Universal TV Currently Has No Plans To Acquire Chicago Fire Months After M-Net's Me Had Closed On DStv

Universal TV is a general entertainment channel operated by Showmax owner NBCUniversal on DStv alongside Telemundo, DreamWorks and Studio Universal. It is home to shows such as NCIS: Los Angeles, Chicago Med, Magnum Pi, The Equalizer and Hudson & Rex.

Months after, MultiChoice and M-Net had shuttered Me and 1Magic with the offering retaining its presence to premium households. DStv consumers had to rely on the likes of Universal TV for scripted entertainment with reality shows on MTV and E!.

Unlike MTV, a portion of Universal TV's offering do reside from M-Net and this includes the likes of Chicago PD and as mentioned Chicago Med with the addition of Chicago Fire it would complete the trilogy. 

In an enquiry to NBCUniversal over the inclusion of Chicago Fire to Universal TV:

I checked with the team who fed back that currently, there are no plans to air Chicago Fire on Universal TV, but we’ll let you know if this changes further ahead.

Universal TV was very much behind when acquiring Chicago PD and Med for consumers in Africa that even e.tv was even ahead with them being behind M-Net by like 2 seasons. If Chicago Fire ever becomes a priority for Universal TV in future expect similar treatment.

For those unfamiliar to Universal TV, it is basically a lightweight version of Sky Witness in the UK except in the UK it is more M-Net infused as there's Chicago Fire and even The Cleaning Lady. Universal TV is more skewed toward crime, medical and cop based shows.

Warner Bros. Discovery's Plan To Split Up Studios From Cartoon Network And HBO Could Come With Everlasting Effects

Warner Bros. Discovery after accumulating so much debt even after the formation of Discovery and WarnerMedia is exploring a separation of assets. This would see Warner Bros. Studios operating independently away from linear brands like Cartoon Network and HBO.

With that huge debt, no company can afford it to absorb it unless some cost cutting measures were implemented in an attempt to reduce that debt. The only other option in mind at this point would be splitting up as seen prior or selling assets separately. 

Separating Cartoon Network from Warner Bros. Studios could come with various risks like if there's no funding coming from Warner Bros. Discovery how will it survive. Even if the idea were to sell, Cartoon Network could become more like The CW and TBS.

It could lose credibility and give brands like Nickelodeon and Disney Channel more of an advantage. Maybe, it's possible that the channel could survive the purge and build similar positioning to DreamWorks and Moonbug which serves as promotional. 

Cartoon Network unveiled several new projects at Annecy like Foster's Funtime For Imaginary Friends, an untitled Regular Show series and Scooby-Doo! Go Go Mystery Machine. These are likely projects they want to distribute on other platforms.

Max had join the likes of SABC+ and BBC iPlayer platforms with little to no original content as they shift focus on archived material. Those titles are likely being shipped from platform to platform.

The splitting of Warner Bros. Discovery also guarantees job losses and the possibility of cord cutting. If two people were managing TNT and TBS separately they could let go of one and also seek to merge TNT and TBS alongside its programming. 

Warner Bros. Discovery was operating independently in other countries with Warner TV and Cartoon Network continuing to add new content. There's no guarantee that the services in those markets will stay afloat especially if the lot depend on its studios for survival. 

News Shorts: Moonbug Short PeaKeeBoo Gets Full Series Order At CAKE, Rebroadcast Of Zee World's I Do And My Heart Knows Release Dates, And Mzansi Magic Debuts Outlaws And Ekhaya

PeaKeeBoo breathe new life

London-based distributor CAKE has inked a deal with Toikido to develop an animated PeaKeeBoo series (TBD x five minutes). This new format will build on a package of 30 x one-minute shorts that Moonbug Entertainment is launching on its Moonbug Kids YouTube channel later this year. 

CAKE is in the early stages of development on its five-minute series treatment and hasn’t locked down an animation style yet. But it will resemble Moonbug’s CG/2D-animated shorts, although Moonbug is not involved in the long-form series. 

PeaKeeBoo centers around three friends (Pea, Kee and Boo) who love to play hide-and-seek and take in all the sounds and sights of nature. CAKE and Toikido have already tapped singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor (“Take Me Home”) to narrate the series. 

Zee World hits the snooze button

I Do follows a fun-loving girl named brought up in the USA enters Bhopal in search of her real father and stays with her foster sister's aunt who has a a son. They gradually fall in love, but his childhood friend Tanveer Baig creates obstacles for them.

My Heart Knows brings out the story about a young girl who loses her mother at a young age. It all started when her mother slipped on their balcony, and her then 18-year old father could not save her mother. Her father Atul is then arrested and grants custody to his ex-wife, Anupriya.

The rebroadcast of I Do launches 29 July replacing Zara's Nikah for the rest of Africa (excluding South Africa) while My Heart Knows replaces Second Chances in Southern Africa from 30 July. 

Mzansi Magic adds two shows 

Catch Ekhaya Backpackers, a comedy about the quirky Mthembu family turning their Soweto home into a guest house for backpackers to pay off their debt, stars Kwenzo Ngcobo, Abdul Khoza, Felix Hlophe, and Eve Rasimeni.

