Reminder: Superhero Kindergarten Rolls Out On Play Room From Tuesday 11 February At 10AM

Arnold Schwarzenegger will star as Captain Courage in Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, a new animated series aimed at preschoolers and produced by Kartoon Studios International, POW! Entertainment and Schwarzenegger’s Oak Productions.

Schwarzenegger is an executive producer of the series, which he and others are describing as the final project worked on by Lee, the Marvel Comics icon who died in November 2018 at age 95. Lee’s concept for the show was partly inspired by Schwarzenegger’s success in Universal’s Kindergarten Cop, the 1990 comedy directed by Ivan Reitman.

The official synopsis of Kindergarten Superhero

“Many years ago, Arnold Armstrong (Schwarzenegger) was just an average gym teacher who acquired incredible superpowers when the earth passed through the ionic dust left in the wake of a mysterious comet. As a result, Arnold transformed into Captain Courage, one of the earth’s greatest protectors…now, Arnold must serve humanity once again by working ‘undercover’ as a brand-new kindergarten teacher whose main task is to train this unique new generation of super-powered 5-year-olds secretly.”

Executive producing along with The Terminator star are Kartoon Studios chairman and CEO Andy Heyward and POW! Entertainment president Gil Champion. Paul Wachter, CEO of Main Street Advisors, helped broker the deal and will also executive produce. Fabian Nicieza, co-creator of the Marvel Comics character Deadpool, is scripting the animated series. 

Superhero Kindergarten will air daily at 10AM on Play Room from Tuesday, 11 February and this would mark the second preschool series from Kartoon Studios to rollout on the station following the rollout of Rainbow Rangers last month.

VIU's Future In South Africa Likely Revealed Amidst Canal+'s Potential Takeover Of MultiChoice

Since last year, there has been questions surrounding the fate of Showmax as VIU's parent company Canal+ is looking to complete it's acquisition of MultiChoice. Both companies have recently concluded talks with local regulators and are currently awaiting further results.

From what we can understand, Canal+ who is holding 45% is trying to acquire the remaining 55% but local regulations won't allow that even if it were possible they're voting rights would be capped at 20%. They proposed spinning off MultiChoice SA and it's broadcasting license into a separate entity known as LicenceCo.

If you look at it, MultiChoice SA will be retaining most of their assets if Canal+ is able to make this deal get the greenlight from regulators. With Canal+ not having control over the SA board it's safe to say on top of retaining Showmax there won't be any merger of some sorts of VIU.

What might transpire in these regards is content sharing VIU has been commissioning content locally some of which might surface on DStv. Another scenario with it being independent from MultiChoice SA forms pacts with other broadcasters like the SABC they already have Uzalo and a bunch of other SABC shows on their platforms.

All I got through that PDF file between both parties was that they'd be more co-operations or partnerships when it comes to the use of M-Net and SuperSport. These are brands that have a cap on foreigners but MultiChoice has localised feeds for them so that won't matter same goes for SABC News whose offering caters for the whole of Africa.

In the end, this cap is not the end as Canal+ is looking to get a Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listing following its debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Besides VIU, they had been filming a thriller titled Huntington in Cape Town with Glen Powell added to the cast.

So I'd like to think with this acquisition, VIU is getting more content out of this deal they already offer content from SABC and could as well expand this lineup to bundle Mzansi Magic and KykNet. I don't see why not cause Comcast was able to juggle Peacock and Hulu before selling one of the two to Disney.

Even after Canal+ acquired ROK Studios from the Nigeria's iROKO they do have some deal/partnership put in place to ensure the stability of iROKO TV streaming service imagine this is what we'll be seeing with VIU, Showmax and DStv.

VIU is more of a cheap/freemium tiered streaming service so they could opt for M-Net's older collection of shows like Isibaya and The Throne without interfering with its output on Showmax. To me, VIU doesn't seem like an entity that's worried about what it lacks from Netflix but rather following a route of others that seek stability.

Reminder: Brand New Series, The Count: Love & Honor, To Premiere On Telemundo From 17 February

Telemundo has today announced the territory premiere of the highly-anticipated series, The Count: Love & Honor. The new show will air from Monday 17 February at 10 PM (CAT), exclusively on Telemundo.

