New Channel Alert (NOT REALLY): CBeebies Coming This September To Zuku TV

Zuku, an East African brand operated by Wananchi Group established with the aim of making quality home entertainment and communication services in partnership with BBC Studios had announced the addition of CBeebies.

CBeebies is a British based preschool channel featuring animation like Bluey, Thomas And Friends, Shaun The Sheep and Noddy alongside other shows like Yakka Dee, Mister Maker and Andy's Wild Adventure.

Alongside the as mentioned brand, BBC Studios is also home to BBC Brit, BBC Earth, BBC Lifestyle and BBC UKTV all of which are packaged by MultiChoice's DStv.

In other developments, MultiChoice had extended their content agreement with BBC Studios increasing the duration of select shows on the DStv app and also making BBC Lifestyle and BBC UKTV accessible to more DStv households.

Press Release: Hit Series Lord Of The Skies Returns To Telemundo Africa In October For Season 8

NBCUniversal International Networks & Direct-To-Consumer today announced the return of Lord of the Skies, with Season 8 premiering on Monday 2 October 22:00 (CAT) on Telemundo Africa, with episode available immediately after on Universal+. Each 50-minute episode of season 8 will air daily on Telemundo Africa with the Season finale airing on the 31 December 2023.

The fictional drama based on a true story – tells how Aurelio Casillas (Rafael Amaya) became one of the most powerful drug lords who is notorious for transferring drug substances to Mexico, Colombia, and the United States in the 1990s. Casillas builds his path to the top of the narco business, infiltrates the government and spends time in a high security jail, all while maintaining his power and controlling his enemies – including new adversaries in the underground business and his own family members. In season 8, Aurelio Casillas who supposedly died in S7 gets taken by mysterious forces from his last resting place. The DEA has him and they are the only ones who know that Aurelio is alive, hiding him in the desert. In enacting his plan of revenge, Aurelio establishes connections with old allies, faces new romances and uncovers family mysteries.

The ensemble cast includes Carmen Aub, Iván Arana, Isabella Castillo, Alejandro López, Rubén Cortada, África Zavala and Yuri Vargas, with the special appearances of, Robinson Diaz and Salvador Pineda.

Lord of the Skies, created by Luis Zelkowicz, was produced in April 2013 by US Telemundo Studios.

Lord of the Skies returns to Telemundo Africa for Season 8. Episodes to air daily from Monday 2 October at 22:00 CAT premiering on Telemundo Africa, with episodes available Immediately after on Universal+

Will Zee Zonke Be Available Outside Of South Africa?

During the week, it was reported that Zee Entertainment Enterprises would be rolling out a localised version of Zee Marathi titled Zee Zonke. Targeted toward Southern Africa, it would supply various Bollywood dramas in Zulu audio and English subtitles. 

The channel would start out with four dramas, Umakwapheni (Majhya Navaryachi Bayko), Imfihlo (Tula Pahate Re), We Mamezala (Aggabai Sunbai) and Onesipho (Nayan - Jo Vekhe Unvekha) with more content currently in the pipeline.

Since news of the potential new channel came out, Zee Zonke has garnered a lot of mixed signals mostly for the choice in audio with some even skeptical to explore the offering. But news of such channel doesn't come as a surprise seeing as they dubbed various shows on Zee World.

And also, Zee TV was rumoured to be developing such channel back in 2022 alongside various other channels one in Hausa and another Swahili.

Taking account the language illustrated on the channel, Zee Zonke might not be viewable in certain if not most parts of Africa including Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya. Unlike Zee One, none of the content can be viewed on Zee World with select shows on Zee TV.

If I had to guess why this channel can't be seen in these regions, it may be as mentioned the language and another could be that the channel is rolling out in phases maybe Zee TV is experimenting in South Africa and the outcome there will determine its fate elsewhere.

I mean the idea doesn't seem far fetched considering Zee World had dubbed various shows across Africa in local languages. It's only a matter of time, perhaps on top of reception they're looking to first but build the slate on one brand before doing anything elsewhere.

