SABC 3 To Debut Turkish Dramas "The Unusual Suspects" And "Meyrem" In The Month Of January

SABC 3, a South African based free-to-air entertainment channel operated by the SABC which offers a mixture of content in English and Afrikaans has announced the additions of The Unusual Suspects and Meyrem. Both shows will occupy the 16:30 and will basically rival with e.tv's Die Agentskap which comes at 16:00.

Synopsis for The Unusual Suspects

Feyza, Zuhal and Nehir surprise their husbands to celebrate the anniversary of their husband's hotel. However, this surprise has unexpected consequences. These women, who suddenly find themselves in the middle of various actions, will enter the world of men quite eventful.

The limited series starred Bennu Yıldırımlar as Feyza, Yasemin Kay Allen as Zuhal, Ceren Moray as Nehir, Beril Pozam as Zeynep, Berk Hakman as Yalçın and Pamir Pekin as Gökhan Aktemur.

Synopsis for Meyrem 

A tragic accident binds three lives forever: Meryem, who takes the fall for a crime she didn’t commit; Oktay, the prosecutor who was actually behind the wheel; and Savaş, the grieving husband seeking vengeance. Meryem’s sacrifice to protect Oktay leads to a dramatic courtroom battle where love and truth become entangled in a web of deceit and revenge.

The melodrama starred Furkan Andıç as Savaş Sargun, Ayça Ayşin Turan as Meryem Akça, Açelya Topaloğlu as Derin Berker, Serenay Aktaş as Burcu Aktar, Cemal Toktaş as Oktay Şahin, Bestemsu Özdemir as Beliz Bilen and Kenan Acar as Güçlü Tekiner.

The Unusual Suspects will air daily at 16:00 from Monday 6 January on SABC 3 with Meyrem replacing it once it ends on Monday 20 January.

Recap To Last Year: Cartoon Network Merges Feeds In Some Parts Of Europe

The Cartoon Network station uplink , or signal source for operators, has undergone quite a significant transformation. In the past, the version for our region, referred to as CEE (Central and Eastern Europe), was intended only for the Czech, Slovak, Hungarian and Romanian markets . The original RSEE feed  intended primarily for the Balkans has now been absorbed into this feed , along with the Polish one . Now, in addition to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, the "new CEE" also serves Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Macedonia, Moldova, Albania and others.

The sister station for the little ones, Cartoonito , or the competing portfolio of Nickelodeon stations , operates on a similar principle of a universal feed for many countries, with regional "opt-outs" for filler and advertising. Internally, this de facto old-new pan-European feed, similar to the one in the nineties, is called " Europe 2/Europe - East" . This is because similar cuts have also occurred in Western European markets - specifically in France, Germany and Portugal .

For this block, another playout is called " Europe 1/Europe - West" . A large part of the markets, especially from our corner, broadcasts the program without commercials and uses trailers and filler in the form of program excerpts between programs. Commercials have remained for now, for example, in Hungary and Poland. In the territory of the former federation, advertising has been missing from broadcasts for over a year. Its deployment in our country was represented by Atmedia from 2018 to 2022 .

Thanks to these steps, the program scheme had to be unified and the station graphics adjusted . The content page has been updated with the EPG program guide and will be somewhat revitalized through the deployment of more thematic blocks. The first visible visual change is the logo adjustment. The station identifier has become larger and moved more to the upper right corner. It has also lost transparency. The viewer can therefore better recognize which station they are watching. Logos have had a similar appearance for a long time, including in England and the USA .

The old jingles from the " Check It 4.0" era have also disappeared from the broadcast and everything is now set in a newer " Dimensional" guise. Reminders for the next show have moved from the bottom right corner to the top next to the logo. They are smaller and more animated. The bumpers for the next show are also more sophisticated thanks to the use of newer branding and unified with the recently added idents.

Premieres have a yellow sticker with black glitter instead of a small purple exclamation mark behind the logo in the lower left corner. There they also have an icon with a smiling smiley face of the aforementioned filler. At the end of the programs, dubbing cards of the producers of the individual versions are displayed - such a list is familiar to users of streaming services, for example.

