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The Scrapped Canadian Children's Brand BBC Kids Rolls Out In Australia, Will DStv Or Starsat Perhaps Get It?

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BBC Kids is the international counterpart of the UK's CBBC channel owned by BBC Studios that launched in Canada as a partnership with Knowledge Network from 2001 until 2019.

BBC Kids is a sister channel of BBC Brit, BBC Earth, BBC Lifestyle and the preschool counterpart, CBeebies. The difference with this brand is BBC Studios is calling the shots.

The brand was revived 2 years later on Australia's Fetch TV as a placeholder for Cartoon Network and Boomerang in that platform only.

BBC Kids offers programming for 6 to 10-year-olds and broadcasts comedy, documentaries, drama, entertainment and nature shows such as The Sarah Jane Adventures, Jamie Johnson, Deadly 60 On A Mission and Project Parent. Shows which aren't viewable anywhere in Africa.

Telemundo and PBS Kids were in the same boat as this brand with their availability being limited to certain regions now they're both available in Africa through MultiChoice's DStv.

If BBC Kids launched in Africa it would compete with other brands such as PBS Kids and Da Vinci Kids while it's preschool counterpart CBeebies is taking on Nick Jr and Disney Junior.

Global Fashion Channel Signs Exclusive Pan-African Distribution Partnership Deal With Media Brokerage Africa

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Global Fashion Channel (GFC) is excited to announce the exclusive partnership deal for pan-African Affiliate Distribution, Advertising, and Content Sales with pan-African broadcast media brokerage agency, Media Brokerage Africa.

Global Fashion Channel is a 24/7 TV channel that focuses on premier fashion, beauty, art, luxury lifestyle, culture, music, and special events from around the world. GFC’s bespoke fashion TV content includes the latest runway shows from New York, Paris, Milan and more; exclusive access to see all the excitement backstage at fashion shows; the latest fashion films; on location coverage of special events showcasing fashion, museums, and exhibitions; the newest beauty trends in hair and makeup from industry experts; the latest styles in bridal; and, luxury lifestyle going inside luxury hotels, exotic cars and extravagant yachts.

“Colman Murray, MD of Media Brokerage Africa, has years of experience in Africa’s broadcast arena. The Global Fashion Channel felt his knowledge and expertise was a perfect fit to help expand our channel into Africa,” says Gail Garrison, Owner and Creative Director at Global Fashion Channel. “Media Brokerage Africa will also assist Global Fashion Channel to work with African brands and events, ultimately showcasing African culture and designers as part of the very best of the global industry.”

“GFC is a prestigious addition to our boutique portfolio here at Media Brokerage Africa. Concluding this significant partnership with one of the world’s leading fashion and lifestyle content providers will strengthen Media Brokerage Africa’s offering to market," explains Colman Murray, founder and Managing Director of Media Brokerage Africa. "Television is an important part of the media mix across Africa, and we will now be able to offer our clients a more extensive media buy that delivers diverse content opportunities, audiences, and return on investment."

Justice League Vs. Shark Week As AT&T's WarnerMedia And Discovery Are To Merge To Form A New Monopoly

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On Monday morning AT&T (T) and Discovery, Inc. (DISCA) announced a deal under which AT&T's WarnerMedia will be spun off and combined with Discovery in a new standalone media company.

The deal, subject to regulatory approval, will combine two treasure troves of content, including the HBO Max and discovery+ streaming services. CNN will be included in the transaction.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav will run the combined business, according to Monday's announcement.

"I think we fit together like a glove," Zaslav said at a virtual press conference.

On one level, the tie-up is a logical way to better compete with Netflix and Disney, the two top streaming players.

On another level, it is also a complex way for AT&T to unwind its 2016 bid for Time Warner, which took effect in 2018, with the assets named WarnerMedia.

The companies said they expect the deal to take effect in mid-2022.

A spin-off will help AT&T prioritize its broadband business and pay down its huge debt load. "AT&T would receive $43 billion (subject to adjustment) in a combination of cash, debt securities, and WarnerMedia's retention of certain debt," Monday's announcement said. Zaslav said Monday the new company will start with $55 billion in debt.

