Development Alert: Ajooni, Delayed Indian Series Gets A New Release Date On eExtra

After announcing that eMedia Investments had acquired rights to Indian drama Ajooni for the eExtra channel in May. The series failed to make its premiere on the channel with its timeslot taken up by a rebroadcast of the Telemundo series, Pasion Prohibida.

Now Ajooni presents itself in another timeslot with the series replacing This Is Love at 14:35 from 12 July. Similar to Broken Bonds, it will also be distributed in a 30 minute timeslot while Razia Sultan retains 45 minutes. 

The story Ajooni is set in Haryalipur, where the titular character and Avinash are to be engaged but then she accidentally meets Rajveer in the market and he falls for Ajooni - love at first sight. He starts stalking her and breaks her engagement with Avinash.

It starred Ayushi Khurana as Ajooni Bagga, Shoaib Ibrahim as Rajveer Singh Bagga, Drisha Kalyani as Meher Vohra, Pankaj Dheer as Ravindra Singh Bagga and Shraddha Singh as Harman Ravindra Singh Bagga.

Ajooni aired from 26 July 2022 to 23 August 2023 on Star Bharat with 316 episodes filmed each with a 22 minute duration. It was met with positive feedback by viewers with some for the casts stellar personality and others for the storyline. 

Tyler Perry's Young Dylan Renewed For Season 5 At Nickelodeon

The kids’ comedy series will enter production on July 8 in Atlanta, Ga., at Tyler Perry Studios. Season 5 will consist of 13 episodes and will kick off later in 2024 with a holiday episode premiere.

A multi-cam sitcom created by Perry, “Young Dylan” stars Dylan Gilmer as a rising hip-hop star who moves in with uncle and their affluent family. Season 5 will follow Dylan and his cousin Rebecca (Celina Smith) as they “try to expand their fledgling hip-hop record label, while the whole Wilson family tries to deal with Dylan’s mogul dreams,” per Nickelodeon.

“’Young Dylan’ has been such a fun series for families to watch together, and we’re looking forward to continuing the story of the Wilsons and Dylan as he strives to reach his dreams,” Perry said in a statement to Variety.

“Young Dylan” also stars Hero Hunter, Jet Miller, Mieko Hillman, Aloma Lesley Wright and Carl Anthony Payne, II. Perry serves as executive producer, while Mark E. Swinton and Will Areu are producers.

The show launched in February 2020 and scored the highest ratings for a series premiere on Nickelodeon since 2017. The fourth season kicked off in fall 2023.

Perry is keeping busy with a slew of other projects on the way, most notably the thriller “Divorce in the Black,” premiering on July 11 on Amazon Prime Video. The movie stars Meagan Good as a young bank professional who is fighting for freedom against her husband.

No Money: Generations: The Legacy On SABC 1 Might Be Eyeing Potential Cancellation As DA Proposes A Major Overhaul To SABC's Current Business Structure

Through a booklet obtained by local legislation, the Democratic Alliance had put up several proposals on what could most likely be the future of SABC. One of which includes SABC 1 and 2 possibly being positioned like Soweto TV or e.tv with SABC 3 sold.

Few years ago, it was alleged that the public broadcaster would be selling SABC 3 alongside radio stations Metro FM and 5FM. Contributing factors to this included a drop in viewership and the SABC's lack of cash flow but this had been disregarded. 

According to the SABC, the board has approved comprehensive assessment criteria for determining “core media assets”, noting that this includes not only channels which contribute to the public mandate but which also help to fund the SABC’s public service obligations. 

“The Board has already identified noncore property assets and has drawn up a list of properties for disposal, as required by National Treasury preconditions,” the SABC said. 

“The potential disposal of any of the SABC’s media assets involves a much more complex decision matrix, with factors such as the public interest, the public mandate and the future financial sustainability of the SABC being central to any decision.”

Now the public broadcaster faces the risk of possible liquidation as government failed but still ongoing attempts at moving away from analogue would not only leave millions of households without SABC TV signals but a drop in revenue. 

SABC is struggling to retain most of the content viewed on their platforms with Muvhango being the latest soap to have got axed with rumours swirling around that Generations: The Legacy could suffer a similar fate.

