Canal+ Increases Stake In MultiChoice To Almost 42%

French media group Canal+ today announced it has acquired additional shares In MultiChoice, the operator of Africa’s biggest pay-TV – DStv.

Following a significant increase in its ownership stake, Canal+ has triggered a mandatory offer to minority shareholders of MultiChoice Group. This action was necessitated after surpassing a predefined threshold established by the JSE.

In accordance with JSE regulations, when an individual or entity acquires at least 35% of a listed company, a mandatory offer must be extended to other shareholders under terms agreed upon with the main exchange.

Canal+ has put forth a mandatory offer to acquire all outstanding shares of MultiChoice Group not already held by the conglomerate. The proposed purchase price stands at R125.00 per share, payable in cash, signaling Canal+’s commitment to further consolidate its position within the media landscape.

Today, Canal+ announced it has increased its shareholding to 41.60% in MultiChoice.

Canal+ has acquired in on/off market transactions, a further 3,374,668 MultiChoice Shares, as follows:

• On Thursday, 18 April 2024, Canal+ acquired 18,633 MultiChoice Shares in on/off market

transactions for an average consideration of ZAR 116.00 per MultiChoice Share

• On Friday, 19 April 2024, Canal+ acquired 101,468 MultiChoice Shares in on/off market transactions for an average consideration of ZAR 115.99 per MultiChoice Share

• On Monday, 22 April 2024, Canal+ acquired 1,618,032 MultiChoice Shares in on/off market

transactions for an average consideration of ZAR 116.42 per MultiChoice Share

• On Tuesday, 23 April 2024, Canal+ acquired 342,678 MultiChoice Shares in on/off market

transactions for an average consideration of ZAR 116.83 per MultiChoice Share

• On Wednesday, 24 April 2024, Canal+ acquired 1,293,857 MultiChoice Shares in on/off market

transactions for an average consideration of ZAR 117.59 per MultiChoice Share

After the aforementioned trades are implemented, Canal+ will hold an aggregate of approximately

41,60% of the MultiChoice Shares in issue.

“Canal+ confirms that these acquisitions have already been disclosed to the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) as required under the Companies Act No. 71 of 2008 (Companies Act) and Chapter 5 of the Companies Regulations, 2011 (Takeover Regulations).”

Just weeks after revealing that Imtiaz Patel would remain as chairman to manage a potential deal with Groupe Canal+, MultiChoice Group has now announced Patel’s immediate departure from the position.

This decision arises amidst growing worries about corporate governance within the broadcasting company, currently under a takeover proposal by France’s Canal+.

In an unexpected turn of events, MultiChoice disclosed on April 2nd, after a board meeting ahead of the Easter weekend, that it was retracting an earlier statement regarding Patel’s planned resignation. The board had previously announced that Elias Masilela would assume the chairmanship starting April 1st.

“In view of the recent ruling by the Takeover Regulation Panel that required Canal+ to make an immediate mandatory offer to all MultiChoice shareholders…the MultiChoice board has reached an agreement with Imtiaz Patel to remain on as chair,” the company said at the time.

New Series Alert: Ajooni, eExtra's First Series From Star Bharat Debuts In May

eExtra, a general entertainment channel operated by eMedia Investments that is home to international dramas from Turkey, Asia and India is set to rollout a new series titled Ajooni. eMedia has yet to release further details about the show.

But from what we presume here this could be a reference to the drama from Star Bharat. Of course, the reason we've been doubtful pertains to the misinformation regarding Broken Bonds and This Is Love.

The story Ajooni is set in Haryalipur, where the titular character and Avinash are to be engaged but then she accidentally meets Rajveer in the market and he falls for Ajooni - love at first sight. He starts stalking her and breaks her engagement with Avinash.

It starred Ayushi Khurana as Ajooni Bagga, Shoaib Ibrahim as Rajveer Singh Bagga, Drisha Kalyani as Meher Vohra, Pankaj Dheer as Ravindra Singh Bagga and Shraddha Singh as Harman Ravindra Singh Bagga.

Ajooni aired from 26 July 2022 to 23 August 2023 on Star Bharat with 316 episodes filmed each with a 22 minute duration. Now the series is slated to rollout on eExtra daily at 13:45 from 8 May with an 18+ age restriction, could censorship be included?

Development Alert: Dora Renewed For Season 2 On Nick Jr. And Paramount+

Paramount+ has renewed the animated preschool series Dora for a second season. The iconic Latina heroine returned this month in the CG-animated revival series produced by Nickelodeon Animation. 

Dora, based on the original series Dora the Explorer, follows everyone’s favorite bilingual explorer, Dora (Diana Zermeño), and her best monkey friend, Boots (Asher Colton Spence) as they embark on epic adventures in a fantastical rainforest. Guided by trustworthy Map (Anairis Quiñones), Dora and her friends must work together to overcome many obstacles while being challenged by the sneakiest fox, Swiper (Marc Weiner). Kathleen Herles, the original voice of Dora the Explorer, voices Mami.

“Kids and family programming is consistently one of the most popular genres on Paramount+ and we’re thrilled that our audience has already embraced Dora,” said Jeff Grossman, Executive Vice President, Programming, Paramount+. “It’s an incredible opportunity to introduce this beloved character and iconic franchise to a whole new generation.” 

