Sony Plans To Scrap Merger With Zee TV Parent Company

Japan's Sony (6758.T) is planning to scrap the merger of its Indian unit with Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS), more than two years after the deal was announced, over a disagreement on who will lead the $10 billion entity, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

Sony plans to file a termination notice before the extended Jan. 20 deadline to close the merger, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It added that discussions between Sony and Zee were still ongoing.

Zee and Sony did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The deal to merge Zee and Sony's TV channels, streaming platforms and film assets has been delayed after India's markets regulator, in August, barred Punit Goenka, Zee CEO and a candidate to lead the merged entity, from directorships of any listed company.

An Indian tribunal, however, lifted the ban on Goenka in October but said he would have to cooperate with any investigation by the country's markets regulator.

In November, Sony pushed for N.P. Singh, the managing director of its Indian operations, to head the merged company, instead of Goenka, local business daily Mint had reported.

Channel Termination: 1Magic And M-Net Essentials (ME) Will Stop Airing On DStv Platforms By 2 February

Update: the channels will close 31 March 2024 and for an updated statement: click here 

During the week, we recieved word from various DStv consumers that MultiChoice will be axing both M-Net Essentials (ME) and 1Magic by February 2nd, 2024. In an enquiry, we were able to retrieve confirmation of the terminations which comes weeks before the demise of Emmanuel TV.

1Magic was launched back in 2018 as a replacement to VUZU AMP combining the Mzansi Magic formula would feature curated local productions like The River, Unmarried And The Real Housewives Of Johannesburg alongside international content like Moesha and Grownish.

Me (also known as M-Net Essentials) followed three years later in 2021 as a replacement to both VUZU and M-Net City. The channel was catered for Family and Compact consumers while being made available to Premium and Compact+ featuring content from M-Net and 1Magic.

Both channels had their turnoff for 1Magic, there was Moesha, Hits and The Talk which had been bombarding the channel's line-up. The River was the one of the few reasons anyone would continue tuning into 1Magic but after launching on Mzansi Magic things went south.

Me suffered from the rippling effects of M-Net City, a brand which M-Net and several viewers held high on a pedestal serving as the more edgier and robust version to both M-Net and 1Magic with shows like Gotham, Black Lightning, Marvel's Runaways, Magnum Pi and Power. 

Although Me retained this offering, the channel didn't meet viewer's expectations that MultiChoice opted to not substitute it with another channel. It means consumers will have to watch Universal TV for Magnum Pi and Chicago PD while losing out on shows like The Voice and American Idol.

MultiChoice in this drastic turn of events has left their Compact+ and Compact customers without a premium tiered channel as M-Net remains exclusive to Premium customers. The only other means Universal TV resides on Family meaning consumers could just downgrade.

All of this has kind of lead consumers to speculate the possible demise of the Compact+ bouquet. As most channels like Comedy Central, ESPN 2, WildEarth, CBeebies and E! Entertainment had all migrated to other low tiered bouquets.

With the destruction of 1Magic, it leads one to wonder how long till channels like Channel O have till it drowns in its own pool of blood. Funny thing about its closure is that it occurs around the same time The River ends meaning the channel couldn't sustain itself without Lindiwe.

MultiChoice had shuttered HONEY last year and diverted content to Showmax meaning the latter (including 1Magic) would transmit on Mzansi Magic. They'll also be launching a revamped Showmax streaming service with a slate of content that might resurface on Universal TV.

Theoretically, it is believed that MultiChoice could be prioritising Universal TV as it garnered popularity following the closure of M-Net City. Although they're currently no plans to substitute the affected, MultiChoice will more likely find other means to keep viewers entertained.

Battle Of The Kaan'ers: kykNET & Kie's Newest Addition Moederhart Clashes With e.tv's Annekan Die Swa Kry While Repeat Telecasts Of e.tv's Ouma Sarie Airs In The Timeslot As SABC 2's Vetkoekpaleis

During the week, kykNET & Kie revived the 17:30 timeslot with Moederhart after quietly ripping away primetime from the channel when In Die Ysterhand Se Greep ended. There was a lot of commotion of a follow-up and surprisingly it had garnered popularity with our readers.

