August 2025 On Studio Universal Across Africa Embrasses Action With Kick Ass Women, Bruce Willis And Kingsman

ACTION WEEKEND–KICK ASS WOMEN
9th – 10th August
Double-bills from 6pm
The female of the species isn’t just deadly, she’s fiercely stylish with it!

Salt
9th August at 18:00
Angelina Jolie plays it cool as respected CIA agent Evelyn Salt, whose life is turned upside down after a Russian spy tells her bosses that Salt will assassinate his country’s President during a visit to New York City. She learns her husband has gone missing, and promptly goes on the run as she tries to figure out who she can trust. Flashbacks give Salt more clues about her identity, but as the story unfolds, betrayal comes from an unexpected quarter. Liev Schreiber and Hunt Block co-star.

The Doorman
9th August at 19:45
The Broadway musical gets a 21st-century revamp and a starry cast headed by Quvenzhané Wallis as the eponymous heroine. Unhappy living with foster mum Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz), Annie’s run-in with billionaire Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) looks set to change her fortunes. Will is eager to get into politics and, thinking he’s doing Annie a favour, takes her under his wing. However, with a little help from Grace (Rose Byrne), the young girl brings a much-needed dose of sunshine and optimism.

The Woman King
10th August at 18:00
NCIS star Maria Bello co-wrote this action drama, based on a true story. Set in the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century, it centres on an all-female unit of warriors called the Agojie, who are led by the fierce General Nanisca. After freeing local women from the clutches of slavers from the Oyo Empire, she sets about training a new generation of soldiers to face the growing threat from beyond their borders. Viola Davis heads the cast, alongside Thuso Mbedu and Lashana Lynch.

Ava
10th August at 20:20
Jessica Chastain brings both beauty and a hard edge to the title role: an isolated and cold woman who is also an assassin. We meet her as Ava’s attempts to beat her demons seem to be paying off, but the cracks in her psyche start to affect her work, leading to a botched job. As Ava tries to reconnect with her loved ones, she has no idea there’s a target on her back, and there are many scores to be settled. Tate Taylor directs, and good support comes from Common, Geena Davis and John Malkovich.

ACTION WEEKEND–KINGSMAN
16th – 17th August from 8pm
Speaking of kick ass, the director of Kick Ass Matthew Vaughn was once approached to direct a Bond movie.
Instead, he created his own version of Bond in the Kingsman series of films.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is followed by another channel premiere, comedy/action flick, Faith Heist)

Kingsman: the Secret Service
16th August at 20:00
Eggsy Unwin is a young man without much of a future - or so he thinks, until he encounters the dashing Harry Hart. Hart reveals he is a member of a top secret and dapper spy agency, and invites Eggsy to join their ranks. While the latter grapples with the Kingman style of basic training, Harry faces off against a megalomaniac billionaire who wants to use smartphones to control the world’s population. Can Eggsy make the grade and help Harry avert catastrophe? Taron Egerton and Colin Firth star.

Kingsman: the Golden Circle
17th August at 20:00
Taron Egerton reprises his role as super-smooth spy Eggsy Unwin in director Matthew Vaughn’s colourful action adventure sequel. Eggsy’s on the back foot this time around, thanks to maniacal criminal Poppy Adams. When the British spy agency’s HQ is blown up, Eggsy finds support from an unexpected quarter: an American organisation run along similar lines. He joins forces with them to take down Poppy and her Golden Circle organisation. Julianne Moore, Channing Tatum and Jeff Bridges co-star.

Faith Heist
17th August at 22:25
When preacher Benjamin Wright (Jonathan Langdon) mortgages his church to pay for the roof repairs, he thinks investing it with financial advisor Baxter Whitcomb (Steve Lund) is the perfect way to pay back the loan. Unfortunately, Whitcomb is a crook and claims the money has been lost. In despair, Wright turns to a local man, Jordan May (Dalmar Abuzeid), who has a conviction for robbery in his past. Together with a few other members of the congregation, they plot to take back what is theirs.

ACTION WEEKEND–BRUCE WILLIS
23rd – 31st August
8pm
Our final two weekends of August are dedicated to comedian-turned-action hero, Bruce Willis! (whose real name is Walter)

Die Hard 4 (Live Free Or Die Hard)
23rd August at 20:00
Bruce Willis returns for his fourth outing as John McClane, and this time the dogged cop is dragged into the hunt for criminal hackers after the FBI's Cyber Crime Division is targeted on July 4th. He is told to bring in a young man named Matthew Farrell (Justin Long), only to discover someone else also wants the same target. Before both men know what’s happening, they are at the heart of a plot by cybercriminal Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant) to crush America’s computer infrastructure.

