Insidus

Friday, March 12, 2021

ZooMoo Has Been Extended On DStv + Other Controversies Regarding The Current Pop-Up Channels

Back in August 2020, MultiChoice previewed 4 pop-up channels + 1 full-time channel which were TLNovelas (Mexican telenovelas, September), TDC (Turkish telenovelas, November), tvN (K-dramas, November) and ZooMoo (preschoolers, November) + KIX (Action movie channel, October).

All were suppose to launch within that year but for some reason tvN didn't make the deadline. They only popped up a year later through a Facebook post without any explanation from them or MultiChoice on why they didn't fill the end of their bargain.

Maybe MultiChoice wanted to put more focus towards TDC since they were gonna launch together. They couldn't do December since less people will be glued to their screens, January everyone is up in arms, February was occupied leaving March open.

tvN is the first channel that doesn't offer a ton of dubbed programming for English viewers. Will we ever know why this one is unscathed while others are put out of their misery.

TLNovelas has the longest promotional period amongst all of them. Ever since it's launch there's been technical difficulties (in South Africa) for which DStv is seemingly taking a while to resolve and this will just leave the channel without potential consumers.

ZooMoo which was suppose to end in March 2021 alongside TDC has been extended until June which is the same time tvN promotional run ends. It's obvious MultiChoice doesn't monitor performances entirely through viewership.

Timeless Dizi Channel (TDC) makes a ton of last minute changes which doesn't reflect their schedule. They went from using an outdated schedule to airing marathons without notice. Imagine, recording an episode only to realise this issue exists. This channel is set to close by the end of March.

In the end, ZooMoo is the only channel that hasn't stirred up problems for viewers.

PremiumFree Satellite TV Launches From May As A Rival To OpenView

New PremiumFree satellite TV service to take on DStv and Openview in South Africa
AfricaXP will expand its free-to-air satellite TV service, PremiumFree, to millions of satellite dishes in South Africa on 1 May 2021.

AfricaXP is a digital content distributor and themed linear channel creator which is focussed on Africa.

Through its PremiumFree service it aims to become the default multichannel satellite TV offering on the continent.

PremiumFree is already offering free-to-air satellite TV services in many African countries through two Eutelsat satellites.

In 2020 AfricaXP signed multi-year agreements with Eutelsat Communications for Ku-band capacity on two Eutelsat satellites, positioned at 16° East and 7° East.

This capacity enabled AfricaXP to extend the reach of its PremiumFree service from only West Africa to Eastern and Southern Africa.

AfricaXP is now further extending the reach of PremiumFree through a partnership with Intelsat IS-20 which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Many South African households have IS-20 aligned dishes connected to “closed” decoders that lock out other channels.

These viewers could now buy any low-cost free to air decoder and connect it to their LNB cable coming from the dish to receive the PremiumFree channels.

The 18 channels that will be available on PremiumFree TV are:

BongoTV: Tanzanian Swahili movies.

True African: A mixed-genre of African channel that has movies, lifestyle shows, factual reality and music content, and sports and soaps. Formerly available on OpenView and once a product of eMedia Investments.

Africawood Blockbusters: A variety of films from across the African continent.

fresh: A lifestyle and reality show channel.

Limelight: Family, action and kid movies.

Romanza+ Africa: A telenovela channel.

LOL Africa: A comedy channel with short-form humourous content, funny videos and sitcoms.

Sports Connect: Sports magazine shows, profile series, documentaries and sports news channel.

Kiddiwinks: A toddler channel aimed at pre-school viewers.

Pulse: An African youth and music channel.

Afriwood Series: African soaps and drama series.

Riverwood: Kenyan movies and series.

RPM: A motoring and motorsports channel.

LifeTV: A factual channel covering crime and investigation programming, disasters and culture.

DIVA: Entertainment news, fashion, gossip, music, reality, dating shows and makeovers. It could be the one operated by NBCUniversal International.

Gospellife: A mixed-genre Christian values channel.

Fight Night: A mixed martial arts and boxing channel.

synapse: An e-gaming channel.

