Development Alert: SuperScreen Pop-Up Channel To Rollout On The DStv Compact Bouquet To Kick Off The Final Premier League Season

SuperSport viewers will, for the first time ever, be able to view all 10 matches of the final Premier League season on one channel simultaneously thanks to our one-of-a-kind SuperScreen.

The innovative viewing experience is set to add to the thrill of match day 38, the climax of the 2023/24 Premier League season, on Sunday 19 May 2024.

Viewers will miss none of the action from 10 different venues across the UK as Manchester City and Arsenal compete for the Premier League title, while the final Uefa competition places will also be decided as well as the last relegation place.

The SuperScreen, which will be available only in South Africa on DStv Channel 199, will begin with the Premier League build-up that will air at 15:30 on Sunday, ahead of kick-off at 17:00 (all times South African).

SuperSport will also roll out the SuperScreen during the final match day of the DStv Premiership season on Saturday 25 May and the feature will form an integral part of the immersive viewing experience for the Paris Olympic Games starting on 26 July 2024.

Said SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha: “At SuperSport, our goal is to always innovate and to find new ways of enhancing the viewing experiences for our passionate sports fans. To be able to bring all 10 Premier League matches into one channel at the conclusion of yet another exciting season is the stuff that fans dream about.

“The channel will also be crucial for fans who don’t want to miss a moment’s action during the Paris Games. With SuperSport broadcasting every gold medal event live, with eight dedicated channels covering the Olympics, this will no doubt add to what is expected to be a memorable and spectacular event.”

The SuperSport SuperScreen on DStv Channel 199 will be available for DStv Compact, Compat Plus and Premium subscribers in South Africa.

Disney, Fox and WBD Unveil Name of Sports-Streaming Venture: Venu Sports

The joint venture of Disney/ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery to package together a sports streaming bundle has a name — Venu Sports.

“We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we feel captures the spirit of an all-new streaming home where sports fans outside of the traditional pay TV ecosystem can experience an incredible collection of live sports, all in one place,” Pete Distad, CEO of Venu Sports, said in a statement. “As preparations for the platform continue to accelerate, we are singularly focused on delivering a best-in-class product for our target audience, built from the ground up using the latest technologies to engage and entertain discerning sports fans wanting one-stop access to live games.”

Disney, Fox and WBD unveiled their partnership in February, positioning the new streaming bundle as a way to reach consumers who don’t subscribe to pay TV. It’s pegged to debut in the fall of 2024. The trio in March announced the hiring of Distad, who worked for a decade at Apple and most recently was responsible for Apple TV+ business, operations and global distribution. Distad is based out of the Venu Sports offices in L.A.

Pricing and a specific launch date haven’t been announced for Venu, which will combine ESPN+ with the three companies’ linear TV networks that carry sports programming (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews, Fox, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV).

When the joint venture was announced, some had jokingly dubbed it “Spulu,” a mash-up of “sports” and “Hulu,” which had originally been formed as a JV among TV broadcasters.

The venture also launched a new website at venu.com. A notice at the bottom of the landing page says, “Launch is conditional on receiving regulatory approval and is expected for Fall 2024.” The site’s terms of service indicate that it’s operated by “Rookie Enterprises, LLC,” a subsidiary of Fox Corp. In announcing the new name, the three companies also noted that the JV is still pending the “finalization of definitive agreements amongst the parties.”

The Justice Department reportedly has planned to review the three-way venture to look at anticompetitive implications, and last month two leading congressional Democrats expressed concerns that the JV may “result in higher prices for consumers and less fair licensing terms for upstream sports leagues and downstream video distributors.” Meanwhile, streaming TV provider Fubo filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the JV service’s launch, alleging the venture violates antitrust laws. On May 2, Fubo, DirecTV, Dish Network, Newsmax and others sent a letter to members of Congress calling for hearings on the state of competition in the pay-TV market, specifically calling out the Disney-Fox-WBD joint venture as “rais[ing] serious competition concerns that call for Congress’s immediate oversight.”

Venu (pronounced “venue”) will be made available directly to consumers via a new app, the companies said. Subscribers will also have the ability to purchase it in a bundle, including with Disney+, Hulu or Max.

The JV’s new name and brand identity were developed in partnership with R/GA, a global design and advertising firm. According to a spokesperson for the company, the Venu Sports name “takes inspiration from where live sports lives: the stadiums, arenas, speedways, octagons, courts, rinks, ballparks and more, where fans come to watch and connect with the action.”

