Zee Zonke To Debut First Ever Zulu Dubbed Bollywood Film "Darlings" In October

Following the channel's rollout in 2023, Zee Zonke had proved to be a popular addition with DStv consumers after accumulating over 200,000 viewers. The parent company Zee Entertainment Enterprises distributes various other channels within the African market including Zee World and Zee Alem on DStv with Zee Family and Zee One on Openview.

Now the channel is gearing up to boost its primetime offering with the addition of Bollywood movies with Darlings opening up the block on Sunday 27 October at 18:00.

In the film we are introduced to Badru and Hamza as a cutesy couple, probably in their early 20s, thinking of marrying each other. Three years later, we see the couple is still in love until Hamza finds two small pebbles in his food. Here, the act of domestic violence is hinted at for the first time. Hamza is an unhinged character who physically abuses his wife after getting drunk. 

Badru is more or less done with Hamza, but because of the ideology of marriage and Hamza’s coercion is forced to stay with him. There are some external plot lines alongside this established structure: the character Zulfi, who is perceived as the lover of Badru, the insights of marriage and men from Shamshu. 

Through a lot of shenanigans and dark comedy, the goal is achieved with Hamza being accidentally killed by an oncoming train and Badru returning to the same theatre she waited for Hamza in the starting. The difference is that this time she watches the movie alone, unbothered by the fact that she is alone and happier in the fact that she is an individual.

Alia Bhatt is cast in the film as Badrunissa "Badru" Ansari–Sheikh alongside Shefali Shah as Shamshunissa "Shamshu" Ansari, Vijay Varma as Hamza Sheikh, Roshan Mathew as Zulfi and Vikram Pratap as Abdul.

MultiChoice, NBCUniversal Invest R2.8 Billion Into Showmax

MultiChoice video streaming platform Showmax has received equity funding of $164 million (R2.8 billion), as it looks to take on international video-on-demand platforms such as Netflix and Disney+.

This, after in March last year, MultiChoice entered into an agreement with Comcast subsidiary NBCUniversal and Sky, to form a partnership for purposes of driving Showmax to become the “leading streaming service in Africa”.

Comcast, through its subsidiary NBCUniversal, acquired a 30% equity stake in Showmax, and provides ongoing support through the licensing of its Peacock platform and content from NBCUniversal, Universal Pictures, Peacock and Sky.

MultiChoice, through its wholly-owned subsidiary MultiChoice Group Holdings, and Comcast, through NBCUniversal, are providing funding to Showmax (only as and when Showmax’s board determines) during its investment phase.

According to MultiChoice, this is contributed in proportion to the companies’ respective shareholdings and they will share profits on the same basis in future.

It adds that equity funding is provided as required (either monthly or at other intervals) depending on Showmax’s working capital requirements and near-term budget (as determined by Showmax’s board) subject to a maximum capped amount.

As at 31 March 2024, MultiChoice Group and NBCUniversal provided, in the aggregate, $120 million (R2 billion) in equity funding to Showmax, each in proportion of their respective shareholdings.

“Since 1 April 2024 until the date of this announcement, MultiChoice Group and NBCUniversal provided, in the aggregate, $164 million (R2.8 billion) in equity funding to Showmax, each in proportion of their respective shareholdings,” says the JSE-listed video entertainment company.

Faced with declining subscriber numbers in the traditional pay-TV space, MultiChoice is pinning its hopes on streaming platforms Showmax and DStv Stream.

The company’s latest financial results show overall active subscribers declined by 9%.

According to the company, this was mainly due to a 13% decline in the “rest of Africa” business, with Nigeria, Angola and Zambia most affected, while the South African business was more resilient, declining by only 5%.

The results come as French-based media giant Canal+ is looking to take over the South African firm in a R30 billion deal.

Over the years, MultiChoice’s subscriber numbers have reduced amid pressure from global streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime.

To boost its streaming offerings, MultiChoice relaunched Showmax, stating its intention of becoming the leading platform in Africa.

However, research projections show the new Showmax will become Africa’s second-biggest video streaming service in five years.

According to a report by Digital TV Research, Sub-Saharan Africa will have 16 million paying subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) subscriptions by 2029, up from seven million at the end of 2023.

It notes Netflix will remain the SVOD market leader, with 6.9 million subscribers by 2029, and Showmax will be the second-largest platform, with 3.7 million paying subscribers.

MultiChoice recently enhanced its DStv Stream app

 by adding personalisation features, which it believes will draw more viewers to the platform.

Recommendations To Those Using StarSat In South Africa

StarSat is a satellite based pay-tv service that StarTimes managed to acquire a 20% stake for those using their services in South Africa with On Digital Media being majority shareholder. As reported sometime ago, the pay-tv operator has been operating illegally in South Africa for over a year and now ICASA is looking to action.

