e.tv Updates: Annika Larsen Is Getting Her Own Talk Show, Corn And Peg Rip-off Series Coming Soon To The Craze Block And A Rebroadcast Of The Family Drama Wrede Stad Surfaces On Weekday Mornings

Annika Larsen is getting a late night talk show

e.tv is adding a new late-night interview talk show, with reporter and TV news anchor Annika Larsen who will debut My Guest Tonight with Annika Larsen on Tuesday 11 October at 22:00 on the red letter channel.

In the new half-hour interview show the veteran journalist will "take an intimate behind-the-scenes look at her interviewees, exploring their public and private personas" e.tv says about the new programme, noting that "she will ask the questions you always wanted answered".

Annika Larsen who also worked at Eyewitness News and M-Net's Carte Blanche, has been a journalist for 22 years and has reported for international radio and television news programs on the BBC, Associated Press and ITN Television News.

Powerbirds sets its co-ordinates on Craze

Earlier in the year, eMedia Investments picked up rights to NBCUniversal original Powerbirds for their eToonz channel which happens to be one of the last originals which were produced for Universal Kids alongside other already seen series like Where's Waldo.

After several months, e.tv has scheduled a rebroadcast to the preschool series on Thursday at 15:45 from 20 October.

Polly and Ace are 2 birds who are owned by Max, a superhero-loving 6 year old boy, but when he leaves for school, they become Powerbirds, superhero birds who use their numerous powers to stop animal villains from ruining the neighborhood.

Wrede Stad makes a comeback on e.tv

Last year, eMedia Investments acquired broadcasting rights to the family drama, Wrede Stad (Zalim Istanbul) for their eExtra channel which concluded earlier in the year. Now consumers without the channel can witness the drama unfold from 20 October at 8:30.

Wrede Stad follows the life of Seher and his children. When Seher and Agah make an encounter, the lives of their families become complicated as tension and scandal arises between the two families. The series is headed by Fikret Kuşkan and Deniz Uğur.

Ay Yapım is the producer of the show and has worked on several other projects for the channel including Stiletto Vendetta, Elif, Kuzgun (Voelvry), Impak and several others.

 

BBC Brit Vs. BBC UKTV: Recommendations And Major Improvements

Last month, BBC Studios and eMedia Investments unveiled a new free-to-air channel BBC UKTV which comes out of an existing brand which was later adapted to South Africa in order for more consumers to have access to the bouquet of content currently seen on DStv.

BBC UKTV is set to be a mashup of most other channels carried exclusively on DStv as it features reality shows like Top Gear and The Great British Cook Off, drama series like Doctor and Casualty and even a dedicated kids block so what's not to love about the channel.

While others may view it's seperate counterparts as repetitive but this one on the other hand comes with limitations as it means viewers would have to wait a while longer to view certain content. Of course, if there's one thing I guarantee makes it a winner is the quantity on the channel.

BBC UKTV had me thinking about the current linear offering on the DStv platform. As it is BBC Lifestyle, BBC Earth, CBeebies and BBC World News have been met with a lot of praise from families and kids alike but if there's one thing a lot of consumers would have mixed feelings for its BBC Brit.

BBC Brit has been active since 2015 following the termination of BBC Entertainment and offered several shows like The Graham Norton Show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Wipeout and Top Gear. Following the termination of BBC First, it's the exclusive home to dramas such as EastEnders and Downtown Abbey.

Point being made, BBC Brit was viewed more as a waste to DStv customers before inheriting the BBC First offering and even after welcoming that content viewer's interpretation of the channel hasn't seen much improvement and I mean the reasons are very much justified.

We all know certain channels have that mascot that takes most of the spotlight with BBC Brit it has to be Wipeout and Top Gear and I know these are popular franchises but is it really the version that got anyone excited.

And on to the drama slate, BBC First was able to offer at least 6 hours of entertainment with BBC Brit it's a mere two hours with 1 show getting more of the attention but anyone whose viewing the channel isn't a fan on how the channel chooses to rollout most of their content which is where I'm involving BBC UKTV.

Honestly, I feel it's high time that BBC Studios looks into perhaps merging or making BBC Brit adapt a similar form as it is not a lot of BBC Lifestyle and Earth is available on the channel just selected content unlike the one viewers will be getting from BBC UKTV.

