Bye, bye to The Bold and the Beautiful – again – as AMC Networks International's repeat-padded EVA telenovela channel gets axed after 5 years on MultiChoice's DStv and GOtv.

by Thinus Ferreira

After months of repeats the EVA channel from AMC Networks International is the next TV channel getting axed from MultiChoice with the American daytime soap The Bold and the Bold that is getting ripped away from South African TV viewers for a second time when the telenovela channel will go dark in March after 5 years.

DStv subscribers – who have asked about the channels' schedules that became filled with unending rebroadcasts over the last few months – have now been told that EVA, as well as EVA+, will both terminate and disappear from MultiChoice's DStv and GOtv pay-TV service across Africa on Monday 22 March because MultiChoice "no longer has airing rights". 

For the past few months, all of the telenovelas on EVA has been repeats except for The Bold and the Beautiful, produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions, that remained as the sole original daily episode on the schedule.

Viewers in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa will now lose The Bold and the Beautiful – that recently broadcast its 8 000th episode in Africa – for a second time after SABC3 abruptly ended it in March 2019 after which they had to switch to EVA to watch it on linear television.

AMCNI launched the EVA (DStv 141) channel in March 2015 with Latin American telenovelas dubbed into English and into Portuguese on DStv channel 508 as a competitor to NBCUniversal's Telemundo. 

In November 2016 EVA+, as a sister channel, launched on DStv and GOtv, with AMC Networks International saying at the time that with the channels it aims to "satisfy the African audience’s growing appetite for telenovelas" with a crop of "hand-picked, high-quality serial dramas".

In the latter part of 2020 both EVA and EVA+  – similar to the FOX Life and Disney XD channels before they got culled – suddenly stopped adding new content except for the daily Bold and the Beautiful episode.

Viewers quickly noticed that the EVA and EVA+ schedules became padded with the rebroadcasting and repeating of telenovelas that DStv and GOtv subscribers had already seen.

AMCNI in response to a media enquiry says that "After discussion with DStv, we have decided to no longer offer EVA/EVA+ in Africa".

"We’re focused on optimising our portfolio across the region, and these changes are related to that ongoing review. This does not affect other services in our portfolio, including CBS Justice, the newest channel in our portfolio which launched exclusively with DStv in November 2019, in addition to CBS Reality and JimJam which are available to DStv and other operators throughout Africa."

MultiChoice spokesperson Sbu Mpungose in response to a media enquiry confirmed the axing of EVA and EVA+, saying that "from time to time, MultiChoice together with 3rd party channel owners reviews the channels available on the DStv platform which may result in the addition or removal of channels".

"For this reason, EVA and EVA+ will no longer be available on the DStv platform from 22 March 2021. Viewers will, however, be able to continue to view our recently introduced favourite channels such as TLnovelas (DStv 133) and the HONEY channel (DStv 173)."

Asked about what will be happening to the schedule and shows that have not completed the run of their episodes by 22 March, for instance Mujercitas (Little Women) that would only conclude on 13 April, Sbu Mpungose said that "almost all of the series which are currently on EVA and EVA+ are reruns".

The Bold and the Beautiful to resume production as the first American scripted TV series that starts filming again amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic.

by Thinus Ferreira

The longrunning American daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful that shut down alongside the rest of Hollywood will resume filming on Wednesday 17 June and become the first scripted TV series in the United States to resume production in 2020 amidst the growing global Covid-19 pandemic.

"The health and safety of our cast and crew are of foremost importance to us. We will be following all protocols set forth by the state, city, Television City, and the various guilds," says the Los Angeles-based daytime soap in a statement.

Last month The Bold and the Beautiful produced by Bell-Phillip Television and seen on Vodacom Video Play and EVA (DStv 141), was renewed for a further 2 seasons taking it to at least mid-2022.

The Bold and the Beautiful restarting production although Covid-19 cases in the United States continue to increase is similar to South Africa where the TV and film industry resumed production after an 8-week break because of the country's national lockdown period.

