Early Sketches Of Various DStv Packages Part Of Which Didn't Exist At The Time

DStv launched as South Africa's first pay-tv service in 1995 offering 18 premium channels. Now the platform has grown to become the biggest player in sports with SuperSport and include over 120+ channels which range from general entertainment, lifestyle and news.

Some of the bouquets include the mid tier Compact bouquet which has seen a decline in consumers following the forever changing economy and it's potential predecessor Access which has seen a growth in local commission and premium entertainment.

Before these bouquets were made accessible to the market sources mentioned that earlier sketches of the DStv bouquet were proposed but had since then not been used.

As seen below, each bouquet had named based on the quantity of channels and each had their own imprinted logos to give it more effect. Although, it's not known when work on these possible bouquets began we assume work started out in the later parts of 2010 based on the offering.

The cheapest bouquet was priced R20p/m and only consists of 17 channels including SABC 1-3, Mindset and TBN and the most expensive bouquet is priced R590p/m and features 90 channels including M-Net, Boomerang, Comedy Central and Discovery Channel.

Initially, DStv started out as a singular platform and it wasn't until 2005 were they opted for more bouquets, Compact. And if we understand anything about this sketch MultiChoice always intended to have more bouquets as Compact+ didn't exist when some of these channels were on the platform.

New Movie Alert: Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Premiering July 28th On Disney Channel Africa

The riotous antics of angst-ridden, disaster-prone middle school student Greg Heffley continue in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules,” focusing this time around on his complicated relationship with older brother Rodrick. A spikey-haired high school student, Rodrick is lazy and undisciplined and spends way too much time practicing with his rock band, Löded Diper. While he loves to torment Greg, he ultimately has a deep affection for his younger brother.

Directed by Luke Cormican (“Teen Titans Go!) and written and produced by Jeff Kinney, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” features the voices of Brady Noon (“The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers”), Ethan William Childress (“mixed-ish”), Edward Asner (“Up”), Chris Diamantopoulos (“Silicon Valley”), Erica Cerra (“Power Rangers”), and Hunter Dillon (“Deadpool 2”). “

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, audiences and fans. With some being mixed on the film having some flaws the first film have, but was mostly praised for its longer runtime and some fans considered it as a improvement over the first one.

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” premiered December 2nd 2022 on Disney+ and will be made available on the Disney Channel by July 28th, 2023.  Other upcoming attractions include Kiff and the final season of The Owl House.

During the year, Disney Channel has been promoting a bulk of content from Disney+ including animated series Chip 'n Dale: Park Life and Kiff alongside feature films Lady And The Tramp, Ice Age: Adventures Of Buck Wild and Phineas And Ferb: Candice Against The Universe.

Meta To Launch It's Twitter App This Week

Twitter users have been facing a lot of issues over the past few months, but things got even worse last weekend after the company decided to limit the number of tweets users can see per day. To take advantage of this, Meta now seems to have confirmed that Threads – its new app to compete with Twitter – will be released later this week.

On Monday, a page that lets iPhone users pre-order Threads was made available on the App Store. The same page confirms that the app will be released on July 6-7 (depending on which country the user lives in). Meta has also launched a new webpage with a countdown ahead of the release.

Meta has been working on Threads for some time now, and it became known after some reports in May about the “Barcelona” project. Developed under the Instagram brand, Threads aims to be a direct competitor to Twitter, allowing users to share text, photos, and videos.

“Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world,” says the app description.

Although Threads is based on Instagram, it will have its own app. Expectedly, those with an Instagram account will be able to join the new platform with just a tap. However, some details are still unclear – such as whether users will be able to access Threads through a web browser. Another detail to keep in mind is that, at least for now, the app has no iPad version.

Insidus has heard from people familiar with the matter that Meta was first planning to launch Threads at the end of July. However, as many Twitter users are upset with the platform, Meta has decided to rush the launch of its new microblogging social network.

Ginx eSports TV Reportedly Up For Sale, Could The Channel Go Dark On The DStv Platform?

The Esports Advocate can exclusively report that London-based gaming and esports media company Ginx TV Ltd. is exploring an acquisition or further investment and is being represented by London-based venture capital and private equity firm Capital A. In a perfect scenario—according to what is being pitched to VCs—an investor would acquire the company, keep its full-time staff intact (it lists 21 full-time employees and 17+ people in outsourced roles)— and leave the day-to-day operations in the hands of the current CEO, Michiel Bakker.

According to a document obtained by TEA being shared by Capital A to potential VCs, the unnamed esports media group (which TEA has confirmed is Ginx) is based in London, specializes in “creating and monetizing cross-platform (TV & digital) esports and gaming content,” and is “available to acquire.” Metadata from the document describes it as “GinxTV – Teaser V2” and lists multiple Capital A employees as points of contact.

It also notes that the company’s “experienced hires” have “near full autonomy on a day-to-day basis,” and that the “CEO is looking to stay,” which is a selling point to attract investors who would have concerns that leadership and staff might leave after an acquisition.

Finally, the document notes that the company has its own production arm, which it uses to produce a variety of video and provide content creation services for clients such as “publishers, brands and esports organizations.”

Ginx TV Ltd. CEO Michiel Bakker issued the following statement to TEA on Friday morning via email: “Ginx is always working on its capital structure alongside growing the company. We have built a profitable gaming/esports business with diverse, predictable, and recurring revenue streams. As Ginx becomes increasingly global and digital, as opposed to being a pure-play TV company, we are currently looking to bring on board investors that are aligned with that trajectory and can help us accelerate our growth. We are involved in several discussions, but I am not at liberty to disclose detail.”

Ginx has raised capital from a number of sources over the years including £569.1K ($679K USD) in December of 2015 through an equity crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube, and undisclosed investments in September of 2016 from UK-based terrestrial TV networks Sky and ITV, who both took “significant minority stakes in the company.”

While Bakker claims that Ginx is a profitable business, the company realized losses of £162.9K ($194.3K) in 2020 and £263.1K ($313.9K) in 2021, according to public filings—Ginx has yet to file its FY 2022 financial report as of this writing. All told, the company has spent approximately £9.99M ($11.86M) since 2010. It is important to note that, due to the British company reporting requirements, a balance sheet loss does not necessarily contradict Bakker’s profitability claim. It should also be noted that the materials obtained by TEA, estimate that the company generated revenue of £2.2M, or $2.5M for FY 2022.

Credits: James Fudge

Canal+ Increase Their Stake In MultiChoice Again To 31,7%

France’s Canal+ Group has again upped its stake in South Africa’s MultiChoice pay-TV operation.

Canal+ now owns 31.7 per cent of MultiChoice which is itself listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. MultiChoice operates the DStv, SuperSport and Showmax pay-TV options for African viewers.

Canal+ is itself controlled by Vivendi.

The new stake is up from 30.3 per cent revealed on February 10th.

MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela is on record as saying that the two businesses have regular conversations as to areas of collaboration.

The history of Canal+ and its involvement in MultiChoice is one of steady involvement since 2020. In September 2022, it raised its holdings from the previous 20.1 per cent to 26.3 per cent, and then again increased its stake to 30.3 per cent in February 2023.

However, there are local rules in South Africa which limit foreign ownership of local broadcasters. The maximum shareholding threshold for Canal+ is 35 per cent and which could then require it makes a mandatory offer to buy out other shareholders.

Another potential problem is that Vivendi/Canal+ have already breached a 20 per cent limit on foreign ownership of a local broadcaster.