Roundups #98: JimJam Acquired Broadcasting Rights To Mumfie, Brotherhood Brethren Resurfaces On Novela Magic And New Series Queer Of Jozi Launching Soon On MTV Africa

Mumfie Travels The Globe With New Sales

Mumfie is on the move. After debuting earlier this year in France and Italy, Zodiak’s preschool series about a lovable elephant is now branching out from that starting point, thanks to a raft of new sales brokered by distributor Banijay Kids and Family.

The CG-animated series (78 x seven minutes) has been picked up by ITVBe in the UK; Cartoonito (Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, South Korea); AMC Network International’s preschool channel JimJam (CEE, MENA, Portugal); SVT (Sweden); and ejunior (UAE).

Based on the ’90s series Magic Adventures of Mumfie that was created by Britt Allcroft (Thomas & Friends), Mumfie tells the story of a friendly, optimistic elephant and his best friends—a flying pig named Pinkey and a color-changing jellyfish named Jelly Bean—as they find adventure in daily life.

More entertainment coming to Novela Magic

Action drama Brotherhood Brethren was one of the Nigerian series from Africa Magic that hit television screens in 2019. Also on Showmax, the show has been met with lots of enthusiasm from fans online.

Brotherhood Brethren tells the story of two adopted brothers – Dobara aka Bara (Etim Effiong) and Dagogo aka Dags Kurukeme (Frankincense Eche-Ben). Through Bara, we’re introduced to the men and women of the elite crime-fighting squad, Special Crimes Unit (SCU), and the challenges they face in their quest to rid the city of crime, particularly the notorious Aja Isale Eko gang.

Brethren is produced by ace Nigerian filmmaker, Femi Odugbemi, the brain behind several other successful shows such as Battleground and Tinsel, both on Showmax. Odugbemi has always been known for his penchant to mix veterans and talented newcomers in his cast, and Brethren is no different.

The series premieres 28th September on Novela Magic

The queer community getting more love

MTV, an international reality channel owned by Paramount home to various shows like Catfish, Teen Moms and Ridiculousness alongside award shows and live events is set to introduce a queer centred series, Queers Of Jozi.

Larger than life personalities and the faces of fashion, take on the City Of Gold. Relationships intertwined with drama and tantrums in the ever-evolving life of a Queer.

The series premieres on the 24th October on MTV

 

Could StarSat Bid Farewell To Yet Another Two Local Channels?

During the week, StarSat announced they'd dub various telenovelas from Mexico, Asia, Turkey and the Phillipines in local languages in their newly launched voiceover studio and this comes after the rollout of Zee TV's The Heir and TFC based drama Blood Sisters in Zulu.

In the midst of these announcements, StarSat once again cut down on a further two channels OnseTV and InPas TV which are set to go off-air by the end of September with no confirmation of a replacement joining a hundred other channels to go off air in the same manner.

In July, kykNET opted to distribute two Turkish dramas to kykNET & Kie but this came at a time MultiChoice opted to scrap eExtra alongside eMedia's other 3 channels before being reinstated onto the DStv platform.

Point being made, MultiChoice had mentioned how these channels offered a lot of rebroadcasts and eExtra had the least amount but with kykNET's offering it is believed that anyone can duplicate eExtra despite the variation in content.

StarSat opting to resort to such extent for their channels has me to believe that maybe eExtra won't be as much of a priority to them in the near future as they'll build eExtra across various brands on top of it launching a pay version of the Openview platform.

OnseTV and InPas TV were likely removed as part of a cost cutting measure with the funds used to build up more African dubbed International series. So would it be shocking if StarSat were to follow MultiChoice's footsteps in the downfall of eExtra.

Glow TV another local channel seen on the platform has seen a decline in audiences with the increased number of competitors in the market it is basically what Mpuma Kapa TV and Cape Town TV on DStv are - dependant.

Viewers on the Openview platform got a scare last year after the channel suddenly went dark with the owners Nismedia having to resort to legal matters to fix the issue as eMedia breached the agreement set up between them.

