Warner Bros. Discovery replaces Boomerang with Cartoonito from 25 March across Africa, Cartoon Network in the territory remains safe.

by Thinus Ferreira

Warner Bros. Discovery's Boomerang kids channel is ending its run across Africa on 25 March is and being replaced by Cartoonito, targeting a younger audience and family viewing as part of the company's linear kids channels restructuring, with the company saying Cartoon Network as a top TV brand in Africa remains safe.

Boomerang is becoming the first pay-TV channel lost to South African viewers in 2023 as Warner Bros. Discovery is phasing out the brand in Africa and territories, terminating the channel on 25 March and replacing it with Cartoonito across the continent.

Where Cartoon Network and Boomerang - both Warner Bros. Discovery linear channels - targeted roughly the same demographic of younger viewers, Cartoonito is geared towards a younger pre-set of three year olds and family viewing. Cartoon Network, which reaches over 15 million viewers monthly in South Africa, is aimed at seven to 12-year olds.

Cartoonito, which will now more directly compete with DStv channels like Disney Junior and the BBC's CBeebies, was first added in October 2011 as a preschool kids' programming block to Boomerang's schedule.

The channel flip in Warner Bros. Discovery's kids content portfolio is part of Warner Bros. Discovery's larger adjustment of phasing out the Boomerang brand across Europe - something also impacting Africa in terms of pay-TV channel distribution.

Several Boomerang shows will however remain on the Cartoonito channel (DStv 302) when Boomerang is replaced and rebranded on 25 March with Cartoonito.

Cartoonito will add new shows aimed at a pre-schooler audience like Batwheels from 25 March, Bugs Bunny Builders from 10 April and Intersteller Ella from June.

Cartoonito will keep Boomerang hold-overs like Zig & Sharko, Mr Bean, Masha and the Bear, Tom & Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Looney Tunes Cartoons, Lucas the Spider, Dino Ranch and Thomas and Friends: All Engines Go.

Cartoonito will launch on 25 March with a TV special, Secret Origins of the Batwheels at 08:40.

"The rebrand of Boomerang Africa into Cartoonito Africa enriches our channel universe, bringing together the crème de la crème of Boomerang with more adventures and more friends to be part of one big Cartoonito family" says Ana Gonzalez, editorial lead for Southern Europe and Africa for kids brands at Warner Bros. Discovery.

"We know kids and families love our shows, and we're looking forward to adding even more amazing content that brings the whole family together."

Cartoonito change part of global realignment

"Boomerang has been very, very successful in Africa. It's a very well-known brand so that's not the reason why we're changing it," Ana Gonzalez told TVwithThinus.

"The reason is very simple. The reason is that we are aligning with our international strategy. Cartoonito is now a global brand for the company and all Boomerang channels in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region will become Cartoonito."

"Everything depends on a country-by-country basis since the pipeline of brands we have is not the same in every country, but overall that's the strategy." She said that "we are rebranding everything that's Boomerang now, so everything that currently is Boomerang from 25 March, will become Cartoonito".

Cartoon Network is safe

Following rumours a few months ago that Warner Bros. Discovery is no longer looking at investing in new content for Cartoon Network and even considering shuttering the linear TV channel in certain territories to shift the focus on its HBO Max video streamer, Ana Gonzalez told TVwithThinus that Cartoon Network is not going anywhere.

"Definitly not - Cartoon Network is not closing, it's not disappearing; and specifically in terms of Africa - it is our first and most popular brand there. It's very successful, so definitely Cartoon Network will stay in Africa, and I hope for very long." 

ALSO READ: Is Warner Bros. Discovery's Boomerang TV channel on DStv going bust? Concerned parents say they will cancel MultiChoice if they lose the kids channel and get a price hike.

Is Warner Bros. Discovery's Boomerang TV channel on DStv going bust? Concerned parents say they will cancel MultiChoice if they lose the kids channel and get a price hike.

by Thinus Ferreira

Concerned DStv subscribers who are also parents are worried and not getting any answers about rumours swirling that Warner Bros. Discovery's Boomerang (DStv 302) TV channel is going to disappear at the end of March from DStv - saying if that happens and they get a DStv price hike instead, they will cancel their pay-TV subscriptions.

As yet there's no official confirmation or statement from either Warner Bros. Discovery or MultiChoice as to the fate of Boomerang and whether the Scooby Doo TV channel is safe and staying on DStv, or if it is set to become the first TV channel that will be taken away from DStv subscribers in 2023.

Warner Bros. Discovery, asked in a media query on Monday made to one of its two South Africa PR agencies used in South Africa and told about concerned DStv subscriber parents who are worried and wondering about the future of the LazyTown channel, didn't have any official comment.

