New Series Alert: Mzansi Magic Announces Samukeleni, A Spinoff Of Forever Thina

You saw them on Mzansi Magic’s reality show, Forever Thina, when couples went against all odds and married without their families’ approval. The three couples are back on Samukeleni, airing on the channel from 17 July, this time, seeking blessings for their respective unions post the wedding.

On this spin off show, the couples are embarking are on a different journey:  acceptance from their families and loved ones of their relationship and shot gun wedding. The end goal is to not only have their relatives acknowledge their unions but to also embrace these marriages by giving them the blessing and respect that they deserve.

“Our reality shows always tell stories that we hope will  entertain viewers as well as initiate an exchange of opinions among audiences,” says Shirley Adonisi, Director of Local Entertainment Channels. “Samukeleni is an extension of the conversation that started on Forever Thina and we hope this will answer the question: What happened after the wedding? 

The show also answers questions like: What happens next in the newly wedded couples’ lives? What obstacles and turmoil await? Apart from seeking their families’ acceptance, they also have to tackle some contentious issues including paying ilobolo, blending their families, dealing with fertility issues and so much more.

Whether or not the blessings and acceptance come, the journey is you need to witness. Tune in to Mzansi Magic, DStv Channel 161 from Wednesday, 17 July at 20:00 and see if the couples request of ‘samukeleni’ will be received and accepted or not.

"In The Pipeline": Warner Bros. Discovery Over The Inclusion Of TNT Sports In Africa

During the year, Warner Bros. Discovery had launched TNT Sports in the United States after residing within Europe and Latin America for sometime. Unlike these territories, TNT Sports offering is being tested on TruTV leading to a possible rebrand.

After the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. and also the rise in streaming. The company had made several cuts across their linear platforms with TruTV and TNT in the U.S. on limbo for sometime struggling to find purpose in this shake-up. 

TNT Sports is sort of Warner Bros. Discovery competitor to Disney's ESPN and M-Net's SuperSport. After adding All Eite Wrestling (AEW), plans are underway to include more sports themed programming ranging from series, films and documentaries. 

Sports is an essential part of our daily culture as it brings people together and with the dismantling of linear TV which led to the decline in audience share. Sports managed to retain its portion and has been described as the biggest money grabber.

There's been questions as to whether TNT Sports could be something explored within Africa I mean it wouldn't come as a surprise. TNT Sports already has a presence in other countries and also further action from All Elite Wrestling is on TNT.

In a response to a media enquiry:

Yes, it's in the pipeline.

Taking to account, TNT Sports in the latter are TV channels the one residing within Africa might be folded under TNT as a programming block. As mentioned, All Elite Wrestling is accessible on TNT and that includes Rampage and Dynamite to PPVs like Battle Of The Belts.

If anything, they still haven't obtained other PPVs from AEW such as Road Rager, Homecoming and Blood & Guts something that could rollout on the anticipated sports brand. 

As for other sporting events, SuperSport holds rights to most of them within Africa this includes Formula E, Moto GP and UEFA Champions League. If anything, TNT Sports could be an AEW tailored brand with other content added to the mix.

Comcast To Launch Peacock, Netflix And Apple TV+ Bundle At A 'Vastly Reduced Price'

Get ready for the next cable-like streaming bundle: Comcast later this month will launch a three-way bundle — with Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ — offered at a deep discount, Comcast chief Brian Roberts said.

Dubbed StreamSaver, the bundle will be available to all Comcast broadband, TV and mobile customers, Roberts said, speaking Tuesday at MoffettNathanson’s 2024 Media, Internet and Communications Conference in New York.

The three streaming services, Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+, will “come at a vastly reduced price to anything available today,” Roberts said, although he didn’t reveal any pricing details. The goal is to “add value to consumers” and “take dollars out” of other companies’ streaming businesses, he added, while reinforcing Comcast’s broadband service offerings.

“This will be a pretty compelling package,” Roberts promised.

Last week, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a three-way bundle comprising Max, Disney+ and Hulu, to be available starting this summer in the U.S. (with pricing TBA). In addition, Disney, WBD and Fox Corp. have formed a joint venture to launch a streaming sports bundle stocked with ESPN+ and linear TV networks from each, slated to debut this fall. Critics have alleged the venture, which some have dubbed “Spulu” (a mash-up of “sports” and “Hulu”), is anticompetitive and violates antitrust law.

