VIMN Africa And MultiChoice Renew Distribution Partnership

Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) and MultiChoice Group have announced that the renewal of their distribution partnership which highlights the investment in local content, bringing audiences programming that showcases the best of Africa’s creativity and talent. VIMN Africa’s channel brands BET, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV Base, MTV Music 24, Nickelodeon, NickToons and Nick Jr. collectively offer a broad range of original entertainment content across every age demographic.

“This continued partnership demonstrates the shared commitment between VIMN Africa and MultiChoice to invest in local and international content that resonates with our audiences across the continent. We truly value our collaboration with MultiChoice as it also enables us to consistently deliver great African productions,” said Alex Okosi, Executive Vice President and Managing Director for VIMN Africa and BET International.

“As Africa’s most-loved storyteller, we are pleased to share this market announcement of VIMN Africa. Our content offering ensures that we provide our partners platforms to tell their own stories in an authentic way. We invest over R2,5 billion in local content to keep bringing exciting and engaging African content to market and the industry.” said Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice CEO for General Entertainment.

VIMN Africa’s channel brands collectively deliver exciting drama, comedy, music, animation, biopic and reality shows. On BET, the brand continues to celebrate black excellence with a locally produced biopic that portrays one of South Africa’s most legendary stars in Dream: The Lebo Mathosa Story featuring a joint lead cast of KB Motsilanyane and Bahumi Madisakwane. In the new year, BET will also welcome its first locally produced sitcom, Black Tax, which will bring laughter to their audiences. The Behind the Story series with Pearl Thusi also returns for an additional season. Tyler Perry’s studio productions, Sistas and The Oval,  have made their debut on the channel. 

Comedy Central continues to make life funnier and keep audiences laughing with a deep history of local productions from The Roast franchise to Most Ridiculous featuring the hilarious internet sensation, SuzelleDIY. Comedy Central is the exclusive home to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah giving audiences the best in satire and comedy. Other entertaining shows on the channel include Impractical Jokers, Key and Peele, Alternatino, Crank Yankers, The Other Two and South Park to name a few. The channel also caters for viewer favourites Friends, The Big Bang Theory and Two and A Half Men.

On MTV, the channel builds on its successful local reality series Lasizwe, with the introduction of Have Faith, showcasing socialite and businesswoman Faith Nketsi’s flamboyant lifestyle. The Guy Code and Girl Code comedy series on the channel feature popular comics, athletes and entertainers who bring viewers jaw dropping how-to manuals about the wonders and woes of brotherhood and sisterhood.

MTV Base, the best music and youth-lifestyle brand on the continent, is now available on DStv Access in South Africa and Nigeria and continues to entertain audiences with trendsetting music from genres such as Afrobeats, Amapiano, Hip Hop and Gqom. The channel’s investment in local content includes Celeb Living, Musicology, Slayed or Shade and the recently launched cutting-edge series, Behind The Label, which unearths never before told stories and casts a lens on the turbulent relations between record labels and musicians.

This year, Nickelodeon celebrated the 20th anniversary of its most iconic and recognizable character in history, SpongeBob SquarePants. The channel together with the LEGO group also launches the new series, LEGO City Adventures, which is aimed at children aged 8 to 12 years and is loaded with hysterical, action-packed and often absurd slices of urban life. Nickelodeon additionally welcomes the brand-new animated pre-school series of the adventurous Paddington Bear who makes a return to TV. The channel line-up will also include The Casagrandes and the series format adaptation of Wonder Park. NickToons will deliver an exclusive format of SpongeBob the Musical Live! for audiences and a behind-the-scenes special of JoJo's D.R.E.A.M. concert. Rounding off the kids’ entertainment brands, Nick Jr. will launch a new series, Becca’s Bunch, while continuing to deliver popular favourites with all new episodes of Paw Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machine, Nella the Princess Knight and Sunny Day.  

In addition to its powerful slate of content, VIMN Africa brands also showcase the widest array of hit international tentpoles such as MTV EMAs, MTV VMAs, BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, Black Girls Rock!, Comedy Central Roast and Nickelodeon’s KCAs.

