How FilmBox Africa, FilmBox Family And FilmBox Action Could Surface On MultiChoice's DStv?

For those who aren't familiar with Canal+ offering within Africa, FilmBox Family and FilmBox Action form part of this lineup alongside FilmBox Africa. Part of which can already be viewed on On Digital Media and StarTimes' StarSat through a separate agreement. 

FilmBox Africa is a basic tier film channel dedicated to a wide audience of movie fans. It offers more than 300 premiere titles every year, and features the best directors’ films, television series and miniseries, as well as high-budget television productions.

FilmBox Action is an adrenaline pumping channel which offers a range of premium movies and series. It is home to the leading stars of action cinema including Bruce Willis, Jean- Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Jet Li and Jackie Chan.

Lastly FilmBox Family offers fun for the whole family with content appealing to both children and adult viewers which include family movies, comedies, fantasy, adventure and more. All the content from the channel is rated G for the general audiences. 

If you take into account the current structure for these channels getting these brands onboard wouldn't be a simple walk in the park. This could lead to some restructuring with the existing DStv offering or in particular brands like M-Net Movies.

Seeing as Canal+ would own MultiChoice basically M-Net Movies would therefore be the English counterpart to the current Canal+ Cinema in the region. This offering comprises of two channels while M-Net Movies consists of 4 channels.

M-Net is basically streamlining its portfolio and recently this lead to the closures of Me and 1Magic. Taking those matters to account would it seem that far fetched if similar endeavors were to await M-Net Movies with Movie Room and TNT this lineup is already bloated.

M-Net is going similar endeavors as SABC 3 where it's viewership has experienced immense losses. This is due to the likes of streamers like Netflix and Disney+ so if whatever happened to Audience in America awaited M-Net there wouldn't be an M-Net Movies. 

A restructure to the current M-Net Movies wouldn't be shocking to say the least. Maybe the offering will merge into one channel seeing as Movie Room exists both of which reside in SA maybe without black owned channel this offering would have doubled. 

It's even possible that this offering would cease to exist to its entirety as seen with Me and 1Magic as the latter integrates with M-Net.

SABC Unveils Revamped SABC+ Streaming Service

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is proud to announce exciting new launches and features on its Over-The-Top (OTT) platform, SABC Plus. The revamped SABC Plus went live today, with the following launches and features:

SABC Plus Launches:

• SABC Plus Website

• SABC Plus Mobile

• iOS

• Android

• Huawei

• SABC Plus TV Apps/Connected TV’s

• LG

• Set-Top Boxes

• Apple TV (TVOS)

• Google TV/Android Box (The update will be slightly delayed)

New Features:

• New and Improved Interface

• Personalised Recommendations

• Catch-Up Services

• Video on Demand (VOD)

• Voice Command (for content search)

• TV Schedule and Radio Now Playing EPG

• Vodcasts

• Download features available on mobile only.

• Podcasts

• Unlimited Access on Multiple Household Devices

• Display Banners and Video Ads

• EPG Reminder

• The new features are designed to enhance the user experience with a seamless, intuitive interface and personalised content recommendations, ensuring that every viewer finds something they love.

 

In addition, audiences can also enjoy Channel Africa “The Voice of the African Renaissance”, which brings programming in the languages of Chinyanja, Kiswahili, English, French and Portuguese and is broadcast to communities in the African diaspora across the world. Furthermore, the public can access Springbok Radio, Radio Bantu and the youth-based radio station 5 FM extra as well Radio 2000 extra.

Users are urged to re-register with new credentials to easily access the newly revamped SABC+ platform in order to comply with POPI Act.

The SABC Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Ms Nomsa Chabeli says, “The SABC has been at the forefront of fostering diversity and inclusivity through its extensive catalogue of television, radio, and news offerings in the country’s official 12 languages. SABC Plus is our latest innovation, reinforcing the public broadcaster’s commitment to providing the best programming. This platform houses an impressive array of content, including groundbreaking comedies, spine-chilling horrors, and captivating dramas, reflecting the rich cultural tapestry of our nation”.

Chabeli further states, “SABC Plus will now be accessible across multiple devices, ensuring that our audiences can enjoy their favourite content anywhere, anytime. Our most beloved brands, including our top-rated radio stations as well as exciting new range of podcasts, will now be just a tap away”.

