Nickelodeon renews PAW Patrol, Bubble Guppies, Abby Hatcher and Butterbean's Café for further seasons.

Viacom's Nickelodeon (DStv 305) has renewed four of its preschool animation series PAW Patrol, Bubble Guppies, Abby Hatcher and Butterbean's Café for further seasons.

PAW Patrol gets a 7th season, Bubble Guppies is renewed for a 5th season, and Abby Hatcher and Butterbean's Café both get second seasons.

In the seventh season of PAW Patrol with 26 half-hour episodes, produced by Spin Master Entertainment, the heroic pack of pups - Chase, Marshall, Rubble, Skye, Rocky, Zuma, Everest and Tracker - go on super-charged adventures after receiving all-new abilities when a super-power replicating baddie, the Copycat, arrives in Adventure Bay.

Then, the PAW Patrol travel to Dino Land where they meet new pup and dinosaur expert, Rex. With brand-new rugged Dino Rescue gear, heavy-duty vehicles and tools, the pups are ready for action-packed prehistoric rescue missions. PAW Patrol features a curriculum that focuses on citizenship, social skills and problem-solving.

The fifth season of Bubble Guppies with 26 half-hour episodes will introduce brand-new guppy Zooli, a spunky and smart student, animal expert and fin-tastic friend to the guppies' school class.

Together, the guppies will dance, sing, play and learn valuable lessons as they embark on all-new underwater adventures. Set to a soundtrack of catchy, educational pop songs, Bubble Guppies features a curriculum that infuses the core elements of kindergarten readiness, including math, literacy, the arts, science and socio-emotional development.

In the second season of Abby Hatcher with 26 half-hour episodes, produced by Spin Master Entertainment, Abby and her best Fuzzly friend Bozzly lend a helping hand to some new Fuzzly pals as they explore their incredible hotel home, encounter a shuttle bus full of surprises and zoom off to new locations with Abby's souped-up bike and Fuzzly-finding gear.

Abby Hatcher features a social-emotional curriculum highlighting empathy, compassion and problem-solving skills.

The second season of Butterbean's Café with 20 half-hour episodes will continue to follow Butterbean, her fairy friends - Dazzle, Poppy, and Jasper - and her little sister Cricket, as they use teamwork to successfully run their neighbourhood cafe and whip up healthy snacks and sweet treats for the citizens of Puddlebrook.

Butterbean's Café showcases creative cooking and features a curriculum with social-emotional lessons that highlight kindness and gratitude, and leadership skills.

SABC2 revamps its Tshivenda current affairs programme Zwa Maramani with presenter Tshifhiwa Mbedzi.

SABC2 will broadcast a revamped Zwa Maramani current affairs show from Wednesday night, 5 June at 20:30 with presenter Tshifhiwa Mbedzi.

The Tshivenda current affair programme produced internally by the SABC, covers public interest issues with a focus on developmental journalism, focusing on rural and remote areas in South Africa.

Tshifhiwa Mbedzi has been fronting the half-hour Zwa Maramani since November 2017.

SABC giving 25%-bonus advertising airtime to qualifying black, small ad agencies as part of Competition Commission ruling.

From 1 July 2019 to 31 March 2020 the SABC is giving qualifying small ad agencies 25%-bonus advertising airtime as part of the Competition Tribunal's order of February 2019.

The South African public broadcaster will give 25% bonus advertising airtime for every rand of airtime bought by all qualifying small agencies who meet the criteria for broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE).

The SABC is now looking for these small qualifying agencies to apply for their 25%-bonus airtime and to make contact with Thabile Dlamini at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters.

The closing date for applications is 24 June 2019 at 12:00 and proposals should include recently audited financial statements, BEE rating certificates and proof of corporate social investment (CSI) involvement. Qualifying small ad agencies should have been in existence for three years or more.

The SABC says bonus airtime will be applied to bookings over the qualifying period and scheduled at the discretion of the SABC.

Apple ends iTunes.

