Other Reasons SABC, e.tv And DStv Continue To Lose Viewers

During the year, the Broadcast Research Council (BRC) had conducted a survey where it was revealed that the number of households watching TV decreased from 15.9 million to 13.9 million. Although it was also outlined that the number of households in SA increased from 17.3 million to 18.3 million.

Understanding how SABC and e.tv is losing viewers, let's take a look at SABC+ and eVOD when those platforms were rolled out there was so much hype about how many downloads it accumulated. Although, actual consumer numbers are currently unknown for these platforms. 

Consumers instead of watching Annekan Die Swa Kry would probably be watching Binnelanders on KykNET&Kie as they could always catch-up on this week's episodes on eVOD. Another again, more consumers are opting for OTT so they rather use their cellular devices for this content. 

When Droomvelore last aired on e.tv the show was able to accumulate 1.8 million and when Annekan Die Swa Kry came this fell to a whopping 1.5 million. One of those reasons eMedia Investments is trying to scrap government plans to halt analogue signals with SABC looking to rollout its STBs.

Despite launching rival platforms to Netflix, neither company is making much revenue with MultiChoice anticipated to become the first in the region with Showmax. Let's remember, Showmax was launched back in 2015 and eMedia and SABC came with their rival offering 7+ years later.

Late entries are struggling to maintain their services are grow revenue wise hence the "free" service which gives them more exposure to these audiences. 

Although MultiChoice is seeing a much brighter future with Showmax the consumer base on DStv continues to deteriorate. This is due to inflation, increased competition from not only streaming but cable providers as well and lastly the dismantling of premium channels. 

What MultiChoice could have done to fight off inflation and retain DStv consumers would be rolling out an unbundled version of the DStv packages. This would see consumers paying for M-Net, National Geographic and Cartoon Network with the option to add sports into the mix.

The sad reality about DStv is that they are losing credibility as most content aside from news and sports is accessible nowadays. If one needs music there's always Spotify in my opinion and YouTube introduced viewers to Cocomelon and all MultiChoice can do is milk it dry.

Then the other is similar to free-to-air operators, consumers are just changing their viewing habits. Some are probably tired of viewing the same shenanigans from Uzalo and Muvhango and would rather browse TikTok or use their Xbox as there's more entertainment there.

New Series Alert: Amulya’s Wedding And Ringside Rebel Coming This September To Zee World

Not long ago, it was reported Zee One would be adding the Marathi based series 36 Reasons to their lineup in the month of September. With Zee World that will also be unveiling new content within that time frame for consumers in Southern Africa titled Amulya’s Wedding and Ringside Rebel. 

Synopsis for Amulya’s Wedding 

Amulya’s Wedding, is a series that explores the complexities of love and relationships. Amulya, a strong-willed and independent young woman, crosses paths with Vedanth, a wealthy and successful businessman, in a series of unexpected and often challenging circumstances.  

As misunderstandings and clashes arise, the two find themselves drawn to each other despite their differences. This drama delves into their evolving relationship, the dynamics within their families, and the obstacles they face on their journey toward love and understanding.

The series premiered on Zee Kannada as Gattimela from March 2019 to January 2024 with over 1000 episodes having being filmed. It starred Rakshith Gowda as Vedanth Vasishtha, Nisha Ravikrishnan as Amulya Vedanth Vasishtha and Sudha Narasimharaju as Parimala Manjunath.

Synopsis for Ringside Rebel

Ringside Rebel is a heartfelt drama that tells the inspiring story of Phulki, a determined young girl from a small village who dreams of breaking free from the traditional expectations placed upon her. Phulki’s passion for boxing, inherited from her father, fuels her fight against the societal norms that threaten to hold her back.  

Despite facing resistance from her family and community, Phulki’s unyielding spirit and courage drive her to carve out her own path in life. Ringside Rebel is a tale of resilience and empowerment, showcasing the journey of a woman who dares to dream beyond the limitations of her world.

