Development Alert: Play Room Acquired Broadcasting Rights To The Canadian Animated Series Total Dramarama, Undergoes Timeslot Changes

During the week, Play Room broadcast the first season to Total Dramarama currently viewed on Teletoon in Canada and various Cartoon Network feeds in other countries. It sets as another prequel to the Total Drama franchise and also crosses over to 6teen.

Total Dramarama re-introduces some of the original "Total Drama" characters in an alternate universe where they are aged down from teenagers to toddlers, being taken care of by Chef Hatchet. Each episode features dream sequences, visual jokes, confessionals, and flashbacks.

Produced by Corus Entertainment and Fresh TV Inc., it debuted by September 2018 and spawned over 3 seasons with a total of 152 episodes each consisting of 11 minutes. Play Room will distribute them as half hour episodes basically making it only 76 episodes.

Total Dramarama airs on weekdays at 17:00 a timeslot that was once reserved for Nickelodeon's live-action series Henry Danger moves to 16:30 while Game Shakers' will only air at 16:00 with Sanjay And Craig serving as a complimentary retaining its 17:30 timeslot.

Although, this came last minute Play Room was initially meant to distribute Game Shakers in a 30 minute timeslot and Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures and Enchantimals was meant to compliment Sanjay And Craig but for some reason the latter was moved to weekday mornings.

New Channel Alert: Zambezi Reloaded And SuperSport Reloaded To Be Allocated On The DStv And Possible GOtv Platforms

A few months ago, it was reported that MultiChoice might be looking to add Zambezi Reloaded to the DStv platform. It served as Zambezi Magic's first ever spinoff channel which similar to Maisha Magic POA and kykNET Lekker would rehash existing content.

From what my earlier prediction suggested, it would be accessible on channel 165 but unlike the above-mentioned brands. This will serve as a catch-up channel until 31 December 2023 in Malawi following DStv's exit in the market consumers had missed out on content.

Another channel which is set to join the list later this month is SuperSport Reloaded. It would serve as the second sports channel to be allocated on the DStv platform during the year following SuperSport Schools linear debut in March following its acquisition years prior.

Similar to the long-awaited reloaded channel, SuperSport will only be using this brand for repeats of sporting events like the Fast5 World Netball Series, Berlin Sports Running Marathon and even the UEFA Champions League.

If one had to guess this could be a rebranded (or temporary) version of the current SuperSport Play channel that was only exclusive to DStv Easyview consumers on DStv Stream. It's currently unknown whether it would be made available to the same consumers or move up to Access.

New Channel Alert: MultiChoice To Add Trace Brasil To The DStv Platform In Angola And Mozambique

Launched In 2019, TRACE Brasil is the one and only channel dedicated to Brazilian urban music serving 200 million Portuguese speakers in the world. Also known as Trace Brazuca apparently, it covers covers all genres of urban music including Funk, Rap, Samba, Pagode.

Weird enough, MultiChoice seems to have acquired rights to the channel for its consumers in Angola and Mozambique under the name, Trace Brasil. So we assume that either Trace Brazuca will be undergoing a rebrand or a localised version of the channel will be rolling out.

Some content confirmed for the soon-to-be-launched music channel include from what appears to be a localised version of FOCUS alongside other content like De Volta, Gospel Vibes and Tecendo A Liberdade.

The channel might arrive later in the month if not early 2024 on channel 592 which will accompany existing brands like Trace Toca, Trace Jama, Trace Urban, Trace Musika, Trace Naija and Trace Gospel therefore boosting MultiChoice number of trace channels to 6.

In other developments, MultiChoice and Disney extended the reach of ESPN 1 to DStv Family and Access consumers in Southern Africa alongside GOtv Lite consumers in ROA. Weird enough, a few markets had opted to make this an open window which ends 31 December 2023.

Development Alert: FOX And FOX Life Will Become FX And FX Life Across Baltics And CIS By January 2024, More International Disney Channels Are Expected To Close

FX returns to the Nordic and Baltics region

The Nordic and Baltic branches of The Walt Disney Company will adopt a new name and a striking visual identity on January 24, 2024, when FOX and FOX Life become FX and FX Life. FX and FX Life continue to deliver familiar and beloved content, bringing premium entertainment, including the best international series, to local audiences. 

“When FOX and FOX Life become FX and FX Life, our overall entertainment content will align with the Disney+ streaming platform while continuing to offer fans their favorite stories. This includes global hit series such as Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, This is Us, Castle, 9-1-1 and more. 

We look forward to bringing new shows and high-quality entertainment to our Estonian audience next year," said Hans van Rijn, SVP and Head of The Walt Disney Company Nordic & Baltic. He added, "Linear television remains a priority for us, enabling our audiences to experience exciting content from the many world-class studios in the Disney family." 

The FX brand has been refined and adapted to meet the needs of local television, while maintaining the bold and confident legacy created by FOX.

