Cartoonito Africa's DISASTROUS 24 Hour Lineup Ahead Of Its Debut Across The Continent

Last month, Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled a 24 hour service for Cartoonito which serves as a programming block. As outlined, all of Boomerang's shows will be retained alongside new additions such as Batwheels, Bugs Bunny Builders and Interstellar Ella.

Over the weekend, I was sort of able to obtain the 24 hour lineup of the channel and Warner wasn't joking when they said all. As seen below is how Cartoonito would be perceived on weekends:

* Bold representing shows seen on the former programming block for Cartoonito
* Bold with italics represents shows from both Boomerang and Cartoonito
* / to seperate Saturday from Sunday those without is the same either way.
* In case you want to compare schedules: click here

00:05 Zig & Sharko
00:30 Moka's Fabulous Adventures
00:50 Moka's Fabulous Adventures
01:15 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
01:35 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
02:00 Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
02:20 Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
02:45 Mighty Mike
03:10 Mighty Mike
03:30 Mr Magoo/Looney Tunes Cartoons
03:50 Zig & Sharko
04:15 The Tom And Jerry Show
04:35 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
05:00 Masha And The Bear
05:20 Grizzy and The Lemmings
05:40 Pat The Dog
06:00 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
06:35 CoComelon Karaoke
07:00 Zig & Sharko
07:15 Masha And The Bear
07:40 Masha And The Bear
08:00 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
08:20 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
08:40 Batwheels: Secret Origin of the Batwheels/Batwheels
09:10 Batwheels (second slot starts at 8:50 on Sunday and ends at 9:05 with Zig & Sharko)
09:30 Zig & Sharko
09:40 Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse/Tom And Jerry: Wizard Of Oz (ends at 10:55)
10:35 Tom And Jerry In New York
10:55 Masha And The Bear
11:20 Moley
11:35 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
12:00 Mr Bean: The Animated Series/Batwheels: Secret Origin of the Batwheels
12:26 Zig & Sharko (starts at 12:35 on Sunday)
12:50 CoComelon Compilations
13:10 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
13:35 Masha And The Bear
14:00 Tom And Jerry: Spy Quest/Sunday: Lucas The Spider, Dino Ranch and Mr. Bean
15:10 Tom And Jerry In New York/Mr. Bean (starts at 15:00)
15:15 Grizzy and The Lemmings
15:35 Zig & Sharko
15:55 Zig & Sharko
16:15 Masha And The Bear
16:30 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
16:55 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
17:15 The Adventures of Little Penguin
17:35 Masha And The Bear
18:00 Zig & Sharko
18:20 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
18:45 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
19:00 Masha And The Bear
19:20 Looney Tunes Cartoons
19:35 Tom And Jerry In New York
20:00 Mr. Bean
20:25 Scooby-Doo And Guess Who?
20:45 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
21:05 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
21:30 Tom And Jerry Tales
21:50 Tom And Jerry Tales
22:15 Masha And The Bear
22:40 Masha And The Bear
23:00 New Looney Tunes
23:20 New Looney Tunes
23:45 Zig & Sharko

Considering the current circumstances of Warner Bros. Discovery alongside Cartoonito. This format kinds of makes sense if well executed other regions might as well follow. Looking at this schedule it's clear that Cartoonito is also family brand.

Although most of this is just a large chunk of Boomerang, Warner Bros. Discovery never acknowledged the channel as a preschool brand as seen with Cartoonito. This rebrand is one way to help differentiate Boomerang Africa from Boomerang USA.

Boomerang was a legacy brand for older content alongside Tom And Jerry, Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo and the African feed made up a portion of that over the years. And I feel that's how people should see the brand at this point as opposed to killing the original aspect.

