Prediction: Glow TV Stops Airing On The Openview Platform, To Be Replaced By eBolly

Prediction: A statement of what you think will happen in the future.

Glow TV is a South African based entertainment channel owned by Nismedia that is home to a variety of content that promotes the Indian community including a range of series, movies and variety shows.

Over the years, the likes of Zee World and Zee One from Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Star Life from Disney Star have been edging out Glow TV resulting in them losing out on content like Forbidden Love and also funneling primetime with rebroadcasts.

It could have been what resulted in the brand's demise on the DStv platform with the brand clinging onto its remaining audiences on both Openview and StarSat.

Everyday Novelas:
- The Rebel Princess coming soon to eExtra
- Carmen And Razia Sultan coming soon to Zee One and Zee World
- Laxmi and more content awaiting launch on Star Life
- Daai Crazy Somer coming soon to e.tv
- The history of Star Life
- Glow TV could be on the chopping block

Sources close to Glow TV had mentioned most of the brand's audience reside on the Openview platform meaning that they don't have much impact on StarSat with the pay platform being viewed as less of an alternative and more of a trainwreck.

With the channel remaining onboard for a few more months one has to wonder what awaits for them in the years to come. But if I had to view it's future on Openview it seems very dark from the looks of it.

Nismedia, the owners of the channel had to go through court to get Glow TV reinstated I mean would eMedia have realised their error without involving the legal system. Didn't MultiChoice replace the channel with Star Life a few years prior to when Zee One did the same on Openview.

Openview:
- BBC Studios to launch new channel on the Openview platform
- Openview to come with monthly fees by next year
- Could Openview be losing more channels in future?
- SABC 1 title card has been registered for customers
- MultiChoice attempting to replicate eExtra's Kuiertyd with kykNET
- eMovies and eMovies Extra receive their first competitors on DStv Easyview

eMedia Investments received plenty of backlash and if the channel weren't fortunate to remain a couple more months viewers would have probably adjusted to its absence as seen with MultiChoice.

eBella was added onto Openview and DStv ahead of the rollout of Star Life and honestly the idea of eMedia launching something similar to the defunct brand to make amends for the removal of Glow TV wouldn't be far fetched.

I mean Kuiertyd has a dedicated channel so why can't the bulk of Zee World content get a channel of its own as if eExtra and Zee One don't already exist. It's as if Nismedia's suggestion over Zee TV's dominance becomes more transparent as years pass by.

My idea is for this channel is that it takes a similar form to most eMedia channels. Resumes at a particular timeslot, leverage various content from eExtra on top of distributing their own lineup of content and hopefully reduce the amount of Zee TV from the other station.

Openview Plus:
- Reviewing major changes coming soon to the SABC
- The Game Of My Destiny a brand new Turkish drama unveiled by Global Agency
- The Rebel Princess coming soon to eExtra
- A look at former NBC soap, Passions
- Die Vertroueling coming soon to eExtra
- Barbie: It Takes Two and Thomas And Friends: All Engines Go! coming soon to eToonz

Trending Posts For The Week Dated Sunday 4 December

Trending Posts for the week on the site
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2. Reviewing Major Changes Coming Soon To The SABC?
3. New Series Alert: Laxmi And 4 Other Series Still Awaiting Launch On Star Life
4. What To Expect On DStv And Openview's New Addition, BBC UKTV?
5. Rumour: The Walt Disney Company To Extend The Reach Of Star Channel
6. Could Russia Today's Remains Finally Be On The Chopping Block On DStv?
7. New Series Alert: The Villain Of Valley View Coming Soon To Disney Channel
8. Review: The Concept Of Boomerang And Cartoonito
9. The Heartless Coming Soon To TLNovelas
10. Roundups #115: Tom And Jerry In New York Cancelled On Boomerang And HBO Max, Lord Of The Skies Returns For An Eighth Season On Telemundo USA And The Addams Family Spinoff Wednesday Is A Global Success On Netflix

Most browsed games for the week
1. Garfield 2: Royal Adventure
2. Legend Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
3. Sonic Advance 3
4. Ben 10: Break In And Bust Out
5. Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends: Cheese Phone's Home

"Max" Is Being Eyed As Potential Name To Merged Discovery+ And HBO Max Streaming Which Is Set To Rollout In Europe By 2025

Warner Bros. Discovery executives are close to formalizing a new name and platform for its soon-to-be-launched streaming service that will combine the preexisting HBO Max and Discovery+ services.