MultiChoice, also asked by TVwithThinus on Wednesday about chatter that Boomerang is ending on DStv on 25 March, also didn't have any official comment on the future fate of Boomerang. A MultiChoice spokesperson did say there is going to be news around the Boomerang channel which will be shared with media soon.

Meanwhile, parents and DStv subscribers are talking about the likelihood of the loss of Boomerang, with some who are saying they will be done with DStv and say they will leave if the channel is removed and if they end up getting a DStv price increase instead.

Some parents say they have subscribed to MultiChoice's satellite pay-TV service specifically for the bouquet of kids channels, and for a channel like Boomerang, and that if a kids channel is taken away - like Boomerang for instance - they will seriously reevaluate whether they want to continue with their DStv subscription.

According to an online story by Insidus, Boomerang will go dark on DStv on 25 March and get replaced by Cartoonito. Cartoonito targets younger viewers than Boomerang.

Boomerang was relaunched in 2015 on DStv with a bigger focus on family viewing.

Warner Bros. Discovery to combine HBO Max and discovery+ video streamers under new name, earliest South Africa launch in late-2024 or later.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africans will never get access to the global video streaming services HBO Max or discovery+, with these streamers now getting combined into one - with a new name - which will only be rolled out in South Africa in late-2024 or even later.

Warner Bros. Discovery is also going to keep more TV shows and content back it used to sell to channels like M-Net (DStv 101) to bolster its own streaming service, as it also scales back its content investment on linear TV channels available on DStv like Cartoon Network, to try and save billions of dollars.

The newly combined Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) released its second quarter earning report late on Thursday night and confirmed that HBO Max and discovery+, already available in the United States and other countries, will never see the light of day in South Africa as they're getting combined under a new name and "relaunched" next year.

South African consumers already have access to MultiChoice's Showmax, The Walt Disney Company's Disney+ since a few months ago, Netflix SA, Amazon Prime Video, VIU, TelkomONE, e.tv's eVOD and with the South African public broadcaster planning to launch its SABC+ in late-2022, and with Paramount also supposed to launch its Paramount+ in 2023.

On WBD's Q2 earnings call on Thursday night, JB Perrette, WBD CEO and president of global streaming and games, said HBO Max and discovery+ are getting combined and will relaunch first in America in 2023 under an as-yet-unannounced name.

"At the end of the day, putting all the content together was the only way we saw to make this a viable business," he said.

The newly combined streaming service will initially be focused on subscription-driven sign-ups, although it also plans to launch a cheaper ad-filled tier, similar to what Netflix and Disney+ plan to launch.

After the American launch in 2023, WBD will launch its new combined streaming service in Europe in ealy-2024, in Asia-Pacific countries in the middle of 2024, and then in other markets in late-2024. Africa and South Africa haven't been mentioned, meaning it would only get the service in either late-2024 at the earliest, or sometime from 2025.

Kids content cut

Warner Bros. Discovery also confirmed on Thursday night it's cutting back on kids content, with the company running children's channels like Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toonami which are available as linear TV channels across sub-Saharan Africa on traditional satellite pay-TV services like MultiChoice's DStv and StarTimes' StarSat.

On the earnings call, Gunnar Wiedenfels, WBD chief financial officer, said animation and kids content across both the streaming services and linear TV channels are getting cut back. 

He also mentioned that WBD is ending local content investment in international markets, putting a question mark behind some of the local investments the company has been making in content like CN to the Rescue on Cartoon Network Africa and My Cartoon Friend nominated for an upcoming SAFTA award in the Best children's programme category.

Gunnar Wiedenfels also mentioned that WBD is going to hit the pause button on new content licensing deals and that there will be a significant reduction in external content sales. 

M-Net in Africa and MultiChoice's Showmax have for instance benefitted for years from HBO output and content licensing and distribution deals to grab series ranging from Game of Thrones and the upcoming prequel House of the Dragon.

Boomerang catches Lucas the Spider in its TV web.

by Thinus Ferreira

The world's most adorable teensy-weensy is coming to television: The YouTube animation short clip about the cutest spider ever that has now been turned into a full animation series, Lucas the Spider, is coming to Boomerang (Dstv 302) on weekdays from Monday 2 May at 07:15.

Lucas the Spider was originally created by the accomplished animator Joshua Slice as a series of animated shorts - voiced by his 5-year old nephew - which premiered on YouTube in November 2017.

After Lucas amassed over 870 million views and over 3.6 million subscribers it has now been turned into a full-length animation series - complete with a line of toys and licensed goods. 