Since StarSat's inception into the market, they've managed to accumulate over half a million subscribers in South Africa alone which is baffling considering how long Openview had been operational in the market. They also have over 6000 workers whose jobs are as well at stake as they roam around their offices aimlessly.

StarSat is insuring consumers that they won't shut down by all means and it's comes as somewhat of a shock that they've been operating without a license for this long. But there's no guarantees that they'll be able to keep up with their word as ICASA could as well look to have their signals getting shut off making it difficult for them to offer their services.

Although employees may say they will continue to sell and distribute StarSat in South Africa what could happen overtime is that Warner Bros. Discovery, The Walt Disney Company and various other parties may look to having their channels revoked or at least for the audiences in South Africa leaving only the local channels curated by the company.

To put matters into simple terms, don't risk what little you have left on these guys as there's no guarantee how long they could remain active and if ESPN and National Geographic will remain intact during this period. Have a Plan B which could be Openview or DStv just until the dust settles between ICASA and StarSat.

Should it shut down it will have a difficult time trying to recover that lost income and consumer base even the workforce would be constraint as the pay-tv market has been under siege in recent years. So much so that they might as well look into closing their services or deem themselves unfit for the South African market.

In the end, the one who would be most affected is the license holder On Digital Media as StarTimes has a local following in other parts of Africa which amounts to over 10 million subscribers.

Rumour: eMedia Investments Acquires Broadcasting Rights To Supernatural Drama "Suhagan Chudail"

In this supernatural saga, a malevolent Chudail named Nishigandha is on an obsessive quest for Suhaag ki Nishaniyan, ‘Solah Shringars’ – 16 mystical adornments that will bestow upon her unparalleled beauty and the ultimate prize of immortality. With each ‘Shringar’ she collects by sacrificing her husbands, her dark powers grow stronger.

Now, she has set her sinister sights on ensnaring her 16th and final target, Moksh, to unlock the final ‘Shringar’. However, Nishigandha faces an unexpected challenge from Deeya, a courageous woman determined to protect her beloved Moksh from the enchantment of the Suhagan Chudail.

Deeya must wage a desperate battle to break Nishigandha’s enchantment before it’s too late. With Moksh’s life hanging in the balance, will Deeya’s love triumph over Nishigandha’s dark magic?

The series cast Nia Sharma as Nishigandha, Zayn Ibad Khan as Moksh, Debchandrima Singha Roy as Deeya, Aradhana Sharma as Rachna, Jyoti Mukherji as Moksh’s Mother as Sachin Khurana as Moksh’s Father and Pooja Tiwari as Juri. Colors TV serves as the official broadcaster to Suhagan Chudail and consumers would be familiar with the channel through the series Naagin.

eMedia Investments is rumoured to be rolling out the show in the coming months or by next year with another program viewed on Zee World also said to rolling out on their stable. If one had to guess this will likely be allocated on eExtra alongside other Bollywood shows like Broken Bonds and Twist Of Fate.

HARI Greenlights New CG Preschool Series ‘Baby Lemmings’ Which Is Set To Debut On Cartoonito By 2025/6

Paris-based global IP company HARI, announces it has greenlit a brand new series starring baby lemmings from its global hit series Grizzy & The Lemmings. Described as a “genlte-slapstick” CG-animated show aimed at preschoolers and families, the 78 x 7′ series will deliver throughout 2025/26.

For the Baby Lemmings, the whole world is a playground, and there’s nothing better than sharing this life philosophy with their little animal neighbors in the Canadian forest. When you see life from the Baby Lemmings’ side, you can overcome any difficulty and have a whole lot of fun while doing so!

“At first glance, blending the craziness of slapstick with the gentle nature of preschool content seemed an impossible task,” said Josselin Charier, Executive Producer, HARI. “However, it’s in the core DNA of the lemmings to be playful. And it’s through this boundless playfulness that we discovered the perfect formula for a preschool audience: stories where any challenge can be overcome through games.”

France Televisions commissioned the series for Okoo and France 4, while Warner Bros. Discovery secured the rights for Cartoonito and Max in EMEA, Cartoonito in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as Cartoon Network in South Asia. Super RTL licensed the rights in Germany for Toggo.

“We’re very excited to continue our partnership with Hari for this brand-new animated series, Baby Lemmings,” said Aurélie Wack, Warner Bros. Discovery, Kids EMEA, Acquisitions & Co-Productions Sr. Manager. “It is perfect for our Cartoonito and Max upper-preschool audiences who can count on the playful baby lemmings to bring endless fun and heart-warming moments!”

Baby Lemmings follows the global success of Grizzy & The Lemmings, now broadcast in 200 territories globally. It is the number one most watched animated kids show (for six plus) on Netflix worldwide, and is consistently in the top three animated series on France TV’s Okoo, the U.K.’s CBBC and Toggo in Germany (Super RTL). The show delivers outstanding ratings on TV channels around the world and generates 1.3 billion views per year on YouTube (with 9 million subscribers).