Although the channel still operates on the platform for at least a couple of months and Glow TV isn't on the dependant stage. The channel is set to face even more challenges in the future should eMedia opt to not supply Glow TV.

As most of their audiences reside on the platform meaning a loss in revenue which could lead to a cutback in staff and programming and with the number of losses on StarSat it's only a matter of time till it is announced Glow TV will no longer be accessible on the platform.

When you think of the word dependant you find plenty of that on DStv's channel 251-299 as several parties had mentioned needing DStv in order to survive and such isn't often seen on a platform like StarSat as it is the closest anyone has to local is SABC 1.

This year, StarSat lost out on the retarded community/prophets channel Tshwane TV with Afrikaans stations OnseTV and InPas TV now joining the set of locals to exit the platform.

Roundups #97: Harley Quinn Renewed For Season 4 On HBO Max, Till Jail Do Us Apart Currently Streaming On Peacock And Brie Larson On Returning As Captain Marvel

Harley Quinn is bringing on the action

HBO Max has renewed the (very) adult animated DC series for a fourth season, a few weeks ahead of the Sept. 15 finale for season three. The series will also have a new showrunner in season four: Sarah Peters, who has written for Harley Quinn throughout its run and is currently a consulting producer, will serve as executive producer and showrunner, taking over for Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker.

“Patrick Schumacker, Justin Halpern and their incredible team of artists and writers have created something so explosively funny and original, and we are thrilled to continue this journey with them and the show’s legion of fans,” said Billy Wee, senior vp comedy and animation at HBO Max. “It has been amazing to watch the show grow and evolve this season and we could not ask for a more talented and dedicated team of collaborators.”

Season three of Harley Quinn has followed Harley (voiced by Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) as they return to Gotham as the new power couple of DC villainy. “Harlivy” strives to become the best version of themselves while also working toward Ivy’s long-desired plan of transforming Gotham into an Eden paradise.

Kate Del Castillo starring in a new Peacock drama series

Kate del Castillo, Roselyn Sánchez, Sylvia Sáenz and Jeimy Osorio star in the new Peacock series, “Til Jail Do Us Part.” The  drama, out Sept. 15, which shows the wealthy women’s husbands unexpectedly getting arrested for being linked to the same criminal organization.

Accustomed to a life of abundance, the four women reluctantly move in together as their previously carefree and luxurious lives are turned upside down. As they begin to get interrogated by detectives in hopes that they tell their husbands’ secrets, they have to get along to get by.

Originally filmed in Spanish, “Til Jail Do Us Part” was dubbed in English by the four leads, “elevating the viewing experience regardless of language preferences,” the press release states.

The future of Captain Marvel

Brie Larson is not sure whether she will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after The Marvels. In a recent interview, the actor revealed that she is uncertain about her future as one of the strongest Avengers.

Brie was introduced to the MCU in the 2019 release Captain Marvel. Upon its release, both the movie and Brie received a fair bit of trolling and hate. In fact, the reviews were also largely middling at first. It now has a 79 per cent rating by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience vote reflects a poor figure of 45 per cent.

Speaking about the Marvel movies and her own participation in it, Brie said, “I don’t know. Does anyone want me to do it again? I really don’t know. I don’t have the answer to that.”

 

[Missed Opportunity]: Expanding The Reach Of Novela Magic Or Telemundo To DStv Easyview

eExtra was ripped off from the DStv platform for at least a month and was reinstated shortly after alongside eToonz, eMovies and eMovies Extra on the DStv platform following pending investigation by the Competition Tribunal which will take at least 6 months to resolve.

MultiChoice appears to have moved on although they don't put it in writing recent additions like DreamWorks and Movie Room has led me to believe that the pay-tv company has no plans to keep these channels past 6 months or at least a portion of channels.

As outlined by MultiChoice, eMedia Investments bulk of content doesn't fit into their 5 year content strategy for which the brand had stated consumers are viewing more DStv content than actual original programs although 2 appear to fit that description.

On top of that, they had mentioned that they won't be able to launch as much channels as they used to in the past year due to transponder constraints so whenever a new channel comes it usually has to occupy the space taken away from another channel.