Retaining the authenticity of the original shorts, the producers of the new 3D computer-generated animated show, Fresh TV, in association with WexWorks Media, created a full animation series around Lucas and his friends, bringing the arachnid's endearing perspective of the world to kids and their parents, with longer stories and new characters on the Boomerang Africa channel.

Lucas the spider is a happy, inquisitive, impossibly cute little jumping spider  - four years old and living in a big, bright Victorian house in the city across from a park. 

With the help of his group of friends – a dog, chameleon, fly, bumblebee, owl, and more – Lucas usually leaps head-first into adventure and discovery, making the most out of every moment while learning about what it means to be a loving friend.

Boomerang Africa adds new The Tom and Jerry Show 5th season episodes on weekdays plus two of its cat-and-mouse movies in March, says animated show 'one of most significant contributors' to Boomerang's ratings.

by Thinus Ferreira

New episodes of the 5th season of The Tom and Jerry Show started rolling out on Boomerang (DStv 302) at 08:05 on weekdays from Monday 8 March, with two Tom and Jerry films that will be shown on Boomerang on Monday 22 March from 08:05 as well.

The 2014-series, directed by Darrell van Citters, is based on the 1940 Tom and Jerry animated cartoon series created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with the iconic frenemies cat and mouse who are joined by Spike, Tyke, Tuffy, Butch and other friends in new adventures around the house and even as far away as outer space.

WarnerMedia says that Tom and Jerry remains one of the best performing shows on the Boomerang Africa channel and that it is "one of the most significant contributors to the channel's ratings in the past year".

To celebrate the release of The Tom & Jerry Movie, a hybrid live-action and animated film now in South African cinemas since 5 March in which Jerry moves into a New York hotel during a wedding and Tom is brought in to get rid of him, Boomerang Africa has launched new episodes of the series on weekdays at 08:05.

In addition viewers will be able to enjoy the public holiday on Monday 22 March with two Tom and Jerry movies starting at 08:05, starting with Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry as the duo agree for once to enter a race around the world where the winner gets a new house after wrecking their own home during a chase.

The two then accidentally blast off to outer space in Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars.

Animation series, Lamput, renewed for a third and longer season on Boomerang for 2020.

Turner's Cartoon Network has renewed the animation series, Laput, for a third season that will be broadcast on its sister channel Boomerang (DStv 302) in South Africa and across Africa.

Lamput, a non-dialogue, slapstick chase animation series, follows Lamput, a gooey orange substance who has escaped from a secret laboratory.

Despite the best efforts of scientists Specs Doc and Skinny Doc, Lamput manages to evade them at every turn. It's produced by the Mumbai-based Vaibhav Studios in India and the third season will start in 2020.

Lamput originally started as a 15-second and two-minute shorts, but the new third season will be a mixture of 21 five minute episodes and 21 two minute episodes.

Vaibhav Kumaresh, creator of Lamput and founder of Vaibhav Studios, says "It's great to know that the crazy adventures of Lamput will continue and it’s completely heartening to see the amazing viewership the show has received so far across the globe."

Leslie Lee, the vice president of Cartoon Network and Boomerang in the Asia Pacific, says "From their studio in Mumbai, Vaibhav and his team pour enormous amounts of energy into this creation and it’s awesome to see the results. It’s an excellent achievement for Lamput, a homegrown Indian series, to reach a global audience".

Turner International switches its Boomerang kids channel to high definition in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa.

Turner International has switched its Boomerang (DStv 302) kids channel carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform to a high definition (HD) feed on Tuesday, 5 March.

The switch from standard definition to HD wasn't announced, but TVwithThinus asked Turner about it on Tuesday morning, who confirmed it in an answer just before the close of business on Tuesday, saying the channel has indeed been upgraded.

Burson Cohn & Wolfe, the South African PR agency that reps Turner, told TVwithThinus that Boomerang indeed became an HD channel today.

It comes after viewers on Tuesday morning told me that they've noticed the change.

Turner in a statement to TVwithThinus says "continuing its ongoing commitment towards re-imagining television for African audiences, Turner has now made Boomerang available in high definition across Africa".

"The switch took place on the morning of 5 March, rolling out across the whole continent, effective immediately."

The change marks Turner's third African channel to transition to HD in recent months.

"Currently, South African viewers can enjoy watching their favourite kids channel, Cartoon Network (DStv 301), in HD, while the whole continent has access to the American blockbuster channel, TNT (DStv 137), in HD, alongside the 'more to laugh about' kids channel, Boomerang," says Turner.