At the time, I was able to get the weekend lineup, the weekday lineup wasn't available until today:

00:05 Zig & Sharko
00:30 Moka's Fabulous Adventures
00:55 Moka's Fabulous Adventures
01:15 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
01:35 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
02:00 Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
02:20 Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
02:45 Mighty Mike
03:10 Mighty Mike
03:30 Looney Tunes Cartoons
03:50 Zig & Sharko
04:15 The Tom And Jerry Show
04:35 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
05:00 Masha And The Bear
05:20 Grizzy and The Lemmings
05:40 Pat The Dog
06:00 Masha And The Bear
06:30 Zig & Sharko
06:55 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
07:15 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
07:45 Masha And The Bear
08:05 Zig & Sharko
08:25 Zig & Sharko
08:45 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
09:05 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
09:30 Masha And The Bear
09:50 Zig & Sharko
10:15 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
10:40 Grizzy and The Lemmings
10:55 CoComelon Compilations
11:20 Masha And The Bear
11:40 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
12:05 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
12:20 Grizzy and The Lemmings
12:40 Thomas & Friends
13:00 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
13:35 Masha And The Bear
13:40 Masha And The Bear
14:10 Zig & Sharko
14:45 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
15:05 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
15:20 The Adventures of Little Penguin
15:35 Masha And The Bear
15:55 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
16:15 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
16:30 Batwheels: Secret Origin of the Batwheels
17:05 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
17:20 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
17:35 Masha And The Bear
17:55 Masha And The Bear
18:10 Zig & Sharko
18:30 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
18:55 Lucas The Spider
19:15 Looney Tunes Cartoons
19:40 The Tom And Jerry Show
20:00 The Adventures of Little Penguin
20:25 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
20:55 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
21:15 Mr Bean: The Animated Series
21:30 Tom And Jerry Tales
21:50 Tom And Jerry Tales
22:15 Masha And The Bear
22:40 Masha And The Bear
23:00 New Looney Tunes
23:20 New Looney Tunes
23:45 Zig & Sharko

It's kind of odd that Lucas The Spider, Dino Ranch and even Thomas And Friends don't get much attention from 24 hour Cartoonito. My guess is they're probably looking for content with the same prestige as Masha And The Bear and Teen Titans GO!.

Maybe this is temporary as the only known region to replace Boomerang much earlier with Cartoonito has less than 40% of the Boomerang DNA. But I wouldn't be shocked if this was somewhat permanent considering the situation of the United States.

News Shorts: Qhayiya Phato To Debut New Book Noxolo The Bride Later In 2023, Star Life Hits A New Low With The Rebroadcast Of The Inseparables And Abafana Ababi To Make Its Linear Debut On e.tv

Qhayiya Phato to rollout Cinderella inspired novel

Noxolo The Bride follows the titular character on her journey to self discovery. She falls in love with Sandile but has to overcome the demons that prevent her and the groom to be from ever finding true happiness. Production on the novel began began back in 2022 and is anticipated to rollout later in the year.

The author Qhayiya Phato manages the blog Yeah Mzansi! and is also manages several fan accounts for eMedia Investments and MultiChoice.

Sister duo Jeevika and Maanvi are back on Star Life

The Inseparable Is a story of Jeevika Chaudhary and Maanvi Chaudhary are two orphan sisters living in Rishikesh with there grandmother, uncle, aunt and cousin while Viren Singh Vadhera and Virat Singh Vadhera are two brothers hailing from an elite family of lawyers in Chandigarh. The two sisters are inseparable tho there outlook towards life are totally different. Maanvi loves and respects Jeevika as though she is her mother.

The series premieres March 23 replacing Kulfi - The Singing Star.

Robin Hood based comedy to rollout on e.tv

Abafana Ababi a brand new locally produced action comedy starring Thomas Gumede as Thebe, a comical cool cat, Matli Mohapeloa as Gift, a slick ladies’ man and Justin Strydom as Stuard Rembrand, the crime boss. Thebe and Gift are best friends from Orlando, Soweto, who grew up poor with aspirations of being rich. They take the easy road and get into a life of crime, and make it big as two bandits modelled on Robin Hood – stealing from the wealthy (who acquired their money from dirty deals in the first place), and then share their takings with the community.

The film airs Sunday at 20:00 from March 19.