Apple has announced that it’s ending iTunes which it will be replacing with Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple Podcasts.

iTunes that Apple launched in 2001, will survive on Windows platforms, with downloads for iTunes that will continue to be available in a sidebar on the Apple Music app for Macs.

Apple made the announcement at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Jose where America’s technology giants unveil what their respective software plans and updates are for the upcoming year.

The demise of the iconic iTunes is largely due to the rise in streaming services with seismic changes the past two decades for the global music industry, with Apple that is ending iTunes in favour of its three better apps already found on Apple’s iPhones and iPads.

Consumers’ existing music purchases and music libraries won’t disappear or be wiped out but will fold into each of the new Apple apps on Macs.

Unlike iTunes where Apple doesn’t make money until a consumer buys a song or an album Apple charges a monthly fee for the Apple Music app, ensuring more constant revenue as the video and music content industry globally is gearing up and expanding their efforts in digital subscription and streaming on-demand services.

"The future of iTunes is not one app, it's three – Apple Music, ApplePodcasts and Apple TV," said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, at WWDC 2019.

Apple plans to launch Apple TV+ internationally as its new streaming service with original shows and films later this year.

SABC loses court application to set aside contract with SekelaXabiso that helped with investigations into irregular expenditure at the public broadcaster.

The SABC and the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) have lost their court application to set aside a service agreement that was signed in 2016 with the advisory firm SekelaXabiso (SkX) in a contract under which the SABC is supposed to pay SekelaXabiso R6 million.

The City Press newspaper on Sunday reported  that the application was dismissed with costs against the South African public broadcaster.

The SABC signed a contract with SekelaXabiso for advisory work to help with investigations into irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure in December 2016.

By May 2017 the SABC had failed to pay SekelaXabiso for a period of 3 months. The SABC in December 2017 went to court to have the contract set aside, with the Special Investigation Unit joining the SABC after it was asked to help with investigations of corruption inside the SABC.

The South Gauteng High Court dismissed the application.

SuperSport showing 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup matches featuring the South African team to all DStv subscribers.

SuperSport is broadcasting the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) on the SuperSport 2 (DStv 202) and SuperSport 6 (DStv 206) channels with MultiChoice giving access to all matches in which South Africa's cricket team play for all DStv subscribers irrespective of which subscription tier they're on on the SuperSport 13 (DStv 213) channel.

Gideon Khobane, SuperSport CEO, in a statement says SuperSport "will ensure as much support as possible for our beloved Proteas by making all 2019 Cricket World Cup Proteas matches available on all DStv packages in South Africa".

"These matches will be carried on a dedicated CWC SuperSport channel: SuperSport 13, which is accessible to more than seven million subscribers in South Africa."

SuperSport says that a minimum of nine South African matches will be available live on all packages.

SA World Cup fixtures:
May 30: England v South Africa, London
June 2: Bangladesh v South Africa, London
June 5: India v South Africa, Southampton
June 10: South Africa v West Indies, Southampton
June 15: Afghanistan v South Africa, Cardiff
June 19: New Zealand v South Africa, Birmingham
June 23: Pakistan v South Africa, London
June 28: South Africa v Sri Lanka, Chester-le-Street

Jenna-Leigh Bilong exits after 6 years as anchor of eNuus on kykNET.

Jenna-Leigh Bilong is done as an anchor of the Afrikaans TV news bulletin eNuus broadcast on kykNET (DStv 144) after six years and anchored her final broadcast on Tuesday evening.

Neither kykNET nor eNuus bothered to issue any press release notifying the press about her exit or why she left, or to wish Jenna-Leigh Bilong well after six years seen on-air.

The news presenter is known for her Afrikaans sign-off slogan, "goedheid en guns" ("Wellnessand favour") which she also used on Tuesday night at the end of the bulletin.

eNuus is produced for DStv's Afrikaans kykNET and kykNET & Kie TV channels by eMedia Investment's TV news division at Hyde Park in Johannesburg that is also responsible for the eNCA (DStv 403) TV news channel.

