SuperSport Schools And SABC Sport Announce New Partnership To Expand Youth Sports In South Africa

In a move set to positively influence the landscape of school sports in South Africa, SuperSport Schools, the premier streaming and broadcast platform for schools and youth sports broadcasting, and SABC Sport, a division of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), are excited to announce yet another joint initiative in the growing partnerships between the public broadcaster and SuperSport.

The collaboration will see the launch of a fully curated SuperSport Schools channel on the SABC+ streaming platform, complementing the access South Africans already have to high-quality schools and youth sport, including football, netball, rugby, athletics, hockey and basketball.

The SuperSport Schools streaming channel on SABC+ will carry a selection of content from SuperSport Schools that filmed over 60 000 school matches in 2024 across a variety of sports disciplines.

The channel will showcase a diverse range of schools and youth sport, including football, netball, rugby, athletics, hockey and basketball.

SuperSport Schools has more than a million registered users with some of the content that has been available on it now getting a second window on SABC+.

Rendani Ramovha, SuperSport CEO, says "We want to encourage participation in sports at a grassroots level and reignite interest in sports across all schools in the country. Both SuperSport and the SABC share a common vision of providing young athletes with a platform to shine and inspiring future generations of sportsmen and women".

Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO, in a prepared quote, states "We are proud to be part of this life-changing partnership that extends beyond the fulfilment of the SABC’s mandate, by offering South Africans from all walks of life, a platform that nurtures young talent and provides unparalleled opportunities for personal and professional development".

"This partnership allows the SuperSport Schools channel to be accessible on the SABC+ streaming platform, enabling rising stars to gain recognition in the early stages of their lives, which will lead to more opportunities in the future.”

Thandolwethu Bakumeni, head of SuperSport Schools, says "We are thrilled that the SABC is joining us in the promotion of schools' sport".

"This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to nurture young talent and make schools and youth sports a key part of South Africa’s cultural fabric.  After all, World Cups are won 10 years before they are played.”

 

Keletso Totlhanyo, head of SABC Sport, says "SABC Sport is dedicated to providing our viewers with the best local sports content, and this new venture with SuperSport Schools will allow us to bring even more exciting and inspirational content to South African homes".

The curated content on the SABC Schools streaming channel on SABC+ will focus on some of the popular and significant sports in South Africa, including football, netball, rugby, athletics, hockey, and basketball.

eMedia Investments Acquired Broadcasting Rights To Supernatural Drama "Evil Witch" For eExtra

eExtra is a general entertainment channel operated by eMedia Investments that distributes a variety of telenovelas from Turkey, India and Asia. According to sources, the channel had acquired rights to the fantasy drama Evil Witch known to viewers as Pishachini on Colors TV.

Synopsis for Evil Witch

"Evil Witch" which unravels the tale of a family and their encounter with an evil demoness, Rani. An enchantress, she pretends to be a damsel in distress, but eventually entraps people and devours their souls with her enchanting beauty and dark energies. As her frightening shadow falls on the Rajputs, it is Pavithra who senses her demonic presence and chooses to help the family break free from Pishachini’s evil powers.

Produced by MAJ Productions and Shakuntalam Telefilms, Evil Witch premiered on Colors TV from 8 August 2022 and concluded on 13 January 2023 with 114 half hour episodes. It starred Nyrraa M Banerji as Rani, Harsh Rajput as Rakshit and Jiya Shankar as Pavithra.

Evil Witch is scheduled to air at 15:00 from 25 February replacing Broken Bonds once it ends on eExtra. In other developments, Elif will be concluding on the channel after 5 seasons and with be replaced with Gelukbringers which began streaming on eVOD in 2024.

Aside from Evil Witch, Colors TV is well known for other shows like Naagin (with the first 6 seasons already broadcast on eExtra) and Emperor Ashoka.

Canal+'s MultiChoice Announces New Structure Should Acquisition Get Approval From Regulators

In an effort to get the acquisition by France’s Groupe Canal+ of MultiChoice Group over the line, the South African broadcaster and parent of DStv and Showmax has announced a plan to carve out its South African licensee into a new entity.

The move is designed to allow Canal+ to proceed with the acquisition of MultiChoice without falling foul of the Electronic Communications Act, which prohibits foreign entities from owning more than 20% of a South African broadcasting licensee. If it gets the go-ahead from regulators, new investors in the South African licensee will include former Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko’s Afrifund Investments and businesswoman Sonja de Bruyn’s Identity Partners.

In a joint statement by MultiChoice and Canal+ on Tuesday, the two broadcasters expressed confidence that their proposal will be approved by South African regulators.

Canal+ is offering R125/share in cash for the JSE-listed broadcaster that owns DStv, Showmax and SuperSport.

“MultiChoice Group will be restructured so that the current holder of the broadcasting licence in South Africa and the entity that contracts with South African subscribers, MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd, will be carved out of MultiChoice Group and will become an independent entity… The remainder of the group’s video entertainment assets will remain part of MultiChoice Group,” Canal+ and MultiChoice said in their joint statement.

The South African broadcast licence holder, called LicenceCo, will “continue to hold the subscription broadcasting licence in South Africa” and will continue to “contract with MultiChoice’s South African subscribers”. It will be majority owned by “historically disadvantaged persons”.

New shareholders

MultiChoice’s empowerment scheme, Phuthuma Nathi, will ultimately hold a 27% economic interest in the South African entity, while two black-owned and -managed companies, the Identity Partners Itai Consortium and the Afrifund Consortium, will invest in the business. A workers’ trust will also be established. Afrifund Investments was founded and is led by former Telkom CEO Maseko, while Identity Partners is headed by De Bruyn. TechCentral understands “Itai” refers to Itai Capital, founded by businessman Ernest Kwinda.

