FX To Be Revived As A Linear Channel In Poland A Year After It Returned To South Africa On Disney+

Fox Extended (FX) was a general entertainment channel that was operated by The Walt Disney Company. It served as a sister channel to the defunct FOX brand alongside current entertainment channels National Geographic and Wild alongside Disney Channel and Junior.

Some of the shows seen on the channel included American Dad, Family Guy, The X-Files, Tyrant and The Bridge. Most of which were reverted to FOX brand after the channel was replaced by female based channel FOX Life in 2016.

FX was revived last year when Disney+ launched in South Africa with its own tile under the streaming service. Literally a year after we got the Disney XD of FOX, it was reported that more FOX channels in Europe would be axed.

Folks in Poland were alerted by The Walt Disney Company that FOX would be axed out not like what was seen in Africa and most parts of Europe where it was a complete annihilation. Instead, the brand would be supplemented by FX and not Star as seen in most Portuguese territories.

By November, these channels FOX and FOX Comedy would be known as FX and FX Comedy which just brings out a lot of mystery behind the future of The Walt Disney Company's remaining linear offering viewed in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

As some are aware, most of the companies remaining linear offering reside within these regions with Africa expected to retain these channels through 2024 as announced in 2021. Could it be possible that these channels will stick around for a while longer maybe?

If there's anything to learn about from their business in Latin America, don't trust that a simple change in paint secures the future of these channels. Unlike Africa, FOX was rebranded to Star with a lineup of content from Disney+ available to view and after a year that was ripped away.

Recap To The Week: Warner Bros. Discovery Adds Unicorn Warriors Eternal And My Adventures With Superman From Adult Swim To Cartoon Network In Latin America And Canada

Last year, Warner Bros. Discovery write off several productions such as Little Ellen and Scoob: Holiday Haunt! while remaining content such as My Adventures With Superman and Unicorn Warriors Eternal's future remained quo as these series were meant to launched much earlier.

During the year, it was learnt by Warner Bros. Discovery that the latter My Adventures With Superman and Unicorn Warriors Eternal would move to Adult Swim. Considering how Cartoon Network has evolved over the years this news doesn't come as a shocker.

Following the release of these series, Warner Bros. Discovery made this content accessible to Cartoon Network in Latin America and Canada. And to expand further on my previous statement, Cartoon Network has scooped up shows like We Baby Bears and Lego Monkie Kid.

Content I wouldn't say is geared toward a mature audience I mean for a while now some consumers would say Cartoon Network has gone soft but I would say the brand is adapting to the current climate and this differs in various territories so it seems.

In the Phillipines, Cartoon Network was seen airing The Simpsons at one point and this is a brand that brought on shows like Samurai Jack which if you look at it will probably be deemed inappropriate for children's TV so henceforth we look at another brand, Adult Swim.

Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled plans to invest more time on the brand as consumers in select territories that view Cartoon Network are adults which I'm assuming is the case for Latin America and Canada and the fact that restrictions are differ in those regions.

In South Africa, I'm not expecting these shows to be made available on Cartoon Network particularly for those restrictions if anything the latter is currently streaming on Showmax seeing as they licence content from HBO, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

Trepanation Of The Skull And You: Lost Pilot For The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy Has Surfaced The Net

In 1995, while Maxwell Atoms (née Adam Burton) was still in college, he created a short animated film titled Billy and Mandy in Trepanation of the Skull and You. This short would go on to form the basis of Atoms' hit Cartoon Network show The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. The character designs differ quite a bit from the end result. In the original pilot, Billy appears lankier and with a smaller nose than his final design while Mandy has pigtails, a nose (which she lacks in the series), and a plain, single-color dress.

In the short, Billy learns about trepanation, a process in which a hole is drilled into the skull to relieve internal pressure, after seeing that Mandy (who incorrectly describes the process as a way to unlock the brain's full potential) has already gotten "trepanned"; Billy then has Mandy trepanate him, which results in Billy losing copious amounts of blood before passing out. Atoms described it as being "completely inappropriate for Cartoon Network," but felt that the characters were too fun to use only once, which led to the development of the series. In need of a straight-man character, it was eventually decided to add the Grim Reaper as the third protagonist.

For the longest period of time, it was believed that the short utilized the visual style of a piece of concept art for an unrelated and unmade pilot for the show (shown below); the actual short is stylized after monochrome films of the 1920s and 1930s, and featured only Billy and Mandy, the latter of whom appears significantly different from the below image. Atoms would later clarify the issue on his official YouTube upload of the short.

In Atoms' 2013 RebelTaxi interview with Pan-Pizza (of thatfellowinthecoat.com and partner of Channel Frederator), he mentioned the short in some detail, revealing that he had it stored away on film, noting that he should've had it digitally transferred "at some point."

Rediscovery

On RebelTaxis's podcast on March 15th, 2016, it was announced Maxwell Atoms recently found the old short and would display it at the TROMAnimation festival in New York.

A day after the short premiered at the TROMAnimation Film Festival, Maxwell Atoms uploaded the short to his YouTube channel in higher quality; there is noticeable deterioration of the film, though it is still in a watchable state. Atoms has clarified that he is unable to reshoot the short and synch it with its audio track, as he was forced to throw out his assets for the short to conserve space when he was living in a studio apartment.

