Warner Bros. Discovery Considering Running HBO, HBO Max Reruns on TNT, TBS As Low-Cost Programming Option

Warner Bros. Discovery is clearly looking under every stone to try and shake loose a few more dollars to eat into the $3 billion hole that CEO David Zaslav is trying to fill in, and the company is turning to its primary streaming service HBO Max for as much assistance as possible. The company’s latest tactic? Airing streaming and previously premium content on its linear cable channels to attract viewers to as many of its platforms as possible.

According to a new report from Business Insider, Zaslav sees cable channels TNT and TBS as important parts of his strategy to revolutionize WBD’s platforms. The cable channels draw a large audience thanks to their live sports programming, particularly the NBA. If the networks can keep those audiences watching non-sports content, that can help both the linear and streaming brands. So, why not have those networks put some of HBO’s most popular content in front of their eyes?

Second-run programming like “The Sopranos,” “The Flight Attendant,” “Succession,” and other HBO and HBO Max titles could soon become a permanent part of TNT and TBS’s programming schedule. The latter channel has already begun experimenting with one-off presentations called “Front Row on TBS,” which saw the first season of “The Flight Attendant” air ahead of Season 2’s premiere on HBO Max and Season 1 of “Titans” air on cable before the third season began.

This new plan would essentially see — around the valuable sports programming, of course — the Turner networks become a repository of reruns from HBO’s library of premium cable and streaming originals. WBD hopes that this will not only draw more attention to the cablers, but also encourage viewers to sign up for the streamer so that they can watch their favorite HBO programs on demand. While the corporate synergy makes sense, especially as a cheap way to fill cable air time, one unnamed former Warner executive is skeptical of the company essentially going backward when it comes to running the cable channels.

“Samantha Bee is gone, and all of the original programming. It’s reverting back to the old model of 20 years ago and becoming a network that is all reruns,” the former executive said of TBS. “At some point [WBD execs] have to make a decision with all the cable networks: Can they sustain all of them or do they consolidate?”

Warner’s hope for sustaining those channels is the live sports content they offer. TNT’s deal with the NBA runs through the 2024-25 season, and WBD definitely wants to renew that contract. TNT also airs NHL games, and TBS gets some MLB games, while both channels air the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. According to Insider, there is also discussion of making one of the channels a sports-focused network, combining all of WBD’s cable sports rights in one place and supplementing with other sports-themed programming.

While that would be a bigger swing for the company, the movement of HBO shows from being exclusively available via streaming to airing on linear cable channels is a bit of a trend-buster for WBD. More and more networks are choosing to do just the opposite; moving high-profile shows exclusively to streaming in hopes of boosting the profile of their respective streaming services.

That’s what Disney did when it moved “Dancing With The Stars” to Disney+ exclusively. Peacock is doing the same with the long-running soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” But those companies are also increasing their streaming budgets, while WBD is in the midst of a massive cutback.

“Our goal is to compete with the leading streaming services, not to win the spending war,” Zaslav said in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call last year.

Leaning on established outlets like TNT and TBS as platforms for second-run premium programming may indeed help WBD, but it’s another in a long line of signs that the bottom line is much more important to the company than the customer’s experience.

New Series Alert: Psychological Thriller The Sisterhood Coming Soon To eExtra

Kuiertyd Premium is about to expand its offering (maybe) as eExtra South Africa's free-to-air entertainment channel home to various telenovelas and dubbed the kykNET of the Openview platform will be welcoming a new psychological thriller titled The Sisterhood (Sevgili Geçmis).

Three sisters who grew up unaware of each other receive a mysterious letter one day and meet at the wedding of one of them. But on the wedding night they will find themselves in an unexpected situation. After that night, they cannot leave the beautiful town of the Aegean and are forced to live together. This imperative condition gradually leaves its place to the adventure of discovering brotherhood, friendship and solidarity.

The series stars Ece Uslu, Cahide Esen Karalar, Emre Kinay, Cemal Karalar, Sevda Erginci, Ipek Gencer, Seçkin Özdemir, Sinan Malik, Melis Sezen and Deren Kutlu.