The merged platform’s expected name, “Max,” is being vetted by the company’s lawyers, according to people familiar with the matter.

Executives haven’t finalized a decision and the name could still be changed, but Max is the likely choice, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Some senior executives are still debating a final name, said two of the people. Internally, Warner Bros. Discovery has given the new service a code name of “BEAM” while a final name is being debated, said the people. Lawyers are vetting other names, as well.

YouTube Premium:
- VH1 is making a comeback to international shores through BET
- DStv Streama bundles Disney+
- The Walt Disney Company to expand the reach of Star Channel
- Acorn TV shutting down in South Africa
- TelkomOne rebrands into SABC+
- New Spider-Man series coming to MGM+ and Amazon Prime Video

The app itself will share similarities with Disney+’s platform, with Warner Bros. Discovery’s brands as individual tiles, the people said. HBO, Discovery, DC Comics and Warner Bros. will be among the landing hubs on the platform, the people added.

A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson said a name was still being discussed.

CNBC reported last year that WarnerMedia executives wanted a new name for the combined streaming service. While branding HBO Max with HBO crystalized the prestige image of the product, several executives felt the name may eventually dilute the HBO brand as consumers conflated it with everything on the streaming service.

Regular Nick:
- The Simpsons: A look at various spinoffs that never got greenlit
- Garbage Boy And Trash Can still in development on Cartoon Network
- Team Sayari coming soon to Disney Channel
- Boomerang being swapped for Cartoonito in these region
- Review: The concept of Cartoonito and Boomerang
- What to expect this December on Da Vinci Kids?

Chief Executive David Zaslav has cut back on HBO Max original series spending, which has helped reform HBO’s branding. Still, HBO has a limited audience that’s largely U.S. based, and the streaming service will offer much more than HBO — including reality TV from Discovery, news documentaries from CNN, movies from Warner Bros., kids programming, and possibly, eventually, live sports. Zaslav and his team see the value in making HBO a sub-brand within the larger streaming offering, said people familiar with their thinking.

Warner Bros. Discovery management pushed up the launch date for the combined service to spring 2023, the company announced in its most recent earnings call in November. Zaslav said during a earnings conference call that a team has been preparing for the launch of the combined offering, and also experimenting with changes “in large part to address some of the deficiencies of the existing platform.”

Zaslav noted recent changes already being rolled out on HBO Max that reflects that work, including the addition of Discovery content.

“These early green shoots bolster our strategic thesis that the two content offerings work well together and when combined, should drive greater engagement, lower churn and higher customer lifetime value,” Zaslav said on the call.

Warner Bros Discovery:
- Boomerang might be rebranding in more parts of Europe to Cartoonito
- Inside Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA kids content strategy
- Warner Bros. Discovery to launch new free-to-air channel in some parts of Europe by 2023
- The history of Fine Living
- Warner Bros. Discovery cancels several animated shows
- Sesame Workshop and Discovery Education launch new channel

The pricing of the combined streaming service is still being discussed, the people said.

HBO’s confusing branding
There has been debate at Warner Bros. Discovery about keeping HBO in the name of the new streaming service given its prestige. But removing it from the name will also end a run of HBO-branded streaming services that have confused consumers. HBO Go and HBO Now preceded HBO Max.

Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to reform through a series of changes and cost cuts. The company is contending with a heavy debt load, and, like the rest of the industry, it is figuring out how to make the streaming business profitable, rather than chasing subscribers while spending heavily on content. Zaslav told investors in November that the focus for the business, and its streaming strategy, would be reaching profitability, and not necessarily subscriber numbers. The company’s goal is to notch $1 billion in earnings in streaming by 2025.

“While we’ve got lots more work to do and some difficult decisions still ahead, we have total conviction in the opportunity before us,” Zaslav said.

New Series Alert: The Rebel Princess Coming Soon To eExtra

eExtra, a South African free-to-air entertainment channel operated by eMedia Investments which is home to various telenovelas from India, Turkey and Korea is set to introduce their first Chinese drama series later in the month titled The Rebel Princess (Shàngyáng Fù).