 

Set and produced in Mexico, this thrilling drama presents a timeless story of love, betrayal, and revenge. The narrative follows Alejandro (Colunga), an attractive and bright foreman who rises from rags to riches to avenge those who wronged him. After finding love with Mariana (Contreras), a beautiful woman from high society, Alejandro becomes the victim of a conspiracy designed to separate them. Wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, Alejandro escapes almost twenty years later, returning as the powerful Count of Montenegro looking for revenge. What unfolds is a dramatic tale filled with passion, treachery, and vengeance.

 

Starring Mexican actor Fernando Colunga (Maria la del Barrio) and Ana Brenda Contreras (Teresa, Dynasty), both making their debut on Telemundo, the stellar cast also includes Chantal Andere (Rafaela), Sergio Sendel (Destilado Amor), and Marjorie de Sousa (The Other Side of the Wall).

 

The cast is completed by Alejandro Ávila, Annie Cabello, Jessica Coch, Érika de la Rosa, Uriel del Toro, Antonio Frotier, Víctor González, Job Huerta, Enoc Leaño, Mario Loria, Andrea Martí, Patricia Martínez, Saraí Meza, Leticia Perdigón, Xabiani Ponce de Leon, Sergio Reynoso, Roberto Romano, Jason Romo and Lu Rosette, with a special appearance by Javier Diaz Dueñas, Omar Fierro, Manuel Navarro and late actress Helena Rojo.

 

In addition to its gripping storyline and stellar cast, The Count: Love & Honor promises high production values with authentic settings and breathtaking costume designs that will captivate audiences and bring the grandiosity of historical Mexico to life, transporting viewers to a world of romance and intrigue.

 

The brand-new series, The Count: Love & Honor, premieres exclusively on Telemundo on 17 February  at 10 PM CAT, with new episodes airing every Monday until the season finale on 23 May.

SuperSport Schools And SABC Sport Announce New Partnership To Expand Youth Sports In South Africa

In a move set to positively influence the landscape of school sports in South Africa, SuperSport Schools, the premier streaming and broadcast platform for schools and youth sports broadcasting, and SABC Sport, a division of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), are excited to announce yet another joint initiative in the growing partnerships between the public broadcaster and SuperSport.

The collaboration will see the launch of a fully curated SuperSport Schools channel on the SABC+ streaming platform, complementing the access South Africans already have to high-quality schools and youth sport, including football, netball, rugby, athletics, hockey and basketball.

The SuperSport Schools streaming channel on SABC+ will carry a selection of content from SuperSport Schools that filmed over 60 000 school matches in 2024 across a variety of sports disciplines.

The channel will showcase a diverse range of schools and youth sport, including football, netball, rugby, athletics, hockey and basketball.

SuperSport Schools has more than a million registered users with some of the content that has been available on it now getting a second window on SABC+.

Rendani Ramovha, SuperSport CEO, says "We want to encourage participation in sports at a grassroots level and reignite interest in sports across all schools in the country. Both SuperSport and the SABC share a common vision of providing young athletes with a platform to shine and inspiring future generations of sportsmen and women".

Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO, in a prepared quote, states "We are proud to be part of this life-changing partnership that extends beyond the fulfilment of the SABC’s mandate, by offering South Africans from all walks of life, a platform that nurtures young talent and provides unparalleled opportunities for personal and professional development".

"This partnership allows the SuperSport Schools channel to be accessible on the SABC+ streaming platform, enabling rising stars to gain recognition in the early stages of their lives, which will lead to more opportunities in the future.”

Thandolwethu Bakumeni, head of SuperSport Schools, says "We are thrilled that the SABC is joining us in the promotion of schools' sport".

"This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to nurture young talent and make schools and youth sports a key part of South Africa’s cultural fabric.  After all, World Cups are won 10 years before they are played.”

 

Keletso Totlhanyo, head of SABC Sport, says "SABC Sport is dedicated to providing our viewers with the best local sports content, and this new venture with SuperSport Schools will allow us to bring even more exciting and inspirational content to South African homes".

The curated content on the SABC Schools streaming channel on SABC+ will focus on some of the popular and significant sports in South Africa, including football, netball, rugby, athletics, hockey, and basketball.

eMedia Investments Acquired Broadcasting Rights To Supernatural Drama "Evil Witch" For eExtra

eExtra is a general entertainment channel operated by eMedia Investments that distributes a variety of telenovelas from Turkey, India and Asia. According to sources, the channel had acquired rights to the fantasy drama Evil Witch known to viewers as Pishachini on Colors TV.