Why PBS Kids Africa Is Behind With The Rest Of The World?

PBS Kids owned by the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) is the most trusted educational brand for children aged 2-8. Since 2021, the brand has operated a number of blocks and linear channels in the United States, Africa and formerly Australia.

For those residing outside the United States may have noticed some rather bizarre variations from the American feed. I mean you have shows like Dinosaur Train currently in its fifth season with the Africa still wrapping up the second season I know shocking.

On top of that there's a lot of shows some fresh that have yet to be broadcast on the channel such as Let's Go Luna, Splash And Bubbles, Xavier Riddle And The Secret Museum, Ready Jet Go! and Clifford The Big Red Dog.

From what's understood here, consumers don't have longevity with PBS Kids as seen with Cartoon Network and Disney Junior globally. Despite the fact that some of this content such as Dinosaur Train and Cyberchase have been viewable in these markets.

Generally, PBS Kids hasn't got much credibility for these as the content is funded by taxpayers and foundations which just leads to curiosity as on how much ownership the main PBS brand has over this content.

I for starters don't mind how out of fashion PBS Kids may appear to some audiences. It's one of the few brands that acknowledge their much older properties I mean it debuted in 2019 across Africa airing shows like Mister Rogers Neighborhood and Time Warp Trio.

Aside from that, the main feed is repetitive and perhaps them introducing this content to newer audiences is another way to help build their offering. The international feeds doesn't focus solely on older content as there's shows like Donkey Hodie and Hero Elementary.

PBS Kids can be entertaining to the young and old.

Meta To Launch It's Twitter App This Week

Twitter users have been facing a lot of issues over the past few months, but things got even worse last weekend after the company decided to limit the number of tweets users can see per day. To take advantage of this, Meta now seems to have confirmed that Threads – its new app to compete with Twitter – will be released later this week.

On Monday, a page that lets iPhone users pre-order Threads was made available on the App Store. The same page confirms that the app will be released on July 6-7 (depending on which country the user lives in). Meta has also launched a new webpage with a countdown ahead of the release.

Meta has been working on Threads for some time now, and it became known after some reports in May about the “Barcelona” project. Developed under the Instagram brand, Threads aims to be a direct competitor to Twitter, allowing users to share text, photos, and videos.

“Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world,” says the app description.

Although Threads is based on Instagram, it will have its own app. Expectedly, those with an Instagram account will be able to join the new platform with just a tap. However, some details are still unclear – such as whether users will be able to access Threads through a web browser. Another detail to keep in mind is that, at least for now, the app has no iPad version.

Insidus has heard from people familiar with the matter that Meta was first planning to launch Threads at the end of July. However, as many Twitter users are upset with the platform, Meta has decided to rush the launch of its new microblogging social network.

Ginx eSports TV Reportedly Up For Sale, Could The Channel Go Dark On The DStv Platform?

The Esports Advocate can exclusively report that London-based gaming and esports media company Ginx TV Ltd. is exploring an acquisition or further investment and is being represented by London-based venture capital and private equity firm Capital A. In a perfect scenario—according to what is being pitched to VCs—an investor would acquire the company, keep its full-time staff intact (it lists 21 full-time employees and 17+ people in outsourced roles)— and leave the day-to-day operations in the hands of the current CEO, Michiel Bakker.

According to a document obtained by TEA being shared by Capital A to potential VCs, the unnamed esports media group (which TEA has confirmed is Ginx) is based in London, specializes in “creating and monetizing cross-platform (TV & digital) esports and gaming content,” and is “available to acquire.” Metadata from the document describes it as “GinxTV – Teaser V2” and lists multiple Capital A employees as points of contact.

It also notes that the company’s “experienced hires” have “near full autonomy on a day-to-day basis,” and that the “CEO is looking to stay,” which is a selling point to attract investors who would have concerns that leadership and staff might leave after an acquisition.

Finally, the document notes that the company has its own production arm, which it uses to produce a variety of video and provide content creation services for clients such as “publishers, brands and esports organizations.”

Ginx TV Ltd. CEO Michiel Bakker issued the following statement to TEA on Friday morning via email: “Ginx is always working on its capital structure alongside growing the company. We have built a profitable gaming/esports business with diverse, predictable, and recurring revenue streams. As Ginx becomes increasingly global and digital, as opposed to being a pure-play TV company, we are currently looking to bring on board investors that are aligned with that trajectory and can help us accelerate our growth. We are involved in several discussions, but I am not at liberty to disclose detail.”

Ginx has raised capital from a number of sources over the years including £569.1K ($679K USD) in December of 2015 through an equity crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube, and undisclosed investments in September of 2016 from UK-based terrestrial TV networks Sky and ITV, who both took “significant minority stakes in the company.”

While Bakker claims that Ginx is a profitable business, the company realized losses of £162.9K ($194.3K) in 2020 and £263.1K ($313.9K) in 2021, according to public filings—Ginx has yet to file its FY 2022 financial report as of this writing. All told, the company has spent approximately £9.99M ($11.86M) since 2010. It is important to note that, due to the British company reporting requirements, a balance sheet loss does not necessarily contradict Bakker’s profitability claim. It should also be noted that the materials obtained by TEA, estimate that the company generated revenue of £2.2M, or $2.5M for FY 2022.

Credits: James Fudge