PSL Partners With Betway To Launch The Betway Premiership

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The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is proud to announce Betway, South Africa’s leading online sports and gaming brand, as the premier division’s new title sponsor.

The premier division of football will now be known as the Betway Premiership.

Chairman of the Premier Soccer League, Dr Irvin Khoza welcomed the new deal as a major boost to the sport: “This is a massive boost for every lover of football in this country. Our partnership with Betway confirms our league’s standing as one of the best in the world and heralds a wonderful future for our game. Betway’s energy and enthusiasm will have immediate impact across all facets of the game, and on behalf of the PSL, I am proud to welcome them on board as title sponsor and partner.”

Laurence Michel, Betway Africa, believes that the deal marks the beginning of a new era for the premier division, adding that Betway looks forward to help in writing a new chapter in the PSL’s rich soccer history.

“Football is a fundamental part of South African life. It really is in our blood and has been for generations. We are incredibly proud to be the title partner of the Betway Premiership. It further demonstrates not only our respect of the history of the league, but our vision for the development for its future. The PSL aligns with our values as a brand that commonly champions great South African success stories,” Michel said

Formally established in 1996, but with roots that go back nearly a century, the Premier Soccer League is indisputably the most popular sporting competition in South Africa, with legendary characters, dearly-loved clubs and rivalries that capture the essence of football and culture in this country.

Michel explained that the Betway Premiership will lean heavily on the legacy and rich history of a football league already entrenched as one of the top ten domestic league competitions in the world and is excited by what the future holds for football in South Africa.

“We appreciate how much football has done for people and for our country. As we begin this partnership, we want to acknowledge and celebrate what the game has accomplished in the past. We also want to enhance the game as it stands today and, most importantly, we want to help build an even better future for the next generation of footballing stars from this country,”

Michel added, “We are so excited by what this partnership will do for football fans in South Africa. As a brand, we are known globally for our sponsorships of the world’s biggest clubs and tournaments and that experience is going to play a huge part in driving the PSL forward.”

This partnership further reaffirms the brand’s commitment to the South African sporting industry. It is the latest addition to an enviable sporting partnership portfolio, which spans across a number of sports, which also includes the world champion Springboks, as well as the Betway SA20.

Warner Bros. Discovery's Plan To Split Up Studios From Cartoon Network And HBO Could Come With Everlasting Effects

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Warner Bros. Discovery after accumulating so much debt even after the formation of Discovery and WarnerMedia is exploring a separation of assets. This would see Warner Bros. Studios operating independently away from linear brands like Cartoon Network and HBO.

With that huge debt, no company can afford it to absorb it unless some cost cutting measures were implemented in an attempt to reduce that debt. The only other option in mind at this point would be splitting up as seen prior or selling assets separately. 

Separating Cartoon Network from Warner Bros. Studios could come with various risks like if there's no funding coming from Warner Bros. Discovery how will it survive. Even if the idea were to sell, Cartoon Network could become more like The CW and TBS.

It could lose credibility and give brands like Nickelodeon and Disney Channel more of an advantage. Maybe, it's possible that the channel could survive the purge and build similar positioning to DreamWorks and Moonbug which serves as promotional. 

Cartoon Network unveiled several new projects at Annecy like Foster's Funtime For Imaginary Friends, an untitled Regular Show series and Scooby-Doo! Go Go Mystery Machine. These are likely projects they want to distribute on other platforms.

Max had join the likes of SABC+ and BBC iPlayer platforms with little to no original content as they shift focus on archived material. Those titles are likely being shipped from platform to platform.

The splitting of Warner Bros. Discovery also guarantees job losses and the possibility of cord cutting. If two people were managing TNT and TBS separately they could let go of one and also seek to merge TNT and TBS alongside its programming. 

Warner Bros. Discovery was operating independently in other countries with Warner TV and Cartoon Network continuing to add new content. There's no guarantee that the services in those markets will stay afloat especially if the lot depend on its studios for survival. 

The PFL Partners With SuperSport To Broadcast Live MMA Action In English Speaking Countries Across Sub-Saharan Africa

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The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest-growing and most innovative sports league, on Wednesday announced a media rights deal with SuperSport, for all PFL and Bellator programming to air across SuperSport channels.