Eccho Rights is currently the international distributor of The Sisterhood. It is unknown whether this series is part of the Kuiertyd trio as the channel even eVOD had been spotted with Turkish shows which aren't dubbed in Afrikaans.

But seeing as it is replacing Saturday Night movies which were exclusive to Afrikaans movies it makes more sense to have it form part of the Kuiertyd tile. The reasons for the phasing out of Afrikaans movies is unknown but my guess they're treating it as a pop-up of reserving it for eMovies.

The Sisterhood airs Saturdays at 20:00 which comes almost 24 hours before Kruispad which is at 18:30. Other shows set to launch on eExtra include Verdeelde Liefde and Dis Complicated with eVOD being Soete Wraak.

New Series Alert: Soete Wraak Coming Soon To eVOD

eVOD, a South African streaming service owned by eMedia Investments who manage several independent linear channels in the market ranging from e.tv, eExtra, eReality and eXposed will be adding a brand new Turkish romcom to the lineup titled Soete Wraak (Tatlı İntikam).

Soete Wraak follows the story of two people who were together in college. Sinan has fallen in love with Pelin but he rejected his feelings and insulted her in front of all. They two meet each other again after many years and Pelin asks Sinan for help to change her fate and the situation brings them together. Pelin and Sinan both are in love, but faces many consequences.

Leyla Lydia Tuğutlu and Furkan Andıç take on the leading roles with the assistances of other actors such as İlker Kızmaz, Zeyno Günenç, Kerem Atabeyoğlu, Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu and Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu.

Soete Wraak will be the third Afrikaans dubbed Turkish drama to be based on an Asian drama to launch on eMedia's stable with the romcom As Die Skoen Pas currently seen on e.tv weekday mornings being the first and medical drama Dokter Ali on eExtra coming in second.

The first 7 episodes of Soete Wraak begins streaming from 1st September on eVOD with one of the streamer's content Verdeelde Liefde making its linear debut on eExtra as a replacement to Dokter Ali later in the month.

Eight All Elite Wrestling Wonders To Wrap Up Women’s Month

TNT Africa wraps up Women’s Month in style with All Elite Wrestling’s explosive roster of female talent on the weekly AEW: Dynamite and AEW: Rampage shows. AEW rings in the explosive power of women in wrestling, and these contenders have a bold commitment to inspiring girls and women globally through the world of wrestling.

Exceptional athletes such as Thunder Rosa, Jade Cargill, Dr. Britt Baker, Nyla Rose, Kris Statlander, Tay Conti, Red Velvet, Toni Storm, and many more have been empowering women both inside and outside the ‘squared circle’ since the launch of AEW in 2019.  Here are the stories of some of these inspiring competitors:

Thunder Rosa is the current AEW Women’s World Champion, having defeated Dr. Britt Baker in March 2022 in an epic women’s Steel Cage Match.  Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Thunder Rosa wrestled around the world before signing with AEW in 2020.  Since joining AEW, she has thrilled audiences with her unique in-ring presence and artistry.

Jade Cargill erupted on the professional wrestling scene in early 2020, making an iconic in-ring debut alongside NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal in a mixed tag team match.  Since then, she’s become the inaugural AEW TBS Champion and remains undefeated with a 36-0 record.  An all-around athlete, Jade played Division 1 basketball at Jacksonville University.  She holds multiple degrees, including a master’s in child psychology, and is the first-ever Black woman on the cover of a wrestling video game – AEW: Fight Forever.

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. is the only fully licensed and practising dentist in the professional wrestling industry.  She made her in-ring debut in 2015 while enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine. She continued to study dentistry while honing her craft in the ring.  The first woman signed to AEW when the company debuted, Britt is a former AEW Women’s World Champion, a title she held for 290 days.