New Series Alert: Forensics Season 1 Coming Soon To CBS Justice Africa

If you are a fan of real crime ‘whodunits’ and CSI’s forensic science, then this show will have you clinging to the edge of your seat. But be warned – sometimes the truth can be stranger than ﬁction. In this series, forensic scientists and police are the ‘heroes’, science is the ‘secret weapon’, and our presenter the ‘guide’, as we unravel the evidence, put science to work, and discover the truth behind real crime case ﬁles.

Each programme focuses on a real single crime case that has occurred in the last decade and that was solved by the combination of clever crime investigation and forensic science. The cases are pulled straight from the ﬁles of our New Zealand forensic experts, police and scene-of-crime oﬃcers. This is in-depth, fact- based, high-tech dramatic storytelling.

The cases cover all facets of forensic science including blood spatter, DNA, tool marking, digital forensics, toxicology, entomology, and the latest in cutting-edge scientiﬁc technology.

Sundays at 20:00.
From 4th April until 2nd May.

It is available on DStv channel 170

April 2021 On CBS Reality | New Seasons

RUMBLE & HUM Season 2
Weekends at 19:30 and 01:20, from 17th April to 16th May. Repeated on weekdays at 21:10 and 01:25 from 10th to 21st May.
You’ve planned this for months, forged your story into that one timeless image and refrained from drinking for 24 hours. Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and brace for the craziest tattoo experience in town. With the rumble of a V-twin engine and the hum of a state-of-the-art tattoo machine, Johannesburg based tattoo shop Rumble & Hum will knock you where you didn’t see it coming!
Watch as the wackiest mixture of comedy and tears unravel into masterpieces of ink and skin. Established artist ‘Vudu’ Lew Williams takes no prisoners with his piercing shout-casting remarks, pranks and zen-like focus when he puts needle to canvas. These guys are wild, loud and insatiable when it comes to crazy humour, eccentric clients and world-class tattooing. Welcome to the mania and magic Rumble & Hum!

JUDGE JUDY
Season 17
Weekdays quadruple bill from 15:45 until 17:25, from 5th April to 2nd July. Repeated weekends from 11:10 until 17:50 from 8th May until 4th July.
With her outspoken style, hard-hitting decisiveness and engaging wit, Judge Judith Sheindlin single-handedly reinvented the courtroom genre and in the process has become a pop culture icon. A former New York family court judge known for her ability to cut through a dispute and get to the core of the emotional issue at hand, Judge Judy acts as a true moral compass for people seeking guidance, resolution and common sense in their lives. Judge Judy’s goal is to make a lasting impression that will discourage repeat oﬀenders and help heal families and victims of injustice. There are many imitators, but only one Judge Judy!

It is available on DStv channel 132

Sunday, March 7, 2021

As Predicted, Akili Kids Launches In Kenya On DStv

A month ago I conducted a list of possible kids channels that might surface on DStv and one of my predictions reached the surface.

Akili Network, creators of Akili Kids!, Kenya’s first and only 24/7 free-to-air children’s learning TV channel, announces a partnership with DStv, a platform from Africa’s leading entertainment company Multichoice Africa. As of March 3rd, DStv will now carry Akili Kids! on channel 311 for all existing DStv customers in Kenya.

Akili Kids! was made in Kenya, for the Kenyan people and is committed to ensuring the wholesome development of children by selectively broadcasting only programmes that have positive learning outcomes. Akili Kids! has a wide variety of programs catering to children, parents, guardians and caregivers across the entire country. Moreover, the channel is deeply dedicated to enhancing relationships between parents and children by airing shows that can be enjoyed by children and the entire family together. Akili Kids! has a weekly viewership of over 5.4 million children and 4.3 million adults between 6am and 6pm, as per a specialized Geopoll report designed to measure viewership of children, parents and caregivers. Akili Kids! has introduced a comprehensive child-protective advertising policy that ensures children are not exposed to unhealthy or potentially harmful marketing messages.

Established in 1995, DStv aims to deliver the right type of content to millions of Africans, anytime, anywhere. As part of the Multichoice Africa family, DStv shares in the vision of making both homegrown and international entertainment more accessible to Africans as well as contributing to the economic growth of Africa by creating employment opportunities and empowering businesses across the continent.

“We are incredibly excited to add DStv as a distribution partner. With DStv’s exceptional brand value and reach, the greatest beneficiaries of our partnership is to Kenyan children, parents and caregivers.”, says Jesse Soleil, President and Co-Founder of Akili Network.

