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Women Of Wrestling (W.O.W.) An All New Female Wrestling Series Owned By Impact Wrestling's Parent Company AXS Entertainment Relaunches Next Year In 160 U.S. Territories, Could e.tv Or SuperSport Perhaps Get It?

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It's a very interesting and prosperous time across the wrestling industry right now. At no time before were there more wrestling promotions on major TV networks, giving more wrestlers the chance at a big stage in front of millions. And at no time have more non-traditional or even underseen wrestlers been given a shot at the main event scene.

Of course, no group of wrestlers has seen a bigger rise up the ranks like the women of the industry, who have shattered through the glass ceiling of Bra & Panty matches and silent valets to main eventing WrestleMania.

This renaissance of women's wrestling has now reached the apex, as there will now be an entire show featuring solely women's wrestling on major TV networks with the announcement that the recently shuttered promotion WOW – Women of Wrestling will be returning in 2022 and on major television networks in 160 U.S. markets in a new deal with ViacomCBS.

WOW Superhero Tessa Blanchard in the teaser trailer for the WOW reboot in 2022, courtesy of WOW.

While WOW had a brief run on the specialty TV network AXS TV from 2019-2020, this will be a huge step up in visibility for the promotion. New episodes of WOW will air in weekend syndication on 160 ViacomCBS networks across the U.S., which accounts for 70 percent of the country. And if you're looking for older seasons of WOW, those are anticipated to be available to stream on the CW Seed and Pluto TV platforms starting in December of 2021.

Jeanie Buss , the owner of WOW (along with WOW creator David McLane) and the Los Angeles Lakers said the following about the promotion and its big relaunch :
"Wrestling's presentation of women has long been very important to me, and we now are presenting the epitome in sports entertainment that will highlight the athleticism of these superstars as we reintroduce WOW.

Our partnership with the entire ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group family allows us to continue our mission of providing wrestling fans and WOW Superheroes what they have all deserved: a global platform for a dedicated women's wrestling league."
Dan Cohen , President of ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group also included the following statement about WOW:

"We are thrilled to partner with Jeanie Buss and David McLane to create a significant global footprint for WOW and expand our diverse, world-class content portfolio.

This series offers audiences unique, compelling and creative entertainment that features female 'superheroes' in the ring, behind the cameras and in all aspects of the business. Both in the U.S and abroad, we believe this is an event program that will make some noise in the marketplace."

Also included in the big WOW reboot news today is what should serve as a big confidence-boost to fans that AJ Mendez (formerly AJ Lee in WWE) will follow her husband CM Punk in a return to the wrestling industry by becoming both an Executive Producer and color commentator on the rebooted WOW.

There's no word on an official launch date yet for 2022, but WOW did release the following teaser video featuring returning former WOW Champion Tessa Blanchard.

e.tv used to air WOW every Wednesday at 8pm now they house it's former sister brand Impact Wrestling which was once available through SuperSport.

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Updated: Utsav Next Target Could Be The Star Channels Currently On DStv, StarSat, Zuku TV And Openview + Disney Channel And Disney Junior Could Go Off Air Sooner Than Expected As Disney Shifts Its Focus Towards Streaming

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Later this week, Disney and Star in India announced that they would exit from the English general entertainment industry which resulted in the termination of most of their channels with Hindi channels taking their spot.

The Walt Disney Company revealed plans to close 100 international Disney channels before the FY22 with more Disney Channels expected to close in Europe as streaming looks to be the brands top priority.

The likely reason for Star's demise is due to Disney+ since The Walt Disney Company took the Star branding for their streaming service so Star India keeping it for English viewers would only cause confusion.

Earlier this year, the UK & Europe rebranded their Star channels to Utsav with the changes applicable to viewers of those regions. Of course, there's several signs that the branding will be duplicated in more countries.

Vijay TV is the only channel internationally to use that adapt to that branding and Star India is seemingly testing out the Utsav branding through the StarPlus and Star Gold channel in Africa.

Star Life being the only English channel in Africa will have to create some distance from Star India or join the party seeing that they're exiting the audience it's catered for.

The European counterpart manages the Star channels in Africa so it seems logical for the Utsav branding to enter the region the question would have to be why delay the switch, could Star Life have some involvement perhaps?

The Disney Africa Facebook page stopped promoting content from Disney Channel and moved it to the Disney Africa Channels page (formerly Disney Junior Africa) with the main page likely to be used as a portal to promote Disney+.

The UK, Asia, Italy and Australia already lost Disney Channel and Disney Junior so it doesn't seem far fetched to think the same fate awaits the Disney Channels in Africa.

