Overshadowed Timeless Dizi Channel Expands Its Reach To More African Households On StarTimes

Timeless Dizi Channel is a a general entertainment channel from SPI International which serves to be one of the sought after channels in their portfolio for its variety of Turkish dramas mainly Black Money Love, Karadayi and The Red Scarf.

It's been available in the African market for 2 years and due to the successes of eExtra's Kuiertyd block it got MultiChoice to ramp their offering on kykNET & Kie but as for Timeless Dizi Channel things have rather progressed slowly.

 

 

After the pop-up version's termination on the DStv platform, there isn't much hype from the channel or the media in regard to what's on or potential new shows from the channel.

The closest anyone has ever gotten to know about upcoming shows is through the main page which can be of no use from time as some new may have already been seen on the channel or in South Africa through eExtra.

The current partnership they have with StarTimes seems somewhat complicated. In August 2020, just a few months after its launch it was announced by the pay-tv platform will stop airing the channel and from what is already seen by viewers that's not the case.

 

 

Even more strange is how there's still more regions across Africa through StarTimes that still don't have Timeless Dizi Channel as markets like Kenya and Malawi welcome it as a "new channel" despite its availability elsewhere for the past 2 years.

At this point, you're better off downloading the mobile app to view these programs if there's gonna be so many inconsistencies.

Cartoon Network EMEA Might Have Acquired Rights To A New Season Of Totally Spies! Alongside New Series Goat Girl

Speaking at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, Sean Henry, VP of content strategy and acquisitions for kids, EMEA, explained that the company is looking to co-produce and acquire shows that appeal to “all kids aged 6+”.

Currently, “more boys have been watching our network channels than girls,” said Henry, who oversees the kids and family content pipeline for brands including HBO Max, Cartoon Network and Cartoonito in EMEA. He points to upcoming shows such as Goat Girl and the returning Totally Spies! that are “quite different to what we have done before” and of broader appeal.

 

“But we’re also looking for things that might skew a little bit older, something that a tween audience can enjoy, maybe families as well. Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai , which is coming next year, is a really good example of that.”

Henry said that this upcoming animated spin-off from the Gremlins feature films was the kind of co-viewing event experience that he believes can “help us broaden the appeal beyond the existing core.”

Comedies have “always been at the heart” of Cartoon Network, added Henry, who said his team is always looking for such projects as the genre “really drives peak viewing.”

 

Speaking in a panel session at the festival, Henry said that WBD wants to see “everything, content for all kids ages, all demos,” and, expanding on the point, explained: “What we are doing as a team is to not set too many parameters for people who are pitching to us.

“Sometimes you don’t know a great idea until you see it, so what I’d encourage creators and distributors to do, if they think it’s relevant for the brand and the audience, most importantly, 6-12-year-olds, pitch it to us and let’s have a discussion.”

 

Henry revealed that his team is “not really in a position to develop an idea from scratch” and won’t fully fund any productions, so are always looking for co-production partners.

“It’s great for you to come to us with a financing plan and then that’s something we can take forward,” said the exec, adding that if a promising project in need of further development was brought to him, it could potentially be taken forward by the development team at Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe.

Racing 240 Audience Up 24% On Tellytrack Numbers In First Independent Viewership Report

4RacingTV’s horseracing channel, Racing 240, recorded a unique reach of 462 221 viewers between the tracking period 18 April to 26 May 2022, as reported by Nielsen Sports, the global leader in research and data intelligence.

Jean Willers, Nielsen Sports South Africa Managing Director, said Racing 240’s viewership was 24% higher than its predecessor Tellytrack (372 445 viewers) over the same period in 2021.

“Since being added to the Broadcast Research Council’s (BRC) panel of channels, we are now able to accurately analyse and report on independently verified audience numbers,” says Willers, who said Racing 240 had shown a strong performance in its first month of being tracked and independently verified.

 

Racing 240, which launched on DStv on 19 January 2022, has been attracting new viewers on a daily basis. The top performing broadcast to date was the “World Sports Betting Becoming Champions Winter Series” race day at Kenilworth Racecourse on 20 April 2022, including the WSB Maiden Plate, which attracted a unique audience of 66 025 viewers.

The initial TV viewer profile indicates that the horseracing viewer mirrors the demographic profile of all South Africans, with 51.9% male viewers and 48.1% female viewers of the channel.

The average age of Racing 240 viewers is 40 years old and the highest percentage of viewers came from KwaZulu Natal (25%), followed by the Western Cape (19%), and Gauteng and North West (12%) and Eastern Cape (10%).

 

“We are encouraged by Nielsen’s first report on Racing 240. We will continue to engage with the various industry stakeholders, our existing racing community and our targeted audiences to shape our content and channels. Measuring the impact of any change is key and we will continue working closely with Nielsen to regularly assess and report on this,” said Stephen Watson, Head of 4Racing.TV’.

Racing 240 will broadcast the showpiece Hollywoodbets Durban July on Saturday 2 July.

Roundups #69: Nigerian Bans New Kiddies Animation Movie Lightyear, Game Of Thrones' Jon Show TV Series Has Been Greenlit And Snowpiercer Cancelled After 4 Seasons

Nigeria is banning more content

According to multiple media outlets, countries in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and a handful of Asian countries banned the film over the seconds-long scene featuring two lesbian characters.

While Nigeria's National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) is yet to comment on the film's conspicuous absence from the big screens, Disney's official West African film distribution partners FilmOne Entertainment announced on Friday, that the film will screen in Ghana.

