Hollywood Stars Join the Scotts In New Season Of 'Celebrity IOU' On HGTV

Sledgehammers will fly, walls will fall, and lives will be changed forever in a new season of HGTV’s smash hit Celebrity IOU premiering on HGTV Africa on Monday, 26 May at 22:00 CAT with six heartwarming episodes featuring Courteney Cox, Andy Garcia, Goldie Hawn, Rob Lowe, Kyle MacLachlan and Sarah Silverman. Celebrity IOU will spotlight the Hollywood A-listers who lean on HGTV stars and series’ executive producers Drew and Jonathan Scott to help them express their deep gratitude by delivering epic home transformations for their closest friends. With Drew and Jonathan’s renovation and design expertise in their toolbelts, the famous celebs will give their all to demolish dated rooms, choose modern finishes and gift personalised dream spaces to extraordinary people.  

 

The upcoming Celebrity IOU lineup will spotlight: 

• Courteney Cox—Golden Globe® Award, Screen Actors Guild Award® and Emmy® Award nominated actress, producer and director;  

• Andy Garcia—GRAMMY Award® and ALMA Award winning and Academy Award®, Golden Globe® Award and Emmy® Award nominated actor, producer and director;  

• Goldie Hawn—Academy Award® winning and Golden Globe® Award and Emmy® Award nominated actress, producer and director;  

• Rob Lowe—Screen Actors Guild Award® winning and Golden Globe® Award and Emmy® Award nominated actor, producer and writer;  

• Kyle MacLachlan—Golden Globe® Award winning and GRAMMY Award®, Screen Actors Guild Award® and Emmy® Award nominated actor and director; and 

• Sarah Silverman—Emmy® Award-winning and GRAMMY Award®, Golden Globe® Award and Screen Actors Guild Award®-nominated actress, writer and producer. 

 

“I tell people every day that Drew and I have the greatest job in the world,” said Jonathan. “We feel lucky that we’re able to give these Hollywood powerhouses an opportunity to share a side of themselves you don’t usually see, while also changing someone’s life.”

 

“Part of what makes Celebrity IOU great is that the stories are so unique and diverse,” said Drew. “The celebrities have known their loved ones for years, so there’s a lot of history there. They get the satisfaction of doing something for someone they love, and it feels amazing that Jonathan and I get to be the conduits for that.” 

 

In a heartwarming episode airing 2 June, Rob Lowe will knock on Carol’s door with a mariachi band and the Scott Brothers in tow to surprise his dear friend and assistant of 27 years, who he says is an integral part of his family. Although Carol has made some improvements to her home, Rob, Drew, and Jonathan will work together to give her the stylish and functional kitchen and living areas she’s always wanted. When Jonathan unexpectedly falls ill, the popular actor will step out of his comfort zone and go full throttle with Drew to lay new flooring, hang stunning white oak cabinets and install high-end porcelain countertops. During the emotional reveal, Rob will show Carol the many custom features in her new spaces, including a pass-through window to the backyard and a built-in banquette. 

 

Drew and Jonathan will tackle more superstar renovations throughout the season, including a detached garage turned California coastal living room and an outdated kitchen transformed with design elements like terrazzo and herringbone wood floors.

Has Cartoon Network Become Another Universal Kids?

With Google killing off the visibility for various websites I haven't been able to prioritize Insidus as seen in previous years. In my custody is several drafted or fully typed stories on MultiChoice, eMedia Investments and even some international brands we've covered in the last months.

As I've reported here back in 2024, it was announced that Warner Bros. Discovery would be spinning off its cable networks away from HBO Max and Warner Bros. Pictures into the division, Global Linear Business. Some inside sources hint at a potential split from Warner Bros. Discovery in a not so distant future.

Cable companies are losing revenue from Cartoon Network, TLC and HGTV all of which are packaged on DStv. This has led some channels to close in a number of countries or as we've seen with others a zombified lineup.

In a story published on Bloomberg, ad revenue from Cartoon Network plummeted from $668.3 million in 2014 to $133.7 million in 2024. This is the reason Warner Bros. Discovery hasn't prioritised it's original content slate and minimised it's portfolio opting to focus more on adult programming.

Even Adult Swim which serves as a side label to Cartoon Network for its mature offering is also seeing a dip in revenue and some do question the viability of the network.

When Comcast opted to spinoff it's cable networks under the handle Versant it led to the closure of Universal Kids. Very much like Cartoon Network, Universal Kids had garnered scale in other parts of the world with its equivalent DreamWorks Channel and this is where Cartoon Network might reside.

DreamWorks Channel despite being a success story serves an import to DreamWorks Animation's programming picked up by Netflix and Apple TV+. With Warner Bros. Discovery exploring a potential split shows like Teen Titans GO! are likely to follow the same route.

Upcoming shows like Regular Show: Lost Tapes and Adventure Time: Side Quests may take much longer to be made available on Cartoon Network if not prioritized as much. 

