PBS Kids To Unveil New Logo

PBS KIDS, the #1 educational media brand for children, announced a comprehensive update to its logo for the first time in two decades. The new logo, set to debut on July 19, builds on an expanded graphics package that began rolling out last year, which features a bright updated color palette and an array of people and environments. The refreshed look is designed to build on the equity and strength of the PBS KIDS brand and optimized for today’s digitally-focused kids and families.

Audiences will see a new text-focused logo dominated by bright, fun colors, large bold lettering and clear visuals. With feedback from parents, kids, and experts in the field, the logo’s use of PBS KIDS text only reinforces the beloved, trusted and familiar brand name and signals fun, safe, educational content for families. The new logo’s colors, including PBS’ blue and PBS KIDS’ green, combined with the style of the iconography, are also designed to complement the iconic PBS brand.

 

Complementing the logo redesign, PBS KIDS recently worked on an expansion to its brand package that is reflective of the kids and families they serve. The creative includes a vibrant color pallet with combinations that conform with accessibility standards, whimsical typography, engaging design elements, and new visuals of people and places that bring a diversity of culture, race, ethnicity, geography, family structure, varying abilities, body type, and more to the PBS KIDS visual world. The approach was to build on the existing graphics package, adding new friends to join PBS KIDS’ longstanding animated kids Dot, Del and Dee as part of one welcoming PBS KIDS world.

“We’re thrilled to unveil our new logo and branding updates, which are meant to bolster the PBS KIDS mission by continuing to reflect and reach our audience in a multiplatform environment,” said Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President & General Manager, PBS KIDS. “Our new logo is fun, welcoming and bright, and resonates with kids and parents as a new look for the PBS KIDS brand that they love and trust.”

PBS KIDS worked with Lippincott, a global creative consultancy, to develop the new logo.

A More Rational And Measured Road To Analogue Switch Off In SA

One of the core findings against the Minister of Communications by the Constitutional Court is that her imposition of an analogue switch-off date was unlawful and irrational.

EMedia Investments welcomed the ruling and had the following to say: “The matter of irrationality was probed and challenged at the Broadcasting Digital Migration Committee meetings, set up by the Department of Communications, and chaired by the Minister of Communications. eMedia Investments pleaded with the Minister of Communications on numerous occasions to listen to the logic and the rationality of the task at hand. We agreed that the switch-off must happen to enable digital migration, but insisted that it must be in a practical, logical, and fair manner – ensuring that there are no negative consequences to any households, or the Free To Air TV industry.”

 

Khalik Sherrif, CEO of eMedia Investments, went on to say: “EMedia Investments acknowledges and accepts that the analogue transmitters which affect SA’s progress, and impacts on the already auctioned spectrum for the telcos, must be vacated as soon as possible. eMedia has provided a well researched proposal on how the migration could be done and how the spectrum affecting the telcos could be vacated almost immediately, subject to minimal approvals from Icasa (who have acknowledged and received eMedia’s application for approvals months ago), and which will allow the telcos to get on with the use of the spectrum. The proposal was not taken seriously and there was no alternative but to approach the court.”

Sherrif said that for the sake of Free To Air television and the millions of people that would have been affected by a ‘hard switch-off’: “We are pleased that the Constitutional Court heard our plea. We were never against the analogue switch-off. We believe that a planned strategy for digital migration will have many benefits for all South Africans. We are looking forward to working with the minister and her department to agree on a meaningful and measured approach to systematically implement the migration without delay, not only to allow the viewing public sufficient time to switch over to a digital solution for TV viewing, but also for the telcos to use the spectrum allocated to them for the benefit of the country, as earmarked by the President in his SONA of 2021”

Next Month, DStv Welcomes New Lifestyle Channel, NHK World-Japan To Its Southern African Consumers

The channel, which will launch on DStv channel 431, will showcase a variety of arts and culture, current affairs, dramas, documentaries, sports and much more.

Viewers on all DStv packages will have all access to a new world of Japanese content and will be able to discover a unique and diverse blend of programming featuring hourly live international news from news bureaus around the globe, along with lifestyle, culture, food, travel, sports, technology, science, and history programs, with an Asian perspective.

 

“We are excited to bring this channel to our DStv subscribers, we are focused on offering the best of local and international content and this channel’s unique content offering aims to do just that,” says Gideon Khobane, Group Executive for General Entertainment at MultiChoice Group.

“NHK WORLD-JAPAN will give our DStv viewers a chance to explore international culture through entertainment.”

 

Jun Takao, President and CEO of Japan International Broadcasting responsible for the worldwide distribution of NHK WORLD-JAPAN, says “We are delighted to offer the content of NHK WORLD JAPAN to the people of South Africa for the first time. It has been our long-awaited desire to distribute our programs in this region.”