Since its release, the 'Toy Story' prequel has become a stage for major controversial LGBTQ+ takes. It's been over a decade-long debate with a majority of Disney's critics objecting to the studio's move to introduce inclusive content.

 

 

In 2006, executives at Disney asked that the same-sex scene be yanked off the G-rated (appropriate for all age groups) film. Disney CEO Bob Chapek reacted by ordering that the scene be put back.

Another Games Of Thrones spinoff is underway

As HBO is preparing to launch of a Game of Thrones prequel series, the network also is exploring a potential sequel centered around one of the original series’ most recognizable characters, Kit Harington’s Jon Snow, Deadline has confirmed. The project is still in exploratory stages, sources said.

If the series come to fruition, it would chronicle the post-Westeros story of Jon Snow, aka Aegon Targayen, with Harington expected to reprise his role.

The project, first reported by THR, would mark the first spinoff from and first sequel to the mega hit fantasy drama, which ran on HBO for eight seasons. Over the past several years, HBO has been focused on prequels to Game of Thrones. One, House of the Dragon, is set to premiere this summer with several others, including Dunk and Egg, and The Sea Snake, in development. The shift in strategy also coincides with the recent WarnerMedia-Discovery merger, which brought in a new leadership over HBO and the rest of the WarnerMedia divisions.

 

 

TNT loses out on another series

Fans of the post-apocalyptic series will be disappointed with the announcement that following the filming of Season 4, which is currently underway, the dystopian thriller Snowpiercer will not be returning with more episodes, according to Deadline. The series centers on a group of the last humans on Earth seven years after an apocalyptic event that causes the world to freeze over. The last remaining humans stay alive in a giant moving train that never stops.

Snowpiercer's cancellation definitely comes as a surprise, especially after the major events of the Season 3 finale seemingly promised that the storyline was heading to bold new territory in the coming seasons. The cancellation of the series follows the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia, TNT's parent company, which will completely restructure the business models of Warner Bros. and will likely lead to the cancellation of other projects in the near future. Alongside Snowpiercer, TNT's Animal Kingdom.

 

After years of development hell, the first season of the series premiered on TNT in 2020 and continued for three more seasons until its recent cancellation. The first three seasons of the show so far have received a moderately positive response from critics with some praising it for its ambition and style while also saying it does not live up to the subversiveness of the film.

NFL Streaming Service Expected To Launch In July

The National Football League is expected to launch its own mobile-focused streaming service, NFL+, as early as July, according to a report from the NFL owner meeting in Atlanta by Sports Business Journal (SBJ). The platform will reportedly cost around $5 per month and will feature live in-market games on mobile phones and tablets as well as other possible content, including radio, podcasts and a variety of other team-created content. This is directed at fans who desire a mobile streaming option as a complement to the big screen.

 

NFL+ aims to function independently as a part of NFL Media, which sources say will give the NFL new data on its users. However, on the other hand, there are other reports that the streaming product could be folded into a larger streaming package, wrote SBJ’s Ben Fischer.

Additionally, The Athletic reported in April that the NFL might be looking for a partner that could distribute NFL Media or NFL Films content. While it is unlikely that Netflix will ever cover live sports, we do think that it would be in its best interest, especially since the company is planning to launch a livestreaming option for the service.

 

Despite the saturated streaming landscape, nothing excites viewers quite like the NFL, and it sounds like the league is looking to further capitalize on America’s obsession.

NFL+ is the latest announcement of a profitable year for sports entertainment, and the new streaming product could imply the convergence of sports media at large. Major League Baseball is also hoping to launch its own streaming service in 2023, and FIFA has become a streaming rival as of last month with the launch of FIFA+.

Roundups #68: The Smurfs To Get An Animated Musical, Sylvester Stallone Stars In Drug Fused Crime Drama Tulsa King And The Real Housewives Are Coming To Cape Town

Paramount+ and Nickelodeon tagged on another project

Chris Miller is set to direct Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation’s untitled Smurfs musical movie. The announcement will be made during the Paramount and Nick presentation at Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

South Park‘s Pam is writing the LAFIG Belgium and IMPS production which is set for release on Dec. 20, 2024.

 

 

More Paramount+ for viewers

Sylvester Stallone is making the jump to streaming. Paramount+ has released the first teaser for “Tulsa King,” the new crime drama from “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan, featuring Stallone in the central role.

Stallone, in the first regular TV role of his career, plays Dwight Manfredi, a New York Mafia head who finally gets out of jail after a 25-year sentence. Upon his release, he’s unceremoniously relocated by his boss to Tulsa, Okla. to establish criminal operations there. Stuck in a new location with zero existing connections and with no support from his Mafia family, Manfredi slowly builds a crew of unlikely allies to establish his own criminal empire.

 

“Tulsa King” premieres with its first two episodes Nov. 13, followed by weekly episode drops.

The Real Housewives is expanding to Cape Town

 

It began over 16 years ago in the affluent Californian enclave of Orange County, and since then, The Real Housewives franchise has gone on to achieve global success with 21 series internationally.

Locally, we've been introduced to wealthy wives and their lavish lifestyles in the RHOD (Real Housewives of Durban) and the RHOJ (Real Housewives of Johannesburg).

So it's really no surprise that The Real Housewives of Cape Town would follow.

From 10 July on Mzansi Magic fans of the show will be introduced to the seven 'housewives' who front the Cape Town series.