Thanks to these changes, the operator will save costs and will be able to be more flexible in any further changes regarding the scheme or graphics. This modification was not directly communicated. The station has been present on our market practically since its entry into the European continent in the early nineties. However, it was officially launched here only in 2017, when it received a Czech audio track and subsequently advertising - before replacing it with the current filler.

Since 2018, it has been broadcasting in high definition Full HD, which gives it a certain advantage over competing stations Disney Channel, Minimax and Nickelodeon . The website is also still in operation, although according to our information, it should be turned off in favor of the Max platform containing a number of broadcast programs. These changes were described in detail for MediaGuru.cz by reader Lukáš Jaro , who has been following the activities of WarnerBros. Discovery for a long time.

The article was originally published by MediaGuru

Canal+ Shuts Down It's Pay-TV Operations In Ethiopia

Last year, it was reported that Canal+ would be shutting down its pay-tv operations in Ethiopia after 3 years siting poor consumer growth. Another may have to do with its ongoing transaction to acquire MultiChoice with them also offering services in Ethiopia seek to revamp their operations and ease restrictions.

Canal+ Ethiopia comprised of several channels including Canal+ Gebeta, Canal+ Discover, FilmBox Africa and Love Nature with KIX, Real Time and Cartoon Network already distributed on DStv. With the platform already shuttered, part of this offering has since then been merged with Canal+ Afrique.

Should the takeover move ahead, Canal+ would gain access to M-Net, SuperSport, DStv and GOtv which are viewed as core brands for the broadcaster. Besides that, MultiChoice substitutes most of the local offering viewed by the defunct Canal+ Ethiopia with Abol TV (local content), Zee Alem (telenovelas) and SuperSport Liyu (sports).

Canal+ could restructure this services and perhaps integrate some content from their defunct linear offering. Of course, it is just speculation worst case scenario would be shuttering DStv's services in the region as South Africa remains a highly profitable market for MultiChoice.

It could be that similar to Canal+ Ethiopia, Canal+ looks to close or integrate some of DStv's services within Africa. Aside from MultiChoice, Canal+ is looking to acquire another African pay-tv provider MC Vision after increasing its hold of the company to 75%.

Is MultiChoice Still Planning To Remove eToonz, eMovies, eMovies Extra And eExtra From DStv?

As some of you may have already heard, eMedia Investments had settled things with MultiChoice regarding eToonz, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eExtra by September of last year. There was very little buzz or press from both parties particularly eMedia Investments that made several attempts to retain these channels.

This led to them even going through a 2 and a half year carriage battle with MultiChoice but this didn't end because one party decided to retain these channels but rather eMedia Investments realised the money wasted on legal fees was putting a damper in their money bin so where does this leave DStv consumers if you may ask.

Well as it stood, eMedia Investments' channels were slated to go dark on DStv by August 2024 as ongoing legal action is what prompted these 4 channels to stay onboard. The year is drawing to a close and if these channels are still seen on DStv we can only assume one of several outcomes.

Firstly an extension had been reached between both parties and MultiChoice had a change of heart as seen with the relaunch of WildEarth which some are prompting to the takeover by Canal+. Of course, the duration to such agreement, settlement, obligation or however they want to put it is what's keeping eMedia Investments quiet.

Could it be that these channels aren't out of the woods yet?

MultiChoice made a similar deal with the SABC back in 2017/8 that SABC Encore would be axed on their platforms by May 2020 and this was something neither party addressed when renewing their agreement. Maybe MultiChoice just gave these channels an extended vacation and are planning to remove them later.

This whole process could take months into 2025 maybe March which is when the current financial year period ends or May which would date back to when these channels were officially removed. In general, all I'm saying here is this agreement doesn't sit well with me why the secrecy particularly with eMedia Investments.

Maybe I'm wrong or partially and MultiChoice just looks into retaining a few channels on their platforms alongside e.tv and eNCA. But then again, Disney and BBC Studios had announced extensions to their contracts yet eMedia Investments doesn't and retaining them on DStv was a priority.