South African survey by Turner's Boomerang confirms that the lives of 4 to 7-year olds are one unending party - literally.

A new survey by Turner's Boomerang (DStv 302) channel confirms that the lives of 4 to 7-year old kids are one unending party - literally - as almost half spend up to 2 hours per week at birthday parties.

Turner's Boomerang conducted the marketing survey under 500 South African parents of kids aged between 4 and 7 - its core audience - looking into the importance of downtime and humour.

The survey revealed 48% of parents of kids in this age bracket said that their kids have between 4 and 7 hours of commitments, activities and social events in a normal week. In Johannesburg and Pretoria this rises to 54%.

More than 30% said their 4 to 7-year-olds have up to 1,5 hours per week of school homework and more than 40% have up to an hour per week of housework or chores.

About 40% also have up to 2 hours per week of playdates with friends, with almost 50% spending up to 2 hours per week at birthday parties.

Playing with friends or siblings, playing with family and watching TV are the moments when parents said their child tends to laugh most.

Watching TV is the top activity kids would choose for downtime at night and during wet weather – and 95% of 4 to 7-year-olds would choose to watch cartoons over any other genre to help them relax.

About a quarter of the sample said their child mainly gets their humour from TV.

When asked about their child watching TV programmes that are not educational, 42% of parents said they're okay with it but don't encourage it – however, when asked about the benefits, 64% said that it allows their kids to develop a sense of humour, imagination and creativity.

"Boomerang offers kids a safe space and time to relax, laugh – and be kids," says Julien Borde, the head of channels for kids and general entertainment for Turner Africa, France, French speaking territories and Israel.

"The time between four and seven years is when kids’ lives start to get a little more serious, and we want to provide them with a qualitative line-up that is filled with non-stop moments of pure enjoyment"

"This recent study gives us meaningful insights to kids' need for commitment-free downtime, something we've taken carefully into consideration with our new channel refresh."

"Our line-up serves non-stop entertainment and fun from old friends such as frenemies, Tom and Jerry, to new ones such as the raccoon, Taffy, posing as the fluffy angora cat in Mrs Muchmore's manor."

"We are dedicated to staying in tune and reflect the needs of our audiences, and we are excited putting the results of the survey into action. We want to bring kids more to laugh about."

Cartoon Network still most-watched kids TV channel in South Africa; ratings of rebranded TNT surging past Studio Universal, says Turner Africa.

Cartoon Network (DStv 301) remains the most-watched kids TV channel in South Africa, while the rebrand of TCM to TNT (DStv 137) in September 2018 has seen a dramatic viewership upswing from DStv subscribers, says Turner Africa.

Turner Africa says its combined kids channels multiplex and the rebranded TNT in 2018 lifted Turner's Africa business to achieve greater reach and rating results than ever before.

"In November 2018, Turner Kids celebrated 51 consecutive months in the number 1 spot among pay-TV multiplexes in South Africa," says Turner Africa

Cartoon Network remains the favourite kids TV channel in South Africa with the channel that celebrated its highest-ever monthly share and remained the number 1 pay-TV Kids channel among kids aged 4 to 14.

Turner Africa says Cartoon Network's most popular shows vary between Ben 10, alongside new Cartoon Network original hits like Apple and Onion and Craig of the Creek. 

Original Cartoon Network productions and Warner Bros. content totalled 77% of the most viewed content on the channel.

Cartoon Network continued with its high-performance success in December 2018, with the Power Rangers: Clash of the Red Rangers movie viewed by 239 000 kids aged 4 to 14, and the sneak peek of the new Cartoon Network Original Summer Camp Island claiming the second spot.

Boomerang (DStv 302), Turner's other kids channel, is closing in on Cartoon Network's ratings, after moving up to the number 2 spot amongst the pay-TV kids channels for kids aged 4 to 14.

Meanwhile TNT Africa in October 2018 had its highest performance ever in ratings with an average of 36 000 viewers.

In November 2018 TNT Africa broke a new record with 40 700 viewers tuning in - a 13% month-on-month increase and achieved its second highest performance in share (1.14%) since December 2016.

TNT ranked number 5, ahead of NBCUniversal International Networks' Studio Universal (DStv 112) for a second month in a row.

"For the first time ever, not only did TNT dominate the top 50 competitive movies in November - with 7 movies on the top 10 list, but the channel also secured the top 3 spots for the month," says Turner Africa.

"For prime-time tune-ins, TNT remained on top of the podium, says Turner Africa, noting that TNT's  performance was driven by viewers tuning in on weekday afternoons, averaging 83 000 viewers between 15:00 and 18:00; and Saturday evenings during prime time, fuelled in November by The Schwarzenegger Fan Month programming stunt, gathering an average of 202 000 viewers.