Red 2
23rd August at 22:10
Just when he’s settling into a life of domestic bliss with Sarah, former CIA agent Frank Moses runs into former colleague Marvin Boggs in the supermarket. He reveals that details of a former job they took part in have been leaked on the internet, and now the race is on to locate a portable nuclear weapon. Frank, Sarah and Marvin are soon joined by old friends and new as they set out to dodge their enemies and find the bomb. Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Mary-Louise Parker star.

A Good Day to Die Hard
30th August at 20:05
Grizzled New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) finds himself breaking new ground personally and professionally in this entry in the action franchise. He finds himself in Moscow where his estranged son Jack (Jai Courtney) is in trouble with the authorities. However, there’s more to him than meets the eye. Jack is an agent for the CIA and he’s on a mission to prevent a nuclear bomb from being stolen. Can he and his rule-breaking father beat the bad guys and make it back to the US in one piece?

The Cold Light of Day
31th August at 20:00
A sailing holiday to Spain turns into a nightmare for Wall Street trader Will Shaw, when his family is abducted. Soon, he and his father Martin are up to their necks in a tangled web of lies, secrets and violence and the kidnappers race to track down a mysterious briefcase. As Will and Martin try to keep their heads amid the chaos, dark secrets come to light that leave them unable to trust anyone. Henry Cavill and Bruce Willis play the leads, while Sigourney Weaver and Joseph Mawle co-star.

August 2025 On Universal TV And E! Entertainment Across Africa | Channel Premiere: Lethal Weapon | Returning Shows Including The Real Housewives Of Potomac | More

Universal TV 

THE EQUALIZER
Season 4 – Channel Premiere
Premieres Friday 1st August at 8pm
Get ready for more action as Robyn’s fight for what is right returns with stakes higher than ever, battles even more personal, and enemies stronger and more powerful.

LEATHER WEAPON
Season 1-2 – Channel Premiere
Premieres Monday 4th August at 6.20
pm, double-billed Monday - Friday
Jump right into this high-octane action series combining humour and heart, as two unlikely cop partners fight some of Los Angeles’ most dangerous criminals.

Continuing shows include HARRY WILD Season 4 on Tuesdays at 8pm, NCIS: SYDNEY Season 2 on Mondays at 8pm and CHICAGO MED Season 8 on Wednesdays double-billed at 8pm.

E!

The Real Housewives Of Potomac
Season 8 Premieres Monday 4th August at 17:15 – Single
Bills Monday-Friday
the ladies are back — sharper, sassier, and more unpredictable than ever. Follow the lives of 8 women residents of Potomac, Maryland, each in various stages of life and affluence, shaping their community and their lives.

Married To Medicine: Atlanta
Season 1-2 Premieres Monday 4th August at 18:10 – Single
Bills Monday-Friday
A group of successful and educated women, including doctors and wives of doctors, who are connected to the world of medicine in Atlanta. Complete all their duties with drama, style and of course their southern flair.

Botched: Plastic Surgery Rewind
Premieres Sunday 17th August at 19:05 – Single Bills
Sundays
A transformative new reality show that delves into the world of cosmetic procedures and personal reinvention. The show follows nine celebrities and social influencers as they confront their past decisions and contemplate returning to a more natural look.

Continuing shows include Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9 on Sundays at 18:10, Honestly Cavallari: The Headline Tour on Sundays at 19:05 and E! News on Tuesdays to Fridays at 22:00 and Watch What Happens Live on Monday to Friday at 22:30.

ESPN Across Africa: English Football League, Major League Baseball And More In August


FOOTBALL SEASON RETURNS
The European football leagues return in August for the 2025/26 season 

Catch all the action from the English Football League (EFL), Scottish Premier Football League (SPFL), Dutch Eredivisie and the DFB Pokal.



MLB
The 2025 Major League Baseball (MLB) season is full throttle with all 30 teams scheduled to play 162 games across a season that culminates in the World Series in November.
The biggest hits, the quickest pitchers, the brilliant catches and all the home run action every week Live on ESPN.

Key Fixtures:
Tigers vs Pirates – 19 June
Yankees vs Orioles – 21 June
Astros vs Phillies – 26 June
Brewers vs Rockies – 29 June

NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league competition featuring teams from Australia and New Zealand. The conclusion to the NRL 2025 regular season reaches breakpoint.
Watch the NRL on ESPN Africa every weekend! 