The partnership kicked off in thrilling fashion as fans in the region were able tune into the opening event of the 2024 PFL Europe Season on March 7 when global superstar Cedric ‘The Best’ Doumbe took on Baissangour ‘Baki’ Chamsoudinov at the Accor Arena in Paris.

Through the partnership, all PFL programming - including live coverage of PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Europe and newly announced PFL MENA - will be available on SuperSport, Africa's premier sports broadcaster.

The promotion is set to launch its third international league - PFL Africa - in 2025.

Through its exclusive global strategic partnership with Francis Ngannou, the world’s greatest combat sports athlete today and the baddest man on the planet, the linear heavyweight champion will be an equity owner in and Chairman of PFL Africa, the region’s premier MMA league.

Events will be staged in key countries across the continent live in primetime to meet the major demand for premium and consistent MMA content. More details will be announced later this year.

“Sub-Saharan Africa represents a priority market for the Professional Fighters League as we continue our rapid global expansion,” said PFL SVP, International James Frewin. “We’re thrilled to partner with SuperSport so viewers across the region can watch premium PFL and Bellator MMA content all year-round on SuperSport.”

PFL is the only organisation in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year.

The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30 per cent of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight class, the same per centage as UFC. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the “Champions League of MMA” with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development.

PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next-generation viewing experience.

PFL is primetime on ESPN/ESPN+ in the US and is broadcast and streamed in 150 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners.

Kyle Carrozza, Creator Of Mighty Magiswords On Cartoon Network Arrested For Possession Of Child Pornography

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Kyle Adam Carrozza, creator of the Cartoon Network series Mighty Magiswords, was booked last month by the Burbank Police Department on two counts of child pornography possession.

Carrozza, 45, was arrested at an apartment complex in Burbank, California, on the morning of Thursday, June 20, at 7:30 am. The arrest was part of an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigation. The arrest was reported in the Burbank Police Department’s daily arrest log.

Carrozza’s Mighty Magiswords debuted on Cartoon Network’s CN Anything app as a 15-second micro-series in 2015. The show was “custom created for the way young audiences consume media today,” Rob Sorcher, then-chief content officer for Cartoon Network, said in 2016. “This is about how stories can be told in new ways and how a community can play together.”

Nearly 400 pieces of platform-specific content were created around Carrozza’s show, including shorts, vlogs, web/mobile games, and interactive narrative content. Then, in 2016, Cartoon Network turned the project into a linear tv series, which lasted for two seasons and over 90 episodes.

According to Carrozza’s Linkedin page, he had most recently been a board artist on Nickelodeon’s The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish and The Casagrandes Movie. His other credits include storyboarding on Warner Bros. Animation’s Animaniacs reboot, Apple TV+’s The Snoopy Show, Disney Junior’s Doc McStuffins, Disney’s Fish Hooks, Frederator’s Bravest Warriors, and Nickelodeon’s Fanboy & Chum Chum, as well as doing character layout on Paramount’s Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water. He also created the short MooBeard the Cow Pirate for Nickelodeon’s Random! Cartoons.

Carrozza has been charged under California penal code 311.11(a), which is possession of child pornography, and an enhanced 311.11(c) charge, which is for individuals knowingly in possession of at least 12 videos, or 600 images, of child pornography.

The offenses can be charged as either a misdemeanor or felony and are punishable by up to one year in county jail or up to five years in state prison. If found guilty of either charge, Carrozza will be ordered to register as a sex offender with law enforcement. The crimes he is accused of do not apply to drawings, figurines, statues, or films rated by the Motion Picture Association.

The story was originally published on Cartoonbrew.

Possibly Cancelled. Still No Update Of A Unicorn: Warriors Eternal Season 2 On Adult Swim

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Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is an American adult animated fantasy television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and aired on Cartoon Network's night-time programming block Adult Swim. The series stars the voices of Hazel Doupe, Demari Hunte, and Tom Milligan. 

Tartakovsky originally conceived Unicorn: Warriors Eternal in his early days at Cartoon Network Studios. The series took almost 20 years to get made, with Tartakovsky pitching it to various studios before it was picked up by Cartoon Network and HBO Max.

The series premiered on Adult Swim from May 5, 2023 and concluded on June 30, 2023 literally a year ago with only 10 episodes. Although a second has yet to be commissioned by the network, Tartakovsky has expressed interest in doing multiple seasons.

