Liberty In Partnership With Mindset Network Relaunch The Educational Channel As Liberty Learn

Building upon the extraordinary legacy of the Liberty Learning Channel presented then by the renowned William Smith and its subsequent transformation into Mindset Network in 2003 – this platform represents the next evolution in distance education.  It takes the successful model of TenFold, an educational app, to a broader platform, delivering engaging television content, complemented by a robust, interactive mobile application.

“This innovative platform leverages smart technology to provide high-quality, curriculum-aligned educational content to South African learners. We are taking lessons from the homes of South Africans, allowing seamless access to educational resources anytime, anywhere,” said Dylan Green, CEO of Mindset Africa.

“We’re looking to redefine the way learners perceive and engage with their studies. By integrating technology that students are familiar with, we’re making the learning process more interactive, dynamic, and effective. As learners’ needs change and grow, so will we. Our mission is to make sure we’re always offering the best, most relevant, and most engaging educational content possible. All with the goal of empowering our nation’s students and shaping them for a bright future,” said Green.

The new platform  will offer an expanded curriculum, covering all school grades, and will include content aligned with the Cambridge International Curriculum. It will also unearth a treasure trove of archival educational content, making it accessible to the public for the first time. It aims to modernise learning by enabling students to interact live with the platform, asking questions via WhatsApp that will be aired and addressed during broadcasts. This new dimension of interactivity revolutionises the learning process, making it more engaging and personalised.

The platform will focus on fostering an interactive learning environment that encourages students to actively participate and engage. In contrast to traditional classroom settings, Liberty Learn blends the power of technology with pedagogical strategies, capitalising on the effectiveness of multimedia tools. This groundbreaking blend of education and technology presents a quantum leap in teaching and learning methodologies.

“Education is the cornerstone of economic development and a key driver in empowering communities. Our investment in Liberty Learn reaffirms our ongoing commitment to bolstering education, particularly in the crucial subjects of Mathematics, Science, and English,” said Marees Bostander, Head: Brand Strategy and Sponsorships at Liberty Group.

“For us, this platform  is not the culmination, but the continuation of a journey to revolutionise the educational landscape in South Africa. As technologies evolve and educational needs change, we are poised to adapt and innovate, ensuring that the platform remains a cutting-edge, relevant, and beneficial resource for all learners,” concluded Bostander.

Liberty Learn platform will be available on DSTV (Channel 319), OpenView (Channel, 134), and StarSat (Channel 187). The platform also includes a digital app for both Android and Apple users.

Recap To The Month: The Future Of Nurses And Telemundo Africa Have Been Revealed

During the month, Telemundo halted further distribution of Nurses with further episodes made available on Universal+ through the DStv app. After Cameroon and Uganda passed laws prohibiting the promotion of homosexual content in the regions.

As advised, consumers in South Africa are viewing the same content as these regions therefore halting primetime on the channel much earlier than expected with Nurses that was initially slated to end in July was cut halfway through the fourth season.

Basically, Telemundo became a reruns channel as primetime is currently funneled with Almost Yours, Decisions, Queen Of The South and Lord Of The Skies joining existing repeats like For Love And Justice and On The Other Side Of The Wall.

According to sources who are following up on the matter, the channel was meant to launch a new series in place of Nurses and welcome Mexico's biggest trafficker in the third installment to Queen Of The South. Following these passing laws these have been delayed indefinitely.

Unlike Nurses, Queen Of The South may return on a restricted basis should it be LGBTQ inclusive or our theory especially with Nurses is that these shows as well as further new programming would be made exclusive to Southern Africa if not viewable in other regions.

Nickelodeon alongside several kids channels on DStv were embroiled in a similar scandal and they opted to just exclude affected shows from select regions. Over the years, even more brands such as BBC Lifestyle, TLC and E! took a similar route so why not Telemundo.

The only challenge particularly in these regions is that some of this content similar to Nurses and 100 Days To Fall In Love have these characters forming part of the main storyline and in such instance content would have to be exempted as opposed to filtered.

Another matter which several consumers had brought up was the inclusion of LGBTQ on shows, Telemundo being American based has joined several channels to include this in most if not all their content. If a closure is not on the cards then they'll be division.

As mentioned several channels operate 2 African feeds and most reside within DStv. It's led to consumers in the affected region to lose out on popular shows such as Cartoon Network's Steven Universe, Nickelodeon's The Loud House or even TLC's I Am Jazz.

New Series Alert: Verbode Liefde Coming Soon To kykNET & Kie

During the year, kykNET & Kie reduced primetime for their Turkish offering with In Die Ysterhand Se Greep awaiting a replacement left Jy Is My Seun as the only source of international series on the brand. After a few months, the short lived family drama draws to a close.

kykNET had acquired rights to the Turkish series Zümrüdüanka which will be known on the channel as Verbode Liefde. Unlike Jy Is My Seun and Kind Van Die Noodlot, Verbode Liefde falls in the romance category infused with a bit of family drama.