‘The Thundermans Return’ Gets Spinoff Series At Nickelodeon With Original Series Cast Members

The superhero Thundermans are off to solve more crimes. Nickelodeon Studios has given a green light to a new spinoff series based on characters from the hit live-action movie The Thundermans Return.

The spinoff series will follow Phoebe and Max, played by original series cast members Kira Kosarin and Jack Griffo, who are sent undercover to handle a new threat in the seaside town of Secret Shores and bring Chloe (Maya Le Clark) along to develop her superhero talent. Production will begin in Vancouver in August, with premiere details to be announced at a later date.

In the spinoff, Chloe (Le Clark) forms a bond with two classmates while they investigate suspicious activity coming from the local school, who don’t realize their new friend has secret powers. As the danger increases, the Thunderman trio must stay in town indefinitely, leaving the squabbling twins in charge of raising their younger sister.

The Thundermans Return feature-length movie. based on the hit live-action superhero comedy series The Thundermans, follows the superpowered family as they attempt to live a normal life while using their superhuman abilities to stop crime. It premiered earlier this year to stellar ratings, ranking as the number-one entertainment telecast for the year to date in Live+3 across all cable among Kids 6-11. It reached 1.6 million Total Viewers throughout its premiere weekend (March 7-10) across airings on Nickelodeon and Nick At Nite (4 telecasts).

The Thundermans premiered on Nickelodeon in October 2013 and wrapped its four-season run in 2018, ranking as the number-one series across all TV among Kids 2-11 and Kids 6-11. Created and executive produced by three-time Emmy-winner Jed Spingarn, the scripted half-hour series follows superhero twins with opposite personalities, Phoebe and Max Thunderman, as they navigate their way through school, friends and a family of extraordinary superheroes, all while keeping their true identities a secret. .

The series is executive produced by Jed Spingarn (Big Time Rush, Jimmy Neutron) and Sean W. Cunningham & Marc Dworkin (The Thundermans, Julie and the Phantoms). Kira Kosarin is executive producing. Jack Griffo is also an executive producer on the series. Production of the series for Nickelodeon Studios is overseen by Shauna Phelan, Head of Nickelodeon & Awesomeness Live-Action. Brian Banks serves as Nickelodeon’s Executive in Charge of Production.

Repeats Are Back!!! Evil Affairs And Beyond Love Get Extended Airtime On Star Life With A Twist

During the month, Star Life halted repeat broadcasts of Evil Affairs due to several complaints about its themes and depiction of Hinduism. This had also affected their other show Beyond Love as it shares the 10pm slot with Evil Affairs.

This news was met with mostly negative feedback from consumers as some could only keep up with daytime repeats. As some consumers had been forced to miss a week worth of Beyond Love and Evil Affairs.

Based on consumer feedback at the time, Star Life had stated they would work on finding a solution to the broadcasts. As seen moments ago, the channel opted to rather keep these shows on late nights but opted to reshuffle its lineup in those hours. 

Repeats of Imlie were currently reserved at 1:30am and this was followed by Anupama at 2am. This portion will be phased out for Evil Affairs and Beyond Love with no word on when exactly when these changes will be applied. 

Judging by the timeslots and the scheduling, we presume more shows could be affected by these changes or its repeats slots e.g. The Evil Eye and Game Of Love. Beyond Love and Evil Affairs were grouped together and all of a sudden that's not the case here.

Mikey's Murphy's Law/Milo Murphy's Law | Pitch Pilot | Disney Channel

Similar to the original pitch of Phineas and Ferb, the pilot of Mikey Murphy's Law (labeled "Mikey's Law") was a storyboard pitch of what would eventually become the first episode of Milo Murphy's Law, "Going the Extra Milo". It was leaked on April 26, 2024, alongside several other pilots from other Disney Television Animated shows.

The plot is relatively the same as that of "Going the Extra Milo" (barring a few lines that went unused, as well as Milo being named Mikey back then), but includes a couple of design changes. Most notably, Zack used to look completely different. Zack was initially of Caucasian ethnicity with a small, round nose, angular cheeks, and two wavy, angular plucks of hair from a widow's peak, as opposed to the spiky, slicked hairstyle he'd have in the actual series. Interestingly, this design appears to be later used for the final design of Kevin Grant-Gomez, one of the main characters for Dan Povenmire's later show, Hamster & Gretel. Bradley's design was also notably different, having a shorter, wider head, curly hair and big, half-round glasses, looking notably similar to Carl of Phineas and Ferb.