AT&T's shareholders would get the majority of the shares in the combined company, at 71%, while Discovery's shareholders would get 29%.

Shares of AT&T were up more than 3% pre-market, while shares of Discovery were up 16%. Prominent Wall Street analysts had been predicting, and in some cases encouraging, this type of move.

Earlier this year AT&T struck a deal to carve out its satellite business DirecTV at a significant loss from the 2015 purchase price.

And another telecom giant, Verizon, threw in the towel on its content efforts as well, agreeing to sell Yahoo and AOL for $5 billion.

Of course, the media world looks very different today than it did just a few years ago. Investors are more laser-focused on streaming with each passing year.

"We are now in a world where relevance and future success will be tied to greater scale and growth globally," AT&T CEO John Stankey said in a memo to WarnerMedia staffers. "To be one of the best global media companies requires not only broad and deep creative assets, but an investor base and access to capital to make it happen. The decision to combine WarnerMedia with Discovery is rooted in this conclusion."

Bloomberg News broke the news of the impending deal on Sunday. Zaslav and Stankey indicated Monday that the pairing had been in the works for months.

Discovery's nonfiction-focused streaming service launched in January, utilizing a library of shows from channels like TLC and Animal Planet. At the time, Zaslav told CNN that discovery+ was a "great complement to someone who has Disney or Netflix, or HBO, Disney and Netflix."

When CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans asked how many streaming services Americans would end up having, Zaslav said, "I think people will have three or four."

Zaslav also emphasized Discovery's global reach. HBO Max, currently available in the US, is about to make an international push. Stankey said the combination will support HBO Max's global growth "and create efficiencies which can be re-invested in producing more great content to give consumers what they want."

Zaslav said Discovery and Warner currently spend a total of $20 billion a year on content. Netflix plans to spend at least $17 billion on content this year.

"Executives from both companies" will be in "key leadership roles," according to the press release.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar was not mentioned in the announcement, but Zaslav signaled that Kilar may remain with the company. "Jason is a fantastic talent," Zaslav said.

Zaslav also affirmed the independence of CNN's newsroom. He said he commits to "the greatest editorial integrity" for CNN and intends to fund CNN's streaming service plans.

Zaslav, a longtime friend of CNN Worldwide chief Jeff Zucker, said at the press conference, "We love CNN...We think one of the true differentiators of the future is live news, live sports."

The Ellen DeGeneres Show Seen On VUZU Will Be Ending After It's Upcoming 19th Season In 2022

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Ellen DeGeneres is ending her Emmy awarded and once popular talk talk show currently seen on VUZU after it's 19th season later in 2022.

The decision came amid slumping ratings following allegations by former and current staffers that The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been a toxic place to work.

On Wednesday, she insisted her decision to bring the curtain down on her afternoon talk show had nothing to do with allegations in the past year of a workplace environment rife with bullying, racial discrimination and sexual harassment.

“When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged. And as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore,”
DeGeneres said in an interview.

With this in mind, M-Net will have to find another program to occupy Ellen's timeslot on VUZU later in 2022. It wouldn't be shocking if The Kelly Clarkson Show took over full-time like it did sometime in 2020.

Reminder: Judge Judy Seen On e.tv And CBS Reality Is Ending After 21 Seasons

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Judy Sheindlin is ending her iconic daytime courtroom show Judge Judy after 25 seasons but is prepping a new show, Judy Justice that will debut after her current one ends.

Speaking to Ellen DeGeneres during an interview on Ellen last year with a preview that has been released, Judy said revealed that her show, with season 18 seen in South Africa on e.tv at the time now it's season 19 and season 16 on CBS Reality (DStv 132) is ending in mid-2021 (June) but that she's working on a new one that will start later this year called Judy Justice on IDMB TV in the United States.

"I've had a 25-year-long marriage with CBS Television Distribution and it's been successful.