Catch great titles such as NHK NEWSLINE along with technology, lifestyle and entertainment programs such as Dining with the Chef, A Cat’s-Eye View of Japan, Journeys in Japan, J-Arena and Medical Frontiers. In addition, the channel offers an assortment of documentaries and specials including Asia Insight and NHKDocumentary.

New Series Alert: Bajillionaires And Amazing Animal Friends Coming Soon To Da Vinci Kids Africa - July 2022 Highlights

PREMIERES AND SPECIALS
Kids Programmes
Baby Animals — NEW SEASON 
7 x 30 mins
From July 10th – Saturdays & Sundays 16:40
Meet the world’s tiniest, cutest baby animals and see how they travel the road from birth to adolescence and adulthood. From building strong family ties to learning how to escape predators, these little creatures explore the world around them all day long.

Bajillionaires — PREMIERE 
20 x 30 mins
From July 11th – Mondays & Tuesdays 16:05
Twelve-year-old Max and his friends run a start-up out of his parents' garage. While brainstorming ideas for new inventions and dreaming about changing the world, the kids face different challenges, learn new things, and explore their friendship!

Amazing Animal Friends — PREMIERE 
6 x 60 mins
From July 16th – Saturdays 17:05
Discover some of the most incredible and unusual animal friendships. From the duck obsessed with a dog in France to the elephant that thinks she is a buffalo in Zimbabwe, we explore what brings these species together and how they form their extraordinary bonds.

 

Ageing Well Suzuki Style — PREMIERE 
1 x 60 mins
Sunday, July 24th – 20:55
David Suzuki, an 83-year-old Canadian, takes us on a journey to learn how to live better and age well. As he travels across Canada, meeting everyday people, Suzuki explores how much ageing depends on genetics and how much it relies on external factors.

Continuing kids programmes include Briko — Fridays 15:45, The Deep — Saturdays 10:30, Baby Animals — Saturdays & Sundays 16:40 and Superhero Sprinter Galore — Every day 08:50 

Monthly Special
International Friendship Day
Saturday, July 30th from 12:00 to 16:35
Everything is more fun with friends! This July we are celebrating International Friendship Day the Da Vinci way. By showcasing some of our best programming featuring dynamic duos and fantastic groups! Go on exciting adventures, overcome obstacles as a team and learn valuable lessons as we find out how we can make the world better, together.
 

12:00 Superhero Sprinter Galore — Accidentally Trapped, New Mayor, Body Swap, Thunder and Lightning and Mega-Triplet 3000
12:25 Addison — The Raucous Racket and The Double Mystery
12:50 Darwin & Newts — Burpee and Keas Balloon Adventure and An Oldie but a Gooey
13:15 Mily Miss Questions — Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and Respect, The Wall of Equality and Friendship
13:45 Doki — Stuck on Style, Team Doki’s Big Adventure and Fire Team Doki
14:25 Wild Kratts — The Amazing Creature Race and Red Panda Rescue
15:15 Odd Squad — Double Trouble, My Better Half and Assistant’s Creed
15:50 Bajillionaires — Pneumatic Watermelon Squisher and Spray and Go

Early Morning with Da Vinci
Every day from 06:00 to 9:00
06:10 Do You Know?
06:30 Siesta Z
06:45 Mily Miss Questions
06:55 Marvellous Makes
07:00 PinCode
07:20 Darwin & Newts
07:35 Addison
07:50 Doki
08:05 Wild Kratts
08:30 Kosmix
08:40 The Fixies
08:50 Superhero Sprinter Galore

Nickelodeon To Cease Operation In South Korea

Paramount and AMC International have begun reviewing their linear offering and with the ongoing rollout of Paramount+. The CBS channels currently seen across Europe are phasing out CBS brand with CBS Reality said to remain as they're likely working on a name.

Paramount Network has even seen a decline internationally as most Paramount wents to seperate the linear from the streaming which resulted in several closures or replacements for the brand.

During the week, it was also reported that more Asian viewers will lose Nickelodeon by the end of June following its closure in Japan earlier in the year with several shows like Paw Patrol, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House and Danger Force streaming on Paramount+.

 

Nickelodeon had been available to the market for nearly 17 years as part of a joint venture with SBS Medianet and Paramount Networks EMEA. The demise of Nickelodeon means viewers lost out on another major kids brand following Disney Channel's closure last year.

As mentioned, Paramount will be rolling out their streaming service in more regions and although they don't plan to halt all their linear offering just yet. There has been cutbacks part of which include several localised feeds or channels with too much old content.