Meanwhile, Outlaws, is a drama series set along the Lesotho-KwaZulu-Natal border, featuring the feuding Biyela and Tseole families, starring Thembinkosi Mthembu, Lehlohonolo Mayeza, and Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku.

Don’t miss Ekhaya Backpackers premiering on Mzansi Magic on September 16 at 20:00, followed by Outlaws on October 6 at 20:00.

Disbanding. Warner Bros. Discovery Looking To Disinvest Or Split Up Assets To Minimize Overflow Of Debt

Warner Bros Discovery has discussed a dramatic plan to split its digital streaming and studio businesses from its legacy television networks as the US media giant behind CNN and HBO weighs options for boosting its sagging share price.

People familiar with the matter said chief executive David Zaslav was examining several strategic options, ranging from selling assets to hiving off its Warner Bros movie studio and Max streaming service into a new company unburdened by most of the group’s current $39bn net debt load.

WBD, whose market capitalisation has fallen by a third to about $20bn in the past year, has yet to hire an investment bank to initiate any specific transaction, but its top management has been talking to advisers to find a solution in shareholders’ best interest, people briefed on the matter said.

WBD’s biggest backers include cable billionaire John Malone and the Newhouse family, which controls Condé Nast.

People close to WBD have also informally approached advisers to rival media groups to understand if they would be interested in exploring M&A options with some of its existing assets, one person said.

WBD reportedly considered earlier combinations with both Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Paramount, which has since agreed to sell itself David Ellison’s Skydance studio. Both have legacy television assets and subscale streaming platforms.

WBD declined to comment. People familiar with the matter said WBD could still ultimately decide to continue operating as it is currently structured.

A break-up appears to be the strongest option, these people said, and most of its debt could remain with the mature pay-TV networks business in such a scenario. That could help the faster-growing streaming spin-off achieve a higher valuation multiple, but one person familiar with the matter said WBD’s management was aware of the risk of crossing creditors.

Analysts at Bank of America have warned that such a split could have a “potentially devastating” impact on bondholders, and WBD rival Lionsgate recently faced a creditor revolt after separating its Starz pay-TV network. A person involved in the discussions noted that WBD’s debt was raised in a lenient environment with few covenants preventing such financial engineering.

The “strategic spin-off” idea under consideration would create a company made up of WBD’s legacy television assets, which have experienced a decline in revenues despite still generating most of its cash flow. Much of WBD’s heavy debt load would be housed in the TV group, leaving the faster-growing streaming and studio business with fewer borrowings and more flexibility to invest in growth.

The discussions reflect wider concerns about WBD, whose shares have fallen by about 70 per cent since AT&T spun off Warner Bros and it merged with Discovery two years ago. They have been hit by a cratering advertising market, the high costs of developing its streaming offering, the Covid-19 pandemic, Hollywood strikes and some expensive flops.

WBD has slashed costs and paid down debt, but in February the stock dropped 10 per cent after its chief financial officer said he could not give projections for free cash flow this year.

BofA analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich wrote this week that WBD’s “current composition as a consolidated public company is not working”. It should explore asset sales, restructuring and mergers, she argued, even as she acknowledged that the potential for a creditor backlash to a spin-off meant “the optics are not ideal”.

Could MultiChoice And Possible M-Net's Local Offering Be Under Siege?

As some readers are aware, Canal+ intends to merge their operations alongside MultiChoice which would create an African powerhouse. This would need approval from local legislation including the Competition Commission and ICASA.

Since then, there's been a lot of concern of the implications awaiting this deal should it move forward. Canal+ serving as the new owners of MultiChoice would likely decrease the workforce on top of minimizing production and licensing agreements. 

One of the endeavors that are said to be a subject on this matter is in regards to local IPs from M-Net this includes Mzansi Magic, SuperSport and Africa Magic. Even third party offering curated exclusively by the pay-tv company like Moja Love and ROK.

From what we've outlined through previous stories wherever there is a clash one of the two are likely to go. In Lago's case, the ROK Studios and TV channels could merge into M-Net's Africa Magic while Maisha Magic and ZACU TV could as well remain unaffected by this situation. 

But in SA's case, this is said to be somewhat worrisome as Canal+ broadcasting license is limited to 20%. What this means is that financially the French broadcaster's expenses for brands like Moja Love can't exceed that percentage which is where BEE comes in.

Whoever is going to join Canal+ on this bid will have to burden themselves to the responsibilities of these brands which is where the fear lies. Usually in cases of mergers and acquisitions of big corporations a lot of cost cutting measures are implemented. 

In this case, it can't be guaranteed that this anonymous partner will keep the local aspects of DStv intact for the years to come. This includes brands like eNCA, Moja Love and Newzroom Afrika that could get scrapped or budget reduced.

Taking a page of the StarSat handbook, there's been questions as to whether M-Net and SuperSport could fold under the entities of Canal+ Premiere and Canal+ Sport. Or if similar to Maisha Magic and ZACU TV these entities will mostly likely just co-exist. 

It's not really known what Canal+ and this local partner would manage but if we had guess. Canal+ would manage whatever is left of MultiChoice Africa like Zambezi Magic and Africa Magic while the other manages 80% of Mzansi Magic and SABC News - MultiChoice SA.