Weekly Roundups #4: Rugrats Live-Action/Hybrid Film Is In Development At Paramount Studios, Canal+ Acquires French Rights To e.tv's Smoke & Mirrors, Totally Spies! Premiere On Cartoon Network Has Been Pushed To November And More

• Canal+ acquires rights to e.tv's soapie Smoke & Mirrors for A+ channel in French speaking territories 

• Rugrats CGI/live-action film is in development at Paramount Studios and Nickelodeon 

Paramount is developing a live-action/ CG hybrid feature film that’s based on the beloved ’90s animated children’s TV show. Tommy Pickles and his pals Chuckie Finster and Phil and Lil DeVille will be animated in the movie, which is set in the real world as “Sonic the Hedgehog.”

• Rihanna's upcoming film The Smurfs had been delayed to July 2025

• Dragon Ball Daima launches on Netflix in Asia by October 14th and globally on the 18th which concide with Barney's World launch on Cartoonito 

• Anupama switches back to 1 hour on Star Life from October 14th

• Coming to America star John Amos dies at the age of 84

• An RPG game for Avatar: The Last Airbender is in development 

• Villains Of Valley View and Hailey's On It cancelled on Disney Channel after its current season

• Princess Diaries 3 is officially moving forward 

• Saweetie guest stars in Max's animated series Velma 

• That 90's Show cancelled on Netflix after 2 seasons

The spinoff of popular early aughts TV sitcom "That '70s Show," which catapulted Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis as well as Topher Grace and Laura Prepon into stardom, has been canceled by the streaming service, according to its star Kurtwood Smith.

• Batwheels renewed for a season 3 by Cartoon Network 

• Totally Spies premiere on Cartoon Network has been pushed to November in Africa with another series also set to join the lineup 

Reminder: MultiChoice Africa Will Be Axing SuperSport Variety 2-4 By Next Week, When Or If MultiChoice South Africa Will Follow?

A few weeks ago, it was reported that MultiChoice Africa will be axing SuperSport Variety 2-4 on DStv after being introduced to consumers in September 2020 alongside SuperSport Select 1-3 on GOtv. The switch is expected to go live from October 9th with SuperSport Action being added to DStv Compact.

SuperSport Africa formerly SuperSport Variety 4 will offer football, athletics, MMA, boxing and wrestling to GOtv Lite and DStv Access consumers on channel 227. While SuperSport Africa 2 formerly SuperSport Variety 3 will launch on channel 228 which offers mainly football to DStv Family and GOtv Max consumers.

SuperSport Variety 2 will be merged into a new repositioned SuperSport Action channel which moves from channel 230 to 226 to DStv Compact consumers. This channel is currently residing on the Compact+ and Premium bouquet offering mixed martial arts and MMA will offer cricket, rugby and tennis.

Questions flooding is how MultiChoice Africa was able to do this without any input from MultiChoice South Africa which is simple as SuperSport maintains two feeds one for Southern Africa with the other for the remaining parts. The content and pricing differs immensely for these regions which brings up another agenda.

SuperSport Variety existence in South Africa could be numbered I mean this is what happened to Novela Magic and Maisha Magic Movies. These were brands that were stripped from consumers within Southern Africa before migrating to other parts of Africa and MultiChoice has a tendency of making changes in phases.

If I had to guess why SuperSport Action is not coming to DStv Compact or SuperSport Variety switching to SuperSport Africa or simply SuperSport has to deal with the content. MultiChoice is probably trying to piece out the structure of these brands and will probably announce it in the coming months if not 2025.

But what's certain here is that MultiChoice may not refer to them as SuperSport Africa but simply SuperSport and revert back to the numbering system if not a local trademark like SuperSport Mzansi. MultiChoice Africa has a lot of channels under its belt with the Africa trademark including TLC, Nickelodeon and M-Net Movies.

Could DStv Be Closing Down In Some Countries?

A few months ago, it was revealed that both Canal+ and Bruh Entertainment PLC that launched a rival platform to StarTimes and DStv in Ethiopia back in 2021 will be closing down by 31 December 2024. This is due to the dominance of free-to-air operators in the region with the French broadcaster putting more focus on existing agreements with BeMedia.

This had led to further speculation that a similar fate could be awaiting DStv as Canal+ tries to completes it's acquisition of MultiChoice. Let's remember, Canal+ is also in pursuit of a rival pay-tv platform in Mauritius after increasing its hold in MC Vision to 75% which is awaiting regulatory approval as well.

