Reminder: Telemundo To Debut New Series "Ana's New Life" In Africa

Ana Ocampo is a 50-year-old woman who will have to face a divorce, after she discovers that her husband, Horacio, is unfaithful with a much younger woman, Adelaida Gómez. In the midst of her loneliness, Ana discovers that the end of her marriage will become a second chance for her as she enjoys her new life and becomes a stronger woman. She ends up meeting Joaquín Cortés, who, after meeting Ana, assures her that she is the woman of his life. Meanwhile, Horacio realizes that ending his relationship with Ana was a mistake.

It starred Paola Turbay as Ana Ocampo, Sebastián Carvajal as Joaquín Cortés, Jorge Enrique Abello as Horacio Valenzuela, Laura Archbold as Adelaida Gómez, Judy Henríquez as Dolores Viuda de Ocampo, Ramistelly Herrera as Emma Valenzuela, Carlos Báez as Pedro Valenzuela, Ilenia Antonini as Florencia Valenzuela and Adriana Romero as Genoveva Serrano.

With Queen Of The South set to return on the channel for a third and final season on Telemundo. The channel had opted to sought out the assistance of Colombia's RCN Television for Ana's New Life (also known as Ana De Nadie) in an attempt to retain daytime audiences as Teresa Mendoza's entry will be restricted to late nights at 22:00 with Ana's New Life airing an hour earlier at 21:00.

RCN Television is no stranger to the Hispanic based channel as they've worked together on shows like Until Money Do Us Part and The Scent Of Passion. The channel had even sought to license other content like The Chosen Granddaughter, Nurses and Law Of The Heart with some of this currently seen on their lineup.

What's mind boggling about these premieres is that The People's Doctor instead of falling off the lineup follows Decisions and a select number of shows and serves as a filler to the daytime as Queen Of The South commences 9th September. Ana's New Life will only air 21 days after Queen Of The South on September 30th giving consumers free time to check the load of repeats on E! Entertainment.

Barney's World Premieres In October On Cartoonito Across USA And EMEA

Mattel, Inc. and Warner Bros. Discovery announced today that Barney, Mattel’s iconic purple dinosaur, will return to television screens for the first time in 14 years. Barney’s World, a new animated series featuring original music and updated takes on Barney classics, will premiere Monday, October 14 on MAX followed by a linear premiere on Cartoon Network starting on Friday, October 18. The show also launches on Cartoonito in EMEA and APAC, and Discovery Kids in LATAM.  Select episodes of Barney’s World will be available on YouTube, where the first episode will debut early on October 11 in specific countries.  

MEET BARNEY, BABY BOP, AND BILLY!

The new Barney’s World is set in a playground, where Barney is joined by dinos Billy and Baby Bop and their three kid best friends David, Mel, and Vivie. Through action-packed, music-filled adventures together, Barney helps the kids and audiences explore big preschool emotions, showing them how to love themselves, others, and their communities.

Originally launched in 1988, Barney quickly became a global sensation, captivating audiences with the friendly dinosaur and his larger-than-life personality. The Barney & Friends series aired on top broadcasters globally, including 14 seasons on PBS in the United States, with its final episode airing on November 2, 2010.

While Barney’s World was developed for preschoolers, viewers of all ages will feel nostalgic singing along with Barney and his friends again. Today’s parents, many of whom grew up with the lovable dinosaur, can now create memories with their own children as they experience this new take on a beloved classic.

Barney’s World premieres with 52, 11-minute episodes featuring familiar faces and new characters alike, including:

• Jonathan Langdon (ZOMBIES) as Barney - A singing and dancing purple dinosaur who embodies love, Barney is a great listener who helps his friends work through challenges in a way that is caring to themselves and others.

• Bryn McAuley (Hotel Transylvania: The Series) as Baby Bop - A charming and opinionated dinosaur who is an advocate for all feelings, no matter how big or small.

• Jonathan Tan (Rubble & Crew) as Billy – An energetic dino who loves action and loud sounds. With a strong sense of self awareness, Billy encourages kids to express their feelings and care for themselves. 

• Jayd Deroché (Super Why’s Comic Book Adventures) as David – An empathetic, self-aware, and caring kid, David loves giving big hugs and has an infectious laugh that he shares with his friends, older brother, and younger sister.

• Diana Tsoy (CoComelon Lane) as Mel – Mel is active, competitive, and always up for a challenge. She is multiracial from Korean and Mexican heritage, speaks three languages, and loves to share her culture with her friends. 

• Ella Paciocco (Vocal Star) as Vivie - Vivie is wildly creative and loves to paint and perform. She lives with her Nonna, and together they enjoy cooking, sharing Italian traditions, and caring for their friends and family.

“The goal of Mattel Television Studios is to develop and distribute episodic and long-form content that expands Mattel’s characters and storylines across linear and streaming platforms worldwide,” said Josh Silverman, Chief Franchise Officer, Mattel. “Barney nurtures the power of love in all of us, and we are thrilled to bring him back to fans all around the world. We hope this modern revival leaves an impression on young audiences, imparting lessons that will positively influence them as they grow up.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Mattel to bring a fresh, imaginative new take on Barney that resonates with today’s preschoolers and their families around the world,” said Vanessa Brookman, General Manager Kids, Global Streaming and International Networks, Warner Bros. Discovery.  

