Development Alert: Nickelodeon Orders Brand-New Animated Preschool Series Super Duper Bunny League, eMedia Investments Replaces eXposed With eSeries On Openview

Nick Jr. will also be saving the world from crime

Nickelodeon has ordered Super Duper Bunny League (working title), a brand-new adventure-comedy preschool series based on the kids' comic book series by cartoonist Jamie Smart. Featuring 2D animation, the series (26 episodes) centers on a diverse group of bunny friends who must battle danger as they defend their city and the world from their archnemesis. Super Duper Bunny League is slated to launch 2024 in the U.S. and continue to roll out on Nick Jr. channels internationally.

"Super Duper Bunny League brings to life the colorful world that Jamie created with quirky imaginative characters and engaging stories filled with zany adventures and loads of fun," said Eryk Casemiro, Executive Vice President, Nickelodeon Animation, Global Series Content. "We are excited for the opportunity to take the comic books to the next level with a preschool animated series that combines big superhero action with silly cartoony comedy in a uniquely Nickelodeon way."

The Super Duper Bunny League is here to battle danger in all its forms as they defend Important City and the world from their arch-nemesis (and accidental creator), the inept Dr. Fuzzleglove, and a ridiculous rogues' gallery of cartoony villains. Whether battling sweet-toothed space pirates, sizzling lava monsters, giant metal monkeys or hot dog-hungry dinosaurs, the Bunnies must combine their new superpowers to defend truth, justice, and especially free time to snack and chill.

Super Duper Bunny League is produced by Nickelodeon Animation in Burbank, Calif. Robert Scull and Jonny Belt serve as executive producers and Jamie Smart as Consultant on the series. Production for Nickelodeon is overseen by Eryk Casemiro, Executive Vice President, Nickelodeon Animation, Global Series Content. Marielle Kaar serves as Nickelodeon's Executive in Charge of Production for the series.

eSeries is an official brand on Openview

The eXposed channel (109 on Openview) has been rebranded to eSERIES and now features a variety of international series across all genres. “From nostalgic and new sitcoms filled with spontaneous laughter bringing families together, drama series with warm, captivatingly relatable themes, to intense, darkly dramatic plot twists, and the thrill of the chase through the gritty arcs of crime. 

Viewers can expect an unmatched, dramatic rollercoaster ride with international shows across genres” The newly branded eSERIES channel has an easy and consistent daily programme flow with international comedy (Practical Jokers, Neighbourhood Wars), nostalgic sitcoms from yesteryear (The Nanny, The Goldbergs), procedural dramas (Blue Bloods, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Suits, House of Cards) dark dramas (Walking Dead), and romance/” Girls Night” (The Bold Type, Why Women Kill).

Also available is some lifestyle shows like MasterChef and Love Island. Korean lovers can see programmes like Watcher and Doom at Your Service on weekends (with some weekday daytime repeats). There is so much to watch, and the channel has something which appeals to everyone, from early evening to late night. The beauty of the channel’s structure is that series episodes run daily, so you don’t have to wait a week to see the next episode of the series you’re following – this is a remarkable change in viewing.

Recap To The Month: SABC Delays The Expansion Of Further New Channels On DTT

During the year, SABC was gearing up for the rollout of a second news channel only known as SABC eKhaya. After failing to rollout the news channel, the public broadcaster had a soft launch for the brand on their DTT platform featuring content already viewed on their linear platforms and archived material.

Similar to SABC Sport, the plan was to feature a "fresh offering" once the channel managed to garner traction and the public broadcaster was looking to negotiate with other broadcasters in the hopes that they could distribute the channel onto their platforms.

But as seen in recent months, consumers had been affected by load shedding that some went as far as cutting back on their DStv subscription and other expenses as the outcome of these blackouts had left people jobless and led some entrepreneurs to lose their businesses.

The SABC blames Eskom on why their revenue continues to drop in recent months and also the reduction of analogue frequencies and streamers like Netflix for why SABC+ is struggling. It was also stated that the public broadcaster had to delay the rollout of new channels due to the blackouts impact on viewership.

For almost two years, consumers had been awaiting on an update from SABC on the status of two yet-to-be-launched channels on Openview alongside SABC Education's expansion to pay-tv outlets. Since SABC hasn't been able to meet up with any of its deadlines and with these outlets rolling out new channels, consumers will just lose interest.

Unlike SABC, Multichoice and eMedia Investments continue to expand their content and portfolio of linear channels. Despite the decrease in consumption, there's still consumers viewing these brands and rolling out those "new channels" could have helped reduce their financial constraints as opposed to pausing/scrapping shows like The Estate and uBettina Wethu.

Recap To The Week: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Returns To South African Screens For New Episodes On PBS Kids

South African families are in for a “Grr-ific” treat as the beloved children's series, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, returns -- airing weekdays at 4pm on DStv Channel 313 this month.

A study conducted by researchers at Texas Tech University revealed that the combination of watching Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood and engaging in parent-child conversations about its content significantly enhances children's social skills, including empathy, recognising emotions, and social confidence.