The story is set against the fictional Cheng Dynasty involving the imperial Ma family and the noble clans; Wang clan of Langya and Xie clan of Chen. The royal family is supported by both the Wang and Xie clans for generations which results in recurring clashes for power whilst disregarding the wellbeing of the common people.

Based on MeiYuZhe’s novel Di Wang Ye, the costume based drama stars Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Yiwei, Tony Yang, Kara Wai, and Angie Chiu.

Everyday Novelas:
- Carmen And Razia Sultan coming soon to Zee One and Zee World
- Laxmi and more content awaiting launch on Star Life
- Daai Crazy Somer coming soon to e.tv
- The history of Star Life
- Glow TV could be on the chopping block

The drama was filmed between February and November 2018. It began broadcasting on Changsha News Channel on 8 January 2021, and on Youku on January 9, 2021 with a total of 68 episodes each consisting of 45 minutes.

The drama was Zhang Ziyi's first foray into television dramas. Chinese netizens criticized Zhang, who was 38 years old during the production, was portraying a 16-year-old person at the beginning of the show.

According to sources, the series will be allocated in the 17:30 timeslot from 19 December where Bollywood series once served but are currently undergoing production break. The channel hasn't verified what is to become of their Bollywood lineup.

Other telenovelas set to debut on eMedia's portfolio include Daai Crazy Somer on e.tv and Die Vertroueling on eExtra.

eExtra Updates:
- Die Vertroueling coming soon to eExtra
- Charlize Theron faces backlash over the Afrikaans language
- eExtra alongside the 3 other channels to go dark on the DStv platform
- Vierspel Vuurspel getting a Romanian adaptation
- kykNET Vs. eExtra: MultiChoice purposed attempt at replacing Kuiertyd

Prediction: eToonz To Get An Additional Channel

A prediction is a statement of what you think will happen in future.

eToonz is South Africa's only free-to-air children's channel operated by eMedia Investments that is currently packaged on both Openview and DStv. It's also home to various animation and live-action shows such as Peppa Pig, Lego Ninjago, Barbie and Power Rangers.

As some could recall, there was a time where eToonz appeared more like DreamWorks in format as the schedule was filled with a lot of preschool friendly shows for some reason. At the time, I think there was more variety and it wasn't always e.tv scraps.

Regular Nick:
- Barbie: It Takes Two and Thomas And Friends: All Engines Go! coming soon to eToonz
- 35 facts you didn't know about these Dragonball instalments
- A list of scrapped spinoffs for The Simpsons
- Spider-Man live-action series has been greenlit
- Disney Junior greenlit two new animated series one of which is a spinoff to Sofia The First

When it was scraps we got some of their most decent shows like Little Lulu, Chucklewood Critters, Gormiti, Jackie Chan Adventures, The Magic School Bus and SpongeBob SquarePants.

But looking at the channel now I think that part of the channel slowly started to wither away. I mean eToonz caters better to older audiences and I mean way better than e.tv but like most kids brands today they kind of underwent some modern transformation.

Looking at the channel's lineup today, eToonz doesn't do a better job catering for preschoolers schedule wise kind of like e.tv. I mean you have shows like Fireman Sam, Postman Pat, Thomas And Friends and Peppa Pig broadcast in the daytime.

Insidus Games:
- Johnny Bravo: Big Babe Adventure
- Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy
- Donald Duck's Quest 2
- The Muppets! On With The Show
- James Bond Nightfire

Sure this may be a decent timeslot for preschoolers but not for those who would have to wake up at 6am and get dressed and ready for school by 7:30 or 8:00. This format works effectively in other countries especially those with a catch-up channel.

Unfortunately this isn't the case with eMedia brands, sure e.tv is a reliable outlet for preschoolers but they aren't a full on out preschool destination and most of their demographic are adults which was the whole point of giving that audience eToonz.

eToonz as of the moment seems geared toward the audiences of Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. That an additional channel to help leverage and promote a portion of the lineup wouldn't be far fetched an idea.

Openview+:
- Die Vertroueling coming soon to eExtra
- Major changes coming soon to the SABC
- Daai Crazy Somer coming soon to e.tv
- Could Glow TV be on the chopping block?
- Mystery drama Liar currently streaming on eVOD

This additional channel would cater to younger audiences with shows like Angelina Ballerina, Noddy and Peppa Pig. While as offer shows which aren't necessarily catered to their demographic and in no way violent such as Lego City Adventures and The Mighty Ones.