Should SABC Look Into Renaming The SABC Education Channel Perhaps To SABC Variety 2?

Since 1996, SABC Education had been a trademark the public broadcaster would incorporate on local content geared mainly at the youth aged 2-14 and overtime aged 18-49. It is home to shows like Geleza Nathi, Uzalo, Matric Reloaded, Skeem Saam, Takalani Sesame and TOMZ.

It currently operates as a 24 hour channel on SABC's DTT alongside SABC 1-3, SABC Lehae, SABC Variety, SABC Sport and their 19 radio stations. Other means of accessing the channel or its content is through SABC+ and for those without these option can view its content on SABC 1-3.

This channel was launched amidst covid as a Mindset oriented brand offering various lessons from the Department Of Education on top of the already existing Geleza Nathi and Matric Reloaded. That left little variety for SABC's other shows like Words And Numbers and Hectic Nine-9.

Since then a lot of restructuring was done to incorporate a lot more of the SABC with the inclusion of Skeem Saam and non-educational shows like Restyle My Style and Challenge SOS but then again I get why these are on.

SABC Education is youth oriented and the SABC hadn't really produced much content in this area but the inclusion of Afro Cafe and Speak Out falls out of that spectrum. This was a channel that should be pivoting toward what it is positioned for education yet there's music shows on there.

Often the public broadcaster would rebrand the channel to SABC Festival as if there weren't consumers actually watching the channel and leaving the space occupied by SABC Variety unhinged. Considering there's already content under SABC Education not viewable on the channel like Uzalo.

Yet there's space for current affairs, the public broadcaster should consider restructuring or revamping the channel perhaps into SABC Variety 2. The first channel may as well occupy shows like Uzalo and Giyani: Land Of Blood while the other offers Skeem Saam and Noot Vir Noot.

News Shorts: e.tv Adds New Variety Show Friends Of Amstel: The Challenge, Xolani Khumalo Debuts New TV Show On StarSat And Queen Of The South Season 3 Makes Its Highly Anticipated Debut On Telemundo Africa

Black Tax changes timeslots ahead of new show

Friends of Amstel The Challenge is a fun and thrilling competition that brings together friends and celebrities for a series of exciting challenges. Whether it’s testing your physical abilities, mental acuity, or teamwork skills, this challenge has something for everyone. With Abuti Fill Up, President Ya Straata, and iNkabi uSjava leading their respective crews, you can bet that the competition will be fierce and exciting. Do you have what it takes to come out on top?

The ultimate prize for Friends of Amstel The Challenge is a 5-star, all-inclusive experience to Friends of Amstel. This exclusive event is a must-attend for any music and entertainment lover, so winning this prize is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. From enjoying top-notch performances to rubbing elbows with celebrities, this experience is sure to be unforgettable. So, gather your friends, sign up for the challenge, and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime!

The game show airs every Saturday at 18:00 on e.tv starting August 17th. To coincide with the launch season 2 of Black Tax will be moving to a much earlier timeslot 17:30.

St Rise adds new series Slyza Tsotsi

Xolani Khumalo, the former host of the controversial drug-busting show Sizokuthola, is making a return to television with his new show, Slyza Tsotsi. The show, which promises to be another hard-hitting expose on the illicit drug trade, will air on the Rise StarSat DStv channel 120 starting September 7th.

Khumalo also faces charges of malicious damage to property and robbery with aggravating circumstances, raising serious questions about his methods and the legitimacy of his crusade against drug dealers. Despite these controversies, Khumalo’s new show, Slyza Tsotsi, is set to continue his mission to expose and take down drug dealers.

Teresa is back for her final mission to take down the cartel 

The third season of Queen Of The South 3 (La Reina Del Sur 3) will premiere on September 9th on Telemundo Africa replacing The People's Doctor at 22:00 CAT. The final season has premiered in the United States a year ago so its kind of depressing that the channel took this long to acquire it.

After four years in prison in the United States for the deaths of three DEA agents, Teresa Mendoza escapes but will have to face a world full of conspiracy, risking her life in order to clear her name and reunite with her daughter Sofía. The cast includes Kate Del Castllo, Pêpê Rapazote, Antonio Gil, Isabella Sierra.

Canal+ Looking To Buy Another Pay-TV Platform Ahead Of Its Acquisition In MultiChoice

Vivendi’s Canal+ plans to double its stake in MC Vision to become the majority shareholder of the Mauritian-based digital pay-TV company, as the French firm seeks to boost its presence on the continent.