TNT going HD, Ben 10 sold to SABC, Showmax getting content from [adult swim], as Turner holds its first-ever Turner Upfront Africa event.

At Turner's first-ever Turner Upfront Africa event held on Tuesday in Johannesburg, Turner made several announcements and a programming slate, as well as new local partnerships, a pop-up channel coming for 2019 and that TNT (DStv 137) will be upgraded to a high definition channel.

At the Turner Africa Upfront held at The Galleria in Sandton, Turner announced that the TNT channel carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform will soon be switched to high definition (HD).

It comes after MultiChoice and Turner replaced the outdated TCM that had little relevance to African audiences in mid-September with TNT. The channel's viewership since September to October jumped by 45%.

Content from Turner's Cartoon Network and Boomerang linear TV channels will also be available from today on an on-demand basis on Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) video streaming service, Showmax run by MultiChoice.

In a new distribution deal with Showmax, Turner is also making content from its [adult swim] animation channel available to a millennial audience on Showmax from mid-November. 

[adult swim], one of Turner's TV channels overseas,offers a mix of animation, stop motion and live-action comedy that will be available on Showmax.

Plans are also underway to produce original digital productions to further localise Turner's online platforms. "We are currently in discussions to produce an exclusive local version of our YouTuber, Toony, for our African digital platforms," says Julien Borde, the head of Channels for Africa at Turner.

In a deal with the South African public broadcaster, the animation series Ben 10 will be broadcast on the SABC. It will also help Turner to bring its kids content to South African and African viewers in vernacular languages.

Following the first season Ben 10 premiere in July, Turner will rebroadcast the first season on SABC2 in Afrikaans and on SABC1 in SiSwati before the end of this year.

"Partnering with the SABC reflects our strategy to expand our brands' presence in South Africa," says Guillaume Coffin, the vice-president head of sales and business development at Turner for the Africa region.

"We are thrilled to bring Ben 10 to new fans and audiences across more screens and in new languages. Turner is dedicated to a localisation strategy that adapts to the cultural differences of its African markets," he says, adding that "this effort has helped Turner address the gap in locally-relevant content, drive programming that resonates with African audiences, and boost brand value across the continent".

Turner is also working on a Super Hero HQ animation pop-up channel that will run in MultiChoice's DStv in 2019.

Then Turner also plans to debut Mike and Rob on Cartoon Network in 2019, a new animation series about two witty microbes making jokes with local comedian Trevor Gumbi supplying a localised voice-over.

"As Turner, our audience needs are becoming more pertinent and we're constant challenging ourselves to be more innovative and creative in our offering to keep attracting and entertaining our loyal fan base on-air, online and for real," says Jaime Ondarza, the senior vice-president for Turner Southern Europe & Africa and CEO of Boing SpA.

"We are benefiting from high awareness and a great level of brand recognition with our brands in Africa."

"CNN International is widely known to be the most trusted source for news and information on the continent while our kids' channels, Cartoon Network and Boomerang, have been leading and gaining market share within the pay-TV kids industry for almost 4 years now."

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Do everything turn, turn, turn: Turner's first-ever (and colourful) Turner Upfront Africa dazzles with a rotary, turntable stage.

IN PHOTOS. Do everything turn, turn, turn: Turner's first-ever (and colourful) Turner Upfront Africa dazzles with a rotary, turntable stage.

On Tuesday Turner held its first-ever Turner Upfront event for Africa, with the international content and channels distributor that showed, and talked about, its current and upcoming content and channel plans.

The media and TV critics, as well as TV, PR and marketing executives, advertisers and ad execs all filled The Galleria in Sandton, Johannesburg as Turner executives from France, responsible for South Africa and Africa, made content announcements and talked about Turner's multi-faceted portfolio and brand strategy for and in the African continent.

Turner distributes channels and content like CNN International, Cartoon Network, Toonami, Boing, Boomerang, [adult swim], Ben 10, The Powerpuff Girls, TNT and others worldwide and throughout 54 of Africa's English, French and Portuguese speaking countries.

Turner's content can be found on operators like satellite pay-TV platforms such as MultiChoice's DStv, Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service Showmax, Cell C's SVOD service Cell C black, broadcasters like the SABC, and others.

Turner clever constructed and used a rotary, turntable stage to "turn" from the one to the next custom-made set for the late afternoon presentation.

ALSO READ: TNT going HD, Ben 10 sold to SABC, Showmax getting content from [adult swim], as Turner holds its first-ever Turner Upfront Africa event.