Reminder: Disney To Close Their Remaining Linear Channels Across Asia In The Coming Months, More Markets Likely To Follow

Disney is to close its six remaining linear TV

channels in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan

and Korea as the conglomerate puts a greater

emphasis on direct-to-consumer streaming.

The channels concerned are National Geographic,

National Geographic Wild, Star Chinese Movies,

Star Chinese Channel, Star Movies and Star World.

Linear services will end from September in

Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Korea, and by

December in Taiwan.

The group expects to retain a streamlined

television portfolio with channels in Japan, China,

Australia and New Zealand for the time being.

Consumers can continue to access content from

these channels on the conglomerate’s Disney+

and Disney+ Hotstar streaming platforms, which

are now fully rolled out within the Asia-Pacific

region, except China. The twin platforms carry

movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star

Wars, National Geographic and Star, Disney’s

general entertainment brand.

While the moves may help reduce costs and push

consumption onto its D2C businesses, sources

close to the group say that Disney still expects to

grow its media and entertainment businesses –

D2C, theatrical, consumer products and theme

parks – in the region.

The moves were foreshadowed by similar moves

in 2020 and 2021 . Disney closed its sports

channels in Taiwan in 2020. In September 2021, it

closed Fox, Fox Crime, Fox Life, FX, and Channel

V; movie channels Fox Action Movies, Fox Family

Movies, Fox Movies and Star Movies China; sports

channels Fox Sports, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports 3,

Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2; kids channel Disney

Channel and Disney Junior; factual services Nat

Geo People and SCM Legend. Many of those

channels had been brought into the Disney group

by the 2018 acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

In the five largest markets of Southeast Asia

proper (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore

and the Philippines) SVOD subscriptions reached

49 million at the end of the first quarter, according

to data from research house Media Partners Asia.

It estimated that, in terms of subscription

numbers, the leading platforms in the first quarter

were Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar with 9.4

million, Viu with 8.5 million, Netflix with 8.0

million and Prime Video at 1.3 million. (A

categorization by revenue might produce a

different ranking.)

Other recent reports have pointed to U.S.-

produced content accounting for only 20% of

video viewing time in the region, eclipsed by

Korea content at 30%. However, since the launch

of the streaming platform, Disney has become a

significant investor in locally-made Asian content.

Amazon Reportedly In Talks To Buy Minority Stake In ESPN From Disney

Recently we learned that Disney was open to selling part of ESPN to a potential partner if the deal was right. This comes from a June interview with CNBC, where Disney CEO Bob Iger said he was open to partnering with other companies to make a new ESPN streaming service work including selling part of ESPN.

This comes as ESPN is working on launching a direct-to-consumer streaming service. This new service would let subscribers watch live ESPN without the need for cable TV.

Since that interview, reports have been flying about who Disney is talking to. Major sports leagues, including the NFL, and rivals like Comcast have all been suggested as potential ESPN Partners. Now, The Information is reporting that Amazon and Disney are in early talks to partner on ESPN’s streaming partnership.

According to the report, Amazon is in talks to possibly offer an ESPN streaming service, likely through its Amazon Channels service. This deal could also see Amazon take a minority stake in ESPN. Amazon has a lot to offer Disney with its ability to stream live events, and a customer base that Disney could use to promote ESPN’s new streaming service.

Amazon is not the only company Disney is reportedly talking to. A few weeks ago, the New York Post reported that Disney has been in talks with media companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Verizon, and T-Mobile, to name a few. The goal is reportedly to take advantage of their technology to help expand the reach of ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service.

Last week The Information reported that Verizon and Disney have started talks about a possible partnership with Verizon and ESPN. Verizon could be a great partner for its technology and a possible bundle deal similar to the Disney+ bundle Verizon recently offered to its wireless subscribers.

Disney owns 80% of ESPN, and the rest is owned by Hearst. Disney would likely want to keep as much ownership as possible, but if the right partner comes along it may be open to selling part of the storied sports network.