April 2024 On DreamWorks Channel Across Africa | New Series Alert: Spirit Riding Free | New Episodes: All Hail King Julien | Weekend Movies: Astro Boy

NEW SHOW (1-13)

Spirit Riding Free 

From Monday, 1st April

Weekdays at 8.30am, 8.10pm

DreamWorks Spirit Riding Free centers on a group

of three friends, who together experience coming

of age and the power of friendship. Lucky, a gutsy

12-year-old girl, befriends a wild mustang she

names Spirit. With her two best friends, Abigail

and Pru, and their horses by her side, they explore

a world filled with endless rides and never ending fun. Together they’ll push their own limits and discover what it truly means to be free.

NEW EPISODES (53-65)

All Hail King Julien  

From Monday, 1st April

Weekdays at 3.35pm, 8.35pm

Weekends at 11.50am, 5.40pm 

After King Julien flees the kingdom, a chill sets in

on the island of Madagascar: Koto is coming. As a battle of the lemurs looms large, King Julien must

venture across the sea to recruit an army of

unlikely allies, including Uncle King Julien, some

saucy lemur ladies, and the despicable Karl. In

this heroic saga for the ages, Julien must find a

way to reclaim his beloved kingdom

WEEKEND MOVIE

Woody Woodpecker 

Saturday 6th April at 9.20am

Sunday 7th April at 7.15am  

Woody must protect his forest home from Lance

Walters (Timothy Omundson), who starts building

his dream mansion in the forest with his son,

Tommy, and fiancée, Vanessa (Thaila Ayala). To

make matters worse, he must avoid the clutches

of two grizzly poachers. With a series of crazy

hijinks to sabotage their plans, Woody proves he'll

stop at nothing to defend his turf. Get ready for big laughs in this hilarious comedy about everyone's favourite woodpecker!

WEEKEND MOVIE

Astro Boy 

Saturday 27th April at 9.20am, 6.05pm

Sunday 28th April at 7.15am 

In futuristic Metro City, a brilliant scientist named

Tenma builds Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore), a

robotic child with superstrength, X-ray vision and

the ability to fly. Astro Boy sets out to explore the

world and find acceptance, learning what being

human is all about in the process. Finding that his

friends and family in Metro City are in danger, he

uses his incredible powers to save all that he

loves.

Development Alert: Disney Channel Greenlights New Series Wizards Set In The Universe Of Wizards Of The Waverly Place

Wizards of Waverly Place is creating its own universe as Disney Channel has officially greenlit a sequel series Wizards (w/t) with original stars Selena Gomez and David Henrie reprising their roles and taking on executive producer duties. Production on the new series begins In April in Los Angeles with a premiere tentatively scheduled for later this year on Disney Channel and Disney+.

As reported in January, the project will be written and executive produced by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas who are behind another Disney Channel comedy spinoff, Raven’s Home.

The series follows an adult Justin Russo (Henrie), who has chosen to lead a normal, mortal life with his family, Giada (Mimi Gianopulos), Roman (Alkaio Thiele) and Milo (Max Matenko). When Justin’s sister Alex (Gomez) brings Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown) to his home seeking help, Justin realizes he must dust off his magical skills to mentor the wizard-in-training while also juggling his everyday responsibilities – and safeguarding the future of the Wizard World. 

“Wizards of Waverly Place captivated hearts with its spellbinding adventures and big laughs, creating unforgettable memories for kids and families everywhere,” Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to step back into the magical world of Wizards, inviting longtime fans and a new generation to experience the enchantment alongside Selena, David, and our incredible cast and crew.”

Elinoff and Thomas serve as writers and executive producers, along with Gary Marsh. Andy Fickman directed and executive produced the pilot and will direct multiple episodes.

Marsh was the former longtime top Disney Channels creative executive who was the driving force behind Wizards of Waverly Place and was instrumental in getting Gomez on the network after she was discovered during an open casting call in Dallas.

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.