Whenever there's a clash it always lead to one of the two getting closed if not sold which is what could be awaiting MultiChoice in the region. Canal+ could look into merging both DStv and MC Vision and build a localized feed as seen in South Africa with their broadcasting license limited to 20% needing local partners to have indirect influence over it's operations.

MultiChoice Africa hasn't been profitable in a long while and on top of massive layoffs Canal+ could as well look into minimizing the pay-tv company's presence in some markets. You'll find some like Mauritius offering MC Vision that could as well be the only reminisce of MultiChoice as they look to package certain brands on those platforms.

Then there could be an instance where MultiChoice follows a similar route as Sony Pictures Television and BBC Studios and explore partnerships to retain portions of DStv I mean the idea wouldn't seem far fetched a stretch. As Canal+ has adopted to similar mechanisms in the areas they reside being both content and pay-tv provider.

NFL Is In Talks To Acquire Some Of Skydance's Assets Ahead Of Merger With Paramount Global

The National Football League is in talks with David Ellison’s Skydance Media and one of his major investors, RedBird Capital Partners, that could result in some of the league’s media assets changing hands, according to people familiar with the conversations.

The talks could include a sale of NFL Media and its NFL Network cable channel, or an acquisition by Paramount Global of the league’s interest in Skydance Sports, a joint venture that produces movies and TV shows, according to the people, who asked to not be identified because the discussions are private.

Paramount, which holds rights to broadcast NFL games, is in the process of merging with Skydance, an independent film and TV studio, in a deal expected to close next year. Paramount’s contract with the league includes a change of control provision that could allow the NFL to seek another media partner, the people said. The NFL’s deal with Paramount’s CBS network is worth about $2.1 billion a year through 2033.

Although it is unlikely that the NFL will seek to replace CBS as its broadcast partner, the provision has prompted a wider conversation about business opportunities between the league, Skydance and RedBird. The league is already in business with both parties and Commissioner Roger Goodell has praised Skydance in interviews.

In 2022, the NFL invested $45 million in Skydance Sports in a deal that valued the entity at about $100 million. Skydance and NFL Films produced a new season of HBO’s Hard Knocks documentary series, focusing on the New York Giants, this year. The two companies are also working on a 10-part documentary series on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The league and RedBird are partners in EverPass Media, which distributes the NFL Sunday Ticket games to bars and restaurants. RedBird is also an owner of the United Football League, which plays in the spring season. Larry Ellison, the father of the Skydance founder and one of the world’s richest men, has previously expressed interest in owning a professional football team.

The NFL has been shopping its media assets for a few years. NFL Media includes the league’s digital operations, the NFL cable network, the film unit and NFL RedZone, a subscription service. Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN sports division had been in talks about a potential deal that could have seen the company acquire NFL Media, giving the league a stake in ESPN in return. Those talks have stalled, however.

eExtra To Debut New Series "Legend Of Fuyao"

The story takes place in the universe of Five Kingdoms that is led by the Imperial City of Tianquan. Fuyao was formed from a lotus borne by the Ancient firmament. Adopted as an orphan, she served as a slave for the Xuanyuan sect from the Taiyuan Kingdom. A series of tragedies resulted in a journey across the land to gather the magical artifacts that could lift the curse that blighted her life. 

Along the way, she met the Crown Prince of Tianquan who was masquerading as the heir of Taiyuan while conducting secret missions to quell unrest in the Five Kingdoms. The pair fell in love as they battled the complicated politics and power plays between the different forces. With the help of her loyal companions, Fuyao set out to unravel the heinous plot of the ancient firmament.

Based on the novel Empress Fuyao, Legend of Fuyao aired on the Chinese network Zhejiang TV from June 18 to August 13, 2018 with 66 episodes having being filmed. It starred Yang Mi as Fuyao, Ethan Juan as Zhangsun Wuji, Zhang Dongshen as Xuanyuan Ren, Hu Ke as Xuanyuan Xiao, Lai Yi as Zong Yue, Liang Yimu as Yun Hen.

Legend of Fuyao will air daily at 16:15 replacing Jeyran from Thursday 10 October with an age restriction of 18. In other developments, eExtra will be adding two new shows to their offering in the month Op Dun Ys after being uploaded on eVOD alongside Viola.

This will be the first Asian drama to have been broadcast on the channel during the year after the channel had seen its primetime offering reduced for Kuiertyd's imports. Recently, eMedia Investments had added all of their channels graphic designs to commemorate their 24 year anniversary in the market.