Development Alert: eMedia Investments Might Be Looking To Rebrand eVOD To eVOD Stream

eVOD is a South African based streaming service operated by eMedia Investments that offers Lou

Iocally produced and inyern home to e.tv and eExtra. It competes against existing platforms like Disney's Disney+, MultiChoice's Showmax, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

During the year, MultiChoice opted to rebrand the DStv app to DStv Stream as a means to sort of divide it from the linear counterpart and Showmax. Now it appears as if eMedia Investments is looking to do the same as several posters featuring the eVOD Stream logo has been shared across their platforms.

Similar to how Apple TV+, SABC+ and Paramount+ took the plus from Disney+ playbook. eMedia Investments seems to have taken a similar turn with MultiChoice's DStv Stream not only with the name but colour as well.

eVOD Stream is available with a red logo in some areas but a majority are featured with the blue. I get some would point to eNCA but DStv incorporated this colour since it's inception while eMedia had to browse several designs before finding their place with the red logo.

Although nothing has been said about the possible new name, let's not forget about how Openview got a facelift from the HD. There was no marketing done over the rebrand and removal of HD from the name and I wouldn't be shocked if the same outcome awaited eVOD Stream.

My estimated guess is that the eVOD Stream trademark will rollout sometime in 2024. Various content from the streamer is seen using this logo including Blink Kant Bo, Christmas Without Gogo and the upcoming Die Agentskap.

Showmax: The End Result For HONEY TV

HONEY was Africa's first Pan-African lifestyle channel operated by Via's Media24 home to locally produced shows like 7 Colours and Yes, I Have HIV. It was also outsourcing content from M-Net like Date My Family and Our Perfect Wedding.

A few months ago, MultiChoice inline with their entertainment offering opted to discontinue the channel across Africa after a two year run alongside other locally produced brands during the year such as Maisha Magic Movies, Novela Magic and ROK GH.

From what everyone could make from all this, several content that was produced specifically for HONEY would fall with the channel while others would resurface another platform i.e. Showmax or Mzansi Magic as Media24 is still producing regional content.

The only problem would be the geography as a show like Date My Family Kenya would only be exclusive to consumers in Eastern Africa. It might have a following in Southern Africa but isn't viewable on neither DStv and Showmax making consumers feel left out.

Maybe HONEY's termination falls inline with some of the recent additions like Zee Zonke and Play Room. MultiChoice is probably trying to prioritise the regional line-up as that is proven to have a bigger effect while as continuing to source out content from the African region.

New Series Alert: Die Agentskap Coming Soon To eVOD

eVOD is South African based streaming service home to a variety of locally produced and international productions will be following fellow competitor kykNET & Kie and launch their first new Turkish drama for 2024 titled Die Agentskap (Menajerimi Ara).

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.

It debuted by August 2020 on Star TV with a total of 45 episodes each with a 150 duration. Star TV is known for shows like Kuzgun (Voëlvry), Erkenci Kuş (Droomvelore), İstanbullu Gelin (Deur Dik En Dun) and Cesur ve Güzel (Die Vreemdeling).

The first 7 episodes will be available to stream weekly on eVOD from January 10 and weirdly enough not much marketing from the eMedia department. Similar to most productions on the platform, it will be added on other platforms soon.

More Cord Cutting Might Await Brands Like Nicktoons And MTV Base If Merger Between Paramount Global And Warner Bros. Discovery Moves Forward

During the week, it was reported that Paramount

Global and Warner Bros. Discovery were exploring a potential merger. For now, Warner Bros. Discovery can't look at merging with another entity until April 2024 and talks are said to be in the early stages so it's not known whether they'll go through with the plan.

For a while now, we had explored a variety of outcomes pertaining to the offering on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Not long ago, expanded into the general entertainment section with Smithsonian Channel alongside MTV and Comedy Central with this article pertaining to secondary brands.

Paramount Global operates brands like Comedy Central Extra, BET Gospel, BET Hip-Hop, MTV Base, MTV Hits, Nick@Nite, TeenNick and Nicktoons while Warner Bros. Discovery offers Discovery Family, Real Time, Discovery Max, Boing and Toonami.

With Paramount's possible downsizing to Warner Bros. Discovery, the latter might not have much content left for all these channels and might look into closing them down if not merging in some countries.

Take for instance Nick Jr., Paramount Global was able to operate the channel separately from Nickelodeon with its own slate of content and with this consolidation the latter similar to Nicktoons will most likely cease to exist if not merge under Nickelodeon.

Considering that a ton of archived projects would be available at hand, it's possible the Nicktoons concept could remain intact and looking at the size of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount maybe Boing/Boomerang could become a worthy successor to Nicktoons.