Warner Bros. Discovery wants to split it's cable business from studios and streaming and if one had to guess it will be similar to Comcast. Warner Bros. Discovery will want to align it with HBO Max and Cartoon Network very much like Universal Kids is the weakest link.a

CANCELLED!!! Cartoonito USA Is Reportedly Shutting Down On Cartoon Network

In not so shocking news, it appears that Cartoon Network will be booting off Cartoonito from their schedule in the coming weeks. As several viewers had spotted a batch of Looney Tunes shows like New Looney Tunes and Tiny Toons Looniversity airing at 8AM to 9AM.

As Cartoonito continued to garner traction in other parts of the world leading to the launch of a 24 hour network. In the US, Cartoonito had been struggling to find an audience what initially started out as a 4-6 hour block on Cartoon Network had been reduced to an hour and a half.

Warner Bros. Discovery had commissioned several original shows at the time with Tom And Jerry Time and Little Ellen that got booted off, and Bugs Bunny Builders cancelled. The only show that had seen traction on the brand was Batwheels which got renewed for a third season.

While some will cite low viewership in its demise as Cartoonito was rolled out in the US as later as the former Universal Kids. Warner Bros. Discovery is technically insolvent leaving little to no new content for Cartoon Network (aka Zombie TV) so in a way it was probably for the best.

The fact that Cartoonito is dying down doesn't mean that Warner Bros. Discovery is done with preschool just yet as they still have Batwheels. Besides that, Hey BMO and Foster's Funtimes have been greenlight so if anyone had to guess this will form part of Cartoon Network's lineup.

Internationally, Cartoonito will sit put but what might happen is that the brand will rely solely on imports to stay afloat. Not that's it's new or anything, Cartoon Network has been reliant on that in other parts of the world same with Boomerang before it's switch to Cartoonito.

Warner Bros. Discovery is prepping to spinoff its cable networks and I can only assume Cartoon Network (very much like HBO) will be aligned to Streaming & Studios in the US. If Batwheels forms part of its regular lineup it gives the show a chance to get more exposed.

Warner Bros. Discovery Looking To Spin-Off It's Cable Networks Ahead Of Restructure

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) is moving towards a potential break-up, CNBC reported on Thursday, as media companies explore options for their struggling cable TV businesses and sharpen focus on their faster-growing streaming and studios divisions.

WBD shares surged more than 4% on the news, rebounding from earlier losses of nearly 6% that were triggered by a dour quarterly report.

The company missed first-quarter revenue estimates and posted a larger-than-expected loss earlier in the day due to a sluggish box office performance and ongoing declines in cable.

The media industry is going through what some executives have called a “general disruption” as millions of subscribers abandon once-lucrative cable TV for streaming. That has piled pressure on companies to consistently produce hit studio content and boost profitability in their streaming businesses.

WBD had laid the groundwork for a possible sale or spin-off of its declining cable TV assets in December by announcing a separation from its streaming and studio operations. It reported results under the new structure for the first time on Thursday.

A split will align the company with Comcast, which is spinning off most of its cable TV networks such as MSNBC and CNBC to position itself for growth in the streaming era.

Analysts have long speculated about a break-up of WBD, formed by the 2022 merger between Warner Media and Discovery.

“WBD would be leaner and have stronger growth potential without cable assets. But finding a buyer could be difficult. Linear TV is deteriorating and WBD has big debts,” said eMarketer analyst Ross Benes.

WBD, which has $38bn (R693.4bn) of gross debt, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the CNBC report.

Its CEO David Zaslav said on Thursday the company's programming strength was helping Max attract subscribers in a crowded market for streaming services.

WBD added 5.3-million streaming subscribers in the January to March quarter, more than the 3.1-million estimated by analysts, taking its total to 122.3-million. Its content slate in the period included the third season of HBO's The White Lotus and the medical drama series The Pitt.

However, its results were hampered by a weak showing at the box office as WBD struggled to replicate the success of last year's Dune: Part Two, which grossed more than $700m (R12,7-trillion). Its marquee release for the period, Bong Joon Ho's sci-fi dark comedy Mickey 17, earned only slightly more than its reported budget at the box office.

Studio revenue fell 18% to $2.3bn, missing estimates of $2.7bn, according to Visible Alpha.

The company has, however, made a strong start to the second quarter with Ryan Coogler's horror film Sinners and the blockbuster A Minecraft Movie, which has raked in around $900 million globally, making it the biggest release of 2025 so far.

Revenue at the TV networks segment, which includes CNN, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, fell 7%.

Overall, revenue fell 10% to $8.98bn, missing analysts' average estimate of $9.60bn, according to data compiled by LSEG. Loss of 18c per share was also larger than expectations for a 13c loss.

June 2025 On ESPN Africa | NBA - Conference Finals And The Japanese Rugby League Finals | More

NBA - CONFERENCE FINALS AND FINALS

The NBA conference finals are the Eastern and Western Conference championship series of the National Basketball Association.

The finals will begin 20-21 May 2025.

Western Conference Game 7 (if necessary) – 1 June

Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 (if necessary) – 2 June

2025 NBA Draft, 25 – 26 June

THE JAPANESE RUGBY LEAGUE – FINALS

Japan Rugby League One, formerly known as the Top League, is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. 

The teams participating in the final are TBC.

NHL - STANLEY CUP FINALS

The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America.

The playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 19, 2025, and will conclude in June 2025 with the Stanley Cup Finals with the series ending no later than 23 June 2025.