2025 On Insidus | Channel Premieres: Iyanu: Child Of Wonder, Suits: LA And The Gelukbringers | Returning Shows Including Road To Destiny And Mr. Bean | More

Some of these titles are rumoured 

Regular Nick

• Cartoon Network/Cartoonito/Adult Swim: Iyanu: Child Of Wonder, Lana Longbeard, Dino Ranch: Island Explorers, Common Side Effects, Lazarus, Invincible Fight Girl, Dragonball: Daima (Rumour), Go Go Mystery Machine, The Karters, Mermicorno: Starfall, Baby Lemmings and Mr. Bean S4.

• Disney Channel/Disney Junior/Disney+: Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, StuGo, Phineas And Ferb S5, Vampirina (Live-Action), Doomies, Hey AJ, Kindergarten: The Musical, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Reboot, Marvel's Iron Man and His Awesome Friends,  Robogobo, Messi And The Giants, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Win or Lose, Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Zombies and How We Became The Biggest Band In The World.

• Nickelodeon/Nick Jr./Nicktoons: Avatar: The Last Airbender Sequel Series, Super Duper Bunny League and The Thundermans Undercover.

Other premieres Motel Transylvania, Winx Club, Long Story Short, Devil May Cry, Leviathan, Astérix and Obélix: The Big Fight, SpongeBob Squarepants (Play Room), Fireman Sam (Play Room), The Thundermans (Play Room), Archibald's Next Big Thing (DreamWorks) and The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib (eToonz).

Everyday Novelas

• Telemundo: La Mujer De Mi Vida (The Woman Of My Life), The Count: Love And Honor (El Conde: Amor Y Honor), La Venganza De Analía (Ana's Revenge), Sed De Venganza (Thirst For Vengeance) and La Jefa (Woman Of Steel Remake).

• TLNovelas: Un Refugio Para El Amor (A Shelter For Love), Un Camino Hacia El Destino (Road To Destiny), Perdona Nuestros Pecados (Family Sins),

Nadie Como Tú (One Of A Kind), El Amor Invencible (The Invincible Love), Eternamente Amándonos (Happily Ever After), Tierra De Esperanza (Land Of Hope) and Vencer La Ausencia (Overcoming Loss).

• Zee TV channels: One More Try (Zee World SA, January 3rd), Taxi (Zee World), Driven By Deceit (Zee World SA, January 8th), Ruzia Sultan (Zee One, January 13th, Married Again (Zee One, January 13th), Curse Of The Sands (Rebroadcast on Zee One, January 13rd), Fire & Ice (Zee One, January 13th),  Age Is Just A Number (Zee One, January 13th) and My Daughter's Keeper (Zee One, January 26th)

• eMedia channels: Gelukbringers, Chrysalis S3, Doodsondes S6, Bloedspoor, Eet Wit Leuen, Stout, Housewives, uMbali, Mother Of All, Nyama Battle and Splintered Pieces.

Rumoured shows include Ventino: El Precio De La Gloria (The Price of Glory, Ventino), Rojo Carmesí (Crimson Red), Escupiré Sobre Sus Tumbas (Until You Burn), Hercai (Inconstant Love) and Sefirin Kizi (The Ambassador's Daughter) and Gülcemal (Rose Faced).

DStv Flex:

• M-Net/Showmax/Universal TV: Paris Has Fallen (Rumour), Shifting Gears, Doc, Watson, The Pitt, The Hunting Party, Extracted, The Americas, Suits L.A., Grosse Pointe Garden Society, FBI, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Dexter: Resurrection, Sheriff County, The Burbs, Lanterns, Murder In A Small Town, Celtic City, It: Welcome To Derry, Happy Face, Snowflakes and Revival.

• Canal+ pending takeover to acquire MultiChoice set to conclude by April 2025

• Skydance pending takeover of Paramount Global which might conclude by mid 2025

• Comcast's upcoming spinoff which comprise of SYFY, E!, MSNBC and CNBC set to rollout by fall 2025.

• Warner Bros. Discovery folding its linear operations like Cartoon Network and Discovery under Global Linear Networks with Max and Warner Bros. Pictures under Streaming & Studios which is also set to rollout by mid 2025.

For more developments you can visit the upcoming section on this link: click here