After shutting down in Russia in 2022, Comedy Central was made available through the Ukrainian media group 1+1 replacing Paramount Comedy. The channel is aimed at viewers aged 18-49 and reaches around 300 million households in more than 150 countries with shows like Two And Half Men, Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory.
Commenting on its launch in Ukraine, Oksana Petryshyn, general producer of the TET TV channel and Comedy Central, said: “The content of the Comedy Central TV channel has been proven over the years and has made Ukrainians fall in love with it. Therefore, the launch of the TV channel is a response to the request of viewers who, more than ever, need positive and life-affirming content”.
Now the channel is said to be going dark in the region by January 1st 2025 with sources siting poor reception which has led to its downfall. This was one of the few services to have been offered by Paramount Global following Russia's invasion into the Ukrainian market by 2022.
Although Comedy Central would cease to exist in the Ukraine, the channel is still available in Latin America, United Kingdom, Southeast Asia, India, Middle East and Africa.
Paramount Global which serves as the parent company for Comedy Central is in the process of being acquired by Skydance Media which is awaiting approval with the deal set to be finalised in the first half of 2025. The company is looking to form "New Paramount" which ventures into revenue streams while winding down on costs.
In the coming weeks, primetime will be further reduced on eExtra plans to offer a rebroadcast of Vierspel Vuurspel in place of Net 20 Minute. In surprising developments, Die Agentskap which is currently streaming on eVOD will be heading to ePlesier basically a repeats channel in December.
Now the issue with ePlesier's current structure is that with it being revolved solely on repeats a majority of consumers are likely avoiding the channel. The ones that choose to view the channel are either catching up on primetime repeats with another portion that may be interested in the content.
The final season of Die Put is currently airing on the channel and later this same season will likely surface on e.tv which begs the question why does ePlesier even exist. It is understandable on MultiChoice's part as they cater for different products but with eMedia Investments it's basically the same consumers.
Even with ePlesier's presence, e.tv still accomodates for eExtra as opposed to winding down on those affairs to cater for let's say uMbali and Housewives as those shows have yet to be made available on their platform. They had attempted it on Sunday movie nights and it was an absolute mess leading them to reinstate movies at 8PM.
Honestly this whole structure between e.tv, eExtra and ePlesier is just a mess I mean with MultiChoice pivoting for Showmax maybe eMedia Investments could do the same with eVOD in this scenario. Perhaps merge ePlesier and eExtra into one channel and get all the Bollywood and Asian dramas on eSeries if not a separate channel.
As for Die Agentskap it will be allocated at 12PM from 12 December which begs the question how many people will be tuning in or even notice it when it comes on. eMedia Investments was been trying to minimise rivalry amongst their stations and if I had to guess when they'll repeat this by 4PM/11PM.
eExtra is also available on DStv meaning more exposure and advertising income so why leave consumers with a 4 year old repeat. Some consumers have asked if eMedia Investments is planning to accommodate these consumers and I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
eExtra is already airing simultaneous broadcasts of Annekan Die Swa Kry and Kelders Van Gehieme from e.tv so why not Die Agentskap from ePlesier. By that time in which Die Agentskap is seen consumers are being fed with Deur Dik En Dun and Net 20 Minute (more repeats) and with the channel's 24 hour lineup they could try squeezing it in.
Some info regarding Die Agentskap
Four managers of talent agency Ego, namely Kıraç, Feris, Çınar and Peride, deal with difficult situations every day and defend their business visions. They skillfully combine art and business, but their private and professional lives sometimes come into conflict. Based on the French series Dix Pour Cent, it starred Kıraç Özdal as Barış Falay, Çınar Bilgin as Fatih Artman, Dicle Ertem as Ahsen Eroğlu, Barış Havas as Deniz Can Aktaş, Peride Şener as Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu and Feris Dikmen as Canan Ergüder.
As some readers are aware, Canal+ is currently finalizing their transaction with MultiChoice after the independent board within the company accepted their transaction to acquire remaining shares of the company. Vivendi, which serves as the parent company to the French broadcaster is looking to divest from the brand by the end of 2024.
Canal+ had promised MultiChoice shareholders an opportunity to invest in the combined entity if their transaction is approved by local legislation before the split occurs. Basically shareholders will be given an opportunity to make more money outside of the Randburg based company which does bring up another agenda - MultiChoice.