The SABC has a proud history of being a pioneer in the broadcasting industry, introducing South Africa’s first comedy, horror, and drama series in indigenous languages. With SABC Plus, the organisation is taking this legacy into the digital age, offering a modern, accessible way to enjoy high-quality content that reflects the diversity and vibrancy of our nation. The SABC invites the nation to join us in this exciting new chapter. SABC Plus is more than just a platform; it is a celebration of who we are and where we are going. Stay tuned for more updates and prepare to experience the best of SABC like never before!

Development Alert: Ajooni, Delayed Indian Series Gets A New Release Date On eExtra

After announcing that eMedia Investments had acquired rights to Indian drama Ajooni for the eExtra channel in May. The series failed to make its premiere on the channel with its timeslot taken up by a rebroadcast of the Telemundo series, Pasion Prohibida.

Now Ajooni presents itself in another timeslot with the series replacing This Is Love at 14:35 from 12 July. Similar to Broken Bonds, it will also be distributed in a 30 minute timeslot while Razia Sultan retains 45 minutes. 

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. It was met with positive feedback by viewers with some for the casts stellar personality and others for the storyline. 

Tyler Perry's Young Dylan Renewed For Season 5 At Nickelodeon

The kids’ comedy series will enter production on July 8 in Atlanta, Ga., at Tyler Perry Studios. Season 5 will consist of 13 episodes and will kick off later in 2024 with a holiday episode premiere.

A multi-cam sitcom created by Perry, “Young Dylan” stars Dylan Gilmer as a rising hip-hop star who moves in with uncle and their affluent family. Season 5 will follow Dylan and his cousin Rebecca (Celina Smith) as they “try to expand their fledgling hip-hop record label, while the whole Wilson family tries to deal with Dylan’s mogul dreams,” per Nickelodeon.

“’Young Dylan’ has been such a fun series for families to watch together, and we’re looking forward to continuing the story of the Wilsons and Dylan as he strives to reach his dreams,” Perry said in a statement to Variety.

“Young Dylan” also stars Hero Hunter, Jet Miller, Mieko Hillman, Aloma Lesley Wright and Carl Anthony Payne, II. Perry serves as executive producer, while Mark E. Swinton and Will Areu are producers.

The show launched in February 2020 and scored the highest ratings for a series premiere on Nickelodeon since 2017. The fourth season kicked off in fall 2023.

Perry is keeping busy with a slew of other projects on the way, most notably the thriller “Divorce in the Black,” premiering on July 11 on Amazon Prime Video. The movie stars Meagan Good as a young bank professional who is fighting for freedom against her husband.

No Money: Generations: The Legacy On SABC 1 Might Be Eyeing Potential Cancellation As DA Proposes A Major Overhaul To SABC's Current Business Structure

Through a booklet obtained by local legislation, the Democratic Alliance had put up several proposals on what could most likely be the future of SABC. One of which includes SABC 1 and 2 possibly being positioned like Soweto TV or e.tv with SABC 3 sold.

Few years ago, it was alleged that the public broadcaster would be selling SABC 3 alongside radio stations Metro FM and 5FM. Contributing factors to this included a drop in viewership and the SABC's lack of cash flow but this had been disregarded. 

According to the SABC, the board has approved comprehensive assessment criteria for determining “core media assets”, noting that this includes not only channels which contribute to the public mandate but which also help to fund the SABC’s public service obligations. 

“The Board has already identified noncore property assets and has drawn up a list of properties for disposal, as required by National Treasury preconditions,” the SABC said. 

“The potential disposal of any of the SABC’s media assets involves a much more complex decision matrix, with factors such as the public interest, the public mandate and the future financial sustainability of the SABC being central to any decision.”

Now the public broadcaster faces the risk of possible liquidation as government failed but still ongoing attempts at moving away from analogue would not only leave millions of households without SABC TV signals but a drop in revenue. 

SABC is struggling to retain most of the content viewed on their platforms with Muvhango being the latest soap to have got axed with rumours swirling around that Generations: The Legacy could suffer a similar fate.

After SABC 2 had axed 7de Laan in 2023, the public broadcaster with no replacement in site aired repeats of Vetkoekpaleis with Muvhango airing from the 1st season. Should Generations: The Legacy take the fall consumers might expect a similar fate for this soap.

This would leave SABC 1 as the only channel to offer a long format series with Skeem Saam and Uzalo as Isidingo and The Estate got the boot on SABC 3 years back. Since then, the channel had undergone numerous restructures with no luck viewership wise.