60min
Channel Premiere
Sunday, 28th August at 07:05 and 20:40.

In this film we follow three extraordinary young women who have all battled with their weight. As they fight perceptions, and their demons head on, we hear how the simplest things derailed their body image. They are learning to love their bodies and to overcome what others think. Nearly 3 million 16- 24 year olds and around half of all women of childbearing age tip the scales beyond their recommended BMI weight. We meet 20 year old Shannon, she is a size 22 and celebrates her curves by selling lingerie products to the larger ladies; we also hear from 24 year old Naomi, who has been a secret eater for most of her life and is desperate to stabilise her weight; and we join 24 year old Jess, who comfort eats to cope with stress, as she tries to shed some pounds.

 

CBS Justice:

KILLER SIBLINGS
Season 2.
Channel premiere.
Weeknights at 19:00 from 15th until 29th August.
"Killer Siblings" delves into the disturbing true stories of some of the deadliest
siblings of all time. Featuring exclusive interviews and firsthand accounts, the
series explores the minds, upbringings and motivations of family members
who were driven to kill. Each hour-long episode profiles a different set of
siblings and the brutal crimes they committed, offering insight into their
murderous bond and what led them down a path to murder.

THE REAL PRIME SUSPECT
Season 1 & 2.
ORIGINAL TRUE CRIME SERIES
CBS Justice celebrates Jackie Malton, host of “The Real Prime Suspect”
On weeknights at 20:00, from Monday August 2nd until August 22nd.
Jackie Malton is a former Scotland Yard detective and an inspiration for the character of DCI Jane Tennison, portrayed by Helen Mirren in the award winning drama series “Prime Suspect”.
Jackie joined the force in 1970 and spent most of her service in the Criminal Investigation Department, probing all aspects of crime including armed robberies, rape, murder, fraud, arson, and blackmail. She served on The Flying Squad as the only female amongst forty men at one point, and is a trained hostage negotiator.
A recovering alcoholic, Jackie has an MSc in Addiction Psychology. For the last thirteen years, she has voluntarily facilitated weekly addiction groups in a male prison, plus 1-1 therapy work. Jackie also continues to support the men in the community and recovery process after their release.
In “The Real Prime Suspect”, Malton gets access to case files and revisits investigations into infamous crimes with the police, detectives, and other professionals who experienced them first hand.