Synopsis for Evil Witch

"Evil Witch" which unravels the tale of a family and their encounter with an evil demoness, Rani. An enchantress, she pretends to be a damsel in distress, but eventually entraps people and devours their souls with her enchanting beauty and dark energies. As her frightening shadow falls on the Rajputs, it is Pavithra who senses her demonic presence and chooses to help the family break free from Pishachini’s evil powers.

Produced by MAJ Productions and Shakuntalam Telefilms, Evil Witch premiered on Colors TV from 8 August 2022 and concluded on 13 January 2023 with 114 half hour episodes. It starred Nyrraa M Banerji as Rani, Harsh Rajput as Rakshit and Jiya Shankar as Pavithra.

Evil Witch is scheduled to air at 15:00 from 25 February replacing Broken Bonds once it ends on eExtra. In other developments, Elif will be concluding on the channel after 5 seasons and with be replaced with Gelukbringers which began streaming on eVOD in 2024.

Aside from Evil Witch, Colors TV is well known for other shows like Naagin (with the first 6 seasons already broadcast on eExtra) and Emperor Ashoka.

Canal+'s MultiChoice Announces New Structure Should Acquisition Get Approval From Regulators

In an effort to get the acquisition by France’s Groupe Canal+ of MultiChoice Group over the line, the South African broadcaster and parent of DStv and Showmax has announced a plan to carve out its South African licensee into a new entity.

The move is designed to allow Canal+ to proceed with the acquisition of MultiChoice without falling foul of the Electronic Communications Act, which prohibits foreign entities from owning more than 20% of a South African broadcasting licensee. If it gets the go-ahead from regulators, new investors in the South African licensee will include former Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko’s Afrifund Investments and businesswoman Sonja de Bruyn’s Identity Partners.

In a joint statement by MultiChoice and Canal+ on Tuesday, the two broadcasters expressed confidence that their proposal will be approved by South African regulators.

Canal+ is offering R125/share in cash for the JSE-listed broadcaster that owns DStv, Showmax and SuperSport.

“MultiChoice Group will be restructured so that the current holder of the broadcasting licence in South Africa and the entity that contracts with South African subscribers, MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd, will be carved out of MultiChoice Group and will become an independent entity… The remainder of the group’s video entertainment assets will remain part of MultiChoice Group,” Canal+ and MultiChoice said in their joint statement.

The South African broadcast licence holder, called LicenceCo, will “continue to hold the subscription broadcasting licence in South Africa” and will continue to “contract with MultiChoice’s South African subscribers”. It will be majority owned by “historically disadvantaged persons”.

New shareholders

MultiChoice’s empowerment scheme, Phuthuma Nathi, will ultimately hold a 27% economic interest in the South African entity, while two black-owned and -managed companies, the Identity Partners Itai Consortium and the Afrifund Consortium, will invest in the business. A workers’ trust will also be established. Afrifund Investments was founded and is led by former Telkom CEO Maseko, while Identity Partners is headed by De Bruyn. TechCentral understands “Itai” refers to Itai Capital, founded by businessman Ernest Kwinda.

MultiChoice Group, which Canal+ intends acquiring, will have a 49% economic interest in the South African licence holder and a 20% share of the voting rights. This will allow Canal+ to deal with the legislation that prevents foreign entities from controlling more than 20% of a local broadcaster.

“MultiChoice Group will also retain its existing 75% direct interest in MultiChoice South Africa, which will exclude LicenceCo,” MultiChoice said. “Phuthuma Nathi will similarly retain its existing 25% interest in MultiChoice South Africa,” it added.

The broadcaster said:

LicenceCo will enter into various commercial agreements with MultiChoice Group subsidiaries in relation to the services currently provided to LicenceCo by other MultiChoice Group entities. “These relate to, among other things, the provision of content, technology, subscriber management, support and other functions.”

The transaction will not lead to any disruption for LicenceCo’s South African viewers, who will continue to access its services as normal. In time, those subscribers will benefit from the additional content and technology investments envisaged by the MultiChoice Group, in its capacity as supplier to LicenceCo.”

“Canal+ and MultiChoice are confident that the envisaged structure meets the requirements of all applicable laws, including the restrictions on foreign ownership and control of broadcasting licences contained in the Electronic Communications Act.” 