Why Unicorn: Warriors Eternal may not be returning with a season 2?

No one at Cartoon Network, Adult Swim or Warner Bros. Animation not even Genndy Tartakovsky has talked about the show. As for the creator, he's currently working on Heist Safari and a third season to Primal for the mentioned brands.

If anything, it's possible that with Warner Bros. Discovery being cash constraint that they rather put their focus on lesser projects. Even with Tartakovsky already working on these projects it's possible he may not be able to pencil in Unicorn: Warriors Eternals.

Another theory that comes to mind is the possibility of it being a miniseries I mean that's happened with Infinity Train but surprisingly got additional seasons. Both of which had their first seasons end with a question mark with one that was eventually renewed.

Even My Adventures With Superman which was originally commissioned by Cartoon Network before moving to Adult Swim. Unlike Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, Superman got a 2 season renewal but with that concluding soon was renewed for a season 3.

Paramount Global And Skydance Merger Will Shed $2 Billion In Cost Cutting Measures

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Paramount Global parent National Amusements and Skydance Media have agreed to merge less than a month after the sides abruptly ended deal talks.

Paramount, owner of Paramount Pictures movie and television studios, the CBS television network and CBS News, announced in a news release late Sunday that it is combining with Skydance, an entertainment business founded by David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison. Paramount also owns the Paramount+ streaming service, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and other media brands. 

The transaction resolves months of speculation around the future of Paramount, which also reportedly attracted a $26 billion bid from a consortium including Sony Pictures and private equity firm Apollo Global Management. A range of prominent media and entertainment industry executives were also said to have expressed interest in a possible deal for Paramount.

Under the two-step deal, Skydance will first pay $2.4 billion for National Amusements, which controls 77% of the voting shares of Paramount. Shareholders with non-voting stock will receive $15 per share, or one share of non-voting stock in the new company. 

Class A shareholders other than National Amusements will receive $23 per share, or the right to get 1.5333 non-voting shares in the merged company. Paramount Global would then merge with Skydance in an all-stock transaction that values the latter at $4.75 billion.

The deal also gives other potential bidders for Paramount 45 days to submit a competing offer, an apparent effort to appease shareholders who felt Skydance's initial bid undervalued their stake in the media company. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. 

Uniting old and new Hollywood

The deal unites Paramount — a storied movie studio dating back to 1912 that is known for film classics such as "Titanic," "The Godfather" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," as well as franchises including "Star Trek" and "Mission Impossible" — with a relative newcomer to the entertainment industry. Since David Ellison launched Skydance in 2010, the company has produced or co-produced hit films and TV shows including "Top Gun: Maverick" and the "Reacher" streaming series. 

"This is a defining and transformative time for our industry and the storytellers, content creators and financial stakeholders who are invested in the Paramount legacy and the longevity of the entertainment economy," Ellison said in a statement. "I am incredibly grateful to Shari Redstone and her family who have agreed to entrust us with the opportunity to lead Paramount. We are committed to energizing the business and bolstering Paramount with contemporary technology, new leadership and a creative discipline that aims to enrich generations to come."

Ellison will serve as chairman and CEO of Paramount, and Jeff Shell, chairman of RedBird Sports and Media, a unit of investment firm RedBird Capital Partners, will become president. Shell is the former CEO of NBCUniversal.

Redstone's final act

For Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder in National Amusements, the deal brings to a close her family's long stewardship of Paramount, which was built on the foundation laid by her late father, entertainment mogul Sumner Redstone. In recent years, that effort has focused on growing Paramount's streaming footprint, along with the continued expansion of its core network TV, cable and movie businesses. 

"In 1987, my father, Sumner Redstone, acquired Viacom and began assembling and growing the businesses today known as Paramount Global," Redstone said in a statement. "He had a vision that 'content was king' and was always committed to delivering great content for all audiences around the world. That vision has remained at the core of Paramount's success and our accomplishments are a direct result of the incredibly talented, creative and dedicated individuals who work at the company. Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king."

The merger with Skydance follows what has been a fraught negotiation in which Paramount executives sought to balance the interests of investors who own the company's voting shares — which are primarily controlled by Redstone — and investors with non-voting stock. The latter are represented by large institutional investors such as Berkshire Hathaway and Vanguard, according to financial data firm FactSet.