MultiChoice Group, which Canal+ intends acquiring, will have a 49% economic interest in the South African licence holder and a 20% share of the voting rights. This will allow Canal+ to deal with the legislation that prevents foreign entities from controlling more than 20% of a local broadcaster.

“MultiChoice Group will also retain its existing 75% direct interest in MultiChoice South Africa, which will exclude LicenceCo,” MultiChoice said. “Phuthuma Nathi will similarly retain its existing 25% interest in MultiChoice South Africa,” it added.

The broadcaster said:

LicenceCo will enter into various commercial agreements with MultiChoice Group subsidiaries in relation to the services currently provided to LicenceCo by other MultiChoice Group entities. “These relate to, among other things, the provision of content, technology, subscriber management, support and other functions.”

The transaction will not lead to any disruption for LicenceCo’s South African viewers, who will continue to access its services as normal. In time, those subscribers will benefit from the additional content and technology investments envisaged by the MultiChoice Group, in its capacity as supplier to LicenceCo.”

“Canal+ and MultiChoice are confident that the envisaged structure meets the requirements of all applicable laws, including the restrictions on foreign ownership and control of broadcasting licences contained in the Electronic Communications Act.” 

DStv Without DreamWorks Channel And Telemundo??? Comcast Unveils What Might Be The Future Of NBCUniversal Channels Following Spin-Off

Last year, Comcast made the announcement that most of its cable networks viewed on DStv such as Universal TV, E!, Studio Universal and Telemundo will form part of a standalone company under the working title SpinCo. The media has been trying to get more details about the spinoff but Comcast remains hush hush.

What is already known now is that MSNBC and CNBC will not undergo a name change of course that doesn't mean they won't make adjustments to the channel's offering or have corporate's logo exempted. MSNBC and CNBC after the spinoff would be rivalling with Comcast's NBC News so they would need to be some division. 

Even after Disney acquired FOX, they were still able to use the FOX Extended (FX) trademark with font and styling matching the former owners despite not being able to associate themselves with FOX. This does lead us to wonder whether Universal TV and Studio Universal will retain their trademarks.

In their earnings call, Comcast had mentioned that 98% of the viewing on Peacock does not include the spun networks. That's what's already seen with Universal TV and content wise it fits USA Network like a glove with the channel in Canada maybe SpinCo has expansion plans on the cards.

Of course, the fates of DreamWorks Channel and Telemundo Africa remain undecided cause if we're looking back on this statement about Peacock it's evident here that these two don't align with SpinCo. The only way I can see these two survive would be if MultiChoice in Africa or another company were to handle it's operations.

DreamWorks Channel was picked up by MultiChoice in Africa by 2023 offering award-winning shows and films based on Dragons, Shrek and The Croods. It would be damaging for the channel to get close like its American counterpart Universal Kids but Comcast has a history e.g. Style Network and G4.

It's not like the channel had first run programs it was more like 1Max where majority of its content is imported and licensed to other broadcasters. As much as I want to see DreamWorks Channel live through 2030, with the affects of streaming companies are scaling back so eventually we're all gonna kick the bucket.

As for Telemundo, this is a channel that is lagging behind rivals such as TelevisaUnivision's TLNovelas when it comes to content and reach. The channel has a following due to Lord Of The Skies, Nurses and My Heart Beats For Lola and is what inspired the launches of Zee World and now defunct Glow TV.

Comcast had promised that the spinoffs will fulfill whatever obligation is required and we can only assume that some of these brands will continue to operate in Africa. 

My best guess is Universal TV, E!, CNBC, MSNBC and Studio Universal will form part of SpinCo as it fits with their structure while DreamWorks Channel and Telemundo are over and out. Of course, Comcast can be regarded as a shareholder within MultiChoice particularly for its 30% stake in Showmax.

If anything, maybe the two could come to some agreement where fragments of both brands continue residing within DStv. I mean that what's already seen DreamWorks Channel's UK counterpart Sky Kids and this wouldn't be first time MultiChoice curates something on an IP e.g. WWE.

ICYMI: SuperSport Schools Was Apparently Set To Launch On SABC+ But That Got Delayed

As reported sometime ago, SuperSport Schools was set to announce a new partnership with the SABC but not giving too much notice put up a teaser. It didn't stop consumers to recognise the public broadcaster's through the letters and font incased in the picture with SuperSport Schools remaining hush.

The following day, this teaser was removed from their social platforms which left to some to wonder what was happening with this major announcement. It was confirmed that it got delayed and it's still not clear when we'll get clarity on this but I assume within February or before the end of March.

Of course, this didn't stop readers from snooping around and if you browse MultiChoice's corporate website the cat was kind of out the bag. SuperSport Schools is looking to extend its reach to SABC+, best part the streamer doesn't come with a monthly subscription.

SuperSport Schools had a dedicated app and YouTube channel so the only expense there as seen with SABC+ was data costs. This news doesn't surprise me as SABC had licensed numerous sporting events from SuperSport over the years (including Racing240) so it was only a matter of time.

If anything, it kind of begs the question with SABC looking to launch a decoder will SuperSport Schools perhaps form part of this offering alongside SABC 1-3, SABC Lehae, SABC Sports, SABC Variety and SABC Education. Another would be whether eMedia Investments could explore adding SuperSport Schools for consumers in Openview.

They already have The Home Channel+ and Zee One which are based on The Home Channel and Zee World offering on DStv or could select content from SuperSport Schools form part of the SABC. I mean the SABC had licensed content from SuperSport over the years so why should SuperSport Schools be any different.