After SABC 2 had axed 7de Laan in 2023, the public broadcaster with no replacement in site aired repeats of Vetkoekpaleis with Muvhango airing from the 1st season. Should Generations: The Legacy take the fall consumers might expect a similar fate for this soap.

This would leave SABC 1 as the only channel to offer a long format series with Skeem Saam and Uzalo as Isidingo and The Estate got the boot on SABC 3 years back. Since then, the channel had undergone numerous restructures with no luck viewership wise.

Paramount And Skydance Are Said To Reach A Deal To Merge

Just weeks after Paramount’s controlling shareholder and Skydance abruptly ended merger talks, the two sides have reached a preliminary deal to create a new Hollywood giant, four people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday.

The agreement will still have to be approved by a special committee of Paramount’s board of directors, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as talks resumed.

Paramount — the parent company of CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon — and Skydance, the up-and-coming movie studio that helped produce “Top Gun: Maverick,” called off talks in June just before a scheduled vote on a merger. While the two sides had agreed on economic terms, Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder through its parent company, National Amusements, had clashed with Skydance in the final weeks of negotiations.

But the two sides have continued to talk, and now the Paramount board committee will evaluate whether new terms will be sufficiently palatable for shareholders, some of whom pushed back significantly against the last proposed deal. One likely point of focus will be the extent of protection offered to National Amusements in event of shareholder lawsuits.

In this latest deal, National Amusements’ equity would be valued at $1.75 billion, up slightly from $1.7 billion in the transaction’s last incarnation, three of the people said.

Muvhango Reportedly Cancelled After 27 Years On SABC 2 As The Public Broadcaster Fails To Renew The Venda Soap

After an impressive 27-year run, “Muvhango,” the beloved South African TV soap opera, aired its final episode yesterday. The show, known for its compelling storytelling and rich cultural representation, has been a staple in households across the nation.The decision to end “Muvhango” was not made lightly.

According to insiders, a combination of declining viewership and shifts in audience preferences led to the conclusion that it was time to bring the long-running series to a close. Another contributing factor was the public broadcaster's financial constraints. 

Producers expressed their gratitude to loyal fans who have supported the show throughout its journey.”Muvhango” has made a significant impact on South African television, providing a platform for numerous actors and addressing important social issues.

As “Muvhango” bids farewell, its legacy as a groundbreaking and influential show in South African entertainment history will be remembered. Fans were encouraged to tune in tonight for the emotional final episode, marking the end of an era.

SABC 2 will be airing a rebroadcast to the first season in place of the final season as we await details on what the broadcaster's next move will be in accommodating this timeslot. News of its demise was sort of last minute to most media outlets. 

Paramount Global Is In Exclusive Talks To Sell BET For $1.6 Billion

Paramount Global is in exclusive talks to sell its Black Entertainment Television network to buyers that include BET Chief Executive Officer Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, who runs the New York-based private equity firm CC Capital.

The group has been discussing an offer of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named revealing information that’s not public. 

Last year, the same group had discussed an offer of a little under $2 billion, Bloomberg reported in December. Chu and Mills are rekindling discussions with Paramount for BET after Shari Redstone, who has a controlling stake in Paramount, walked away from a proposed merger with Skydance Media, the company led by David Ellison. 

Representatives for Paramount and Chu declined to comment. Mills didn’t respond to a request for comment. The shares jumped on the news and were up 4.2% to $10.56 at 2:28 p.m. in New York.

Paramount, which owns CBS, MTV and other networks, had also previously received an offer from media mogul Byron Allen, who put together a $3.5 billion bid last year for both BET and the VH1 channel, and emphasized that BET should be Black-owned. Actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry, who is an investor in the BET+ streaming service, also held discussions about purchasing a stake in the larger enterprise.

The sale process last year was “disrespectful,” Perry said at a Bloomberg event last year. “Don’t try to get me to pay for something that’s not worth anywhere near the value” Paramount said it was, he said at the time.

Founded in 1980 by businessman Robert L. Johnson, BET was sold to Paramount’s predecessor, Viacom, in 2001 for about $3 billion. The network has strong ties to some of the most successful Black entertainment creators, including Perry, Kenya Barris and Rashida Jones, who are investors in the BET Studios production company.