The series premiered on Zee Bangla as Phulki from 12 June 2023 and since then over 100+ episodes had been filmed. It starred Divyani Mondal as Phulki Roy Chowdhury, Abhishek Bose as Rohit Roy Chowdhury, Ankita Majhi as Aruna Roy Chowdhury and Sohan Bandyopadhyay as Pallab Roy Chowdhury.

Amulya’s Wedding airs daily at 18:00 replacing Meet In Love from 11 September while Ringside Rebel commences an hour later at 17:00 replacing our Heroes.

New Series Alert: 36 Reasons Coming This September To Zee One

36 Reasons revolves around the arranged marriage between Vedant and Amulya, a union that neither is initially thrilled about due to their stark differences. However, as the story progresses, they are forced to confront their prejudices and learn to appreciate each other’s unique qualities. 

This journey of mutual understanding and growth is central to the narrative, as Vedant and Amulya navigate the challenges of married life while dealing with their families’ expectations and societal pressures.

The series also delves into the lives of the extended families and their dynamics. For instance, the Wankhede family faces internal strife as Vikrant, Vedant’s brother, struggles with his own marital issues with Aarti, Amulya’s sister. 

These subplots add depth to the main storyline, highlighting the complexities of familial relationships and the impact they have on the couple’s evolving bond.

36 Reasons (also known as 30 Guni Joda) premiered on Marathi broadcaster Zee Marathi from 23 January to 24 December 2023. Produced by Shashank Solanki, it starred Anushka Sarkate as Amulya Ashish TumpalwaIt and Aayush Salunkhe as Vedant Shridhar Wankhede.

It airs daily at 18:00 from 23 September replacing A Lot Can Happen Over Coffee on Zee One. The channel was scheduled to air The Pain Of Loving You within the month with that now pushed to 14 September in a much earlier timeslot 16:00.

Cocomelon's Cody Time And Lego Dreamzzz Coming Soon To Cartoon Network And Cartoonito Feeds Across Africa + More Attractions Coming In September

In September, Warner Bros. Discovery's set of children's channels on DStv namely Cartoon Network are set to rollout new addition to the lineup. After debuting in some parts of the world Lego Dreamzzz makes a landing in Africa alongside Cocomelon spinoff series titled Cody Time.

The synopsis for LEGO DREAMZzz is as follows: 

“A group of kids join a secret agency where they learn to use the power of imagination to journey into the Dream World and create fantastic creations in order to help sleeping children being terrorized by the evil Nightmare King who is bent on conquering the Dream World and invading the Waking World.”

It features the voices of Sarah Jeffery as Zoey, Marcos Cardenas as Mateo, Vincent Tong as Logan, Mike Taylor as Cooper, and Mike Taylor as Cooper.

A short synopsis for Cocomelon is as follows:

"Join Cody Green - the little kid with a big imagination and an even bigger heart - in this spinoff series set in the familiar, beloved community of CoComelon!."

Lego Dreamzzz airs daily at 16:10 from 2nd September and prior to this Cocomelon: Cody Time airs at 08:20 on Cartoonito. Returning shows include Craig Of The Creek, Tiny Toons Looniversity, Coach Me If You Can, Jellystone, Grizzly And The Lemmings and Batwheels.

Both channels will be airing stunts in the month with Brick Flicks Week on Cartoon Network with Batman while Cartoonito embarking on a world tour with the likes of none other than Mr. Bean, Zig & Sharko, Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny Builders and Masha And The Bear.

CBeebies Celebrates Heritage Month By Airing Sleepy Time Stories In Four African Languages

• Seven Sleepy Time Stories to be aired in Isizulu, Sesotho, Tsonga and Afrikaans on CBeebies (DStv channel 306).

• The translated Bedtime Stories will air from 2nd September to the 29th September, every day from 7pm to 9pm

 

 

To celebrate Heritage Month this year, BBC Studios will be translating seven Sleepy Time Stories on CBeebies into an African language, from Isizulu, Sesotho, Tsonga to Afrikaans. The dubbed episodes will air on CBeebies, DStv channel 306, between 2nd September – 29th September every day from 7pm.