Canal+ will increase its stake to 75% from 37% for an undisclosed amount, pending regulatory approvals, according to a joint statement published in Le Dimanche/L’Hebdo newspaper.

Currimjee Jeewanjee and Co, a family-owned business that started MC Vision with Canal+ more than two decades ago, will cut its stake to 25% from 53% and state-owned Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation will sell its 10% holding.

Canal+ is seeking to expand its presence on the youngest and fastest growing continent

The new structure “will enable MC Vision to continue to meet the expectations of Mauritian households in terms of audiovisual content and services, while benefiting from the support of the Canal+ group”, the companies said.

Canal+ is seeking to expand its presence on the youngest and fastest growing continent to compete with US entertainment giants. In April it made an all-cash formal offer for MultiChoice Group, valuing the South African broadcaster’s shares at R55-billion and said the combined entity will be listed in Europe and Johannesburg.

Evolved

From pioneering digital satellite television in the Indian Ocean island nation in 1999, MC Vision has evolved into a provider of premium and exclusive content.

In the year to December 2022, it recorded revenue of Rs1.25-billion (R490-million) and a Rs1.6-million loss. The shortfall was due to low consumer confidence, a significantly weaker rupee, a rise in piracy and the unprecedented cost of content rights, for live sports in particular, according to Currimjee Jeewanjee’s annual report.  

How Warner Bros. Discovery May Look Into Rolling Out TNT Sports In Africa And Global?

TNT Sports is a brand name Warner Bros. Discovery which serves as the parent company had trademarked for its sports channels and prior a division within America. It currently maintains an active presence in Latin America, United Kingdom, Argentina and Chile with more international territories to be added.

After obtaining rights to select content from wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling, Warner Bros. Discovery is planning/exploring to get this brand trademarked within Africa. The current structure of the brand has yet to disclosed but if we had to guess they'll be time sharing with the current TNT channel. 

Another would be obtaining a structure similar to that of ESPN channels on DStv which is basically a SuperSport Blitz infused channel with NFL and NBA. Or rivaling with SuperSport's WWE and making TNT Sports an AEW oriented channel with doccies, films and highlights. 

Warner Bros. Discovery already operates the Eurosport channel in parts of Europe and with its division branded TNT Sports International. That is likely to all fold under one branding and the only other means Warner Bros. Discovery has in the establishment of such brand.

On top of licensing agreements, Warner Bros. Discovery is also producing original content so similar to Cartoonito's rollout globally. The likely scenario is that content from TNT Sports will just pop-up on Eurosport in an attempt to get consumers accustomed to a new brand name. 

Eurosport is basically SuperSport so there's not really much it has to offer for consumers in Africa that consumers aren't getting. There's a bidding war various sporting events and Warner Bros. Discovery wouldn't be able to outbid a broadcaster like SuperSport for something like PSL.

The question arises as to how Warner Bros. Discovery would balance a wider collection of sports content onto TNT's existing offering. For decades even dating back to TCM, it garnered prestige for its movies lineup and AEW's inclusion has caused conflict which led to numerous timeslot changes.

eExtra, eToonz, eMovies And eMovies Extra Continues On MultiChoice's DStv As eMedia Investments Looks To Take Legal Action Over Their Pending Demise

Since 2022, eMedia Investments and MultiChoice have been embroiled a carriage dispute regarding eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz. These channels are also allocated on the Openview platform with eExtra that is available on StarSat in a separate agreement. 

A hearing was scheduled for this August but according to a report it has been delayed once again with a date that has to be finalized. 

eMedia Investments is looking to take legal action against MultiChoice over the impending demise of these money grabbers. These channels ranked first, fourth, seventh and tenth serve as additional revenue stream to aid in the distribution and licensing of content. 

Other disputes these two parties engaged in revolved on the 2023 Rugby World Cup where SABC and MultiChoice reached an agreement worth R57 million. Of course, this agreement restricted these matches from being allocated on Openview and StarSat as they failed to obtain free-to-air rights.

In a court ruling, MultiChoice wasn't allowed to make such restrictions forcing the SABC to have their current agreement set in place scrapped. Following SABC’s absence from these events, sports minister warned a warning to these broadcasters for their failure to come into terms with a new agreement.