Like the other streaming bundling strategies, Comcast’s forthcoming Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ package is an effort to reduce cancelation rates (aka “churn”) and provide a more efficient means of subscriber acquisition — coming as the traditional cable TV business continues to deteriorate.

Canal+ Group Gets Anti-Trust Approval To Acquire French Pay TV Group OCS And Orange Studio, Under Certain Conditions

With great power comes great responsibility. Canal+ Group has received the conditional approval from the anti-trust board to acquire Orange Studio and OCS, the film and pay TV operations of Orange, France’s leading telco group.

Canal+ has committed to a number of remedies for an initial duration of five years in order to get the regulatory green light and address concentration concerns.

The acquisition of OCS by Canal+ could have large ramifications on the local film industry because both players represent the top two sources of pre-financing for French movies. Canal+ is currently on a three-year deal (until the end of 2024) with film guilds to invest an average of €200 million per year in French and European cinema. OCS, meanwhile, has a deal with producers to invest €20 million annual investment in local pics.

Under the plans presented to the regulatory commission, OCS will be combined with Cine+, one of Canal+’s channels, but it will continue to operate independently. Canal+ has pledged to maintain separate purse strings for OCS/Cine+ to continue acquiring movies for first-window rights, as well as having a separate acquisition team. Canal+ has also committed to having OCS/Ciné+ pre-buy a minimum of 25 French film projects over the next five years, including at least four French film projects per year (and one project budgeted under €4 million).

In recent years, OCS has pre-bought many movies that were turned down by Canal+, for instance “Bernadette,” the critically acclaimed movie with Catherine Deneuve playing former first lady Bernadette Chirac, and “Planet B,” a politically minded dystopian film starring Adele Exarchopoulos and Souheila Yacoub.

Aside from Canal+, French producers have limited options to pre-finance movies in France. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ are bound to play a larger role due to their investment obligations in local content, but the anti-trust said in its decision that “subscription-based streaming services don’t represent real and potentially sufficient alternatives to (Canal+ and OCS), notably in terms of diversity.”

Canal+ Group, whose parent company is Vivendi, already owns 33.3% of OCS, the pay-TV arm of Orange, and has been distributing the service on its platform as part of its cable bundle since 2011.

Orange Studio, meanwhile, is the content division in charge of co-producing, selling abroad and distributing select films in France. The company distributed Florian Zeller’s “The Father” and “The Son” in France.

Canal+ has come a long way with France’s anti-trust board. In 2011, the board had blocked Canal+ Group’s attempt to merge with OCS and launch a premium pay TV channel. But that was before the arrival of streaming services in France. Netflix, which launched in late 2014, now has more subscribers than Canal+ (9.8 million locally), and OCS (approximately 2.9 million subscribers).

Canal+’s also recently took a 12% stake in Viaplay, the financially troubled Scandinavian streaming platform. Its other streaming assets include South Africa’s Multichoice Group, Hong Kong-based OTT service Viu International. 

French Pay TV Operator Canal+ Is To Follow Up Its Acquisition Of Orange’s Pay TV Service OCS By Launching A New Bouquet Of Channels And On-Demand Services, Ciné+ OCS, On July 3

The new offering will incorporate what Canal+ says is the best of the OCS offering with its Ciné+ service. Ciné+ OCS will be available via Canal+ but also direct via distribution partners.

The offering will comprise six channels and an on-demand service that includes access to films distributed exclusively six months after their theatrical release.

It will also include French and international exclusive series, and OCS Signature productions.

The channels on offer include: OCS, a flagship offering with films available six months after their theatrical release, and French and international series; Ciné+Frisson, a movie channel including blockbusters, thrillers, horror movies and popular franchises; Ciné+Émotion, a channel focusing on romantic drama films and romantic comedies; Ciné+Family, a channel focusing on family films, popular comedies, animation and kids content; Ciné+Festival, focusing on independent movies and world cinema; and Ciné+Classic, providing access to cult and classic French, America and European films from the 1930s to the 1990s.

Films and series available from the launch of the offering will include Les Trois Mousquetaires : Milady, Revoir Paris, Novembre, Scream VI, Donjons & Dragons : L’Honneur des voleurs, Babylon, Hokusai, Black Adam, Mon crime, De grandes espérances, Bernadette, 10 jours encore sans maman, and Notre tout petit petit marriage along with series Twisted Metal season 1, The Walking Dead : Dead City, Sentinelles – Ukraine, Alex Rider season 3, Extra and Toutouyoutou season 2.