Judge Judy started in 1996 in the United States where it's the number one first-run programme in daytime syndication. It won Daytime Emmy Awards for best legal or courtroom show in 2013, 2016 and 2017.

Judy sold her show's library to CBS in 2017 which also saw the show renewed until its 25th season which will now be the last.

SABC And eMedia Investments Expand Partnership, Will MultiChoice And StarTimes Follow?

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eMedia Investments, owners of free-to-air satellite service Openview, and the SABC have reached a business agreement that sees Openview continue to broadcast high-definition channels SABC 1, 2 and 3, as well as 3 additional television channels from the public broadcaster, as well as all 19 radio stations owned by the SABC.

The business agreement means that the SABC is officially entering the free-to-air satellite market, with SABC Sports Channel the first of the 3 additional SABC channels bring added to the Openview service.

SABC radio brands Ukhozi FM, Metro FM, Lesedi and Umhlobo Wenene are among the radio stations now also available on Openview, transmitted via digital broadcasting on a free-to-air basis.

Commenting on the new multi-year signal distribution and channel carriage agreement, eMedia Investments COO, Antonio Lee, says, "This is an exciting development for both the SABC and ourselves. The agreement ushers in a new level of collaboration between a private free-to-air satellite platform and public free-to-air broadcast services. There is no doubt it will boost the offering of Openview and will extend the SABC’s audience reach. We can now offer our Openview audience additional quality content and access to digital broadcast radio in the widest variety of languages possible in South Africa. We hope this is the start of a stronger and more fruitful relationship between Openview and the SABC".

SABC’s COO, Ian Plaatjes, adds, “This agreement enables the SABC to grow its channel offering and reach into the digital broadcasting space with three additional HD television channels. The first channel to be launched will be an SABC Sport Channel and will be distributed simultaneously across Openview, DTT, Telkom One and other streaming platforms. This collaboration will enable the SABC to optimally exploit its rich sport content rights and leverage the Openview reach to provide an improved integrated sport value proposition for our advertising clients across platforms. The agreement also enhances the distribution of SABC radio stations to create an increased value proposition for our radio advertising inventory. The other two TV channels, to be announced within the next 3 months, will leverage extensive SABC content and archived material.”

"The other two TV channels" "leverage extensive content and archived material" - SABC Education being the first with the other possibly being SABC Encore maybe it will launch under another new name perhaps or with an updated look. It would be shocking if it was SABC News.

Openview and the SABC believe that this agreement will expedite digital migration from analogue-only households to digital broadcasting platforms with more compelling free-to-air channels and content. Together with the DTT platform, Openview provides audiences with a free HD alternative to both analogue terrestrial and pay satellite options.

According to a source, this development was in talks with pay-tv platforms as well. SABC Education has been showing signs of launching and my guess was May which is the same time the channel launched.

Not long ago, even eMedia Investments entire set of channels were rumoured to be added onto DStv so far only 4 reside on that platform.

Britbox Video Streamer To Launch In South Africa Later In The Year With Content From ITV And BBC

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Another video streaming service will be launching in South Africa in the second half of 2021 with BritBox, the joint 50/50 streaming venture between BBC Studios and ITV, that announced that it will become accessible to South African consumers later this year.

BritBox, an ad-free subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service will join the quickly getting crowded video streaming market in South Africa where Netflix SA fiercely compete with the likes of MultiChoice's Showmax, VIU, Vodacom Video Play, TelkomONE, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

Meanwhile the South African public broadcaster is working on launching its own SABC streaming service, while Discovery+, Paramount+, HBO Max and Disney+ are still to launch in the territory and across the rest of Africa as well.

BritBox will serve as somewhat of a replacement for the ITV Choice channel and the BBC First channel that both shuttered on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform during 2020.

BritBox carries on-demand content in the form of British box sets, drama premieres and live events, as well as new and exclusive original commissions.

South Africa will be BritBox's 5th worldwide territory to launch in, following launches in the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

"The launch of BritBox in South Africa is yet another step in the platform’s trajectory towards international expansion. We’re delighted to bring the service to a brand new territory and continue towards establishing BritBox as a premium VOD brand across the world," says Martin Goswami, ITV group strategic partnership and distribution director, in a statement.

