Recap To The Week: BBC Prime Returning As A Programming Block On SABC 3 After TV Channel Was Shuttered On DStv And Other Parts Of The World In 2009

BBC Studios has revived the BBC Prime trademark after it shuttered in 2009. With the channel that was subsequently replaced by BBC Entertainment which had seen been divided between two channels, BBC First and BBC Brit.

Not long ago, it was reported by the company that they had forged a new content deal alongside the SABC. This would see the public broadcaster using one of their 3 free-to-air channels for archived material viewed from the BBC in a 2 hour block.

This block which will go into effect from 1st April featuring dramas like Luther and Cheaters alongside factual entertainment like Top Gear and Louis Theroux: Forbidden America. It will broadcast weeknights at 21:00 and stream on SABC+ in May.

BBC Prime was once a TV channel on the DStv platform for the premium market. The revived trademark will only serve as a 2 hour block giving 13 million homes in South Africa access to BBC Studios content. 

This comes a year after eMedia Investments had attempted to rollout long form version of BBC Prime to Openview. Since then, MultiChoice had snatched rights to the channel which currently resides within 13 million homes in Africa despite its unavailability on premium.

Development Alert: The Loud House Resurfaces On Nicktoons After Being Purged Across Africa (Excluding South Africa) In 2023

In 2014, The Loud House alongside several animated shows viewed on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney Channel had been banned from Africa. This was after Paramount Global had opted to censor out any gay content viewed on their channels. 

Since then, The Loud House alongside the affected shows in question were only viewable on the above-mentioned channels in South Africa while the rest of Africa had slotted other programs in place.

By October 2021, Nickelodeon had made past seasons to The Loud House accessible on Nicktoons across Africa. This was accompanied by additional content such as The Casagrandes, Middlemost Post and The Barbarian And The Troll.

After a year on air, The Loud House was silently removed from the channel's lineup. Although it was still listed on the programme guide, the channel allocated It's Pony and Middlemost Post before being subsequently replaced with The Casagrandes. 

Through the programme guide, The Loud House is now listed on Nicktoons at 19:00 from 1st April. Not only will the show return to Nicktoons but it will relaunch in Africa after almost 10 years the only catch these episodes are only on weeknights. 

Paramount Global hasn't responded to the sudden inclusion of but based on the timeslot. They're likely trying to alienate the show from their younger audiences as The Loud House has become more of a TV series for younger adults aged 18.

French Broadcaster TF1 To Launch Its Newly Launched Streaming Service In Europe And Africa

French commercial broadcaster TF1 is to expand its newly launched streaming service into parts of Europe and Africa.

TF1+ went live on January 8 with 15,000 hours of available content, including 200 feature films, 200 TV movies and 200 box sets, featuring such iconic French series HPI and Sam, plus daily soaps and imported series.

An initial rollout will begin in June, when TF1+ will be extended into neighbouring Belgium and Luxembourg before expanding into French-speaking Africa in the next 18 months. Other territories, including Canada, are also on the roadmap.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Chief Executive Officer Rodolphe Belmer said he plans to push into as many French speaking markets as possible to grow its base and attract advertisers.

“We do not look to compensate a decline of linear TV, we want to capture a bigger market share of digital ads,” he said, adding that online ads can command higher prices because they’re targeted directly at consumers.

Online ads, which command higher prices because they’re easier to target to particular customers, can command about three times the price per thousand people reached, he said.

With a target advertising revenue of €15 per thousand people, TF1+ would be priced between YouTube at the lower end and Disney+ and Netflix at the top. “We want to tap the core of the market, and make a difference with bigger volume,” Belmer said.

Rather than create Originals for the platform, TF1 will instead rely on its existing library.

New Series Alert: ‘Ark: The Animated Series,’ Based On ‘Survival Evolved’ Game, Surprise Drops on Paramount+

The animated series based on Studio WildCard’s “Ark: Survival Evolved” video game finally has a platform attached. The first six episodes of Season 1 surprise dropped on Paramount+ on Thursday, with the remaining seven episodes set for a later date.

Spanning eons of human history, “Ark: The Animated Series” follows 21st century paleontologist Helena Walker (voiced by Madeleine Madden), who finds herself resurrected on a mysterious primeval island populated by prehistoric beasts. There, she must learn to survive with new allies from throughout time while trying to uncover the true nature of their strange new world.

Along with Madden, the voice cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Russell Crowe, Gerard Butler, David Tennant, Jeffrey Wright, Elliot Page, Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Zahn McClarnon, Devery Jacobs, Elliot Page, Deborah Mailman, Ragga Ragnars, Malcolm McDowell, Monica Bellucci and Alan Tudyk.

Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak executive produce “Ark: The Animated Series” alongside Marc Diana; Doug Kennedy; Jay Oliva; James Baldanzi; Vin Diesel and Samantha Vincent for One Race Films; Gerard Butler and Alan Siegel for G-Base Entertainment; and Russell Crowe. Stieglitz, Oliva, David Hartman and Sebastian Montes serve as directors, and Marguerite Bennett and Kendall Deacon Davis serve as co-writers. The series is a production of Lost Continent Entertainment and Lex + Otis.

Studio WildCard officially released “Ark: Survival Evolved” in 2017 after an early access release on Steam in 2015. “Ark: The Animated Series” was first announced with a trailer during the 2020 Video Game Awards, with another trailer released in 2022, still without a platform attached.

Moonbug Entertainment Extends Its Reach To More Asian Households With U-Next And Taiwan Mobile

Moonbug new partnership with Taiwan Mobile

In a new partnership with telecom company Taiwan Mobile, Moonbug Entertainment is looking to establish a strong presence on screens and toy shelves in the region.

Moonbug has closed a deal to bring around 3,500 eps of content to MyVideo (Taiwan Mobile’s OTT platform) and regional children’s channel momokids. 

Starting this week, MyVideo is hosting a 24/7 channel dedicated to Moonbug’s IPs that offers 330 episodes in traditional Chinese and 150 hours of English and no-dialogue content. Plus it will roll out a new compilation every month. Meanwhile, momokids plans to broadcast a weekday “carousel program” featuring 2.5 hours of episodes from shows like CoComelon, Blippi, Little Angel and Morphle.

Moonbug Entertainment new partnership with U-Next

London’s Moonbug Entertainment has closed a 662-episode package deal with growing Japanese SVOD platform U-Next.

With more than four million registered subscribers, U-Next is Japan’s leading domestic streamer, and it only ranks behind Amazon Prime (18.6 million subs) and Netflix (8.1 million subs) overall, according to a February 2024 report published by MediaPartners Asia’s ampd. The study also noted that U-Next was the fastest-growing platform in Japan’s SVOD market in 2023, with a 30% share of all net new subscribers added that year. 

This deal aligns with Moonbug’s focus on strengthening its presence in the Asian region. Last July, Yasmin Zahid joined the company as head of distribution and brand partnerships in APAC, with a remit to work with key buyers there to expand Moonbug’s footprint. Her hire followed closely behind YoungAh Park coming on board in April as Moonbug’s first-ever commercial director for South Korea.