AMC International Giving Their Channels Weird Names Ahead Of Paramount+ Launch In Africa By 2023

Paramount+ is a streaming service owned by the company of the same name (without +) that is home to brands like Paramount Network, CBS (CBS Drama, CBS Justice and Horror Channel), Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.

As some consumers are aware Paramount will be rolling out their streaming service by 2023 in the Middle East and Africa and question loomed in regard to the linear offering across the world.

Although the company had no intentions of ending their linear operations that doesn't exclude the possible reduction or restructure to their portfolio as seen in the UK with their CBS channels this past week.

 

AMC International formed a joint venture with the company for CBS Reality, CBS Justice, CBS Drama and Horror Channel since 2012 under the brand Chellomedia and even before and after becoming majority stakeholder the channels had a share of repeats.

After nearly a decade, the CBS channels would be laid to rest by the end of June as Paramount is scrapping the CBS branding since they'll be present on Paramount+ kind of like what they did with the Paramount Network and in doing so comes the new names.

Update: CBS Reality will remain the same for now but there's more to the story as there's a channel that goes by the name Reality in the UK. In other developments, CBS Reality will be getting an additional channel Reality Xtra.

 

Other channels like CBS Justice discontinued and merged onto Legend which serves as a replacement to Horror Channel which in turn becomes a part time channel Horror Xtra with the current CBS Reality getting a sister channel Reality Xtra.

If you've watched MTV, Travel Channel and TLC then you'll be able to realise that the brand names don't match with the offering and that's the case with these new channels.

Apparently, the content in question on these channels will remain the same Reality Xtra will air drama series although the name appears to make it a reruns or edgier version of CBS Reality and imagine they're instilling crime on horror.

Judging by the info available at the moment, its clear that these changes could have been last minute or organised in a short duration.

 

Taking that to account, is it possible another restructure is on the cards and perhaps with alternate names I mean Poland has the AMC brand and if not another name perhaps aligning the content with the brand names.

Last resort would include cord cutting as these channels are very much outdated even onto the new brands and the idea of AMC and Paramount operating less channels at this point doesn't seem far fetched.

If there's a brand I'd have to praise for its uniqueness then its CBS Reality I get this feed doesn't supply original content but the way this channel incorporates less repeats is astounding. Even more interesting is how their former brand name Reality (E)Xtra was revived.

Da Vinci Kids Rebranded Last Year That's Why The Channel Has Been Loading Up On Fresh Content

A new kids’ content initiative rolled out in Asia, delivering learning in multiple formats and promising a positive, safe and ad-free environment for children across the region.

The move is part of a global expansion strategy, follows the consolidation of global educational assets – Da Vinci Media’s Da Vinci Kids and Azoomee – under newly formed holding company, Macademia.

Additional acquisitions are being planned in the continued drive to consolidate the EdTech and edutainment kids’ segments, says Macademia’s co-founder and chief operating officer, Estelle Lloyd.

Lloyd says the company’s mission is to “help parents raise exceptional humans”.

 

Macademia is best known for its selection of STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Art & Math) programming, including award-winning TV shows, documentaries and educational games for kids 4 to 12.

“Our mission is to unlock children’s full potential by igniting a passion for discovery and imagination through inspiring videos and games,” Lloyd adds.

A core part of the ambitious new plan, the latest iteration of Da Vinci Kids includes a completely revamped mobile streaming app, a library of educational games, as well as an upsized linear channel. Da Vinci Kids targets 6+ year olds and adults.

Sister platform, Azoomee, targeting kids below six years old, debuted in Asia. Globally, Azoomee is available in 125 countries through its partnership with Huawei, which bundles a one-year pre-paid Azoomee subscription with Huawei tablets.

 

Expanding Da Vinci Kids’ content has been a key focus of the new strategic direction, Lloyd says, adding that topics range from science, technology and nature to history and arts, among others.

Recent video series acquired included "The Fixies", "Darwin & Newts" and "A Week to Beat the World", which is exclusive to Da Vinci Kids. These join titles such as "Operation Ouch", "Science Max", "Pin Code" and "Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch".

“Our goal is to provide a variety in content mix and an alternative to the pure entertainment and ratings-driven channels that occupy the vast majority of the kids and documentaries channel landscape,” Lloyd adds.

Linear remains a crucial part of the bundle.

“Da Vinci Kids delivers a content curation strategy focused on range, diversity and quality. We are providing a meaningful viewing experience to kids and families, which we know is very important to parents,” Lloyd says.

 

Between them, Da Vinci Kids and Azoomee are distributed to a global audience of 60m kids and families on 550+ pay-TV and streaming platforms, telcos and OEMs. In addition to Huawei, partners include Vodafone, Telefonica/O2, MultiChoice, Apple, Sky, Roku and Amazon.