The deal also follows the April 29 departure of former Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish, who was replaced by an Office of the CEO led by three division chiefs: George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios; and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon.

After the initial deal to combine National Amusements and Skydance collapsed on June 11, Paramount's new leadership disclosed plans to cut costs by $500 million, explore a joint venture or other possible partnerships for Paramount+, and sell non-core assets. It is uncertain how that blueprint could change under Skydance's watch. 

In a call with Wall Street analysts on Monday to discuss Paramount's future, Shell said RedBird and Skydance had identified roughly $2 billion in potential cost savings.

In its most recent quarter, Paramount reported an operating loss of $417 million on revenue of $7.6 billion, compared with a loss of $1.2 billion on revenue of $7.2 billion in the year-ago period. Skydance, which is privately held, expects its annual revenue to reach $1 billion in 2024, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

The sale of Paramount also highlights ongoing consolidation within the media space as industry stalwarts like Paramount and CBS seek to compete with much larger competitors, including technology and entertainment companies. 

Skydance Media Gets Board Committee Approval For Control Of Paramount Global After Lengthy Chase

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David Ellison‘s Skydance Media has gained a key approval vote for the company’s proposed acquisition of Paramount Global controlling shareholder National Amusements Inc. after seven months of talks.

The deal was blessed Sunday by a special committee of Paramount’s board of directors, a person familiar with the matter told Deadline. A formal announcement is expected as soon as Monday morning.

Bloomberg News earlier Sunday was the first to report on the special committee vote.

While the board committee action is a milestone, one of the features of the current agreement is a 45-day “go-shop” provision, which allows NAI chief Shari Redstone to field alternative offers. Apollo Global Management, Barry Diller and Edgar Bronfman Jr. are among those who have explored bids. Apollo, both on its own and in partnership with Sony Pictures, has submitted formal offers in recent months but they haven’t gained much traction.

Under terms of the Skydance agreement, Redstone and her family will receive $1.75 billion, with additional funds going toward Paramount debt repayment. The transaction is expected to be the first of two parts, with a full merger between Skydance and Paramount Global to follow. NAI controls nearly 80% of Paramount’s Class A, or voting, shares. It holds only about 10% of its equity value, with that disparity adding to the complexity of deal negotiations in recent months.

Skydance is a longtime partner with Paramount Pictures as a co-financier on marquee franchises like Mission: Impossible, Star Trek, Transformers and Top Gun. Along with the 112-year-old movie studio, Skydance will gain control of a portfolio including CBS, Nickelodeon and Paramount+. Unlike other bidders aiming to break up the company, Skydance is seen as wanting to preserve the entity in much the same shape as it currently exists, though there will undoubtedly be significant cost cutting. That strategic vision helps explain Redstone’s longtime preference for Skydance over some other suitors, according to sources familiar with the deal talks.

Less than a month ago, it seemed that any hope of the parties reaching a deal had evaporated. Redstone pulled out of a planned deal at the 11th hour over concerns regarding her net proceeds and exposure to shareholder lawsuits. While earlier Skydance overtures caused Paramount’s already battered stock to sink even lower due to concerns about shareholder dilution, the most recent go-round has boosted the share price. In Hollywood and media circles, the Paramount M&A watch has punctuated a period marked by existential anxiety and fears emerged of another major studio poised to disappear in the wake of Fox’s absorption by Disney.

Ellison and his backers (reportedly including his father, billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison) were undaunted by Redstone’s last-minute reversal in June. Parting with the media empire built by her father, Sumner Redstone, has never been an easy process. Shari Redstone, after taking the reins a decade ago as Sumner Redstone’s health declined, succeeded with signature initiative, bringing Viacom and CBS back under the same corporate umbrella after multiple attempts. The merger of the companies into what is now Paramount Global closed in December 2019.

The triumph of shepherding the merger turned out to be short-lived, with Covid and numerous other difficulties piling up as two companies became one. Today, Paramount faces considerable challenges on many fronts. The company, which is a fraction of the size of top media rivals Disney and Comcast, is straining to make a profit in streaming as it confronts secular declines in its linear TV business and an unsettled moviegoing climate. While Paramount shares have enjoyed an uptick on the merger news, they are still worth less than one-third what they were when Viacom and CBS came together.