Two local primetime series, M-Net's The River produced by Tshedza Pictures for the 1Magic (DStv 103) channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, as well as Skeem Saam on SABC1 have since been forced to shutter again and deep-clean studio and office spaces following positive Covid-19 cases.

American soap The Bold and the Beautiful renewed for seasons 34 and 35 that will take it to at least mid-2022.

by Thinus Ferreira

The longrunning American daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful has been renewed for another two seasons with seasons 34 and 35.

The two season renewal will take The Bold and the Beautiful, seen on on Vodacom Video Play and EVA (DStv 141), to at least mid-2022.

The soap's Los Angeles production is currently shut down but could restart production in June depending on Californian regulations.

"For over three decades, The Bold and the Beautiful has been a cornerstone of the CBS daytime lineup," says Amy Reisenbach, executive vice president for current programmes at CBS Entertainment, in a statement announcing the two-season renewal.

"The show has been a creative and ratings success due to the supremely talented cast, writers and producers that Brad Bell has assembled."

"Of course, none of this would have been possible without The Bold and the Beautiful's dedicated fans, whose passion for these characters and stories is unsurpassed. We are delighted to be able to continue to offer them a daily look into the romances and rivalries between the Forrester, Logan and Spencer families."

Bradley Bell, executive producer, says "I am thrilled to dive into years 34 and 35 of The Bold and the Beautiful. We are grateful to Amy Reisenbach and everyone at CBS for their incredible commitment to the series. Of course, many thanks to our loyal fans who motivate us every day with their unending passion and enthusiasm."

The Bold and the Beautiful remains the most-watched American produced daytime serialised drama in the world and is set in Los Angeles where it tells a story set inside the world of high fashion, glamour, romance, passion and family.

The Bold and the Beautiful's series' current cast includes Matthew Atkinson, Kiara Barnes, Katrina Bowden, Darin Brooks, Scott Clifton, Don Diamont, Jennifer Gareis, Courtney Hope, Thorsten Kaye, Katherine Kelly Lang, John McCook, Alley Mills, Annika Noelle, Denise Richards, Lawrence Saint-Victor, Henry Joseph Samiri, Rena Sofer, Aaron D. Spears, Heather Tom, Jeremy Ray Valdez and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood.

Telenovela channel EVA has added the American daytime soap, The Bold and the Beautiful, starting from 2014's 27th season.

The American soap The Bold and the Beautiful is now also on EVA (DStv 141) with episodes of the sudser playing out on weekdays at 12:00.

The channel known primarily for Latin American telenovelas is now bringing the American soap to South African and African viewers but from a point a few years back, and behind SABC3 that also carries the soap.

EVA has started The Bold and the Beautiful on 13 February from production episode 6751 that was shown in America in January 2014 as part of the 27th season, so EVA is running just over four years behind where the story currently is.

EVA says "with romance, sensuality, complex characters and intricate and compelling story lines, The Bold and the Beautiful is at its core, a gripping tale of high fashion glamour, honour and most importantly, family, that will captivate the EVA audience".

Episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful are repeated at 18:00 and 00:00 and again at 06:00 the following day. Weekend omnibuses are shown on Saturdays at 06:00 and 23:30, and on Sundays at 16:00.

Other shows currently on EVA include The Neighbour, Taxxi, Fooled into Love, Betrayed Heart and We are Family.

MultiChoice Africa is adding the Eva+ channel on DStv and GOtv as a sister telenovela channel to Eva from AMC Networks International UK.

MultiChoice Africa is adding the sister channel to the telenovela channel Eva, Eva+, from AMC Networks International, to DStv in several South African countries from 1 November.

Eva+ will not be available on DStv in South Africa, but will be added to the DStv and GOtv platforms in several African countries.

Eva+ will be the first channel from AMC Networks International UK (AMCNI UK) to be made available on MultiChoice's GOtv service in Africa.