Synopsis for Verbode Liefde:

The story of the series is of an epic and a magical
tale of two lovers Zümrüt Kuloğlu (Ceren Yılmaz) and Serhat Demirkan (Alp Navruz). After Serhat is announced dead, Zümrüt was forced to marry his uncle. This crucial decision will turn her life upside down.

It stars Alp Navruz as Serhat Demirkan, Ceren Yılmaz as Zümrüt, Ülfet as Hatice Aslan, Umut Karadağ as Adil, Selim Bayraktar as Abbas Demirkan and Ayten Uncuoğlu as Azimet Demirkan.

Verbode Liefde was produced by the FOX company which also supply shows to kykNET's rival eMedia Investments including Om Elke Draai (Her Yerde Sen), Doodsondes (Yasak Elma), Daai Crazy Somer (Son Yaz), Dokter Ali (Mucize Doctor).

The first episode of Verbode Liefde airs on Wednesday 5 June at 20:00 on kykNET & Kie.

AEW And Warner Bros. Discovery Announce New AEW: Figure Fighters Mobile Game

AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports announced a new mobile game, AEW: Figure Fighters, on Tuesday. The press release for the free-to-play game explains it, "will feature 3D animated versions of AEW wrestlers battling it out in the ring, allowing fans to expand their fandom and love for the show. Fans will be able to collect and level up their favorite wrestlers, play in various game modes, and complete numerous challenges." The game is set for a 2024 release. Stay tuned for further updates.

The announcement comes just nine days before the release of AEW's first console title, AEW Fight Forever. The game will be released on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One and Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.

"Since our initial announcement, fans worldwide have shown unbridled passion around the launch of Fight Forever, and AEW has proven through our exciting storylines and hard-hitting wrestling action that good things come to those who wait," AEW's Tony Khan said in the Fight Forever press release when the release date was finally confirmed for June 29. "With Fight Forever, Kenny and our world-class team have delivered an authentic, nostalgic feel of wrestling games past, along with the unmatched creativity that AEW brings to the table. It's going to be cool to see our fans finally getting a fresh and much-needed alternative next-gen console wrestling game on June 29. AEW has the greatest fans on the planet, and I'm excited for them to experience this new way to engage with our stars."

AEW returns to pay-per-view this Sunday with its annual crossover with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Forbidden Door. Emanating from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the show will be headlined by Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Championship and a dream match between "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson and "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada.

AEW Dynamite Card (June 21, 2023)

Orange Cassidy & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia & Zack Sabre Jr.

Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Minoru Suzuki vs. Action Andretti, Darius Martin & AR Fox

The Hardys vs. The Gunnts

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe (Concession Stand Brawl)

TBS Championship: Kris Statlander vs. Taya Valkyrie

Adam Cole Promo

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Card (As of Now)

IWGP United States Championship: Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay

AEW World Championship: MJF vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Sanada vs. "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry

Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada

Kartoon Channel To Rollout Brand New Series, Chikn Nuggit

Through its Frederator Network subsidiary, Genius Brands International, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNUS until June 26th after which the company rebrands to Kartoon Studios and trades on the NYSE AMERICAN: TOON) and BuzzFeed (NASDAQ: BZFD) to develop the latest animated series, Chikn Nuggit, as part of the companies’ exclusive first-look content deal announced earlier this year.

Frederator Network and BuzzFeed’s Animation Lab will develop a premium content series for digital hit Chikn Nuggit based on the original shorts created by Kyra Kupetsky. With over 1 billion views to date on social platforms, Chikn Nuggit is a gender-inclusive, online animated comedy series about a weird, long-eared dog named Chikn Nuggit and his fast-food-named friends. The shorts have attained the a
doration of millions of fans worldwide for their sweet and surreal adventures and comedic, adorable antics. Chikn Nuggit premiered in October 2020 on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram and has since amassed over 300 short-form videos and over 8 million followers.

Frederator Director of Development Isabel Schultz will head global content sales. In addition, Genius Brands’ consumer products’ division will develop the Chikn Nuggit retail program and a full IP slate in close partnership with BuzzFeed Animation Lab.

Michael Hirsh, CEO of WOW! Unlimited Media, the parent company of Frederator Network, stated: “We are pleased further to expand our roster of original animated series with BuzzFeed, giving the global fans of wildly popular IP, such as Chikn Nuggit, more of what they love.”

Zee Myers, Head of BuzzFeed Animation Lab, commented: “Millions of fans have let us know that they need the Chikn Nuggit animated series! We can’t wait to continue expanding our content universe for our global community in partnership with Frederator, a pioneer in animation and television.”