“This new animated series aims to blend nostalgia with modern storytelling, ensuring that the world’s beloved purple dinosaur continues to inspire, educate, and delight young audiences.”

Barney’s World is co-produced by Mattel Television Studios and Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana. It is executive produced by Michelle Mendelovitz and Josh Silverman for Mattel and by Athena Georgaklis, Doug Murphy, Mellany Welsh, and Pam Westman for Nelvana.

Zee Zonke – SA’s No. 1 Pay TV Channel Presents An All New Local Show, “Amaqhawe – Our Heroes”

Zee Zonke is thrilled to introduce its first original local show, isiZulu Amaqhawe (Our Heroes), premiered on 14 September 2024 at 5 pm on DStv channel 169. Since the channel’s launch in August 2023, Zee Zonke has ranked number one in the Pay TV space. This is the channel’s first local foray, spotlighting the extraordinary stories of South Africans who have made notable contributions across various sectors.

In a world where remarkable achievements often go unnoticed, Amaqhawe shines a light on those who have defied the odds to make meaningful socially, economically, or culturally meaningful impacts. These unsung heroes make a difference in several lives in their fields of music, arts, literature, entertainment, medicine, education, politics and business.

Experts selected 28 individuals from hundreds to feature in Season 1. Each episode will delve into the lives of these achievers, exploring their challenges, perseverance, and successes. Through interviews, dialogues, and interactions with family members, friends, and communities, Amaqhawe seeks to inspire viewers in a manner never seen before.

“At Zee Zonke, we believe in the power of storytelling to connect, inspire, and uplift communities. With Amaqhawe, we are proud to honour the outstanding individuals who have made a difference. We are thrilled to partner with Absa, which reinforces our commitment to celebrating the diverse and impactful stories that shape our nation.” said Somnath Malakar, CEO of Sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands.

Hosted by the charismatic and ever-popular duo Phindile Gwala and Luthando’ BU’ Mthembu, the show promises to be vibrant, entertaining, inspirational and aspirational, with stories that truly resonate.

“Content is at the core of what Zee does, so we created this local show. We understand how important it is for people to tell their own stories, which can shape and empower communities. We also want to do the best we can for our audiences, where they get to see themselves on screen, which adds to the enjoyment that locally resonant storytelling provides.” said Desiree Pillay, ZEE SVP: Content & Marketing, Sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands.

Daniel Munslow, Managing Executive for Group Communications at Absa, says, “We are thrilled to partner with Zee Zonke on Amaqhawe (Our Heroes), a groundbreaking initiative that marks our first local foray into spotlighting the extraordinary stories of South Africans who have made significant contributions across various sectors. Amaqhawe aligns seamlessly with our strategic objective of ‘Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together, one story at a time.’ Through this partnership, we proudly celebrate the heroes who inspire us and drive progress within our communities.”

Tune in for the premiere of Amaqhawe on 14 September 2024 at 5 pm, exclusively on Zee Zonke, DStv channel 169.

Important News Dated 15 September

As some of you have already noticed, I haven't posted in a couple of weeks as I ran into some personal setbacks that was beyond my control. So with the help of a notepad I had to type whatever I had to publish and trust me it was frustrating being away from everyone and this lost time had led me to miss out on various deadlines for which I apologize as all this came last minute for me.

But during this time I got to do some thinking and with the forever changing landscape we have to make some adjustments to our platforms to cope with this. This includes content on DStv Flex, we could look into simplifying some of this into a new segment of course those details are still underwraps and to limit the amount of duplicate content.

As for the sites, we feel that the current format is sort of crammed or bloated we may look into modifying some of these areas. We already offer floating widgets, this could as well become the areas of our site where you find upcoming and featured attractions taking up positions of course nothing can be final as it all depends on how users interact with these gadgets.

MultiChoice Is Working On A SuperSport AM/PM Channel

During the week, several consumers had noticed that MultiChoice is working on a sports channel known as SuperSport Variety AM/PM. There is currently no details on when the mysterious TV channel will be announced but from the esteemed outcome it could be another pop-up channel. 

AM/PM could imply a TV channel that constructs its content in a particular order during certain hours of the day only to repeats this format throughout the day. 

This channel is currently using the frequencies of Ginx eSports TV which could be the likely cause for the channel's description eSports/Gaming. From the lineup, AM/PM features a lot of highlights from the paralympics alongside some actual events with Premier League as an overflow. 

MultiChoice with the inclusion of this channel is probably trying to do what SWITCH'D ON and Zambezi Reloaded is doing and trying to accommodate viewers different preferences and schedules. This would further maximize its viewership and reach and engage with viewers at different times.

SuperSport AM/PM is basically a mashup of SuperScreen and Olympic News as it offers highlights from the Paralympics. It also broadcasts sporting events mainly opening and closing ceremonies or events which range from football, rugby, archery and swimming.