As the company has explored various M&A scenarios, it has also jettisoned longtime CEO Bob Bakish in favor of a tripartite Office of the CEO consisting of veteran execs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins. At the company’s annual shareholder meeting and a subsequent town hall with employees last month, the execs laid out their strategy, which consists of reducing expenses (targeting $500 million in annual cost savings), maximizing the asset portfolio and exploring streaming partnerships or joint ventures. Just before the most recent Skydance news broke last week, there were reports of Paramount in talks to sell BET and discussing a streaming partnership with a third party.

“While we recognize that this is not a traditional management structure, we are confident that it will enable them to move quickly to implement best practices throughout the company and to drive improved performance,” Redstone said at the annual meeting.

As the Office of the CEO gets set to pass the baton (former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell is waiting in the wings as part of the Skydance bid), yet another round of downsizing will reshape the company’s workforce. At the end of 2023, the company had 21,900 full- and part-time employees.

“We’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the challenges of all the M&A speculation surrounding our company,” Robbins said during the town hall. “We know what a difficult and disruptive period it has been. And while we cannot say that the noise will disappear, we are here today to lay out a go-forward plan that can set us up for success no matter what path the company chooses to go down.”

Candle Media Restructures, Folding Animation Into Moonbug As Hello Sunshine Chief Sarah Harden Takes Over Rebranded Studio

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Blackstone-backed “next generation” entertainment group Candle Media is tightening belts amid the streaming downturn, enacting a series of cost-cutting measures and reorganization of its acquisitions. The outfit will split into two divisions, folding its animation business into CoComelon studio Moonbug (which Candle acquired in November 2021 for nearly $3 billion), while live-action projects are collected under the rebranded Candle Studios.

Sarah Harden, formerly chief of Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine label (acquired by Candle in August 2021 for $900 million), will head the live-action division rebranded as Candle Studios (also including prodcos Exile, True Stories and Faraway Road). The parent company, established in 2021 by Disney alums Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs with a $1 billion investment from Blackstone, dissolved Hello Sunshine’s animation division into Moonbug last year.

Candle set up to fill demands of streamers as major studios began damming up their content to reserve for their own platforms, paying hefty sums to acquire popular brands. In an interview with Semafor Tuesday, Mayer said that this angle on approaching streaming buyers was “the one thesis that is holding true, though it’s fraying around the edges slightly.” The co-CEO agreed that Candle had paid “at the top of the market” for its acquisitions. “Have the financials borne out the way we would like, to have to support the prices that we paid? Probably not,” he admitted, adding optimistically, “Talk to us in two or three years.”

A Blackstone spokesperson also told Semafor that one of the biggest impacts on Candle’s financial state were the dual Hollywood strikes by SAG and WGA last year. The company also carries about $1.4 billion in debt, which at 12% is consuming most of its earnings. “We continue to be optimistic about [Candle’s] prospects coming out of the work stoppages and look forward to supporting its growth,” the investor rep noted.

Semafor‘s Ben Smith points out, “Moonbug has almost single-handedly saved [Candle Media]. Despite a drumbeat of questions from the industry about the company’s strategy, properties including CoComelon make Candle a powerhouse in children’s media, a great business on YouTube, and has a solid foothold in streaming.”

Paramount Global Has Applied For A New Trademark Based On SpongeBob SquarePants Called Bikini Bottom News

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Paramount, under Viacom International Inc., has applied to register Bikini Bottom News under NICE Class "41 - Education, entertainment, sporting and cultural services", for "Entertainment services, namely, providing a multimedia video segment and online content in the nature of non-downloadable videos". The request was filed on June 25, 2024, and is currently pending approval.

Bikini Bottom News takes it name from the Bikini Bottom News news channel featured in the SpongeBob Universe, which reports events happening in and around Bikini Bottom, with the Realistic Fish Head and Perch Perkins serving as the network's main reporters.

As the name and description suggest, Bikini Bottom News is most likely a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed digital series. Although a launch date has yet to be announced, Bikini Bottom News will most likely form part of Nickelodeon's celebrations to commemorate the 25th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Source: NickALive