Nyla Rose is a true student of everything professional wrestling, possessing a unique blend of speed, agility, power and precision.  Nicknamed the “Native Beast,” Nyla is a proud Native American of Oneida heritage.  When Nyla officially signed with AEW in February 2019, she became the first out transgender woman to sign a full-time contract with a top U.S.-based wrestling company.  In 2020, she captured the AEW Women’s World Championship to become the first transgender woman to win the world championship title of a major U.S. wrestling promotion.

Kris Statlander found her love of professional wrestling after training to become a stunt woman.  Since graduating from a top wrestling academy, Kris has been featured on multiple Top 100 and Top 10 female wrestler lists.  Kris, who made her AEW debut in 2019, has established herself as a leading force in the women’s division. 

Tay Conti brings a unique set of skills to the AEW roster with her strong background in martial arts – she even competed in the Olympic trials for the 2016 Summer Games in her native country, Brazil.  Since signing with AEW in 2020, she’s made a tremendous impact, blending her expertise in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu with traditional wrestling moves.  Recently married to AEW star Sammy Guevara, Tay Conti is a name to watch.

Red Velvet signed with AEW in 2020 and made an immediate impression with several high-profile matches.  She has since aligned herself with “The Baddies” alongside Jade Cargill, Kiera Hogan and Stokely Hathaway.  Red Velvet is also the daughter of the Colombian World Flyweight boxing champion Prudencio Cardona.

Toni Storm found her passion for professional wrestling at the age of 10 and began training at her local gym in Australia. She later moved to Liverpool, UK, to hone her skills further.  She soon started wrestling around the world, making a name for herself and capturing titles.  She made her AEW debut on March 30, 2022, in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament with a first-round victory.  She followed that up with a run at the AEW Women’s World Championship and continues to put the women’s roster on notice. 

“A month such as Women's Month provides TNT Africa with an opportunity to celebrate AEW’s resilient and strong women,” said Guillermo Farré, Head of the Warner Bros. Discovery General Entertainment channels across France, Iberia and Africa.  “We are committed to showcasing and promoting women in professional wrestling and across all sporting arenas.”

Catch these AEW HERoes in new episodes of AEW: Dynamite and AEW: Rampage on TNT Africa (DStv Channel 137) every Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 CAT.

Roundups #89: Megan Thee Stallion Joins The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Selena Gomez Enters Negotiations For Working Girl Reboot, Scrapped HBO Max Series Drawing Interest Of Various Streamers

Megan Thee Stallion joins the cast of She-Hulk

Megan Thee Stallion is following up her role on Starz’s P-Valley with a cameo appearance in Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.

In an upcoming episode, she becomes involved in a legal case that is being handled by attorney Augustus “Pug” Pugliese, played by Josh Segarra. Segarra teased what’s ahead while chatting with Deadline on the red carpet of the show’s premiere.

“A gentleman is being catfished by somebody that lives in another universe, let’s say. Another world,” Segarra said before confirming Deadline’s teasing response that the catfisher is pretending to be a certain recording artist.

Selena Gomez might be joining another reboot

Selena Gomez and 20th Century Studios are partnering for a reboot of Working Girl.

Gomez is in talks to produce a remake of the 1988 comedy that starred Melanie Griffith as a Long Island woman who secretly takes over her boss’ job while she recovers from a broken leg. Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver also starred in the original film, which was directed by Mike Nichols and was a massive success, earning Oscar nominations and an impressive $100 million box office haul.

It is unclear if Gomez would also star in the project, which is eyeing a release on Hulu.

Batman is gaining traction

While Bruce Timm, Matt Reeves, and J.J. Abrams' Batman: Caped Crusader won't be coming to HBO Max, the animated series is reportedly very much alive and drawing interest from Apple, Hulu, Netflix, and more.

As reported by THR, Batman: Caped Crusader was one of six animated titled that was pulled from HBO Max's upcoming slate and will no longer be produced by the company. It was stated that these shows were not necessarily canceled, but instead would be shopped to other studios.

According to THR's sources, "it is believed that the various Warners divisions making the show and movies will make more money on the titles by selling them to other outlets than having them on Warners’ own streamer."