Nicktoons doesn't serve much purpose especially if they're not looking to produce animation under Nickelodeon. Warner's portfolio has more consumption than Paramount and shows like Paw Patrol and SpongeBob would get more exposure on Cartoon Network.

Despite not as big of an consumption, these channels do have plenty of exposure in other countries so much so that Paramount Global could explore a potential sale to these channels.

Star+ Will Be Integrated Under Disney+ In Brazil And Latin America By 2024

A major change in the streaming market will take place in Brazil in 2024. Disney will close the Star+ service application and unify the platform with Disney+ in the second half of next year. 

Currently, Disney sells the two subscriptions separately and also on Combo+, which offers both platforms for a single price. It is also possible to subscribe to services at a lower price using the Meli+ subscription, from Mercado Livre. 

The unification of streaming services was confirmed by Disney in a press release. The action seems like a natural step for the company, which will also do something similar in the United States, with the Hulu platform. 

The Star+ application will be closed in Brazil and Latin America. 

Changes for the consumer 

According to official information, Disney will announce more details about the merger in the future, including issues such as the price and destination of Star+ subscribers, which will be closed. 

For consumers who already subscribe to Combo+, the change will bring more convenience during use. Currently, Disney+ and Star+ use applications that are practically the same, but have separate catalogs. 

While the Disney-named service focuses on the company's productions, Pixar and Marvel, Star is usually the home of Fox and sports. 

Currently, Star+ has productions from American channels such as FX and ABC, in addition to sports programming from ESPN. With the merger, this content will be centralized in just one application in Brazil and Latin America. 

Thus, in addition to bringing all the Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars films, Disney+ will also feature sports content and award-winning television productions. 

How The Possible Merger Of Warner Bros. Discovery And Paramount Global Could Dismantle MTV And Comedy Central?

MTV and Comedy Central are general entertainment brands operated by Paramount Global that distribute a variety of content ranging from reality shows, sitcoms, films and animation. They have garnered traction for productions like Ridiculousness and South Park.

As seen in the last decade, their linear counterparts had been reduced to waste. If you tune into MTV, the youth oriented brand airs Ridiculousness for most of the day which serves as the Teen Titans GO! of the network while Comedy Central is slumped over shows like The Big Bang Theory and Two And A Half Men.

During the week, it was reported that Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery were exploring a potential merger. For now, Warner Bros. Discovery can't look at merging with another entity until April 2024 and talks are said to be in the early stages so it's not known whether they'll go through with the plan.

Ideally, if a merger were to happen MTV could be dismantled or revert back to being a music oriented brand and take up the identities of the current MTV Base and MTV Hits channels across Europe. Award shows and live performances could remain intact on this restructured brand.

Warner Bros. Discovery doesn't offer a music brand or at least not on cable or streaming and MTV would be one way to sort of expand on that. They operate a number of TV channels most of which could be purged if not sold if this merger moves forward.

Then shows like Catfish: The TV Show and Ridiculousness could fold under HBO adult centred line-up while The Challenge could compliment Discovery's existing portfolio. TLC could inherit Ex On The Beach, Jersey Shore, Love And Hip-Hop and Teen Moms.

Comedy Central had become the Adult Swim of Paramount Global with South Park laying out most of the punches. All of this could as well be folded under Adult Swim and Cartoon Network with live-action residing on HBO leaving the linear component to serve only reruns to sitcoms.

HBO could even give the brand a dedicated block and use it as a trademark for sitcoms produced under their brand.

Smithsonian Channel Likely To Get Axed If The Possible Merger Between Paramount Global And Warner Bros. Discovery Moves Forward

The Smithsonian Channel is a factual based brand operated by Paramount Global through MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facilities and magazines.

Serving as a competitor to Disney's National Geographic and a majority of factual based channels operated by Warner Bros Discovery. It was home to content like Ice Airport Alaska, The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist, Damian Lewis: Spy Wars and Aerial America.

It used to operate various linear channels internationally and since December 2022 is only viewable on Paramount+ in these regions. As it has been outlined by sources that it would garner traction and of course some content would resurface on MTV.

During the week, it was reported that Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery were exploring a potential merger. For now, Warner Bros. Discovery can't look at merging with another entity until April 2024 and talks are said to be in the early stages so it's not known whether they'll go through with the plan.

Most of Paramount's assets are likely to be consolidated if not sold at this point. Unlike Nickelodeon or MTV, The Smithsonian Channel doesn't seem to have much of a future as it had been overshadowed by existing competitors.

Logically, shows like Aerial America and Mayday will just fold under the factual part of Warner Bros. Discovery not that this is new or anything. But they had been licensing content to other broadcasters before and after expanding their linear offering to other countries.