January 2020 On Disney Channel, Junior & XD Africa

DISNEY CHANNEL:
Amphibia (S1 New Eps)
Weekdays @16:10 from 20th – 31st January
Synopsis: Amphibia chronicles the comedic adventures of 13-year-old, Anne Boonchuy who, after stealing a mysterious music box, is magically transported to the world of Amphibia, a wild marshland full of talking frog-people. With the help of an excitable young frog named Sprig, Anne will transform from monster to hero and discover the first true friendship of her life.

Bunk’d (S4 Launch)
Weekdays @18:15 from 20th January – 7th February
Synopsis: Lou adjusts to her new job as camp director and reunites with Destiny, Finn and Matteo and also welcomes new counsellors Noah and Ava as well as an eccentric new camper, Gwen.

DISNEY JUNIOR:
Muppet Babies (S2 Launch)
Weekdays from 6 – 17 January @16:30
Synopsis: The Muppet Babies are back and dreams come true! Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Animal, Gonzo and Summer are at the heart of thrilling adventures straight out of their imagination.

Puppy Dog Pals (S2 New Eps)
Weekdays from 6 – 24 January @17:00
Synopsis: Bingo and Rolly's neighbor, Keia, joins the team as they embark on even more missions to help their owners while having fun along the way!

PJ Mask (S3 New Eps)
Weekdays from 20 – 31 January @18:00
Synopsis: The PJ Masks always face their foes at night in order to save the day! Catboy, Owlette, and Gekko, along with their super friends, are becoming more unstoppable than ever!

DISNEY XD: Marvel’s Spider-Man (S2 New Eps) Weekdays from 20th – 28th January @17:25 Synopsis: Peter Parker has been accepted into Horizon High, a school for brilliant young scientific minds. At the same time, he’s learning the responsibility that comes with being a new, super-powered hero in New York. Disney 11 (S3 New Eps) Weekdays from 13 January @17:00 Synopsis: Season 3 will show us how Gabo and his teammates dispute a School World Championship, where they will pursue their objective of being champions, but also fight to achieve their most cherished desire; to become professional football players. Phineas & Ferb Wednesday 1st January – All day Synopsis: Celebrating the New Year with an all-day line up of Phineas & Ferb!

Sony Pictures Television Revives The Sony Channel In The United Kingdom, Is South Africa And The Rest Of Africa Destined For The Same Fate?

<p dir="ltr">On Tuesday September 10th, 2019 Sony Pictures Network (SPN) relaunched the Sony Channel in the UK the only difference is the channel now carries factual programming besides international drama series.</p>

<p dir="ltr">SPN supplied channels such as Sony Channel and Sony Max to MultiChoice's DStv and Cell C's defunct service Black along with POP (which was also available on Starsat) and True Movies 1. Before their departure, the company stated they were examining other possibilities in the territory and remain excited about future programming opportunities.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Let's face it SPN has hit rock bottom in Africa and it's gonna be a long bridge to build. They launch a channel, nurture it and as it grows they walk out the door. You had Animax which didn't do so well and might have fractu red any possibilities of having anime on DStv anyways its not like the channel is doing well internationally then you had its successor Sony Max a decent reality channel for men which will never be heard from again.

Unlike the SABC, SPN has potential Gogglebox was the reason for its downfall ever since the whole scandal relating to that show. They layed low for the past 2 years along with their channels so viewers got endless repeats (kind of like what's being seen with FOX Life) only for those same repeats to sit on other channels with viewers creating some seperation from those channels giving MultiChoice some reason to pull the plug.

No one knows why MultiChoice decided to remove the Sony Channels long before SPN exit from the market maybe they figured something like this would happen or maybe they know more of Sony's plans within the market either way they have a tough journey ahead of them.

MultiChoice To Add Trace Gospel In South Africa

Gospel music has evolved tremendously and nowadays, it is so much more than choirs. TRACE
Gospel is the only channel that presents today’s face of gospel music

Through the best music videos of Contemporary Gospel, Urban Gospel, Worship Gospel and Traditional Gospel, as well as interviews with upcoming and established artists, features and concerts, TRACE Gospel shows the diversity of gospel music.