Dora is currently available to stream exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and also on Nick Jr. internationally.

Dora is produced by Nickelodeon Animation in Burbank, California, and created by Chris Gifford and Valerie Walsh Valdes. Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Rich Magallanes serve as executive producers. Henry Lenardin-Madden serves as co-executive producer, and Alejandro Bien-Willner serves as story editor. Marielle Kaar is Nickelodeon’s Executive in Charge of Production for the series. Dora the Explorer was created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner.

“Our audiences have embraced the new Dora series with open arms, and it’s incredible how she continues to capture the imaginations of preschoolers around the world with her extraordinary rainforest adventures,“ said Ramsey Naito, President, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation. “We can’t wait for kids to discover all of the new fantastical places and colorful characters in the second season while learning and playing along with their good friend Dora.”

Bomber Shorts: NickMusic Being Burned Off On Weekday Mornings On Nicktoons, Guddan Unexpectedly Resurfaces On Zee World And A Rebroadcast Of Ana's Revenge And El Baron Launch On Telemundo Across Africa m

NickMusic's demise on weekday mornings 

NickMusic is a basically a youth oriented version to the current MTV that features a mixture of local and international hits catered toward a younger demographic. Internationally, it operates as a programming block (if not TV show) and 24 hour channel.

Since its inception on Nicktoons, the show has been going through numerous timeslot changes and in recent months getting phased out from the lineup. Usually Nicktoons would restart NickMusic from the beginning but now it can go unnoticed for several months. 

As some readers are aware, NickMusic airs daily at 16:10 and from May 6th these episodes will air in its repeat slot at 09:00. I don't get why they'd want to air new episodes that early when a majority of the channel's viewers aren't tuning in.

Another why let The Casagrandes get another timeslot as the channel had become bloated with its repeat alongside SpongeBob SquarePants. Is this the channel's way of axing shows perhaps or another way to view it as a liability?

Zee World to hit a new low with a rebroadcast 

A rebroadcast of the first season of This Is Fate was currently airing on the channel weekday afternoons at 3pm. Zee World suddenly decides to yank the show of the schedule for a rebroadcast of Guddan from the third season. 

Now why let Guddan back on the channel particularly from season 3 considering this is the first time reruns come on it would have made a lot more sense to restart from season 1 unless the channel has something else on the cards.

Telemundo is offering double the Zee-nanza

Unlike Zee World, Telemundo is no stranger to rebroadcasts as primetime had continued to plummet on the channel with 22:00 remaining the sole survivor with Come Back To Me. As two reenter the channel for a share of repeats, Ana's Revenge and El Baron.

Ana's Revenge followed a young woman who decides to avenge the death of her mother.

El Baron followed a young Mexican dreamer and rebel helps Pablo Escobar change the world of drug trafficking forever.

Ana's Revenge will air daily at 21:00 replacing The Chosen Granddaughter while El Baron replaces Queen Of Miami at 23:00 from 7 May.

Ultraview's Future In Doubt As OUTtv Proud Launches On eVOD With The OUTtv Channel Coming Off Openview By The End Of April

OUTtv will be coming off the subscription Ultraview platform on Openview at the end of April. eMedia Investments has yet to mention a replacement for EDGE consumers unless that's being discontinued as FUSE would be the only TV channel currently priced at R75 per month.

Ultraview launched as a pay tier to the current free-to-view Openview platform comprises of two packages each with their own set of entertainment. Spice TV is a Bollywood package offering Zee Family and Star Select from India's largest broadcasters while EDGE is youth oriented for OUTtv and FUSE.

eMedia Investments has yet to disclose any further details on subscriber numbers for Ultraview but it is believed to be small bunch. Majority coming from Spice TV due to the existing involvement from Zee One and Star Life which serve as sister channels to the channels in question. 

EDGE would air in the later nights between 9pm and 11pm where consumers are either watching Uzalo on SABC 1 or Isitha: The Enemy on e.tv. Besides that viewership within these hours particularly for such channels are usually low.

Although OUTtv would be signing off from Openview this isn't necessarily a goodbye as the latter would be allocated on eMedia Investments other platform, eVOD. Similar to MultiChoice and NBCUniversal's endeavors with Showmax its likely that further content will surface on eMedia's other channels.

Prior to the introduction of OUTtv Proud, there were rumours flying around that OUTtv would be debuting a streaming service in the market. As companies are looking to consolidate and further reduce spending costs this was the probably the best chance OUTtv had in terms of survival. 

Press statement about OUTtv Proud

OUTtv Proud is proud to announce its exciting new home on the popular eVOD streaming platform. eVOD users can now see the popular and colourful OUT tv content at no extra cost.

After captivating audiences on Ultraview, OUTtv Proud is taking its critically acclaimed slate of content to the ever-growing world of streaming. eVOD viewers can now enjoy a wide range of colourful programming, from captivating dramas and comedies to thought-provoking documentaries and reality shows on South Africa’s first FAST channel.

“OUTtv Proud is already highly popular in the United, States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom and we look forward to building on that success in South Africa,” said Brad Danks, CEO of OUTtv. “South Africa has a rich, dynamic and vibrant LGBTQ+ community and we are excited to partner with eMedia to bring the world’s best LGBTQ+ TV series, movies and documentaries to them.”