HBO Max (Or Max) Will Likely Fold Under MultiChoice's Showmax Streaming Service, No Word On Discovery+ As Yet

During the month, NBCUniversal in partnership with MultiChoice are planning to rollout a revamped Showmax streaming service featuring content from the highly anticipated streamer, Peacock. Of course details about the pricing have yet to be revealed.

As some are probably unaware, NBCUniversal has done several partnerships with MultiChoice over the years aside from Universal, DreamWorks and E! and the digital component Universal+. Through their Sky service, MultiChoice was able to distribute a number of television sets.

This deal doesn't come as a shock, not that I was anticipating something like this but the reality is Peacock coming as a standalone put itself in a very risky position hence the reason SkyShowcase (a merger with Paramount+) exists in various European markets.

All of this had got me thinking about Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service.

As some consumers are aware these two are set to the last entry in Africa as we got most of the major streaming services Netflix, BritBox, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock (as mentioned) with Paramount+ gearing up for its rollout later in the year.

Last year, it was stated that HBO Max and Discovery+ would merge to form this giant streaming service which would have complicated things as the HBO side of the business was waiting till 2025 for contracts to go null therefore giving HBO Max the greenlight.

Compared to HBO Max, there was no problem in getting Discovery+ out to those regions which had a deal in place for the other streamer. If it wasn't for this restructure, we could have gotten Discovery+ or at least recieved an update about the platform in Africa.

After several months, it was revealed that Warner Bros. Discovery scrapped plans to merge these two but would rather keep Discovery+ intact as it's cheap while boost the lineup of HBO Max (soon Max) as the brand had seen a cutback of original content back in 2021.

In April, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to unveil more details about this new Max streaming service which I honestly think won't be made available to African consumers compared to Discovery+.

As mentioned, they will be the last entry to the streaming game and as above-mentioned streamers have been reeling in potential consumers. With that in mind is it possible that HBO Max will fold under Showmax?

Showmax is home to various locally produced content and they also supply a number of international content from NBC, Starz, CBS Studios, Sony Pictures Television. They also supply various titles exclusive to HBO Max alongside catalogue from Adult Swim.

MultiChoice even have various linear channels from HBO Max's parent company including TNT, Discovery Channel, TLC and Cartoon Network. Even supply various shows to M-Net such as The Flight Attendant and House Of Dragons which serves as a spinoff to Game Of Thrones.

Showmax becoming the official home to HBO Max wouldn't be far fetched as Warner Bros. Discovery in recent months had signed deals with local broadcasters in Australia and Japan which go over 2025 which boosts the possibility of the same outcome in Africa.

Showmax in general supplies content various content from BritBox and Paramount+. With those deals set to expire, it's possible these streamers would want to keep the content abroad their platforms and distribute them across linear stations.

HBO Max benefits Showmax in the long run as it would help build their international portfolio and help them serve as a strong contender to Netflix and Disney+ which too have a lot of international content in the pipeline. I'm just so lost with with plans for Discovery+.

I mean the platform has too much content that I feel not everything would fit under Showmax so maybe Discovery+ being the only standalone platform wouldn't be a bad idea and MultiChoice distributing a freemium version also wouldn't be a bad thing for DStv consumers.

Before the merger, Discovery Inc. wasn't expecting Discovery+ to be Disney+ big or to compete with other streaming services mentioned here so far.  So all I'm saying is HBO Max being apart of Showmax isn't a bad thing as consumers can't pay for all these platforms.

Discovery+ could as well serve as both a freemium and pay-tv type service. Showmax could bundle selected content particularly premium or first run content perhaps.

Recap To Last Year: The Disappearance Of BBC UKTV On The Openview Platform

Last year, eMedia Investments in partnership with BBC Studios unveiled South Africa's first free-to-air entertainment channel, BBC UKTV. A general entertainment channel featuring a selection of content ranging from doccies, lifestyle, dramas and kids shows.

Some of the content in question includes Top Gear, Live At The Apollo, Midsomer Murders, Come Dine With Me, Wild Africa, Planet Earth and Yakka Dee.

