Recap To The Month: HD Austria Rebrands To Canal+ Austria, Could This Be The Possible Fate Awaiting DStv And GOtv?

HD Austria is now at home with CANAL+ HD Austria is now CANAL+ – with all the usual benefits and even more! Since June 4th, HD Austria has officially moved to CANAL+. As a result, the CANAL+ media group now combines television and streaming under one roof. 

What can I see on CANAL+? 

CANAL+ offers streaming at its best: the program offering includes more than 80 HD channels including UHD, all Austrian programs, over 40 premium channels, its own linear CANAL+ TV channel, which offers films and series and, from autumn, football, as well as streaming CANAL+ platform. 

Do you want to have TV and streaming in one or just stream series and films? 

No problem, CANAL+ offers packages for every taste. About the packages The best of sport at CANAL+ As a special highlight, from the 2024/25 season you can enjoy many games from the premier European football league live and exclusively in a combination or total package: one for all. All in one! Experience a wide range of premium channels as well as our acclaimed streaming platform. First-class films, documentaries and series included. 

What does this mean for HD Austria customers? 

HD Austria packages are automatically converted to CANAL+. You will receive an information email with your very personal package details. In the HD Austria app you will receive a pop-up that will redirect you to the new app. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to continuing to offer you an unparalleled viewing and streaming experience.

Not long ago, it was reported that Canal+ and MultiChoice are finalising various details about the acquisition. This would extend Canal+ services to 22 million households and if this merger moves through they're looking to become a global powerhouse. 

Speculation going around is that MultiChoice Group would rebrand Canal+ Group with products such as DStv and GOtv awaiting a similar fate. This has been applied to most of the territories in which they operate so such idea wouldn't seem far fetched a stretch.

CNN Might Be Looking To Rival With News24 And BusinessLive With The Launch Of A Subscription Service

CNN started to require heavy users to create an account with a username and password to continue reading CNN stories once they hit a daily limit of articles, according to a report from Axios.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson has been testing ways to get consumers to pay for a subscription to the company’s digital products. Making the site’s heavy users already signed up for an account could make moving them to a paid service easier.

The idea is not new; many news sites have been doing this. Political and The Guardian have both added similar registration walls. Other news sites have for a long time been behind a paywall not only forcing you to create an account but also pay to read most of their content.

Websites are facing some of the same issues TV companies are. Weak ad sales have driven down the amount of money people are paying when it comes to cable networks. The lower payouts for ads have also impacted websites, like CNN, leaving them to try and find ways to replace the lost revenue. 

Sources: Axios, Cordcutter News

Returning To Mzansi Magic Channel 161 || Kings Of Maskandi, Short & Sweet And Suxoka

Ziyakhipha ku-reality on Mzansi Magic with the return of some of the channel’s reality shows this July and August. Kings of Maskandi S2, Short & Sweet S2 and Suxoka S3 are all coming back for more drama-filled entertainment including inspirational personal stories of growth and healing, as well as heated confrontations.

Kings of Maskandi S2 will continue to showcase the Maskandi rivalry culture through the worlds of the three Maskandi acts, Abafana baka Mgqumeni, Bahubhe and Khulekani Shongwe; and also zoom in on their personal and on-stage journeys. So what’s new this season? The show follows their individual stories but this time, new Maskandi artists are added to the mix, and they will also be competing for the title. The 13-part reality show will also delve into MC Nkunzemnyama's world and unpack his story.

Short & Sweet S2 is back for another adventure-filled season following the lives of Thandazani and Vovo plus some new faces as they navigate life and seek to prove that just like age, height is no impediment to living a full and wholesome life.

This season Thandazani is organising ukugidiza ceremony for his late grandmother and he is doing it for everyone who would like to get married in the family as well as him. For Vovo, this season is all about confronting and fixing issues with her aunt, hosting a thanksgiving ceremony and continuing her efforts of making difference in her community.

Joining the cast of Short & Sweet this season is Joshua Ryan Van Starden (23), a content creator, Mongezi, aka Mayoghurt, a 22-year-old Maskandi musician and Zandile (29) who wants to work towards opening a business, a traditional chemist where she can sell her water and other herbs.

Suxoka S3 is also making a comeback for a third instalment, a show where lies and deceit are confronted with the truth. Hosted by Motlatsi Mafatshe, the show sees couples, friends and family members sit and confront each other about issues of infidelity or betrayal with the hope of resolving these amicably.

Tune in to Mzansi Magic for Kings of Maskandi S2 from Tuesday 02 July at 8pm, Short & Sweet S2 from Thursday 25 July at 8pm and Suxoka S3 from Sunday 04 August at 7.30pm.

New Series Alert: The People's Doctor Coming Soon To Telemundo Across Africa

Telemundo is a Spanish language entertainment channel operated by NBCUniversal. Following its launch in Africa, it had garnered traction for shows like My Heart Beats For Lola (Mí Corazon Insiste En Lola Volcan) and Lord Of The Skies (El Senor De Los Cielos).

Now it is being reported that Telemundo will be airing a new anthology series from July 15th titled The People's Doctor (also known as El Doctor Del Pueblo). It will replace Come Back To Me (Vuelve A Mí) once it concludes from July 11th in the same timeslot. 

Based on the life of José Gregorio Hernández better known as The Doctor Of The People intervenes in the most dire situations where the love of families are put to the test. The series had an unexpected miracle and teaches a life lesson and brings hope.

The series ensemble a cast of Gabriela Rivero, Úrsula Pruneda, Gabriel Porras, Luz Ramos, Erick Chapa and Cecilia Toussaint. 

In other developments, Telemundo will be airing a rebroadcast of The Impostor (La Impostora) once Ana's Revenge (La Venganza De Analía) ends. We are still awaiting further updates on the third and final season of Queen Of The South which we hope to share soon.

SABC 2 Distances Themselves From Anime With Inazuma Eleven Reduced From 5 To 2 Days

SABC 2 is a South African free-to-air channel catered towards families that operated by the public broadcaster. It is home to soaps Muvhango and formerly 7de Laan alongside other content such as Deal Or No Deal SA and Speak Out.

During the year, SABC 2 underwent a major restructure as part of the public broadcaster's endeavors of reinventing themselves and getting with the times. This has led to a reduction of Afrikaans content as the latter had been folded under SABC 3.

This wasn't the only endeavor SABC 2 had further minimized in the last months as Inazuma Eleven has moved an hour early from 17:00 to 16:00. Initially airing 5 days a week from Monday to Friday was reduced to Thursday and Friday being 2 days.

Based on the BBC show of the same name, Ready Steady Cook South Africa is a collaboration between Primedia Studios and the production company Rose and Oaks Media. They were also responsible for The Masked Singer South Africa on SABC 3.

This was the show SABC 2 had allocated at the 17:00 timeslot with 260 episodes having being commissioned. After SABC had redirected Deal Or No Deal SA from SABC 1 to 2 with Afrikaans news bulletin Nuus from SABC 2 to 3 the ratings fell flat.

Unlike the latter, we have to yet how Ready Steady Cook SA is performing ratings wise same with Inazuma Eleven. When DragonBall Super aired it was the top 5 watched show pulling 600,000 viewers so we can only assume these shows are only getting half.

As seen below ratings for DragonBall Super and a more recent ratings sheet with Ready Steady Cook SA nowhere in site:

If we had to guess the reason for anime's downfall on SABC 2 is likely due to existing competiton from Crunchyroll, YouTube and Netflix. Another being SABC 2's failure in consistency as shows Yu-Gi-Oh were sidelined by them for nearly a decade.