In court, MultiChoice stated 3 SABC channels would accommodate for the 4 e.tv channels in the coming future but that's the thing. If anyone is similar with the SABC then you can already imagine how the content would differ.

Instead of Postman Pat you get Words And Numbers and Die Put is supplemented by past episodes of 90 Plein Street and although some of this content can benefit some audiences it's completely different.

The package I'm targeting for this article had to be Easyview cause as seen by several consumers it's one of the least valuable packages in the market with few exceptions being wrestling on TNT alongside the lifestyle and factual entertainment viewed on Real Time.

On top of that, the package isn't fortunate with additions and at times replacements for whenever a channel is removed from the DStv platform which was the case with eMedia's 4 channels of which the package inherited just 2 channels.

When they were unexpectedly scrapped from the DStv platform. Multichoice rather just add 1 channel to supplement for 2 worse is when the channel doesn't cater to a lot of viewers, PBS Kids.

MultiChoice could have done a lot for the package especially since they lost another notable brand in 2020, SABC Encore which was one of the few watchable channels on the platform and although there's plenty of channels for adults than kids as outlined only a few are worth the value.

Novela Magic or Telemundo would have done better to fill the void MultiChoice left for fans of Kuiertyd. Although, they wouldn't be better Elif, Doodsondes or Stiletto Vendetta these channels have something in common character driven content.

Aside from the content, these channels have a high level of repeats although NBCUniversal doesn't see it the channel has fallen in terms of quantity while as Novela Magic repeats from other M-Net local channels would have given them some outlet to view the bulk of local content.

Recap: The END OF NICKTOONS AFRICA??? Here's What We've Seen So Far (Extended Edition)

Nicktoons is an international kids channel owned by Paramount which is home to various past animation on Nickelodeon. It is also a nickname in which is given to their animated productions which garnered popularity that it became a standalone channel.

As it the channel has become a pushover except for the African counterpart of the channel which initially served as the Nickelodeon Rewind and overtime grew to become independent with third party productions alongside Nickelodeon originals like NickMusic and Horrid Henry.

For several months, the channel has seemed out of tune with reality as Paramount appears to be alienating the channel with mostly rebroadcasts (take into account I did say that there was less of a dependency but that's not the case). So we dive down onto some of the facts that make Nicktoons a wasteland.

1. Outdated EPG

For several months, Paramount hasn't bothered to provide an updated schedule as the channel still lists The Loud House despite Middlemost Post and It's Pony taking up their place.

2. The programming

Most if not all the content consists of shows that have either been cancelled or ending soon such as The Casagrandes, It's Pony, Horrid Henry and Lego City Adventures. Let's not take into account the batch of former exclusive Nicktoons being divided between Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. such as Peppa Pig and ALVINNN!!! And The Chipmunks.

3. The duplicate Nick Jr.

Before becoming a channel in Africa, there was a programming block on Nickelodeon which moved over to Nicktoons only for the block to resurface on the main brand meaning Nick Jr. is on 3 channels.

4. Silent developments

Paramount opts to share upcoming attractions for Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. but when there is time to supply Nicktoons consumers are redirected to Nickelodeon which is a problem for South African consumers as the brand is a premium channel.

5. The similarities

Most of the ads used to promote the attractions from the channel reside from Nickelodeon if anything it's usually re-edited to not mention the main channel but you come across ads such as Rugrats and Kamp Koral despite not airing on Nicktoons.

6. False advertising

Take into account that Nicktoons might have been merged to form a globalised feed with the German English Casagrandes alongside ads for unseen content such as Kamp Koral and Rugrats but that's not what makes it false advertising entirely.

Last year, MultiChoice held a showcase where they unveiled upcoming attractions and Big Nate was listed for Nicktoons but just like the promo mistook Discovery Channel for Discovery World it's possible the same happened with Nickelodeon and Nicktoons which brings us to item #7.

7. Media sitings

Paramount Africa operates a website which gives details on each brand and when you head over to Nicktoons page it is listed as Nickelodeon in the descriptor while the main page has become a tombstone never to be used again.