Kenyan children, parents and caregivers can now watch Akili Kids! TV on DStv channel 311 to enjoy a wide range of programmes: school readiness during the day, and action, adventure and learning shows for school-aged children in the afternoons and evenings, all of which promote academic, social, emotional, mental and physical well-being.

That means South Africa (eToonz) and Kenya (Akili Kids) are the only markets where DStv offers an accessible regional kids channel both of which occupy the same channel number in their respective regions.

April 2021 On Investigation Discovery Africa | New Series Alerts | Returning Shows

Before I Die S1
Brand New
TX Date: 8 April
TX Time: 21:00 CAT
Tx Day: Thursday
Before I Die exposes the truth behind the individuals who had the strength and courage in their final moments to catch the perpetrator of their own brutal slaying. Each episode in this three-part series re-tells the shocking events leading to the crucial piece of evidence, the one item, that the victim was able to somehow communicate with their dying breath, that helped to solve their own murder.

My Family’s Deadly Secret S1
Brand New
TX Date: 11 April
TX Time: 21:00 CAT
Tx Day: Sunday
All families have secrets, but not like this. Behind the closed curtains of suburbia, not all is as it seems. People connected to these families have secrets to hide and will stop at nothing -- even murder -- to ensure their secret remains hidden forever.

In Pursuit With John Walsh S2
New Season
TX Date: 29 April
TX Time: 21:00 CAT
Tx Day: Thursday
In Pursuit With John Walsh carries forward John Walsh's lifelong mission of tracking down fugitives from justice, finding missing children, and empowering the public to help support a more effective and accountable criminal justice system.

Friday, March 5, 2021

SABC Acquired Broadcasting Rights To Brazilian Telenovela, Orphan Of A Nation

Brazilian fans are in for a treat as SABC expands their Brazilian catalogue with the introduction of Orphans Of The Nation (Órfãos Da Terra). As of last year you only had Side By Side (Lado Ao Lado) on SABC 2 now the underperforming brand SABC 3 will bask in the monument.

After being victims of a bombing in Syria, Missade (Ana Cecília Costa) and Elias (Marco Ricca) flee to Lebanon with their children, Khaled, a boy who was injured, and Laila (Julia Dalavia) - who agrees to marry a powerful sheikh, Aziz Abdallah.(Herson Capri) in exchange for money to pay for his brother's treatment.

Since the series debut in 2019, the show consisted of a total of 154 episodes (90 internationally) with each running for a total of 45 minutes.

Not only that the series managed to bag itself some awards including A Best International Emmy Award.

The series airs Mondays to Wednesdays at 18:30 from 5 April on SABC 3 where the NBC's This Is Us is currently occupying.

April 2021 On Real Time Africa | Cooking | Renovation | Medical

Valerie’s Home Cooking S1-S3
Brand New
TX Date: 5 April
TX Time: 12:00 CAT
Tx Day: Mon-Fri
Actress Valerie Bertinelli modernizes her favorite recipes that have been passed down through her family over the years.

Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation S2
New Season
TX Date: 8 April
TX Time: 15:00 CAT
Tx Day: Mon-Fri
A relaxing getaway with an oceanfront view is only a renovation away for the families featured in this series. They are searching for a home away from home that has beach access and is affordable. Each episode follows the progress toward purchasing a fixer upper, which the family then transforms into its very own sun- drenched oasis.

Inside the Children’s Hospital S1-S2
Brand New
TX Date: 19 April
TX Time: 12:00 CAT
Tx Day: Mon-Fri
At the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, every year more than 20,000 boys and girls from the north of Scotland receive life changing treatments.

April 2021 On Discovery Family Africa | Lifestyle & Environmental

Abandoned Engineering S3-S4
New Seasons
TX Date: 5 April
TX Time: 19:20 CAT
Tx Day: Mon-Fri
Research into why and how large projects were built, the financial and social costs of their failure, and the consequences for the environment. Experts present plans to make something new from the ruins.

Weather Files S2
New Season
TX Date: 14 April TX Time: 17:40 CAT
Tx Day: Mon-Fri
Weather professionals give first-hand accounts and stories of their experiences in dealing with Mother Nature's unpredictable and often extreme weather.