The Walt Disney Company is set out to be another Netflix. Even if that means cutting the cord of several channels in markets where cable is dominating the circuit.

In November, Disney Channel and Disney Junior have seemingly hit the reruns button with the main channel airing reruns of Gigantosaurus.

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tvN's Parent Company CJ ENM Joins The Anime Business As They Partner Up With Toei Animation

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Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM has entered into a strategic partnership with leading Japanese animation studio Toei Animation as it continues to expand its global footprint. Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate across both their libraries and team to create new product including television series, films and animation. The tie-up will also allow both to tap each other’s regional markets.

CJ ENM is is Korea’s foremost film and television studio, cable operator and music producer. Best known for multiple Oscar winner Parasite, the company’s film credits also include Snowpiercer and Miss Granny. Series credits range from Crash Landing On You to Goblin: The Lonely And Great God and Hospital Playlist while it is also behind music format I Can See Your Voice; stage credits include the Tony Award winning Broadway production Kinky Boots.

CJ further has a strategic investment in David Ellison’s Skydance Media and is currently co-producing a drama series with the U.S.-based company. It is also involved in the production of the TV-adaptation of Parasite with HBO.

The company has been on a global expansion push over the past year looking to form partnerships with content creators in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Toei has produced numerous series including the Dragon Ball Z and One Piece franchises as well as Galaxy Express 999 and Sailor Moon. Its library numbers 13,100 episodes, including 255 feature films and 288 television series.

The two partners will now work closely to co-produce premium content that appeals to a global audience, be it new projects or those based on existing IP. They have formed a task-force with creatives from both sides to accelerate production.

“Toei Animation’s IP has great potential for transmedia or cross-media storytelling, as they have an existing strong global fandom and appeals to a wide range of age groups. We are also excited to see how CJ ENM’s original content that expands over 5,000 different IPs will be able open new doors of creative possibilities for Toei Animation,” said Jongmin Yi, Senior Vice President of CJ ENM’s Content R&D Center. “Through this strategic partnership, we plan to develop never-seen-before transmedia contents in both Korea and Japan.”

Added Takashi Washio, Executive Officer and Executive Producer of Production Department at Toei Animation, “We look forward to working with CJ ENM, a company that has been recognized for its borderless content and its influence in shaping some of the new trends in the global media entertainment landscape. Combined with Toei Animation’s know-hows from a wealth of experience and accomplishments in producing global animation hits, we are confident that the two companies will be able to create synergy to create global mega-hit contents.”

CJ ENM currently has a content agreement with MultiChoice's Showmax for their K-Dramas and they are pushing to get DStv to bring back tvN.

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ViacomCBS: Could BET Africa Be On The Chopping Block?

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BET has been available in Africa for nearly a decade offering a range of shows such as Real Husbands Of Hollywood, The Wendy Williams Show, Being Mary Jane and The Westbrooks.

As years passed, BET has slowly become redundant with most of their lineup consisting of repeats. Wendy which serves as the sole purpose of the brand is often M.I.A.

Earlier this year, Monde Twala, senior vice president and general manager for ViacomCBS Networks Africa and peer lead BET International, announced the end of BET as a linear pay-TV channel in the UK as they divert the brand's focus toward streaming.

It wouldn't surprise me if the same fate awaited BET in Africa perhaps it will even have more success online than it could as a linear service as ViacomCBS continues rolling out Paramount+ across Europe.

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Sony Pictures Networks India And Zee Entertainment Enterprises Are Set To Merge

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Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) announced that they have entered into an exclusive, non-binding Term Sheet to combine both companies’ linear networks, digital assets, production operations and program libraries. The non-binding Term Sheet provides an exclusive negotiation period of 90 days during which ZEEL and SPNI will conduct mutual diligence and negotiate definitive, binding agreements. The combined company would be a publicly listed company in India and be better positioned to lead the consumer transition from traditional pay TV into the digital future.

The merger of ZEEL and SPNI would bring together two leading Indian media network businesses, benefitting consumers throughout India across content genres, from film to sports. The combined company is expected to benefit all stakeholders given strong synergies between ZEEL and SPNI.

Under the terms of the non-binding Term Sheet, Sony Pictures Entertainment, the parent company of SPNI, would invest growth capital so that SPNI has a cash balance of approximately USD $1.575 billion at closing for use to enhance the combined company’s digital platforms across technology and content, ability to bid for broadcasting rights in the fast-growing sports landscape and pursue other growth opportunities. Sony Pictures Entertainment would hold a majority stake in the combined company. Current ZEEL Managing Director & CEO Punit Goenka is to lead the combined company.

About Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI):
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, Japan. SPNI has several channels in Africa including Sony Entertainment Television (SET and SET HD), one of India's leading Hindi general entertainment television channels; MAX, India's premium Hindi movies and special events channel, the digital entertainment.
SPNI reaches out to over 700 million viewers in India and is available in 167 countries.

About ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.:
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is a media & entertainment powerhouse offering entertainment content to diverse audiences. With a presence in over 173 countries and a reach of more than 1.3 billion people around the globe, ZEEL is among the largest global content companies across genres, languages, and platforms. The company operates brands such as Zee TV, Zee Cinema and Zee World.

SPI International Launches A Digital Version Of Their Top Performing Turkish Channel, Dizi

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Global media company SPI International unveils their new digital streaming service, Dizi, which will offer a selection of critically-acclaimed Turkish series as well as the best series, telenovelas and soap operas from all over the world depending on the demands of the local markets. Dubbed the Home Of Good Stories, Dizi combines the lean-back and lean-forward viewing experiences with a linear channel offer and a large selection of on-demand content.
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“The launch of the Dizi streaming service signifies the evolution of the Dizi brand into a fully integrated service that combines linear and on-demand content propositions to bring the best series from Turkey and beyond to all available screens around the globe,” comments Berk Uziyel, CEO at SPI International. “As a part of SPI’s macro strategy, we offer good movies spanning all genres under one roof via FilmBox’s "Home of Good Movies". Now with our Dizi brand, we introduce the "Home of Good Stories", where in addition to some of the most sought-after Turkish series, viewers can expect to see top-quality series with powerful storylines from around the world in the future,” adds Uziyel.
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The service’s global debut will take place this week at a NEM Dubrovnik event. In reference to the new product, SPI's Chief Marketing Officer Haymi Behar says: “The Dizi app builds on the success of the Timeless Dizi Channel and features around 400 hours of content from an inventory of critically-acclaimed series such as Black Money Love, Kurt Seyit & Shura and Insider with new episodes added monthly. The app will feature English, Polish and Spanish localized interfaces and 13 language options and more will be added in time. The Dizi service will both enable viewers to tune into the linear channel and watch episodes on-demand through their preferred devices at their leisure.”

Subscribers can access the service at www.dizi.com via web, download the mobile app that’s compatible with iOS and Android operating systems or stream their favorite content through the Smart TV app that’s available for Apple TV and soon-to-come for Android TV, Samsung and LG Smart TV devices. Dizi service also aims to integrate with many platforms and partner operators worldwide to provide their subscribers a seamless entertainment experience and the option to discover new series on demand.

For those who were upset with MultiChoice for terminating the channel and those who want to view the content in English. Good news the above fits your tastes.

Disney+ Is FINALLY Coming To South Africa, No Clue On Whether The Rest Of Africa Will Get It At The Same Time

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In a statement, the Walt Disney Company Africa said: "As confirmed in The Walt Disney Company's Q3 earnings call, Disney+ will launch in South Africa in winter 2022."

More details will be shared closer to launch.

Disney's subscription video streaming service Disney+ will finally launch in South Africa around June 2022. Viewers will be able to watch new series like Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Loki and a vast collection of content from National Geographic, Marvel Studios, Pixar and Disney.

The Walt Disney Company released its third-quarter 2021 financial results on Thursday night, where CEO Bob Chapek told investors on the company's financial results conference call that the launch of Disney+ in Eastern Europe is being pushed back from this year to 2022.

The Mouse House is doing this to enable a broader launch in "summer 2022" that will definitely include parts of the Middle East and South Africa, but that might exclude the rest of the African continent.

America's "summer 2022" means winter 2022 in Africa, starting from June.

Bob Chapek said that the "expanded Disney+ footprint will include parts of the Middle East and South Africa".

The Walt Disney Company Africa late on Thursday night told Channel24 in a statement: "As confirmed in The Walt Disney Company's Q3 earnings call, Disney+ will launch in South Africa in winter 2022. We will share more details as we approach the launch next year."

South Africa, Africa's most sophisticated TV market on the continent, will likely be the only African country where Disney+ will be launched initially. Chapek reiterated in the conference call that "our direct-to-consumer business is the company's top priority".

A year and a half after its launch, Disney+ has now reached 116 million subscribers worldwide by 3 July, bundling a collection of library and brand-new original content from across multiple of its studios and brands under one stream-viewing umbrella, including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.

The streaming race in SA
The first date fixture for a launch date of Disney+ for South Africa comes a week after a further two subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services launched in the country: ITV Studios and the BBC's BritBox SA, as well as eVOD from eMedia Holdings' e.tv.