Roundups 101: Disney Animation Television Unveils Upcoming Series Kiff, First Look At HBO Max Upcoming Series Velma And Chris Pratt Is Super Mario In Explosive Sneak Peek

Kiff currently in production, slated for 2023

Kimiko Glenn (“Orange Is the New Black”) and H. Michael Croner (“Craig of the Creek”) have been cast as voice-over co-stars in Disney Branded Television’s upcoming animated series “Kiff,” which will premiere in 2023 on the Disney Channel.

“Set in a world where animals and magical oddballs tackle day-to-day life alongside one another, the series follows Kiff and Barry as they navigate school, relationships and their often eccentric community,” according to the show’s longline. Music will also play a role in the series, with a new original song in every episode.

Besides Heavens and Smal, the show’s creative team includes co-producer and story editor Kent Osborne (“Phineas and Ferb” “Adventure Time”), who will serve as co-producer and story editor, and Winnie Chaffee (“Captain Planet and the Planeteers”) as producer. “Kiff” is produced by Titmouse in association with Disney Channel.

Velma is getting an origin story

There's been a lot of chat about Scooby Doo's Velma Dinkley lately, largely because the release of Amazon Prime's Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!(opens in a new tab) revealed that the character is gay. Fans rejoiced, and so did Google.

So there's more than enough intrigue to fuel HBO Max's Velma, an entirely separate work that intends to play out as an origin story for Velma and the rest of the gang. The adult animated series will not feature the beloved, mystery-loving dog Scooby.

The titular character is voiced by Mindy Kaling, whose sass and signature charm do wonders for the role, at least from what the teaser suggests. Kaling co-created he series alongside Charlie Grandy.

Nintendo is launching another feature film

Start gearing up your (animated) engines, because another film based on Nintendo’s Super Mario video game franchise is coming out soon. The movie, which is officially titled The Super Mario Bros. Movie, is an animated project with a voice cast made up of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Plans for the next Mario film started way back in 2016, but production didn’t officially kick off until 2020. This is the third feature film adaption of the video game franchise. The first was the 1986 anime film, Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! That was followed by the 1993 live-action film Super Mario Bros., which starred Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, and Samantha Mathis.

The Super Mario film will be released in theaters on April 7, 2023 in the United States. The movie was previously scheduled to come out December 21, 2022, but it was delayed by a few months.

 

Update: Da Vinci Kids To Remain Aboard The DStv And GOtv Platform

During the week, it was reported that MultiChoice was planning to remove Da Vinci Kids after placing a channel terminaton banner on all their platforms on top of providing a detailed statement with the channel that was initially slated to end on 15 October.

Now that won't be the case as MultiChoice confirmed to sources that after seeing feedback from several customers that they opted to keep the channel onboard meaning consumers will be able to view Operation Ouch and Xploration DIY SCI.

Moonbug Kids is still slated to launch on their platforms in the coming weeks as MultiChoice has shared several adverts regarding the brand. But questions amount to the positioning of the channel.

We all know now that Da Vinci Kids will stay put and Moonbug Kids won't be taking anyone's spotlight but how are we not sure that MultiChoice or any of their partners don't have another channel up their sleeve that is set to leave the platform.

As seen these past months, Paramount has further distanced themselves from Nicktoons only referencing them on the basis of NickMusic. Their partners, AMC International has been reviewing their linear offering which could spell trouble for consumers in Africa mostly for CBS Justice.

 

NBCUniversal International To Close E! In Germany, Austria And Switzerland By The End Of 2022

During the week, Broadband TV shared the news that NBCUniversal will be axing their female skewed celebrity based E! channel by the end of 2022 for strategic purposes.

“For strategic reasons, the channel E! Entertainment will be discontinued at the end of the year,” a Sky Deutschland spokesman confirmed to Broadband TV News. “We are fully concentrating on our very successful pay-TV channel brands 13th Street, SYFY and Universal TV, providing our customers with an exciting and broad entertainment portfolio,” said the Sky spokesman.

Both NBC Universal and Sky Group are part of US media company Comcast.

Of course this entail doesn't state what fate awaits the rest of NBCUniversal's linear offering globally or in this case E! Entertainment as traditional TV is becoming a waste for OTT platforms like Disney+ and Netflix.

NBCUniversal will be rolling out a new streaming service Universal+ in South Africa from October 14th exclusively on MultiChoice's Explora Ultra supplying content already viewed on various channels including Telemundo, Universal TV and DreamWorks Channel.