Paramount Global’s Board Is Preparing To Fire CEO Bob Bakish As Soon As Monday Morning,

The board is expected to lean on company division heads in lieu of a CEO while it negotiates a possible merger with Skydance Media. Paramount Global has set up a special committee to explore the deal. The companies are in exclusive talks to pursue a deal until May 3, though that window could be extended.

Bakish has lost the trust of Paramount Global controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, according to people familiar with her thinking. Redstone wanted to make a move to oust Bakish before Paramount Global’s carriage negotiation with Charter Communications, which is pivotal for setting a value for the company in its merger talks with Skydance, the people said.

A spokesperson for Paramount Global declined to comment.

Paramount and Skydance have been making headway on a final deal, under which Bakish would leave Paramount, reported Thursday. Skydance intends to name its CEO David Ellison to helm Paramount, according to people familiar with the matter.

In private, Bakish has dissented against the merger, claiming that it could dilute common shareholders, according to people familiar with the matter.

Under the deal terms, almost 50% of the merged company would be owned by Skydance and its private equity partners, reported April 5. Common shareholders would own the remainder of the company, which would continue to trade publicly.

Development Alert: KykNet&kie Gets A New Schedule In May With Binnelanders Moving To 17:30 And Moederhart At 20:00 Replacing Skerpioen

Since the first broadcast on 9 April 2013, kykNET&kie has not only shown the cream of kykNET's programs, but also provided new content produced exclusively for kykNET&kie. The award-winning Suidooster, winner of the Safta in 2022 for the best soap opera, and the telenovela Arendsvlei brought real South African stories to viewers, put a host of new talented actors in the spotlight and made for a huge injection into local TV - operation taken care of. Then there are programs like Say your say, KLOP! and the dubbed Turkish telenovelas that keep viewers buzzing.

kykNET&kie's schedule change in May will give viewers the luxury of sitting back and relaxing with excellent entertainment in the evening.

So, put down that remote control and enjoy prime viewing in premium time.

• Binnelanders' twelfth season starts on Tuesday 7 May at 17:30. The series is broadcast from Mondays to Fridays.

• Deep Waters' first season can be seen from Tuesday 7 May at 18:00. In the first week, an episode is also broadcast on Friday 10 May, but after that it is on air from Mondays to Thursdays.

Suidooster is still on the box from Mondays to Fridays at 18:30.

• Arendsvlei remains in the 19:30 time slot from Mondays to Thursdays. The last episode of this boundary-pushing telenovela, which ran for six seasons and 160 episodes, will be broadcast at the end of June. It is directly followed by a new telenovela, Skemergrond, which starts on Monday 1 July at 19:30. Skemergrond takes place in Gemoedsdrif, a small town in the Western Cape, and revolves around the Louw family and their beautiful flower farm.

The Turkish telenovela Skerpioen's last episode will be broadcast on Monday 6 May at 20:00. Moederhart, which currently airs Mondays to Thursdays at 17:30, moves to the 20:00 time slot from 7 May, but is still on air from Mondays to Thursdays. Keep an eye on the news for an announcement about a new Turkish telenovela that starts when Moederhart comes to an end.

Other programs on kykNET&kie that belong on every good watch list include:

• Medical (Tuesdays at 9.30pm)

• KNOCK! (Sundays at 18:00)

• Have Your Say (Sundays at 7pm)

• Super Rugby (Mondays at 9pm)

• Toks & Tjops (Fridays at 20:00)

• eNews (daily at 19:00)

 

Superrugby, Toks & Tjops and eNuus are also broadcast simultaneously on kykNET (DStv channel 144).

Spoilers: Velma Likely Cancelled On Max Following Season 2 Finale

Velma is an American adult animated mystery television series based on the character Velma Dinkley from the Scooby-Doo franchise. Developed and created by Charlie Grandy for HBO Max, it stars executive producer Mindy Kaling as the voice of the titular character, with Sam Richardson, Constance Wu and Glenn Howerton in supporting roles. 

The series revolves around Velma Dinkley and the other human members of Mystery Inc. before their official formation, making it the first television series in the franchise to not feature the character Scooby-Doo.

Since its inception, Velma had received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the voice acting and animation, but were divided towards the humor and criticized its meta storytelling , characterization, writing, and departures from the traditional Scooby-Doo format. 

Despite the massive backlash that the show has taken, Velma was Max's most-watched animated original show in 2023. The [hate] streaming was probably what contributed to a second season and the fact most programs from the Scoobiverse are two seasons long.

Max released the second season of Velma which too was dismayed by Scooby-Doo fans for its directionless storyline and puns inserted throughout but what caught the attention was the season 2 finale which welcomed back a classic character, Scrappy-Doo.

SPOILERS

Like the other characters that first got their start in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, Scrappy isn't like the original iteration of the talking puppy. In Velma, Scrappy is created as a part of "Project Scooby" by the military in an effort to infiltrate "meddling kids".  

Unfortunately for the government, their experiment falls out of their control and Scrappy begins going on a murder spree for all those responsible for the project. For those looking for more spoilers, season two ended with quite the bang. 

Scrappy attempts to kill Velma and company, only to be killed himself as the titular character becomes a ghost and takes control of his body. Velma is left deceased when the season two finale comes to an end with no third season confirmed.

But judging by the finale, it wouldn't seem far fetched if the show had concluded with this episode. Considering all the hate Velma got, Scrappy-Doo kind of redeemed himself after serving as one of the most disliked characters in the franchise. 

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?