As of 2023, the channel has yet to materialize on the Openview platform with eMedia Investments and BBC Studios remaining on any developments about the channel with the latter added to MultiChoice's DStv as a cheapo on the Easyview bouquet.

It has led to an onslaught of angry Openview consumers some pointing the finger at MultiChoice as eMedia Investments rolls out the pay-tv version to the current free-to-view Openview platform, Ultraview.

Before any word about what the offering or how the bouquet would be priced. They were several Openview consumers who believed that BBC UKTV will form part of Ultraview technically not a DStv problem but a DStv effect as it seems.

If this turned out to be a reality, eMedia Investments alongside BBC UKTV would have deceived several media outlets alongside current Openview consumers with BBC Studios serving as an accomplice I mean the channel comes with a fee on DStv.

But the idea of BBC UKTV being a pay-tv channel wouldn't be the most shocking for Openview I can imagine them reviving ITV Choice or sourcing another DStv channel e.g. BBC News to tag along in this new setup.

All that is known at the moment is that eMedia Investments has yet to rollout a new channel to the free component of Openview. If the supposed channel isn't BBC UKTV then it could mean that plans for the channel were likely scrapped at this point.

New Series Alert (Rumour): Presenting The Second Batch Of Turkish Shows Expected To Rollout In South Africa

Last year, we drafted a batch of content expected for several brands covered through Everyday Novelas without specifying the channel. Now we welcome another batch of content under the same scenario and note no timeframe has been provided for the following:

1. Sadakatsiz (Unfaithful): Doctor Asya lives a peaceful and happy life with her husband Volkan and their son Ali. This situation changes when she finds out that her husband has been having an affair with a young woman named Derin for two years.
2. The Prosecutor (Mahkum): Successful prosecutor Firat, who does not remember anything, is accused of murdering his wife and daughter. He has to escape from prison to reveal the truth.
3. All About Marriage (Evlilik Hakkinda Her Sey): Azra Günay, a successful divorce lawyer, has been dealing with the cases of well-known and influential people of Istanbul for many years together with her mother, Çolpan Cevher, who is the doyen of her job, and her hard-headed brother, Sanem Cevher.
4. Wounded Love (Vatanim Sensin): In an occupied Turkish city, a Turkish soldier starts to work for the enemy. But he is not really on the side of the enemy. He must keep this secret at the cost of losing his family.
5. Meryem: In the aftermath of an accident, a naive girl finds herself torn between an unscrupulous prosecutor and a vindictive plaintiff.
6. Our Story (Bizim Hikaye): This is the adaptation of the famous series Shameless. Filiz, a protagonist who has been struggling to survive in one of the poor neighborhoods of the city is the oldest child of the family.
7. Love Doesn't Understand Words (Ask Laftan Anlamaz): Hayat is a country girl with strict parents. She is in a love hate relationship with her boss Murat. Hayat is full of secrets that can ruin her career and relationship.
8. Yargi: A lawyer and a prosecutor, whose paths cross with a murder case, will have to work together to find the murderer, and this will create an irreversible breaking point in their lives.
9. The Ambassador's Daughter (Sefirin Kizi): Sancar has always & Nare has always yearned for love. When they meet and fall in love as children, they know they are meant to be. On the night of their wedding, a startling revelation by Nare forever changes their lives and puts their love on hold until the night of another wedding many years later.
10. Innocence (Masumiyet): The life of Bahar, a married mother of two, changes when her 19-year-old daughter falls in love with the wrong guy. Her daughter Ela's first love is not a college student her age, but her father's 35-year-old boss, who is about to marry his ex-girlfriend.
11. The Teacher (Ögretmen): Akif Erdem takes the 12A class of Kücükkapi High School hostage and uses a bomb to tear the class apart from the rest of the school. There is only one way for young people taken hostage to get out of this situation telling the truth.
12. A Fairy Tale (Bir Peri Masali): Alina Boz gives life to a babysitter named "Zeynep". Zeynep, who grew up facing many challenges, partly due to her useless father, will face the biggest test when she stumbles upon a bag of cash.