BritBox SA and eVOD joined the existing Showmax from MultiChoice, Netflix SA, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, PCCW Media's VIU, Vodacom Video Play and TelkomONE.

Meanwhile the SABC, far behind in the video streaming race, plans to launch its video streamer, modelled after the BBC's iPlayer, before the end of its current financial year.

South African consumers are still waiting for other global streamers like WarnerMedia's HBO Max, along with Paramount+, NBCUniversal's Peacock and Discovery+ to launch locally.

While Disney has started to shut down hundreds of its linear TV channels globally, the expectation is that its existing group of pay-TV channels under its media networks division distributed into Africa and South Africa will remain on the air after Disney+ launches in winter 2022 for two major reasons.

The first will be to use these linear powerhouse TV channels as marketing and promotion avenues to raise awareness of Disney+ and to drive consumers to sample and subscribe. Secondly, with low and expensive broadband penetration and cost in South Africa, while the traditional pay-TV market still grows, Disney has millions of traditional pay-TV viewers from kids to adults who won't immediately move to Disney+ and who can't be cut off.

The third most in-demand streaming platform
The latest market research from Parrot Analytics has found that Disney+ has become the third most in-demand video streaming platform for original content in the United States and around the world, trailing just behind the more established Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Disney+ has dominated the video streaming original content game, accounting for the top two shows by demand globally on streamers, and with four of the top five in America during the second quarter this year.

All three Marvel series released this year on Disney+ became the most in-demand shows in the world within two weeks of launching, and Disney+'s original flagship series The Mandalorian continues to draw exceptional worldwide and American demand under viewers despite not launching a new episode since December 2020.

BritBox Launches In South Africa While Peacock TV Rolls Out Globally Likely Through Paramount+ In Some Territories

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NEW BRITISH STREAMING SERVICE LAUNCHES IN SOUTH AFRICA

The British video streaming service BritBox, jointly run by ITV and the BBC, announced on Tuesday evening during a virtual press event that it will be launching in South Africa on 6 August.

SA is only the 5th global territory - after the US, UK, Canada, and Australia - where it will be available at a price of R99.99 per month, including a 7-day free trial.

BritBox will join South Africa's video streaming wars.where MultiChoice's Showmax, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ are competing with VIU, Vodacom Video Play and TelkomONE. Other international streaming services like HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock and Discovery+ are still to launch locally.

Then there is also Acorn TV, likely BritBox's biggest competitor that is already available in South Africa, also offering a 7-day free trial and costing R79 per month for access to its revolving catalogue of British TV content.

Britbox in South Africa will be accessible online, as well as on all mobile and tablet devices, while Apple TV set-top boxes, Samsung and LG smart TV sets are also included.

Reemah Sakaan, BritBox International CEO, at the virtual media launch on Tuesday evening, said that when BritBox launches in South Africa on 6 August, it will have "record-levels" of exclusive content.

ITV Choice and BBC First from were recently terminated on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service and saw the loss of a large chunk of British TV content.

"We chose South Africa as our next priority region because we know there's a massive loyal fanbase for British television and it's growing," she says.

"BritBox is perfectly placed to respond to the new shifting patterns of behaviours of the way people want to watch. We see new audiences discovering gems from the past to love and generational audiences finding hot new premieres to sink their teeth into - and that's the beauty of streaming."

"In the past few years, British content has moved firmly into streaming centre-stage while also maintaining its high-quality benchmark in character-driven storytelling. That's why we seized the opportunity to tap into that appetite and created BritBox."

What to expect?
Britbox series will include stars ranging from Idris Alba, Helen Mirren, Judi Densch, Martin Clunes and Dominic West. Some of the shows at the launch of BritBox will include Absolutely Fabulous, Blackadder, Broadchurch, Fawlty Towers, Inspector Morse, Line of Duty, Luther, Manhunt, Mr Bean, Unforgotten, Professor T, The Midwife, The Office, Wedding of the Century, Vera, as well as Victoria.

"In a sea of other streamers Britbox does exactly what it says on the tin. We pride ourselves in giving subscribers a highly curated and distinctive offering versus others. It's the largest selection of British box sets all in one place for all to discover, rediscover and to binge and enjoy."

"Due to the recent closure of some linear TV channels, BritBox in South Africa will have record-levels of exclusivity," Reemah said during the launch live from New York City.

"Premieres will regularly arrive within hours of their UK transmission, she said "making us the fastest from UK screen to BritBox stream.”

"Our research tells us that South African audiences have a really broad variety of tastes. We know for instance that they love British comedies, are passionate about crime series, and mad about period drama, and who doesn't love a classic Agatha Christie mystery?