Trace Gospel launches Wednesday 18 December for all DStv Premium, Compact Plus, Compact and Family customers on Channel 332

South Africa Won't Get Timeless Drama Channel Until 2020 Or 2021 And If DStv Adds It The Channel Might Replace FOX Life

SPI International/FilmBox is launched Timeless Drama Channel (TDC), a new worldwide TV network devoted to Turkish drama series and movies. TDC will feature such hit dramas as Kurt Seyit and Sura, 20 Minutes and The End. Based on the European rollout Western Europe got the channel late 2019 while MENA got mid 2019 and Central Europe got it last year.

In 2018, SPI International stated that the channel will grace it's presence in Africa, Asia and Latin America in an unforeseeable future.

Turkish telenovelas have been distributed across several television stations across Africa especially South Africa where e.tv also offers them in English and Afrikaans which have been performing well with its viewers.

MultiChoice on the other hand relies on the dull and waste of space FOX Life for those kind of programs sadly the channel aired almost all of them halfway with no news of a possible return now we might know why.

Throughout 2019, FOX Life has brought nothing but repeats of their old catalogues and never bother trying to source out more programs to keep their viewers interested even the Turkish novelas like Lodestar and Second Chance Season 1 aired continuosly until the channel scrubbed the Turkish novelas from the lineup filling it with more repeats of African reality series. Even their Facebook account seems less inactive.

Remember those adverts about the home of telenovelas DStv used to highlight several other channels including this one with that description now there's no telenovelas to still consider it a home to soapies too it's safe to say FOX Life is a gonner.

VIMN Africa And MultiChoice Renew Distribution Partnership

Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) and MultiChoice Group have announced the renewal of their distribution partnership which highlights the investment in local content, bringing audiences programming that showcases the best of Africa’s creativity and talent. VIMN Africa’s channel brands BET, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV Base, MTV Music 24, Nickelodeon, NickToons and Nick Jr. collectively offer a broad range of original entertainment content across every age demographic.

“This continued partnership demonstrates the shared commitment between VIMN Africa and MultiChoice to invest in local and international content that resonates with our audiences across the continent. We truly value our collaboration with MultiChoice as it also enables us to consistently deliver great African productions,” said Alex Okosi, Executive Vice President and Managing Director for VIMN Africa and BET International.

“As Africa’s most-loved storyteller, we are pleased to share this market announcement of VIMN Africa. Our content offering ensures that we provide our partners platforms to tell their own stories in an authentic way. We invest over R2,5 billion in local content to keep bringing exciting and engaging African content to market and the industry.” said Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice CEO for General Entertainment.

VIMN Africa’s channel brands collectively deliver exciting drama, comedy, music, animation, biopic and reality shows. On BET, the brand continues to celebrate black excellence with a locally produced biopic that portrays one of South Africa’s most legendary stars in Dream: The Lebo Mathosa Story featuring a joint lead cast of KB Motsilanyane and Bahumi Madisakwane. In the new year, BET will also welcome its first locally produced sitcom, Black Tax, which will bring laughter to their audiences. The Behind the Story series with Pearl Thusi also returns for an additional season. Tyler Perry’s studio productions, Sistas and The Oval,  have made their debut on the channel. 

Comedy Central continues to make life funnier and keep audiences laughing with a deep history of local productions from The Roast franchise to Most Ridiculous featuring the hilarious internet sensation, SuzelleDIY. Comedy Central is the exclusive home to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah giving audiences the best in satire and comedy. Other entertaining shows on the channel include Impractical Jokers, Key and Peele, Alternatino, Crank Yankers, The Other Two and South Park to name a few. The channel also caters for viewer favourites Friends, The Big Bang Theory and Two and A Half Men.

On MTV, the channel builds on its successful local reality series Lasizwe, with the introduction of Have Faith, showcasing socialite and businesswoman Faith Nketsi’s flamboyant lifestyle. The Guy Code and Girl Code comedy series on the channel feature popular comics, athletes and entertainers who bring viewers jaw dropping how-to manuals about the wonders and woes of brotherhood and sisterhood.

MTV Base, the best music and youth-lifestyle brand on the continent, is now available on DStv Access in South Africa and Nigeria and continues to entertain audiences with trendsetting music from genres such as Afrobeats, Amapiano, Hip Hop and Gqom. The channel’s investment in local content includes Celeb Living, Musicology, Slayed or Shade and the recently launched cutting-edge series, Behind The Label, which unearths never before told stories and casts a lens on the turbulent relations between record labels and musicians.