8. Potential expansion of Nickelodeon

From what was seen in each point, Paramount has been putting more emphasis on Nickelodeon when referring to Nicktoons. Is it possible that Nickelodeon in South Africa will become less premium cause that's where it's sitting at right now in neighbouring markets.

Most of the content on the channel is Paramount+ originals making them less exclusive at this point.

9. For the love of NickMusic

At the moment, the only thing that seems to remain active about the channel is the famous music brand which took up the whole of the Latin American feed of Nicktoons.

This is pretty much the only time anyone utters the word of Nicktoons or at least with Nickelodeon.

10. The Paramount Global Purge

Paramount has made several adjustments to their linear offering which includes the reduction of localised feeds. As it is MTV and Nick Jr. have both been aligned to their global counterparts while as Nicktoons has been excluded despite having such a feed elsewhere.

In October 2022, Nicktoons Global will be airing new episodes of The Loud House and Middlemost Post. None of which came to pass on the African feed.

 

What To Expect On The New Addition To DStv's School Of Laughter, Moonbug Kids?

During the week, Moonbug Entertainment and MultiChoice unveiled the new preschool channel which is scheduled to launch in October alongside a jazz infused channel Qwest TV by Quincy Jones. Thanks to sources we're finally able to confirm the following.

Moonbug Kids will apparently occupy a much distant channel number far away from other kids brands like Cartoon Network, Disney Junior and JimJam as it slotted to launch on channel 360 of course in North Africa the brand is on the same number so maybe it's a typo.

But if not questions amount to the reason in the channel number, is it possible that another channel may be exiting the platform soon and 360 is a temporary number or could Moonbug just be joining the other batch of channels such as WWE Channel and Ginx TV to grow further apart from their genres.

Honestly, the channel number kind of seems downhill as most of the content sitting above the music channels don't generate that much viewers or at to those who'd watch Cartoon Network and PBS Kids. I mean there was literally a space open on channel 314 but for some reason it's channel 360 which kind of resembles a degree.

Worst of all there's no companion to compliment the stellar lineup as seen with WWE and Ginx TV, TLC and Discovery Family.

Viewers must just pull in the extra muscle to view just 1 channel, here's a lineup of confirmed shows for the brand:

- CoComelon
- Blippi
- Little Baby Bum
- Supa Strikas
- ARPO
- Morphle
- Little Angel
- Oddbods
- Gecko's Garage

 

What To Expect On WildEarth In October 2022?

WildEarth CAT GMT CET (EST) /PT/

Sunrise Safari
5.30am - 8.30am
3.30am - 6.30am
5.30am - 8.30am
(11.30pm - 2.30am)
/8.30pm - 11.30pm/

Escape To Nature
8.30am - 2.30pm
6.30am - 12.30am
8.30am - 2.30pm
(2.30am - 8.30am)
/11.30pm - 5.30am/

Penguin Beach
2.30pm - 3.30pm
12.30-2.30pm
2.30pm -3.30pm
(8.30am - 9.30am)
/5.30am - 6.30am/

Sunset Safari
3.30pm-7.30pm
1.30-5.30pm
3.30pm -7.30pm
(9.30am-1.30pm)
/6.30am - 10.30am/

World Animal Day
Safari Bingo
1- 4th October

WildEarth CAT GMT CET (EST)
Safari Bingo 3.30pm - 7.30pm 1.30pm - 5.30pm 3.30pm -7.30pm (9.30am - 1.30am)

Video: click here

Everyone loves a good game of Bingo so we thought in aid of World Animal Day we would host our own animal bingo. Join the guides as they battle it out to see who can spot enough animals to make the first row on their bingo card. Bingo cards will be made up of animals chosen by our viewers. Join our guides at 1.30pm GMT every day for four days to see who will be crowned the King of Safari Bingo!