Moederhart tells the story of three sisters and their brother - Zeynep, Emre, Cemre and Aysun - who, together with their mother, Nefise, are left in poverty after the sudden death of their father. As a single mother, Nefise often feels powerless, but with the help of a family member, she starts working for a rich family in a mansion. 

The series airs Mondays to Thursdays at 17:30 on kykNET & Kie prior to that will be Annekan Die Swa Kry at 17:00 on e.tv. Similar to Skeem Saam on SABC 1 which is set to air in the same timeslot as Scandal consumers will have to juggle two shows.

Prior to that, eMedia Investments made a small adjustment to their line-up by slotting an extra 30 minutes to Ouma Sarie which will air weekdays at 18:00 to accompany Annekan Die Swa Kry in a segment known as 90 minutes of Afrikaans.

After 7de Laan was axed on SABC 2, the public broadcaster opted to air a telecast of the comedy Vetkoekpaleis in its timeslot in which eMedia acquired for eExtra. There was a lot of media debacle as to whether e.tv would look to ramp up a rival offering.

From January 15, Ouma Sarie will air in the same timeslot as Vetkoekpaleis on SABC 2 at 18:00. Considering that eExtra will be offering the drama Vetkoekpaleis it wouldn't surprise me if it were to resurface on e.tv once Ouma Sarie ends as both were exclusive to eExtra.

Could E! Entertainment Also Be Shutting Down On DStv And The Rest Of Africa??? Here's Why

NBCUniversal International has been slowly phasing out the E! brand across European countries. After Comcast had made some budget cuts to the programming, E! Entertainment had to sought out shows like Vanderpump Rules and Below Deck Mediterranean from Bravo.

During the week, both M-Net Movies and E! Entertainment were set to broadcast The Golden Globes but to consumer's dismay E! Entertainment had opted to not broadcast the red carpet. It was viewed as one of the signature looks for the channel alongside The Kardashians.

As mentioned above, E! Entertainment had shuttered in parts of Europe with the UK that closed by 31 December 2023 after 20 years with Germany a year prior on the same date. It lead to growing fear from several DStv consumers that the same fate could await the whole of Africa.

Similar to the likes of 1Magic and Lifetime, most channels to have exited the platform would often distance themselves from their primetime lineup and E! has been falling inline with these former DStv channels.

Besides that, E! Entertainment in the UK had also lost out on the red carpet and various other programs before closing down. Now consumers in Africa are witnessing the same outcome seen in Africa so it's only a matter of time till the channel closes down.

In other developments, MultiChoice is set to lose 3 more channels later in the month: 1Magic, Me and Emmanuel TV. This comes amidst their annual price adjustment and most consumers will wonder why they're paying more if they can't minimise the bloodbath of channels.

Could DStv Compact Plus Also Be Discontinued/Merged With DStv Premium??? As MultiChoice Looks Into Rolling Out An Unbundled DStv Package

A few years ago, MultiChoice began to test out a new unbundled package known as DStv Flex which is basically a cheaper DStv Premium package as you browse a selection of premium entertainment channels with sports from SuperSport and films from M-Net Movies curated on as an add-on.

MultiChoice hasn't stated when this package would launch but if we had to guess presumably within the next decade. With the current state of Premium and Compact+, don't be shocked if a restructuring was what awaited all their packages with these two merging into one.

Several channels that were once exclusive to Compact+ such as Comedy Central, E! Entertainment and ESPN 2 have all migrated to lower packages. Few other brands such as History and Nickelodeon could reside within Premium giving it an advantage over Compact.

Compact+ created a rift between Premium and Compact packages snatching several content and making it affordable. MultiChoice was restructuring Compact+ as how M-Net structured VUZU AMP with VUZU which is where Compact resides now both brands have become a thing of the past.

As for the unbundled package, we feel this could lead to the offloading of more channels and who knows Premium could be minimised by then. One thing for certain is the only way this package and premium can live harmoniously would be minimising their rates.