This year, Nickelodeon celebrated the 20th anniversary of its most iconic and recognizable character in history, SpongeBob SquarePants. The channel together with the LEGO group also launches the new series, LEGO City Adventures, which is aimed at children aged 8 to 12 years and is loaded with hysterical, action-packed and often absurd slices of urban life. Nickelodeon additionally welcomes the brand-new animated pre-school series of the adventurous Paddington Bear who makes a return to TV. The channel line-up will also include The Casagrandes and the series format adaptation of Wonder Park. NickToons will deliver an exclusive format of SpongeBob the Musical Live! for audiences and a behind-the-scenes special of JoJo's D.R.E.A.M. concert. Rounding off the kids’ entertainment brands, Nick Jr. will launch a new series, Becca’s Bunch, while continuing to deliver popular favourites with all new episodes of Paw Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machine, Nella the Princess Knight and Sunny Day.  

In addition to its powerful slate of content, VIMN Africa brands also showcase the widest array of hit international tentpoles such as MTV EMAs, MTV VMAs, BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, Black Girls Rock!, Comedy Central Roast and Nickelodeon’s KCAs.

Teen Africa TV Is Set For Takeoff

Excitement is in the air amongst the teens in Nigeria, as the date for the launch of Africa’s First Indigenous Teen Channel draws near. On December 1st 2019 at the Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, the most anticipated teen channel known as Teen Africa TV, a brainchild of Charles Novia who’s the Founder/CEO, launches with a bang.

According to Charles Novia, ‘Teen Africa TV is presently the biggest indigenous visual ecosystem for Teenagers in this part of the world. We speak the language of the Teens and we understand what they want. Our programmes are borne from research by them and all our original programmes have teens and young adults as presenters. We have given them their own world and there is nothing like this.

The TATV presenters and brand ambassadors are some of the best teen talents in the country and we are very proud of them. We have assembled the next breakout youth talents who will take over the entertainment scene in Africa and the world in a few years and TATV is the natural springboard for these talents to ‘blow’.

After the launch, Teen Africa TV will be on DSTV and Gotv as a 24 hour daily channel with the best original content for the teens and family audience.

In what promises to be a revolution in the broadcast and media space in Africa, TATV will be the station to watch.

From The CEO of TATV
We introduce a novel concept in niche television programming and broadcasting to you. TEEN AFRICA TELEVISION is a new and exciting television channel launching in 2019 on PAY TV platforms across Africa, including DSTV.

Founded by Charles Novia, who is acknowledged as an avante garde creative in Nollywood and the media sector, this new channel is poised to be the FIRST platform for Teenagers in the African Broadcast Space, running for 24 hours daily across African countries and targeting first line audiences of pre-teens, teenagers aged 13 to 19 and second base young adults and the family. Our programming has the best of ORIGINAL CONTENT in genres of TALK SHOWS, LIFESTYLE, EDUCATIONAL, ENTERTAINMENT and EVENTS. We are creating the biggest content library and resource for teenagers across Africa and we have been the best of ORIGINAL content on the channel. TATV will also be online and our projections in the next two years is to launch in the United Kingdom on the B SKY B Bouquet, giving the Diaspora African Teens a taste of the pulsating values and creativity of the African Youth Experience.

Starsat/StarTimes Launches Two New Channels To Celebrate The Festive

Starsat/StarTimes has lost several channels throughout the year including the KISS, Star Series1, Trace Africa and FOX channels (ESPN 1 & 2 formerly FOX Sports, National Geographic & Wild, FOX & FOX Life) which now belong to Disney and now they've unveiled the "new" channels which are set to replace National Geographic and National Geographic Wild from 10  December judging from the lineup who knows if they consider the two new additions replacements for FOX and FOX Life or if they're still sourcing out more replacement channels.

The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel that is operated by Smithsonian Networks (SNI/SI Networks L.L.C.), a joint venture between CBS Corporation's Showtime Networks and the Smithsonian Institution. The channel features original non-fiction programming that covers a wide range of historical, scientific and cultural subjects.

Love Nature is a Canadian specialty television channel owned by Blue Ant Media . The channel broadcasts documentaries and television series related to wildlife and nature.