African Penguin Awareness Day
15th October 2022

WildEarth CAT GMT CET (EST)
Penguin Beach 2.30pm - 3.30pm 12.30pm - 1.30pm 2.30pm -3.30pm (8.30am - 9.30am)

Video: click here

While many people think of penguins as cold climate inhabitants, such as the ones in Antarctica, these delightful creatures can also be found off the southern coast of Africa in rather temperate climates.
International African Penguin Awareness Day is here to bring attention to these rare flightless birds! As climate change and other factors continue to threaten the livelihood of many animals throughout the globe, the African Penguin is no exception. In fact, the African Penguin was placed on the US Endangered Species list in 2010 as the populations continue to decline with the potential of completely vanishing in the near future if nothing is done to stop it.
Join WildEarth for a one hour LIVE and interactive show from a beach in South Africa. It is this beach near Cape Town where a wild colony of African Penguins live and call home.

New Series Alert: Mystery Drama Liar Currently Streaming On eVOD

Deniz (Burcin Terzioglu) is a beautiful young woman who works as a literature teacher. She has recently divorced from her husband Murat (Cemal Toktas) and tries her best to start a new life by herself.

Mehmet Emir, on the other hand, is a successful heart surgeon who is well respected and recognized in the society. He is a popular single dad who is rich, kind, and charismatic. After his wife committed suicide for an unknown reason, he has done his best to raise his son properly. He is a tenderhearted and disciplined father towards his son.

The lives of Deniz and Mehmet Emir intersect on various occasions. Deniz is the teacher at the school where Mehmet Emir’s son studies. At the same time, Mehmet Emir works at the hospital where Deniz’s sister works.

After Deniz officially gets divorced from her husband, she becomes a single young lady who is still unsure about getting back on the dating scene.

When she comes across to Mehmet Emir at the school yard, she initially rejects Mehmet Emir’s dating proposal.

Deniz’s elder sister Yasemin (Hazal Turesan) tries to persuade her sister. She speaks well about Mehmet Emir whom she works together with at the same hospital. She thinks that Mehmet Emir would be a perfect match for Deniz.

With the support of her sister, Deniz accepts Mehmet Emir’s dating proposal. They have a dinner at a fancy restaurant and enjoy their accompany.

After dinner, they walk together to Deniz’s house. Deniz wants to end the night without going another step further because she still does not feel ready to have a serious relationship. However, she does not.have nothing to do but to invite.Mehmet Emir to her house after it starts to rain and they could not find a taxi in the neighborhood.

The next day, Deniz wakes up at her bed and feels that something has gone wrong. She does not remember what has happened exactly throughout the night. However, she knows for sure that she is raped.

However, Mehmet Emir has a totally different story about that night. He sends a thank you message to Deniz and speaks well about the night.

When Deniz reports that she has been raped by Mehmet Emir, not only their lives but also the lives of their friends and families turn upside down. Truth and lies go hand in hand and both sides try to persuade others that their story is true. Nobody is sure who is a liar.

Liar (Yalanci) is about allegation of a rape case where both plaintiff and defendant try to persuade others that he/she is innocent. Who is the liar? Will Deniz remember the missing parts of that night? What will happen to their families and friends after Deniz reports that she has been raped by Mehmet Emir? Will Yasemin and Murat reveal their relationship?

The series is currently streaming on eVOD and might be made available for telecast on eExtra.

Good News! The Son I Never Knew Is Back By Popular Demand This October On Telemundo Africa

Telemundo, the international channel owned by NBCUniversal which is home to various romance, action, mystery, adventure and real-life stories which has been localised with English dubs will finally air a rebroadcast to The Son I Never Knew (Vuelve Temprano).

Based on the Chilean telenovela of the same name, The Son I Never Knew tells the story of Clara and Santiago, a couple who seems to have the perfect life until everything collapses and they realize that they know their children much less than they believed.

The series is starring Gabriela de la Garza as Clara, Mario Cimarro as Inspector Antonio, Rubén Zamora as Santiago, Sharis Cid as Maité, Francisco de la O as Francisco, Carlos Ferro as Agente Manuel, Sara Corrales as Denisse and Alejandro Durán as Hans.

The series coincides with recent announcement of the second season to the medical drama Nurses which is also scheduled for an October release. One of the cast members Mario Cimarro will also star as a lead to the new series Hidden Passions.

The Son I Never Knew returns on the 4th October at 18:00 CAT replacing Elena's Ghost once it concludes.