The addition of Eva+ follows after Eva was added in late-March 2015 to DStv in South Africa and across Africa.

Just like Eva, Eva+ will have Latin American telenovelas dubbed in English and Portuguese.

"We are delighted to be expanding on our telenovela offering and introducing Eva+ to the African market, in partnership with MultiChoice," says Louise Cottrell, the vice president for affiliate sales for AMCNI UK.

"'Telenovelas are increasingly popular in the region, so it's exciting that with Eva+ offered on GOtv in addition to DStv, we will now be able to reach brand new viewers with our top quality content."

Tim Jacobs, MultiChoice Africa CEO, says "with our focus now on putting our customer first, we are delighted to be adding Eva+ on to our platforms".

"Telenovelas have always been a sensation with our customers and we hope this addition further demonstrates our commitment to bringing programming that will make viewers eager to tune in to DStv".

Eva+ will broadcast double bills of four telenovela titles every weekday and marathons over the weekend, including Buscando a Maria (Searching Maria) on air from Tuesday 1 November at 11:20 every weekday, then on Saturday at 06:00 and on Sunday at 16:00.

Cuando me Enamoro (Timeless Love) willbe broadcast on Eva+ from Thursday 1 December at 11:20 on weekdays at 17:00, then on Saturday at 06:00 and on Sunday at 16:00.

BREAKING. MultiChoice adds a 2nd telenovela TV channel, Eva, from AMC Networks International Zone to DStv from 23 March.

MultiChoice is adding a second Latin American telenovela TV channel, Eva (DStv 141) to DStv in Africa, following the introduction of Telemundo (DStv 118) in August 2013.

MultiChoice says Eva is being added to satisfy the ongoing demand for this type of television under South African and African viewers.

Eva will be added to the DStv Premium, DStv Extra, DStv Compact and DStv Family packages and start on 23 March.

"Telenovelas" - serialised soaps with a limited run of about a year or two and a set number of episodes - have become the new TV buzzword in South Africa the past two years, with local channels ranging from Mzansi Magic to SABC1, SABC2 and now e.tv all broadcasting and feverishly producing local tenovelas.

Since Univeral Networks International's Telemundo started on DStv, MultiChoice also added Zee World (DStv 166), an Indian and Bollywood type telenovela channel, at the beginning of this year.

Eva, a bespoke telenovela channel from AMC Networks International Zone (AMCNI Zone), will broadcast in English on DStv channel 141, and in Portuguese on DStv channel 508 in other African countries.

MultiChoice says Eva is only available in Latin American countries and that South Africa is the only English speaking country to get the channel which means truly brand-new and never-before-seen content outside of Latin America.

All programmes are fully dubbed into English for South Africa and Portuguese for Portuguese speaking communities in Mozambique and Angola.

The soapy telenovelas are acquired from Telemundo's rivals, like TV channels Azteca, Caracol Television and Venevision. AMCNI Zone already supplies MultiChoice with channels like CBS Reality, CBS Drama, CBS Action; AMC and JimJam to both MultiChoice and On Digital Media's (ODM) StarSat, and Extreme Sports Channel and Natura to StarSat.

"The launch of Eva will definitely satisfy the on-going viewer demand for more telenovelas," says Aletta Alberts, the general manager for content at MultiChoice South Africa. "Audiences love watching telenovelas - they simply can't get enough."

Aletta Alberts says DStv subscribers will be thrilled with the new telenovelas which will include at launch Prisoner of Love (Amor Cautivo) on Mondays at 18:00 (a saga about three families), and The Perfect Woman (La Mujer Perfecta) weekdays at 17:00 (6 women who try to be perfect).

"With the launch of Eva, we aim to satisfy the African audience's growing appetite for telenovelas," says Chris Sharp, the chief content officer at AMCNI Zone. "We have hand-picked high quality serial dramas, cooperating with some of the best Latin telenovela producers".