Could SABC Look Into Merging Their DTT Platform With eMedia Investments' Openview?

SABC and eMedia were arch rivals for a more than a decade and 3 years ago they put their differences aside and formed a new partnership. This led to the additions of SABC Sport and through a separate agreement on MultiChoice's DStv, SABC's 19 radio stations on Openview.

Since then, SABC Sport had become a trailblazer ranking as one of the top 10 most watched channels on the platform joining elites like eExtra, eReality and eMovies. The channel offers a variety of sport including Premier League, NBA, La Liga, Racing Today and TKO Boxing.

Ukhozi FM, Radio 2000, Channel Africa and Phalaphala FM, some of the many radio stations operated by SABC to consumers expands eMedia's local line-up.

During the week, it was reported that Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are looking to launch a joint streaming service for sports. Similar to SABC and eMedia Investments these two had been rivalling for several decades and with the current economic climate are trying to sustain themselves.

It does lead one to wonder if SABC and eMedia Investments could look into doing something similar aside from channel additions. French company Canal+ is looking to acquire MultiChoice and should it exceed could help the pay-tv company compete on a more wider scale.

SABC and eMedia Investments services cover mainly South Africa for which most of MultiChoice's consumers resides. Another partnership could better position themselves against the likes of DStv as seen with SABC Sport it's making content more accessible.

One of the ideas that came to mind would be a merger of both their DTT platforms. SABC's current bouquet doesn't reach that many households and money is being wasted on manufacturing while eMedia's current offering doesn't offer much local content.

SABC's DTT platforms offers community stations like 1KZN and Tshwane TV a section that had been abandoned by Openview on top of local news, SABC Lehae. eMedia's offering such as eReality and eSeries are on the opposing side for M-Net as opposed to Mzansi Magic.

eMedia Investments is currently embroiled in a carriage dispute with MultiChoice for their 4 Openview channels. SABC on the other has been trying to seek revenue from the pay-tv company for SABC 1-3 and alongside eMedia better carriage fees.

Development Alert (Rumour): That Girl Lay Lay To End With A Season 2 On Nickelodeon???

That Girl Lay Lay is an American comedy television series created by David A. Arnold that premiered on Nickelodeon on September 23, 2021. The series stars That Girl Lay Lay, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, Tiffany Daniels, Thomas Hobson, Peyton Perrine III, and Caleb Brown.

Synopsis for That Girl Lay Lay

Struggling to make her mark at school and needing a best friend to talk to, Sadie wishes that Lay Lay, an artificially intelligent avatar from a personal affirmation app, were real and could help teach her how to stand out. When her wish comes true and Lay Lay is magically brought to life, they navigate life as teenagers and discover who they truly are, all while trying to keep Lay Lay's identity hidden.

The first season premiered on September 23, 2021 and consisted of 13 episodes and surprising the second season premiered July 14, 2022 with 39 episodes set to be produced basically tripling the first seasons commission.

During the week, several viewers had spotted the second season to That Girl Lay Lay on Nicktoons leading some to speculate it's possible demise. Although, there has yet to be official confirmation it's been a norm for Nickelodeon to use their secondary networks when axing shows.

That Girl Lay Lay's possible demise would follow Erin And Aaron and Danger Force as a number of Nickelodeon originals to have been culled in the year. Even fellow competitors Disney Channel's content slate had been cut with Bunk'd and Secrets Of Sulphur Springs.

Recap To The Month: Could MultiChoice Look To Close/Restructure The DStv Compact And Compact+ Onto Existing Bouquet As SuperSport La Liga And SuperSport PSL Rolls Out On DStv Family And Access?

In the waking hours of NWTV and One Freestate Televisual silent dismissal from the DStv platform. MultiChoice added SuperSport La Liga to DStv Family and Access and word going around is that SuperSport PSL is next victim to have been purged to these consumers.

Similar to La Liga, PSL was being curated for MultiChoice's mid tier market being Compact. As seen in a recent conversation with several consumers, it appears that the Access households is gradually phasing the Compact as this would be the third sports channel.

In December, MultiChoice extended the reach of ESPN 1 to Access and also made it accessible to GOtv consumers in selected countries. Since last month, various questions have been looming around regarding some of the recent developments to have occured on their platforms.