Produced by The Fred Rogers Company and 9 Story Media Group, this acclaimed series is an engaging and educational experience for preschoolers, drawing on the legacy of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

About Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is an animated series tailored for preschoolers aged 2 to 4. It continues the tradition of the groundbreaking PBS series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood using musical strategies inspired by Fred Rogers' social-emotional curriculum. Through the lens of imagination, creativity, and music, the show follows the life of 4-year-old Daniel Tiger and his friends as they learn essential social skills for school and life.

Meet Daniel Tiger

The heart of the series is 4-year-old Daniel Tiger, the son of the beloved puppet Daniel Striped Tiger from the original program. Daniel engages young viewers directly, inviting them into his world and making them feel like part of his neighbourhood. By closely following Daniel's everyday adventures, preschoolers and their families gain valuable insights and practical skills necessary for growth and learning.

September Episode Themes

Each Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood episode features two captivating stories that revolve around common early learning themes, such as dealing with disappointment. What sets this series apart is its innovative use of catchy musical strategies that reinforce these themes, providing preschoolers and parents with memorable tools they can use daily.

This month's new episodes include:

Daniel Finds Something to Do/Daniel's Royal Good Time: Daniel tries to find something to do by himself. Daniel and his friends play at a castle.

Daniel's Lunch/Daniel's Toy: Daniel is excited to eat his special lunch. Daniel goes to the park to play with Ducky.

Margaret's Birthday Buddy/Margaret's Birthday Party: The Tiger Family is preparing for Margaret's birthday party, but Daniel feels left out.

Curriculum-based viewing

The stories in the series have been crafted with extensive input from early learning specialists, incorporating formative research with children. Drawing from over 40 years of Fred Rogers' work, the show is a powerful resource for parents, offering an entertaining and thoughtful guide that integrates music, interactivity, and a research-based curriculum.

Broadcast Details

South African families can tune in to catch the new episodes of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood on DStv Channel 313

Could Discovery Family And Real Time Also Be Going Dark Following The Termination Of Discovery Science And Discovery Turbo Xtra?

During the week, it was reported that Warner Bros. Discovery would be ending Discovery Science and also Discovery Turbo Xtra across various international markets (including Africa) meaning similar to the remaining Disney Channels in Asia they won't live through 2024.

Prior to these Discovery channels demise, Warner Bros. Discovery had quietly removed any mentions of "Brand New" from their promos with Discovery Family and Real Time both of which are residing on Zuku and MultiChoice's DStv across Africa had undergone a similar route.

Unlike Discovery Science, Discovery Family and Real Time continue to update their offering. I would be lying if I didn't say Warner had made changes to the channel that would question their very existence.

Few years back, Warner would licence content exclusively for these channels particularly The Carbonaro Effect and The Marilyn Denis Show but now both channels exist to rehash content from Discovery Channel, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery and HGTV.

On top of that, there's no marketing going towards these brands particularly content viewed on them. Considering these channels are a priority to both Warner and the viewers, you'd expect consistency. Although the latter is just repeats they are consumers actually viewing the content.

Some of these viewers may get attached to some of the content and would want to keep tabs. Warner's failure to just promote these shows would further distance viewers from the channel or better yet affect the performance as mentioning these shows would keep viewers onboard.

As to whether Real Time and Discovery Family could be going dark in the region as seen with Disney's offering in Asia and Warner's offering in Europe - that's kind of quo.

After what happened to Boomerang, Warner may look at ways of trying to keep the content intact without negatively impacting the viewers. Perhaps a merger/rebranding of the channels is what awaits for them in future or if a closure is inevitable perhaps a substitute like Discovery Channel and TLC.

In all honesty, Real Time looks more lively and upbeat than Discovery Family (with its large chunk of Discovery Channel) as it inherits content from Food Network, HGTV and Investigation Discovery with very little investment coming from TLC and Animal Planet.

Warner Bros. Discovery To Close Discovery Science And Discovery Turbo Xtra Worldwide By The End Of 2023

According to Paginamedia.ro, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to retract/close Discoivery Science and Discovery Turbo Xtra from various territories across Europe by the end of 2023. The decision comes as a result of the company's strategy to optimize their content and portfolio of linear channels seen in the region.

Countries affected include Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Israel, Latvia, Luthuania, Estonia, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

Discovery Science (also known as The Science Channel) is a factual and educational channel that was once packaged by StarTimes and On Digital Media's Starsat and SABC+. It featured shows currently viewed on Discovery Family including as How Its Made, Mythbusters, Extreme Engineering and How The Universe works.

Discovery Turbo Xtra (also known as MotorTrend) was a cars and motorsport channel that featured shows such as Chasing Classic Cars, FourWheeler, Iron Resurrection and Texas Metal. Although the channel wasn't viewable in Africa, select shows were distributed on Discovery Channel.

Warner Bros. Discovery offers a variety of brands including Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC, Food Network and Animal Planet. These brands were said to substitute Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo Xtra once it shuts down by the end of 2023.

During the year, Robert Blair left Warner. Bros. Discovery as head of international TV distribution with speculation growing on a possible streamline to their portfolio. As the company is looking to sell less content to brands like M-Net and Showmax and also reduce content spend on brands like Cartoon Network and Cartoonito.