As for the brand in general, The Smithsonian Channel could continue to offer content based on their "museums, research facilities and magazines". Of course, I'd expect quite less of that at this point and they'd probably need to look at partnerships for sustainability.

Warner Bros. Discovery In Talks To Merge With Paramount Global

• The duo discussed ways their companies could complement one another. For example, each company's main streaming service — Paramount+ and Max — could merge to better rival Netflix and Disney+.

• WBD could use its international distribution footprint to boost Paramount's franchises, while Paramount's children's programing assets could be essential to WBD's long-term streaming ambitions.

• CBS News could be combined with CNN to create a global news powerhouse. CBS' crime dramas, such as "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds," could be combined with Investigation Discovery and TruTV.

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish and WBD boss David Zaslav sat down on Tuesday at Paramount’s corporate headquarters in New York’s Times Square, a well-place source tells the media, “It was all rather preliminary,” the source said of the talks. Shari Redstone, CEO of Paramount’s controlling shareholder, National Amusements, “is on a bit of a listening tour to see what she might be able to get if she decides to sell the company or part of it,” he added.

Sources has reported in recent days that Redstone, after spending years holding her family’s empire together, had become open to offers for NAI and Paramount assets from suitors including Skydance and RedBird Capital.

Redstone was not in the room with Zaslav and Bakish for the actual meeting, a source noted. Redstone did have a separate conversation with Zaslav this week where the role of broadcast network CBS in any potential future deal was a major topic.

As a broadcast network coupled with 28 owned stations in many markets, CBS is a significant asset but also a legacy one. Given recent talk of Disney possibly parting with ABC and its stations (though the company recently said it has reconsidered) and other movement on the broadcast chess board, the notion of CBS and the stations not following the rest of the Paramount portfolio may be logical. Private equity funds have increasingly looked at local broadcasting as an area of interest.

Wall Street didn’t have any immediate reaction to the initial report of the negotiations by Axios. WBD stock slipped almost 6% during the regular trading day and was basically flat in after-hours trading. Paramount slid 2% and drifted down further after the session.

Warner Discovery would be prevented from entering into a transaction until the April expiration of a two-year lock-up period after the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery. The lockup was agreed to as part of the Warner-Discovery deal, which was executed via a Reverse Morris Trust, which confers certain tax advantages. Many dealmakers had marked April 8 of next year given the likelihood of WBD wanting to make changes to its portfolio.

Word of the talks surfaced not long after Bloomberg reported that Paramount had also been discussing the potential sale of BET Media, which includes the BET and VH1 cable networks as well as studio and streaming operations. Potential buyers include Byron Allen and an investor group led by BET CEO Scott Mills and finance executive Shinh Chu of CC Capital Partners. Paramount had previously explored the sale of BET but had pulled it back after determining that the bids were too low.

Both WBD and Paramount face significant issues with debt as well as the hefty expenses required of anyone looking to compete in streaming. Since the April 2022 closing of WarnerMedia’s $43 billion merger with Discovery, investors had pointed to the company’s debt as a concern. It also combined a large swath of cable TV assets against a backdrop of accelerating rates of cord-cutting. Shares in the merged company have been trading well below the price as of the deal close. Similarly, Paramount’s reunion of CBS and Viacom has not gone over well on the Street, with the stock sinking to single digits earlier this year and remaining nearly two-thirds below its level at the close of the Viacom-CBS deal in 2019.

WBD and Paramount Global both declined to comment. A rep for National Amusements did not respond to a request for comment.

Paramount Is Reportedly In Talks To Sell BET For Almost $2 Billion

For most of 2023, Paramount has been looking to sell BET. Reportedly, earlier this year, Paramount decided that the offers for BET were not worth it now though Paramount has decided to once again look at deals to sell BET.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Paramount is in talks with multiple potential buyers, include BET Chief Executive Officer Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, a former Blackstone Inc. member. The deal will reportedly be for just under $2 billion.

Originally this deal would reportedly include BET cable networks, BET+, a subscription streaming service, and BET studios. VH1 is now also managed by BET and would reportedly be included in this deal. Now though, it is unknown if VH1 will be a part of this new deal.

Paramount in the past, was reportedly interested in a minority stake but is likely looking for ways to cut back on expenses and earn cash to pay down its debts. It is unknown if this deal will still include a minority stake in the channel.

Paramount also recently agreed to sell Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for $2.2 billion, but regulators killed the deal. Paramount also sold the classic CBS NYC headquarters known as Black Rock and a large number of websites back in 2020.

Now selling BET seems to be the next step in Paramount’s efforts to free up cash to pay off debts and invest in Paramount+. 

Credit: Luke Bouma.