Paramount has said it’s working to cut $500 million in costs to boost profitability. 

Barry Diller's IAC Is Exploring A Bid To Take Control of Paramount Global

Media mogul Barry Diller is taking a look at acquiring National Amusements Inc., the company owned by Shari Redstone and the controlling shareholder of Paramount, CNBC reported on Tuesday.

Diller's IAC, an internet media and publishing company, has signed a nondisclosure agreement and is looking in the data room of National Amusements, Faber said Tuesday. IAC could make a decision in the near term to place a bid on National Amusements, which would give it a controlling stake in Paramount, he said, citing sources.

These discussions come weeks after National Amusements stopped talks with Skydance on a proposed merger with Paramount.

Following months of deal talks with a consortium that included David Ellison's Skydance and private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR, the deal was called off as it awaited signoff from Redstone. National Amusements, which Redstone controls, holds 77% of class A Paramount shares.

Prior to calling off the proposed merger, National Amusements had agreed to financial terms of the deal. The proposed deal would have seen Redstone receive $2 billion for National Amusements, with Skydance buying out nearly 50% of class B Paramount shares at $15 apiece, or $4.5 billion. Skydance and RedBird had also agreed to contribute $1.5 billion in cash to Paramount's balance sheet to help reduce debt.

Terms of IAC's potential bid are unknown, but it would likely have to be more than $2 billion, Faber reported Tuesday. The New York Times first reported Diller's interest in Paramount.

While Diller, 82, is currently the chairman of IAC and Expedia, he has a long track record in the media industry, including serving as chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures in the 1970s and 1980s. He followed Paramount with his post at the head of 20th Century Fox, where he greenlit Fox network programs including "The Simpsons."

Diller has been vocal about the need for legacy media companies such as Paramount to give up on chasing Netflix in the streaming wars and focus on their broadcast and pay-TV networks.

During the Hollywood strikes last summer, he said that despite cord cutting, traditional pay-TV is still profitable — unlike most streaming businesses. He called on legacy media to build up traditional networks again.

Diller tried to acquire Paramount Pictures in the 1990s, but went toe-to-toe with Sumner Redstone, the father of Shari Redstone, who now controls the company.

Since then, Paramount has changed and grown in various ways. The company now comprises the movie studio, as well as the CBS broadcast network, a portfolio of cable TV networks such as MTV and BET plus streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto.

While other suitors have reportedly been interested in owning Paramount, the company has been focused on restructuring its business.

Now led by the so-called Office of the CEO — CBS CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy and Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins — Paramount has concentrated on exploring streaming joint venture opportunities with other media companies, slashing $500 million in costs and divesting noncore assets.

Pending Court Verdict Keeps Kuiertyd And The Rest Of eMedia's Offering On DStv Until August 2024

Since 2022, eMedia Investments and MultiChoice have been embroiled a carriage dispute regarding eToonz, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eExtra. These channels were initially slated to go dark by the end of March of that year but got an extended stay on DStv for 2 years.

eMedia Investments had accused MultiChoice of anti-competitive behavior resulting in the removal of the channels. MultiChoice on the other based the removal on transponder constraints and also the load of DStv content viewed on eMovies and eToonz.

These offering was supplemented by DreamWorks and Movie Room as KykNET&kie launched its rival offering to eExtra's Kuiertyd. Other channels that formed part of this expanded offering to select DStv consumers include PBS Kids and KIX.

As seen in the start of the year, MultiChoice had removed at least 11 channels in under 4 months. These included People's Weather, B4U Movies and WildEarth with M-Net's Me and 1Magic that merged to form 1Max and was the only channel to be replaced.

If there's no further delays this time, the number of channels to have departed DStv would increase to 15 should no other channel exit prior. Of course, with the rate of TV channels to have exited without a replacement MultiChoice could lose more DStv customers. 

Despite these channels residing on the Openview platform with eExtra on StarSat in a separate agreement. eMedia Investments would see a reduction in revenue for these channels and viewers as e.tv, eNCA and eNuus on KykNET remains on DStv.