Disney is pulling the cord of more TV channels

Since Disney+ inception back in 2019, Disney has closed various Disney Channels across the UK, Asia and Italy while a majority of channels still reside within Europe and Africa. Part of which still have no access to Disney+ and are therefore just losing out on content.

Theoretically, it was estimated that Disney could close their remaining linear offering by 2025 but Disney+ is still not sustainable in some of the areas launched. The linear offering is one way to help sustain the streamer and if possible lure potential audiences.

Despite the setback, Disney was still able to close it's remaining linear offering in Asia who also handle operations in the Middle East and North Africa. Since then a majority of international feeds are aligned/managed within Southern Africa (also known as Europe, Middle East and Africa).

Although there's no official confirmation, National Geographic People (Nat Geo People) and FOX Action Movies are anticipated to go dark by 2024 across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) seeing as these were handled in Asia whose offering is being migrated to Disney+. 

As mentioned, most international territories (including MENA) are being handled by Disney EMEA who only supply children brands Disney Channel and Disney Junior alongside factual brands National Geographic and National Geographic Wild.

In Portugal, all the FOX channels are being folded under the Star brand by 2024 (i.e. FOX Life becomes Star Life). This includes consumers in Angola and Mozambique for which MultiChoice operates their service and also supply the affected brands like FOX, FOX Life and FOX Comedy.

News Shorts: Jellystone Might End With A Season 4 On Cartoon Network And Max, Bob Hearts Abishola Will End On CBS After 5 Seasons And History Channel Across Africa Explores The Many Legacies Left By Past Civilisations

Jellystone has mysteriously been renewed for a season 3 & 4

Jellystone! is an American animated television comedy series developed by C. H. Greenblatt for Max and Cartoon Network. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and features reimagined versions of various characters by Hanna-Barbera.

The series was renewed for a second season by 2022 with a further 40 episodes. It could have gone the same route as Little Ellen and Close Enough but instead Warner Bros. Studios opted to split these 40 episodes into two seasons bringing it to a total of 4 seasons with the latter expected to air by January 2024.

Most crew members who had worked on the show had since then moved to Disney's STUGO while C.H. Greenblatt is developing a new show for Disney Television Animation. Honestly, Jellystone was one of those few shows to get some light of day after a one year hiatus.

Bob and Abishola call it quits

The fifth season of the multi-cam comedy is due to premiere on Feb. 12, with the series finale now set for May 13 on CBS with M-Net also anticipated to air the finale sometime in 2024. The show is described as a love story about Bob, a middle-aged compression sock businessman from Detroit, who unexpectedly fell for his cardiac nurse, Abishola, a Nigerian immigrant, while recovering from a heart attack.

The ending of “Bob Hearts Abishola” marks the potential end of an era at CBS. With the show ending, coupled with the previously announced ending of “Young Sheldon,” Chuck Lorre does not currently have any shows slated to be on the CBS schedule going into next fall. Unless the network picks up a new show from Lorre and his team between now and then, it will be the first time Lorre has not had at least one show on CBS since 2003.

Lorre’s run at CBS has been nothing short of historic. In the past 20 years he has co-created and executive produced shows for the network including long-running hits like “The Big Bang Theory,” “Two and Half Men,” “Mom,” and “Young Sheldon.” He is currently prepping the series “Bookie” for Max.

Ancient civilisations revealed

This December on the HISTORY Channel, DStv 186, discover great empires that’ve shaped the world we know today.

Explore the many legacies left behind by past civilisations, learn more about the iconic rulers of the ancient world and uncover the architectural achievements of extraordinary empires.  

Don't miss these three series this December...

Footprints of Civilisation

Saturdays at 19h25

Starts 2 December

In our technologically advanced modern age, it’s easy to forget the enormous debt we owe the ancient world. The concept of democracy was developed by the Ancient Greeks, everything we know about space began with the Babylonians, and the roots of the binary system that drives today’s computers can be found in Ancient Egypt. The legacies left behind by some of these civilisations, as long as 5000 years ago, have become the foundations of much of what we take for granted today. 

Empire Builders S2

Sundays at 20h15

Starts 24 December

This epic series that brings to life some of the ‘Great Empires’. Each episode visits the most significant sites that have defined their achievements and legacy; 100 historic sites in all, discovering how they were built, for what purpose, and what they reveal about each empire’s rise and fall. Combining CGI and dramatic reconstructions with insights from history experts, Empire Builders reveals the story of extraordinary empires that are still shaping the way we live our lives today. Stories include the Ancient Greeks, the Inca, the Pacific, China, Netherlands and Mexico.

Ancient Empires

Tuesdays at 19h25

Starts 26 December

Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. Rulers of Greek, Roman and Egyptian empires. The three most iconic, powerful and brilliant leaders in ancient history. Leaders whose lives and legacies still shape our world today. Their names are well known, but their stories have never been told like this before. To survive and succeed they had to be unique, strategic, ruthless and charming. The story of their epic lives reveals just what it takes to rule over an Ancient Empire.