 

CBeebies is BBC Studios’ dedicated pre-school channel on DStv, providing children aged six years and under a range of programming designed to encourage learning through play. Sleepy Time Stories will help little ones wind down after a day of excitement and get ready for bedtime.

 

Pierre Cloete, the Commercial Director at BBC Studios in Africa says “To mark heritage month and celebrate the diversity of our nation, we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our African languages with the help of our pre-school channel, CBeebies. As CBeebies is for little learners, translating a selection of the Sleepy Time Stories to 4 languages will allow our little viewers and parents to learn or develop their language skills while enjoying the shows throughout September”.

 

 

The translated shows will be:

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Isizulu, Sesotho, Tsonga to Afrikaans)

• The Elves and the Shoemaker (Isizulu, Sesotho, Tsonga to Afrikaans)

• The Enormous Radish (Isizulu, Sesotho, Tsonga to Afrikaans)

• The Fox and the Hen (Isizulu, Sesotho, Tsonga to Afrikaans)

• The Magic Porridge Pot (Isizulu, Sesotho, Tsonga to Afrikaans)

• The Ugly Duckling (Isizulu, Sesotho, Tsonga to Afrikaans)

• Three Little Pigs (Isizulu, Sesotho, Tsonga to Afrikaans)

• Bluey S2 Set 1 Episode 26: Sleepy Time (to only be translated to Isizulu)

 

The episodes will also be available to stream on BBC Studios Africa YouTube.

 

Could MultiChoice Undergo A Name Change As Speculated With Canal+'s MC Vision?

During the month, it was reported Canal+ was looking to increase their stake in MC Vision from 37% to 75% making them majority shareholder. With co-founders Currimjee Jeewanjee and Co., that will reduce their stake from 57% to 25% with Canal+ looking to enhance its offering in the region.

Canal+ had already made other moves within Africa like purchasing the remaining shares in MultiChoice which too is awaiting regulatory approval. They also own Nigerian production company ROK Studios as well as 30% stake in Marodi TV which is based in Senegal.

One of the questions awaiting is how different MultiChoice will be in the coming years. With Canal+ buying a large chunk of MC Vision it's likely become Canal+ Maurice/Mauritius I mean that's what happened with M7 Group in Europe and NC+ in Poland the result was always a corporate restructure. 

Similar to Poland, Canal+ is MultiChoice's biggest shareholder within the company so whose to say that the trademark won't die out eventually as they could always inherent MultiChoice: A Canal+ Company. That's how M7 Group panned out before the trademark went fully under the knife. 

Unlike most of these entities, MultiChoice doesn't have much Canal+ in the truck outside of ROK and as seen with Francophone Africa. The acquisition could see them incorporate themselves within MultiChoice's existing offering while closing the doors for other brands. 

It could as well even answer the questions regarding MC Vision and MultiChoice as both offer services within Mauritius. Similar to South Africa, Canal+ could as well look to divide operations within Mauritius this way Currimjee Jeewanjee and Co., shares remain intact once the acquisition concludes. 

Important Notice: PBS KIDS Will End Its Run On DStv With Peep And The Big Wide World

PBS KIDS is scheduled to close by the end of the month making it the 12th channel to exit DStv and with its lifespan in Africa growing a lot shorter. The channel opted to reduce its content to just three shows Peep And The Big Wide World, Elinor Wonders Why and Arthur.

MultiChoice hasn't stated whether any of the content viewed on PBS KIDS will eventually resurface on another TV channel. But Brand & Rights 360 who now manage the distribution of PBS KIDS shows had licensed content various broadcasters around the world with Showmax included.

