Donnie Yen Easter Special Launches In April On KIX Across Africa

Donnie Yen Easter Double Special

18 -21 APRIL

EVERY NIGHT @ 7 PM (CAT) | 6 PM (WAT) | 8 PM (EAT)

Celebrate Easter with Donnie Yen's double bill titles 

and gear up for an action-packed holiday!

Iceman

18 April 

Cast: Donnie Yen, Eva Huang, Simon Yam

An imperial guard framed for treason is buried with three guards during a battle and kept frozen. Unearthed 400 years later in modern times, their battle continues…

Iceman The Time Traveler

19 April 

Cast: Donnie Yen, Eva Huang, Simon Yam, Wang Bao Qiang

In this sequel, the four imperial guards are defrosted and reanimated in modern times. With different motives in mind, they strive to find their way back in time…

Ip Man   

20 April

Cast: Donnie Yen, Gordon Lam, Lynn Xiong

Set during the Sino-Japanese War, Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man is forced to leave home and work to support his family by teaching martial arts skills for self-defense.

Ip Man 2   

21 April

Cast: Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Huang Xiao Ming

Ip Man and his family moves to Hong Kong to start a martial arts school but he must first overcome the challenges put forth to him by the local martial arts grandmasters.

Is eMedia Investments Betting It's Future On eVOD As Cable Starts To Erode?

eVOD is a South African based streaming service operated by eMedia Investments that distributes locally produced and international content. It is currently rivalling with MultiChoice's Showmax, Netflix, VIU and Amazon Prime Video who offer an alternative and expansive lineup.

As seen in 2024, eMedia Investments decided to shutter both OUTtv and FUSE from Openview's pay-tv add-on Ultraview after broadcasting for less than a year. Further content from these brands had been allocated on the eVOD streaming service under a hub known as OUTtv Proud.

eMedia Investments hadn't stated why these channels were offloaded from Openview but if we had to guess the fault may have fallen on current market conditions. As it stands, their competitors DStv has seen a dip in subscriptions and Ultraview is struggling to find it's flock with those consumers.

At this stage, we wouldn't be shocked if the remaining lineup of Ultraview which comprise of Zee Family and Star Select were to join OUTtv on eVOD if not shut down. Bollywood programming has resonated with Openview viewers and eVOD was built on consumer's preferences.

Of course, what's interesting about OUTtv's integration with streaming is that all the content has been locked away from Openview consumers. It comes on eVOD at no additional charge but to date none of the content has yet to make entry on eMedia's linear platforms.

This is what consumers had already seen with local dramas Stout, uMbali and Splintered Pieces so I can only assume similar to Showmax, eMedia Investments is trying to give eVOD some independence. They don't want consumers to regard it as a repeats or catch-up service like SABC+ so they're banking on new content.

eMedia Investments had boasted about turning eVOD into the Netflix of South Africa and that could as well mean curating content specifically for the platform.

This trend had been seen with Disney+ and ABC, Max and HBO even Showmax and M-Net so it would only seem logical for eMedia Investments to follow soon. They do operate 8 channels (4 of which are on DStv) each with their own offering so again it's not shocking that eVOD would gain some independence.

With the government looking to turn off analogue signals in the coming future, eMedia Investments is expected to see a dip in ad revenue. I can only imagine similar to Showmax, they're looking to make eVOD profitable even if that means taking a chunk of content away from Openview.

Drake And Josh (GBA)

Based on the animated series of the same name, the player controls Drake and Josh in a variety of modes featuring problem solving, stealth, strategy and action-style gameplay. The game uses a password feature to save progress.

Download Now

South Africa Says Goodbye To StarSat, While StarTimes Stays Tuned In Across Africa

StarSat is a pay-tv platform operated by On Digital Media and StarTimes that distributes locally produced and international channels. Since 2010, it was the only DStv competitor in South Africa and following a raid by ICASA in October of last year leaves MultiChoice's DStv as the only contender despite promises of a comeback.

At the time, StarSat consumers continued paying for their services and the company continued distributing their services and provided employment. Most of which has now been halted as On Digital Media who serves as the license holder in South Africa remained silent on how consumers would be compensated 

According to a recent report by MyBroadband, On Digital Media has confirmed that the company had been liquidated meaning 500,000 decoders have converted to bricks and also job losses. Don't get me started on One Freestate Televisual and Rising Sun TV who very much like SABC News depended on StarSat for survival now that's dead too.

On Digital Media like I've said should have been transparent from the very start they didn't need to hide such important details from channel providers, employees and consumers. Some are starting the new year without a TV or jobs due to On Digital Media's negligence.

Not really shocking that they'd remain discreet and fabricate stories they've done this over the years with some of their channels but still I feel a little honesty would have gone a long way.

With StarTimes holding 65% economic interest with voting rights still at 20% continues to be rival with MultiChoice's DStv in other African countries. This exit is not a loss for them either way, they have a huge consumer base in these countries and also the cable market is crashing in South Africa.

For those who don't know what liquidation entails, On Digital Media is selling whatever scraps they have left to pay off any debts before closing shop. So if I was a subscriber, I'd advise you to reach out on wecare@starsat.co.za. but many have gone unanswered and it would be gut wrenching if these consumers never get refunded.

Is Comcast's SpinCo Another Canal+'s LicenceCo As The Company Remains Silent On The Future Of It's Cable Networks On DStv And The Rest Of The World?

Later in the year, Comcast will be offloading most of its cable networks under the entity SpinCo while retaining NBC, Bravo and Telemundo. Questions hovering around this transaction is how Universal TV, E!, Studio Universal and DreamWorks Channel which are currently seen on MultiChoice's DStv will survive in the long run.

With media companies prioritising streaming outlets and leaving very little content for broadcasters like M-Net has led channels to close or Comedy Central and Telemundo's case little content. In such scenarios, a company can look to offload a network I mean look at SpinCo it claimed it's first victim, Universal Kids.

MultiChoice SA is set to undergo a potential restructuring in the coming months should Canal+ be able to get LicenceCo of the ground. This entity which is owned by Phuthuma Nathi and two historically disadvantaged businesses that will exist to benefit MultiChoice and work closely with them to manage DStv subscriptions and the content.

This doesn't include its services in other countries meaning DStv and Showmax will continue to be properties of MultiChoice while in South Africa only one of the two (Showmax) will form part of the acquired company.

Comcast in its attempt to build SpinCo has been very hush hush about the future of its cable networks in other countries and Sky Group which kind of begs the question. Is SpinCo just like LicenceCo an entity existing to benefit Comcast and working closely with the company to leverage of Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation.

Internationally, these networks haven't been too dependant on their studios and SpinCo just feels like Comcast's way of duplicating an existing trait to the United States. I mean they had stated most of the content seen on SpinCo isn't on Peacock and this is how international feeds are aligned.

Besides both entities will have the same investors so there's no reason to think why not in this case. Although, Comcast is losing money from these networks in the United States there is still a lot of dependency in other countries so I'd imagine Comcast's international business will become MultiChoice or LicenceCo.

This is the only way DreamWorks Channel and Telemundo (in Africa) can survive from such a corporate structure.

With more focus shifting toward streaming services, SpinCo doesn't have much options when it comes to programming so I'd imagine them leveraging off Comcast for the foreseeable future. MSNBC and CNBC being news channels can build an identity outside of NBC News.