"They're also adventurous and keen to try something new and edgy. So it's all of that finding a sweet spot for South African audiences as we hand-select
programmes."

Exec Neale Dennett, BritBox new markets launch director, said that BritBox South Africa will be bringing consumers several latest seasons of ongoing British series.

Customers who sign up for BritBox for a 1-year subscription will get two months added on for free.

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PEACOCK AND PARAMOUNT+ BOSSES IN TALKS FOR STREAMING TOGETHER

The heads of both Comcast and ViacomCBS have been meeting in recent weeks to discuss a possible streaming partnership, at least internationally, according to persons familiar with the situation.

According to the Wall Street Journal, at a New York meeting around the end of June, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and ViacomCBS Chair Shari Redstone, along with ViacomCBS CEO Robert Bakish, discussed a variety of possible partnership opportunities that would allow the two companies to enter markets outside the United States together.

The talks have come, according to the WDJ, as both Comcast and ViacomCBS are preparing to broaden their international streaming footprints.

In May, ViacomCBS said that Paramount+, which is set to launch next month in Australia, would be available in 45 markets by 2022.

According to Roberts, Comcast is looking at crafting partnerships with local programmers and distributors in overseas markets in an effort to expand Peacock, the service launched by its NBCUniversal division in the United States.

Comcast’s Sky unit in Europe also has a streaming division of its own.

Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that gives access to up to 15,000 hours of content including original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series.

While some Wall Street analysts said that ViacomCBS and Comcast have been potential merger candidates at some point, according to the Journal, Roberts has been eyeing potential acquisition targets for Comcast — including ViacomCBS. The Journal said that Roberts has told people that he does not feel the need to seek a merger.

The WSJ says both Comcast and ViacomCBS were relative latecomers to the streaming game in relation to their competitors and are trying to make up for lost ground both in the United States and internationally.

Peacock has built up a significant audience for ad-supported programming, but continues to grow its subscription business subtantially, according to sources close to the company. In late April, Comcast said Peacock had 42 million sign-ups.

According to the Journal, less than 10 million people had paid for the service as of late May.

Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 12,000+ TV show episodes including originals Star Trek: Discovery, Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, and MTV’s Laguna Beach. Meet captivating characters, catch up on your favorite sport, explore new worlds in the growing collection of Paramount+.

The premium version of Peacock is free for Comcast pay-TV and broadband subscribers and is also available to Cox Cable subscribers.

A potential international partnership with ViacomCBS could involve both Peacock and Sky, according to the WSJ report.

ViacomCBS said in May the company has 35.9 to its subscripion-based streaming services — Paramount+, Showtime , and [BET+]. Its ad-supported Pluto TV streaming service has 49.5 million active users monthly with a total streaming revenue that reached $816 million (R11.8 billion) in the third quarter, according to the Journal.

The Journal said that before ViacomCBS launched Paramount+ earlier this year, Comcast proposed the idea of the two companies joining forces on streaming. ViacomCBS was not interested at the time.

Germany, Australia And Switzerland Are The Next Markets To Lose FOX (And Disney Junior), Could The Disney Channels Demise There Actually Predict When The Ones In Africa Will Follow?

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The Walt Disney Company announced plans to shut down its pay-TV channels Fox and Disney Junior in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on September 30. The films, series, and other programs will transition over to streaming service Disney+.

Disney+ is not available in South Africa as yet but with these new African productions coming. It won't pose much of a shock if we're part of their 2022 rollout.

More markets are closing down their Disney Channels as the CEO announced sometime back the goal is to close 100 international Disney Channels (even highlighted Africa) and they'll continue at a robust rate.

The Walt Disney Company took Disney XD and FOX Life away from Africa with FOX, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, ESPN 1 & 2, Disney Channel and Disney Junior remaining.

Around the closures, it was announced that Disney was doing away with FOX name. We got to see Korea find an alternative name while Latin America renamed it into Star which is a section on Disney+.

FOX Africa has been adding content from Star which signals the possible rebrand. The only reason it might not have changed as yet is due to the Star India channels.

In January 2021, Star India's channels rebranded to Utsav in the UK and parts of Europe while the Middle East, Africa, Singapore and other parts of Europe for some reason experienced that with only Star Vijay which seemingly confirms the new brands rollout in those territories.

Out of all these regions that got Utsav only the UK lost FOX while other markets have yet to join the Latin American counterpart of the channel but one things for certain is that these changes are coming in phases.

With that in mind, could it be possible that Star Life and StarPlus will rebrand into Utsav within the next month or two where one channel is celebrating a birthday with FOX following within two to three months where certain channels were wiped from the face of the earth or at least in Africa.

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