If you ask me the channels seem like another cheap addition in the end it saves them money on the other hand the channels may join the batch of several other wasted channels who knows the channels may do well in this market but those who watched National Geographic even though it could interest them they'll still pick National Geographic over any other channel. Starsat could be going through difficult times kind of like MultiChoice and its recent additions now that Lifetime and History remains it could have increased their expenses so channels are bound to be lost and affordable replacements might take quality channels position.

To Kick The New Year TNT Africa Has Got A Lineup Of "New" Movies Along With A Documentary Based On The Life Of Heath Ledger (The Joker)

HAPPY NEW SAGA!
TNT wants to stay as bold as ever during 2020 and that means kicking-off with a strong start. During the first four days of January, the channel will program a marathon with some of the best movie
sagas ever made. Viewers will have to make themselves comfortable in front of the screen as these sagas will be broadcast in a row. Titles such as The Karate Kid, Free Willy, Spy Kids, Spiderman and 3
Ninjas are a few that will be a part of this must-see special.
Wednesday 1st of January
09:45 – Spy Kids (2001)
11:10 – Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
12:50 – Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
14:10 – The Karate Kid (1984) channel premiere
16:20 – The Karate Kid II (1986) channel premiere
18:10 – The Karate Kid III (1989) channel premiere
20:00 – The Next Karate Kid (1994) channel premiere

Thursday 2nd of January
15:25 – 3 Ninjas (1992)
17:05 – 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994)
18:35 – 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995)
20:00 – The Crow (1994)
21:40 – The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
23:05 – The Crow: The Salvation (2000)
00:50 – The Crow: Wicked Prayer(2005)

Friday 3rd of January
15:00 – Free Willy (1993)
16:55 – Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995) channel premiere
18:30 – Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997) channel premiere
20:00 – Lethal Weapon (1987)
21:50 – Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

Saturday 4th of January
11:25 – Spider-man (2002)
13:25 – Spider-man 2 (2004)
15:30 – Spider-man 3 (2007)
17:45 – Batman Begins (2005)
20:00 – The Dark Knight (2008)
22:30 – The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

FFN! HUMAN VS SUPERNATURAL
January brings us a new edition of our well-known stunt Film Fight Night. This time, the general theme is human vs supernatural, and each encounter will bring a battle between two movies that have something in common: Vampire Action, Black Comedy Night, Killer´s Rally, and Enchanted
Dwellings. Every Sunday evening the channel will offer a double feature for each category with titles that include 3 premieres: Interview with the Vampire, Freddy vs Jason and the latest remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Sunday 5th of January
20:00 – Cursed (2005)
21:35 – From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Sunday 19th of January
20:00 – Beetlejuice (2000)
21:30 – The Shining (1980)
Sunday 12th of January
20:00 – Interview with the Vampire (2006) channel premiere
22:00 – Blade (1998)

Sunday 26th of January
20:00 – A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) channel premiere
21:45 – Freddy vs Jason (2003) channel premiere

WILD WILD WEDNESDAYS
Every Wednesday night during January, TNT will repeat its most savage encounter. Just as was programmed last month, a list of crazy action movies has been chosen for this special that will make the audience tremble and shake. A combination of freaky creatures and natural disasters that put human lives at risk will make this an exciting stunt. Titles include Anacondas: Tail of Blood, Deep Blue Sea and Toxic Skies.
Wednesday 8th of January
20:00 – Lake Placid vs Anaconda (2015)
21:30 – Lightning Strikes (2009)

Wednesday 15th of January
20:00 – Deep Blue Sea (1999)
21:45 – Arctic Blast (2010)

Wednesday 22th of January
20:00 – Anacondas: Trail of Blood (2009)
21:30 – Mimic 2 (2001)

Wednesday 29th of January
20:00 – Toxic Skies (2008)
21:30 – Critters (1986)

HEATH LEDGER FAN DAY
Heath Ledger, one of the most talented actors of his generation and owner of an incredible ability to embody different roles, will be the star in TNT during January. For the 11th anniversary of his unexpected death, TNT will premiere a documentary that recounts his short yet successful career as well as details about his personal life: I am Heath Ledger. This premiere will be broadcast along with the film The Dark Knight, where he plays the Joker, his last and most significant performance which landed him a posthumous Oscar.
Friday 24th of January
18:25 – I am Heath Ledger (2012) channel premiere
20:00 – The Dark Knight (2008)