Please note: 

All fixtures and schedules are subject to change. 
Broadcast times are provided in CAT (Central African Time) 

How to tune in to ESPN:

ESPN: DStv 218, Starsat 248 
ESPN2: DStv 219, Starsat 249

Recap To The Week: DStv Could Be Losing More Channels As Skydance Has Been Given The Greenlight To Acquire Paramount Global

Not long ago, the Federal Communication Commission gave Skydance the greenlight to acquire Paramount Global, the owners of MTV and CBS. Prior to this, Paramount Global was looking to shed costs by shuttering parts of its operations in Europe and Africa.

Paramount Global is looking to close various MTV channels by 31 December 2024 in Europe which include MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s and Club MTV. In Africa, they're looking to scale back on local operations hinting at the potential demises of BET and MTV Base.

This article is here to elaborate on various things regarding Paramount Africa. Aside from BET and MTV Base, even Nicktoons, MTV and Nick Jr in Ethiopia had all been localised over the years and this is to sum up what is likely to happen.

As reported, BET and MTV Base might be going away soon and with the Skydance transaction underway I'd give before the end of 2025 to mid 2026. BET is launching a new drama next month titled Black Gold unless that gets scrapped or shipped to another outlet.

My point here is that these channels curated a lot of content within the region particularly MTV Base. With this area closed, BET will look a lot like Comedy Central (redundant) and had been that way until these local stuff made its way to the channel giving it relevance.

MTV Base won't survive when Paramount Global shutters it's operations in Africa as its become another Trace Africa. They can't just follow their sister network MTV's weekday morning schedule and offer international hits from Coldplay and Taylor Swift as they'd risk losing it's viewers in Lagos.

It wouldn't shock me if MTV Base were to close on 31 December 2024 alongside it's European natives. Maybe BET will tag along and MultiChoice would presumably replace it with another TV channel or risk losing more consumers.

As for MTV, I recall that Paramount Global has a unified feed for the channel in Europe known as MTV Global presuming that's what is to become of MTV Africa as opposed to a complete shutdown.

Nick Jr. in Ethiopia is a much stronger candidate to get shut down following Canal+'s exist in the region. Because while Nicktoons has it for only 4 hours in day this is a whole channel or to corporate wasteful spending. There's plenty of countries that dub but Ethiopia lacks the scale to sustain the channel.

Nicktoons very much like Ethiopia has been dubbing in other parts of Africa through the block Nick In Your Language presuming that's going away as well. Of course, there are a handful of companies dubbing shows independently so it wouldn't be a loss if Nick In Your Language were to fade away.

Same goes for NickMusic which was produced under the same unit as MTV Base.

The FCC Approves Paramount And Skydance's Merger Attempt

The Federal Communications Commission has cleared the way for Paramount Global to complete its merger with Skydance Media, announcing Thursday that it has approved the deal. The decision removes a final hurdle for the media and entertainment companies to close their transaction.

The FCC's approval, which was necessary for the deal to move forward, caps a long-running corporate saga over the fate of Paramount, which owns Paramount+, the Paramount Pictures movie and television studios, the CBS television network and CBS News and Stations. Paramount also owns Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and other media brands. 

Paramount Global agreed to merge with David Ellison's Skydance Media in July 2024 after briefly halting negotiations the month before. The deal followed a long, turbulent sales process that drew interest from other major corporate players and investors, including Seagram heir Edgar Bronfman Jr., media mogul Barry Diller, Sony Pictures and private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and Allen Media, the company controlled by former comedian Byron Allen. 

Paramount had said it expected to close the $8.4 billion merger in the first half of 2025. But the first half of the year came and went, and the merger remained under review by the FCC and its chair Brendan Carr, who had been appointed to the role earlier this year by President Trump.

Late on July 1, Paramount announced it had settled a lawsuit with Mr. Trump over the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris, a suit that Paramount told the court was without merit. The company agreed to pay $16 million — most of which would go to Mr. Trump's presidential library — and agreed to publish transcripts of future "60 Minutes" interviews with presidential candidates after those interviews air on the show. Mr. Trump has since said he expects Paramount's new owners to offer him about $20 million in advertising and PSAs. Paramount said in a statement it had no knowledge of any commitments to Mr. Trump outside of its $16 million settlement, and Skydance didn't respond to requests for comment.

In two letters to the FCC earlier this week, Skydance pledged to hire a CBS News ombudsman to review complaints of editorial bias for a period of at least two years, and the company confirmed that Paramount had eliminated or modified its DEI programs and hiring practices earlier this year.