Below is the final schedule of the channel before it ends transmission:

23:55 Peep And The Big Wide World

00:20 WordWorld

00:45 It's A Big Big World

01:15 Pinkalicious & Peterrific

01:40 Arthur

02:10 Wild Kratts

02:35 Martha Speaks

03:05 Nature Cat

03:30 Peep And The Big Wide World

03:50 WordWorld

04:20 It's A Big Big World

05:00 Arthur

05:25 Arthur

05:55 Peep And The Big Wide World

06:15 Peep And The Big Wide World

06:40 Elinor Wonders Why

07:05 Elinor Wonders Why

07:30 Elinor Wonders Why

08:25 Arthur

08:55 Arthur

09:20 Peep And The Big Wide World

09:45 Peep And The Big Wide World

10:05 Elinor Wonders Why

10:35 Elinor Wonders Why

11:00 Elinor Wonders Why

11:55 Arthur

12:25 Arthur

12:50 Peep And The Big Wide World

13:15 Peep And The Big Wide World

13:35 Elinor Wonders Why

14:00 Elinor Wonders Why

14:30 Elinor Wonders Why

15:25 Arthur

15:55 Arthur

16:20 Peep And The Big Wide World

16:45 Peep And The Big Wide World

17:05 Elinor Wonders Why

17:30 Elinor Wonders Why

18:00 Elinor Wonders Why

18:55 Arthur

19:25 Arthur

19:50 Peep And The Big Wide World

20:15 Peep And The Big Wide World

20:35 Elinor Wonders Why

21:00 Elinor Wonders Why

21:25 Elinor Wonders Why

22:25 Arthur

22:50 Arthur

23:20 Peep And The Big Wide World

23:40 Peep And The Big Wide World

Notes

• Elinor Wonders Why has the most airtime on the channel with 15 slots followed by Peep And The Big Wide World with 14 slots.

• Pinkalicious & Peterrific, Wild Kratts, Martha Speaks and Nature Cat are least aired shows as they obtain 1 slot.

Does eMovies' Possible Demise And Movie Room's Inclusion Hint At A Possible Restructure On DStv?

Since 2022, eMedia Investments and MultiChoice had been having a carriage dispute regarding e.tv's 4 channels on DStv: eToonz, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eExtra. These channels were ousted on DStv by May of that year and were reinstated due to pending legal matters.

MultiChoice which is currently in the process of being taken over by French giant Canal+ had outlined two reasons for ousting these channels. The first having dealt with repeats viewed on those channels and another transponder constraints which led to several channels exiting DStv. 

Within this year, Movie Room conceived by Newzroom Afrika's co-founders Ngwato Nkosi Group was introduced as a replacement for eMovies. It would curate a mix of locally produced and international movies but similar to the fallen only bolstered the existing offering from DStv.

This is coming from the company that restricted brands like BBC UKTV and Magic Showcase from premium and mid tier subscribers as a way to combat repeats. Only for these channels to be allocated on the mentioned packages despite already having access to the content in question. 

If anything, one had to wonder if Movie Room will perhaps be holding a much bigger position within MultiChoice's bouquet of channels as seen with Moja Love and SABC News. M-Net had closed Me and 1Magic as part of continued efforts to bolster the lineup on Showmax.

This has left consumers of Compact and Family in disarray as those who would need to watch America's Got Talent or Magnum Pi would need to upgrade to Compact+ for 1Max or subscribe to Showmax. Now why would anyone do that if they can get this on Openview with a once off payment. 

Although Universal and E! would retain some of this content, there is that matter of consistency while Chicago Med would be on its ninth season, Universal is still behind by four to six seasons which could take several years same goes with Movie Room which is leaning in the same corner as TNT.

With MultiChoice and M-Net's continued efforts to streamline their offering what could transpire now is the dismantling of M-Net Movies if not the entire movie offering perhaps M-Net Movies 3 and 4. As this offering on DStv has become bloated despite attempts at cutting back on repeats.

Similar to how consumers of Me had to turn to Universal for Magnum Pi and The Equalizer. The same outcome would await M-Net Movies as those viewing those channels can still get plenty of international content on Studio Universal, TNT and Movie Room.

CineMagic could extend its arm to more households as a means to bolster the local offering on these channels especially during Africa Month. Who knows maybe Canal+ will use FilmBox Africa to substitute for part of this offering and merge the two premium movie channels into one.