As some readers are aware, MultiChoice was slated to axe 1Magic and Me earlier in the month. There was no plans to substitute the content immediately after they went dark leading to the possibility that M-Net could be extending its reach to more households I mean it wouldn't seem far fetched.

M-Net has been losing viewers on a yearly basis and this is due to rise in costs and existing competitors such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. I mean if MultiChoice were able to add La Liga and PSL to Access what's stopping M-Net from finding its way to more households.

If there's one thing that some of these developments could be hinting at would be a possible restructure to their services. Similar to the premium market, Compact hasn't been in the best shape and with the current economic climate things aren't looking well for DStv.

The only consumers I'm not expecting any of these changes to affect would be their lower mass market which range from Family to Easyview. There's been a surge in consumers although MultiChoice is discreet on figures for each individual package as seen with their mid tier market.

As for Compact and Premium, those numbers continue to decline and with channels like Trace Urban, E! Entertainment and ESPN 1 finding their way to more households and reducing the value of these packages. A possible restructure to this line-up wouldn't seem far fetched.

Through financial records, Compact+ is regarded as premium and with 1Magic's possible demise it could revert to that. As for Compact, MultiChoice could merge it with Family under on its tile and separating it from Access and Easyview I mean the offering is almost identical.

About SuperSport PSL

SuperSport PSL focuses mainly on domestic soccer matches in South Africa and other African countries

through live broadcasts, magazine shows and

highlights. Aside from Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches, it is also home to various PSL themed programs like PSL News.

As reported, MultiChoice extended the reach of SuperSport PSL to their DStv Family customers across Southern Africa including Namibia and Botswana while in South Africa it is also available on DStv Access.

Goblins Of Litter | Before Courage | Courage The Cowardly Dog | Cartoon Network

Before Courage was a scrapped prequel revival series to the Cartoon Network series, Courage the Cowardly Dog initially made for release on the Boomerang channel. Although development for the series' pilot began in late 2018, it was later shelved due to the management team at Cartoon Network prioritizing their focus to other properties.

In October 2018, Dilworth commented on a Facebook post that he was in negotiations with Boomerang for a prequel to the series. Later that month, Dilworth announced on Facebook that development on a "potential prequel" to Courage for Boomerang was expected to begin.[1] However, in May 2020, when asked about the project, Dilworth responded that it had been "transformed into another thing". Albeit not confirmed, it could be presumed that he may have referred to the Scooby Doo crossover, Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog.

In June 2021, Dilworth revealed that the project was on turnaround as Cartoon Network's management is prioritizing their focus on other projects. In January 2022, Dilworth revealed that the project has already been dropped and fell through for the same reason.

In February 2024, Dilworth posted the animatic pilot for the series, titled "Goblins of Litter", onto his YouTube channel.

Development Alert: Shadows Of The Past, The Last Telenovela To Have Aired On FOX Life Returns To Africa After 4 Years On TLNovelas

FOX Life was home to various telenovelas viewed in Latin America and Turkey alongside reality shows and drama series. It debuted in 2016 across Africa featuring various shows like the Turkish drama Matter Of Respect alongside Portuguese shows like Along Came Love.

As seen by September 2020, Disney had opted to discontinue carriage of the FOX Life brand across Africa and since then several content from the channel had resurfaced on TLNovelas such as Roads To Destiny, Secrets At The Hotel and The Candidate.

During the week, it was revealed that Shadows Of The Past (La Sombra Del Pasado) will be returning to Africa therefore completing the set of Portuguese shows from TelevisaUnivision to have aired on FOX Life.

Based on 2001 telenovela El Manantial, it follows Two very different families live in the village of Santa Lucía who are involved in a whirlwind of passion, pain, and revenge. From those opposite sides, Aldonza and Cristóbal meet and a bond that will face hurdles is formed.

Michelle Renaud and Pablo Lyle stars as the protagonists, while Alexis Ayala and Alejandra Barros stars as the antagonists. There is a special participation of Susana González and René Strickler, with Alfredo Adame, Cynthia Klitbo and Manuel "Flaco" Ibáñez.

The series will start airing on 22nd April replacing Crown Of Tears once it ends.