Paul Dempsey, president of global distribution at BBC Studios, says "We know that South African audiences have a real connection to British television and we can’t wait to bring them even more great shows, on-demand, that we know they will love".

HBO Max To Rollout In 60 More Countries By The End Of 2021

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Some consumers are no longer waiting for these streaming services to rollout in Africa as they've found several torrent sites to stream content like WandaVision, The Mandalorian and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

Apparently, HBO Max will launch in 60 countries and territories by the end of 2021, 21 of those countries/territories will be Europe (the countries where content is available direct through HBO and not through a third-party local partner, the 21 countries are located in Nordics, Central Eastern Europe as well as Spain and Portugal).

Africa is likely not listed in those 60 countries for the same reason as Disney+, they want to put their focus on the major parts of Europe before anywhere else while Disney+ is estimated to be in Africa by 2022/3 with HBO Max it's likely to be 2025-7.

Reasons being they have existing contracts with other providers in those regions so they're likely to cancel some of those agreements and wait on others if possible launch when they have enough content despite those contracts.

WarnerMedia Kids Brands Remain Ahead Of The Curve In Africa

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Cartoon Network and Boomerang have kicked off 2021 with new original shows and local productions.

WarnerMedia kids’ brands, Cartoon Network and Boomerang, continue to be firm favourites for African youth. Between 2019 and 2020, Cartoon Network’s reach increased by 10%, with more than 6m households tuning in. On the other hand, Boomerang also increased its reach by 31% – bringing the channel to over 5.5m households. With a combined share of 47% of the kids’ pay-TV channels viewing, the two brands account for almost half of the kids’ market.

Cartoon Network Africa’s and Boomerang Africa’s audience ratings have improved over the past year, with the channels now ranking first and second amongst all kids’ pay-TV channels. Boomerang’s performance has grown by 50% in its year-on-year performance between 2019 and 2020. South Africa’s Cartoon Network confirm its number one spot of all pay-TV kids’ channels with a gap of more than 143% over its next competitor.

With the increased consumption of content on digital platforms, Cartoon Network and Boomerang rank within the Top 10 YouTube channels in the Kids & Entertainment Category in South Africa at #2 and #5, respectively. Boomerang Africa’s YouTube channel came out as a strong contender with a more than 100% increase, boasting 1.8m subscribers. In comparison, Cartoon Network Africa upped its numbers by 55%, reaching 1.5m subscribers. Traffic to both webpages also showed impressive results, with visits on Cartoon Network Africa’s local website increasing by 180% and Boomerang Africa’s website climbing 171%.

Teen Titans Go!, DC Super Hero Girls, The Regular Show, South Africa’s very own pan-African association football-themed series, Supa Strikas, rank among Cartoon Network Africa’s top-performing shows.

Boomerang Africa’s top shows include Mr Bean: The Animated Series, Zig and Sharko, and Masha and the Bear. The channel’s films, including the Scooby-Doo Movies and Tom and Jerry Movies, continue to contribute to the audience numbers.

Both the channels have kicked off 2021 with brand new channel original shows and local productions. In March, Cartoon Network Africa has launched Elliott From Earth, with Africa being one of the first two countries to premiere the show as part of the global launch and Boomerang has launched Kikoumba, in the same month. WarnerMedia will continue to show its commitment to unravelling and working with local African talent to develop content that resonates with the audience by launching brand-new local productions throughout the coming year.

Guillaume Coffin, Head of Affiliates & Advertising France, Benelux, Middle East, Turkey, Africa & General Manager for Turkey, said: “WarnerMedia has been present in Africa for more than 20 years, operating six channels across the continent in 56 English, French and Portuguese speaking countries. It is encouraging to see that our kids’ multiplex brands are continuing to grow in popularity across the continent and that our fans rate our kids’ channels highly in the kid’s entertainment market. This once again confirms that our localisation strategy, as well as our dedicated line-up of original, local content, is meeting the growing demand of our fans across the region.”

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