DStv Without DreamWorks Channel And Telemundo??? Comcast Unveils What Might Be The Future Of NBCUniversal Channels Following Spin-Off

Last year, Comcast made the announcement that most of its cable networks viewed on DStv such as Universal TV, E!, Studio Universal and Telemundo will form part of a standalone company under the working title SpinCo. The media has been trying to get more details about the spinoff but Comcast remains hush hush.

What is already known now is that MSNBC and CNBC will not undergo a name change of course that doesn't mean they won't make adjustments to the channel's offering or have corporate's logo exempted. MSNBC and CNBC after the spinoff would be rivalling with Comcast's NBC News so they would need to be some division. 

Even after Disney acquired FOX, they were still able to use the FOX Extended (FX) trademark with font and styling matching the former owners despite not being able to associate themselves with FOX. This does lead us to wonder whether Universal TV and Studio Universal will retain their trademarks.

In their earnings call, Comcast had mentioned that 98% of the viewing on Peacock does not include the spun networks. That's what's already seen with Universal TV and content wise it fits USA Network like a glove with the channel in Canada maybe SpinCo has expansion plans on the cards.

Of course, the fates of DreamWorks Channel and Telemundo Africa remain undecided cause if we're looking back on this statement about Peacock it's evident here that these two don't align with SpinCo. The only way I can see these two survive would be if MultiChoice in Africa or another company were to handle it's operations.

DreamWorks Channel was picked up by MultiChoice in Africa by 2023 offering award-winning shows and films based on Dragons, Shrek and The Croods. It would be damaging for the channel to get close like its American counterpart Universal Kids but Comcast has a history e.g. Style Network and G4.

It's not like the channel had first run programs it was more like 1Max where majority of its content is imported and licensed to other broadcasters. As much as I want to see DreamWorks Channel live through 2030, with the affects of streaming companies are scaling back so eventually we're all gonna kick the bucket.

As for Telemundo, this is a channel that is lagging behind rivals such as TelevisaUnivision's TLNovelas when it comes to content and reach. The channel has a following due to Lord Of The Skies, Nurses and My Heart Beats For Lola and is what inspired the launches of Zee World and now defunct Glow TV.

Comcast had promised that the spinoffs will fulfill whatever obligation is required and we can only assume that some of these brands will continue to operate in Africa. 

My best guess is Universal TV, E!, CNBC, MSNBC and Studio Universal will form part of SpinCo as it fits with their structure while DreamWorks Channel and Telemundo are over and out. Of course, Comcast can be regarded as a shareholder within MultiChoice particularly for its 30% stake in Showmax.

If anything, maybe the two could come to some agreement where fragments of both brands continue residing within DStv. I mean that what's already seen DreamWorks Channel's UK counterpart Sky Kids and this wouldn't be first time MultiChoice curates something on an IP e.g. WWE.

ICYMI: SuperSport Schools Was Apparently Set To Launch On SABC+ But That Got Delayed

As reported sometime ago, SuperSport Schools was set to announce a new partnership with the SABC but not giving too much notice put up a teaser. It didn't stop consumers to recognise the public broadcaster's through the letters and font incased in the picture with SuperSport Schools remaining hush.

The following day, this teaser was removed from their social platforms which left to some to wonder what was happening with this major announcement. It was confirmed that it got delayed and it's still not clear when we'll get clarity on this but I assume within February or before the end of March.

Of course, this didn't stop readers from snooping around and if you browse MultiChoice's corporate website the cat was kind of out the bag. SuperSport Schools is looking to extend its reach to SABC+, best part the streamer doesn't come with a monthly subscription.

SuperSport Schools had a dedicated app and YouTube channel so the only expense there as seen with SABC+ was data costs. This news doesn't surprise me as SABC had licensed numerous sporting events from SuperSport over the years (including Racing240) so it was only a matter of time.

If anything, it kind of begs the question with SABC looking to launch a decoder will SuperSport Schools perhaps form part of this offering alongside SABC 1-3, SABC Lehae, SABC Sports, SABC Variety and SABC Education. Another would be whether eMedia Investments could explore adding SuperSport Schools for consumers in Openview.

They already have The Home Channel+ and Zee One which are based on The Home Channel and Zee World offering on DStv or could select content from SuperSport Schools form part of the SABC. I mean the SABC had licensed content from SuperSport over the years so why should SuperSport Schools be any different.