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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.

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.

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