Moving forward, Macademia plans to ramp up its investment in original productions and games, building upon segments such as Marvelous Makes (arts and crafts), Search It Up (digital literacy) and Tech Will Save Us (technology).

“As much as we want children to have fun, to be carefree and happy, we also want them to develop into curious and critical thinking people, to open their minds to new ideas,” Lloyd says, adding: “We are going to be there for them.”

Roundups #71: Trolls: The Beat Goes On Coming Soon To DreamWorks Africa, Mzansi Wethu Airs Its First Drama Series Titled Isibopho And eExtra Goes For Two With Ice Adonis And Twice My Son In Law

More eToonz repeats for DStv customers

eToonz left the DStv platform for almost a month and since March various content mostly repeats from the channel are currently viewed on the DreamWorks Channel.

As mentioned through various sources and press statements, Trolls: The Beat Goes On will be added to the channel's portfolio in the coming months.

Queen Poppy, her boyfriend Branch and the other trolls embark on cheerful adventures in the Troll village, where they celebrate several exciting holidays and dance parties.

 

Mzansi Wethu gets some exclusive content

Mzansi Wethu has released the trailer of its first-ever original drama series since the channel debuted. Through Mzansi Magic’s Instagram page the channel has announced that Isibopho will be released and start streaming soon on the channel. The drama series has an all-star cast, and viewers can not wait for it to begin showing.

The drama series will be about a fight for survival and enemies and families bound by blood. People will be fighting for their lives and sneaking around to get the revenge they seek. The story will follow an innocent woman who will be trying to fight off a powerful opponent that she is called a sheep trying to fight dogs.

The drama series will debut at 21:00 from July 10th.

 

More kdramas on eExtra

The Bollywood lineup had manifested throughout eExtra's schedule alongside Turkish. Bad news is Korean is only viewable on the daytime good news is the channel will continue uploading more Korean series.

High Society Scandal will conclude later this month and repeats of A-Lifestyle and Mahadi Lobola take up the timeslot for the rest of the month thereafter a rerun of Ice Adonis takes up the show's timeslot with a second slot added for the new series, Twice My Son In Law.

Lee Jin-sook is a speaker on family happiness. However, she has a sad past. Years ago, she was kicked out of the house by her mother-in-law and was forced to be separated from her newborn daughter. An encounter with Hyeon-tae leads her to not only fall in love but meet her birth daughter.

The series airs at 14:50 from July 4th with Ice Adonis at 14:05.

CBS Justice Is Out For The Count While CBS Reality's Future Remains Up In The Air On DStv

During the week, it was announced that Paramount and AMC International the party in charge of CBS Justice and CBS Reality in Africa will be scrapping the CBS branding from their products by shortening (CBS) Reality and killing off CBS Justice for the male skewed channel, Legend.

As it was the first time this news was announced no one could expect what possible outcome awaited the CBS channels on DStv but through a promo for CBS Justice's replacement you can clearly get a clear perspective to the whole situation.

Legend is said to not only incorporate CBS Justice but offer content with sci-fi, horror and adventure and I won't go over the details with the programming as some viewers may not recognise anything from there but by looking at it you can clearly see where this channel stands in Africa.

 

CBS Justice in the UK offers drama series like Walker, NCIS: Los Angeles and CSI while the feed in Africa carries a lot of factual content some I might add are better than what's seen on Investigation Discovery like Forensic Files, Killer Couples and Snapped.

If anything I wouldn't be surprised if CBS Justice merged onto CBS Reality to form something else or for both of them to get discontinued to its entirety as seen in some regions but here's why I think merging would be the likely outcome.

Alternative names for the supposed channel: Zone Reality and Reality (E)Xtra.

Alternative names should it remain as two channels: Zone 1 & 2, Reality 1 & 2, Reality and Reality (E)Xtra.

 

Before CBS Justice was added in Africa, CBS Reality was the main home to all the content seen on there if anything the downside was the timeslots as most crime or detective stuff aired in the early hours of the day (5am or 6am) down to the night (8pm to 11pm).

The merging of these brands would bring more comfort to those on CBS Reality who once had access to this content and who knows it might even reduce amount of Judge Judys or escalate onto another program but who knows really as it was repetitive by then.

 

But if other channels can't fix that issue why burden that onto CBS Reality. The important thing is that there's plenty to watch outside Judy or Cheaters. The only burden at this point would have fallen onto DStv customers.

As seen in the last couple of months, MultiChoice has lost at least 8 channels and not much replacements are on the cards. If CBS Justice doesn't get replaced by the supplier (Paramount and AMC), will the distributor (MultiChoice) seek alternatives or continue leaving empty gaps.