If shareholders are able to invest this combined entity with a secondary listing how is one sure that the current structure of MultiChoice will be preserved. Aside from DStv, there's also gambling (BetKing), insurance (NMIS Insurance), streaming (Showmax) and cybersecurity (Namola) and as we all know they're technically insolvent.
Let's say they do end up getting their money's worth through this secondary listing and similar to what Naspers did with MultiChoice by given them an independent listing on the JSE. Whose to say that these investors won't want to reduce their losses.
Canal+ is acquiring MultiChoice and this secondary listing could as well be one way to align M-Net, SuperSport and DStv to the services of its pay-tv operations in other countries as well as StudioCanal. They made it evident since this transaction came forward that they're putting their focus towards content.
Shareholders being investors in the combined entity I doubt they'd object to a merger as Canal+ is putting 45% of their investment towards MultiChoice and also shareholders are making money which is the whole point to all this.
South Africa’s MultiChoice Group, itself now considerably under the influence of Canal+, has admitted it is facing financial headwinds. It will publish its full numbers on November 12th, but in a trading update issued on November 7th it said it has moved from a profit at the same time last year to a loss now.
The first half of the 2025 financial year, it said, was “negatively impacted by severe pressure in the macroeconomic, foreign exchange rate and consumer environment in key markets, most notably Nigeria and Zambia”. Those headwinds include the pay-TV streaming efforts of Netflix, Prime Video and other on-demand rivals.
MultiChoice, which owns the DStv portfolio of channels as well as SuperSport and Showmax options, described the operating environment as “the most challenging” in the group’s history. Adding to the financial pressures is the huge investment the group has made – and continues to make – in Showmax, its streaming competitor.
“MultiChoice has entered the peak investment cycle of Showmax and expects losses and headline losses per share to increase as a result of the early life cycle of the Showmax business,” it said in the trading update.
Canal+ currently owns a 45.2 per cent stake in MultiChoice and will take full control once the take-over is approved. and is backing the plan to use a combined MultiChoice/Canal+ to create a programming power-house for Africa and beyond.
Canal+ and MultiChoice made a joint ‘merger control filing’ to South Africa’s Competition Commission in October and are discussing the merger with the country’s Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and other regulatory authorities.
The article was originally published by Advanced Television
MultiChoice said the move [from channel 303] to channel 315 would not affect any of the content, which is so popular with young DStv viewers.
“There is no change to the range of content that younger viewers know and love, from premieres to classic favourites and everything they expect from Disney,” MultiChoice said in a statement.
They said some upcoming highlights on Disney Channel included Klik Klub Season 3, with new episodes each Friday at 4:50pm from November 15, as well as Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, a new animated series starting at 4:30pm on November 25.
Njanji said Mech-X4, an action-packed, live-action series, would show on Fridays at 5pm, also from November 25 and The Wonderful Autumn of Mickey Mouse is a new special premiering on Wednesday November 30 at 9:50am.
She said a December keynote feature would be Disney’s festive movie Festival airing daily and including Home Sweet Home Alone and Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever.
The object is to use several X-Men characters, each with special powers, to complete a series of missions. The powers of each character come in handy on particular missions. The game allows for either one or two players. If the 1-Player mode is selected, the player will be joined by an AI ally. The playable characters available are Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Iceman. There are five bosses in order of appearance: Boomerang, Sabretooth, Juggernaut, The White Queen, and Magneto. Some characters have features that stand out. Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus fight through melee combat while Cyclops, Storm, and Iceman shoot projectiles. Nightcrawler can walk through walls (to simulate teleporting). Colossus cannot jump like the other characters. If the player holds on to B, they can make Storm fly.
Whomp Em
Whomp 'Em is a platform game with some similarities to the Mega Man and Mario series. After completing the first stage, the player can play the other six in any order. Each of the stages revolves around elements, such as fire and water. After each stage, the player gains a new weapon, much like in the original Mega Man series, which was extremely popular at the time. Both Whomp 'Em and the prior Saiyūki World (which was an adaptation of Wonder Boy in Monster Land) are based on the Journey to the West novel.
Zombie Nation
The plot of Zombie Nation takes place in 1999, when a meteor known as "Darc Seed" (Eva in the Japanese version) crashes in the Nevada desert. Darc Seed/Eva then shoots magnetic rays and turns the people of the United States into zombies. Darc Seed/Eva also brings the Statue of Liberty to life to follow its commands. The magnetic rays also allow Darc Seed/Eva to control many deadly weapons, including the most powerful weapon of all—the legendary samurai sword Shura.
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