Previously Jenna-Leigh Bilong was a radio presenter at the SABC's Afrikaans radio station RSG before joining eNuus. 

MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela denies sexual harassment claims within the pay-TV service and SuperSport; 'if there are cases happening at the MultiChoice Group, rest assured I will act there and then'.

Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice Group CEO, says he is not aware of any new sexual harassment claims that have been officially been made against people working at the Randburg-based satellite pay-TV service or divisions like SuperSport, and that in instances where such cases are reported, MultiChoice will act on it.

Calvo Mawela addressed sexual harassment when the topic surfaced as a joint press conference on Thursday of MultiChoice and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) at the PSL head office in Parktown, Johannesburg where the PSL and MultiChoice announced a format change to the MultiChoice Diski Challenge competition.

Allegations and rumours have been swirling that SuperSport fired the sports presenter Robert Marawa in mid-May after he allegedly protected or stood up for an unnamed woman or women who work at SuperSport and who have allegedly been sexually harassed by their bosses.

After getting axed by SuperSport, Robert Marawa on social media said "Imagine paying for a service where people who are guilty of sexual harassment are employed and encouraged to work".

SuperSport didn't respond to a media enquiry from TVwithThinus asking about this in May following the axing of Robert Marawa.

A former SuperSport employee, Mmaphuti Mashamaite took to social media, alleging that a former boss is "a sexual predator", saying "I was painted as a loose goose, wild child. Just to cover for a sexual predator at work. I had three mental breakdowns soon after. I got less bookings. I couldn't talk. I can't talk still".

Calvo Mawela on Thursday said that SuperSport firing Robert Marawa had nothing to do with sexual harassment.

"It’s a very complex matter because we are dealing with a contract that was not renewed and then sexual harassment cases are being spread through social media. If there are sexual harassment cases that people are saying are happening within the MultiChoice Group‚ rest assured I will act there and then on such culprits‚ and act decisively on them."

"Let me be very clear on sexual harassment: I will not tolerate sexual harassment and I will act decisively on anybody who is found to be acting untowards‚ especially taking advantage of vulnerable women".

"So those allegations‚ unfortunately‚ are allegations that we have heard‚ that we have seen everywhere‚ but we have never seen anything coming through to the company saying this has happened, and unfortunately I can’t comment on those that we have seen circulating on social media," said Calvo Mawela.

The Premier Soccer League and MultiChoice expand the format of their MultiChoice Diski Challenge by doubling up its reserve league soccer programme.

The Premier Soccer League (PSL) and MultiChoice is changing the format of its MultiChoice Diski Challenge that it started in August 2014, doubling the number of matches per season and turning it into a full league programme from 9 August that will run until June every year.

In the new format starting with the 6th season of 2019/2020 and broadcast on SuperSport on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, the MultiChoice Diski Challenge is changed into a Top 8 knockout competition, with the number of matches played that will double from 120 to 240, bumping up the festival weekends from 12 to 18.

The 16 teams competing in the Reserve League will now get to play each other twice in a season and the teams finishing in the top 8 positions moving on to compete for the Diski Shield cup competition at the start of every new season.

MultiChoice Diski Challenge soccer matches that will be broadcast live on SuperSport will almost double from 40 to 70, with the feed that will continue to be shared with several community TV stations across South Africa that are carried on DStv, and who get to simulcast the live broadcasts.

It will also mean more opportunities for upskilling and to get experience for people included in the broadcast internship programme that forms part of the MultiChoice Diski Challenge.

Matches to be broadcast live go up from 40 to over 70, intensifying the broadcast internship programme as more matches played widens the scope of the programme and will also help build content capacity for the community TV’s with whom the live feed is shared with.

"Nothing beats a competitive environment and development requires visibility," says Dr Irvin Khoza, PSL chairperson who spoke at a PSL press conference that was held on Thursday morning at the PSL head office in Parktown, Johannesburg, announcing the MultiChoice Diski Challenge format changes and expansion.

"The MultiChoice Diski Challenge has that visibility. It makes it attractive to the youth who are almost lost to football. We believe if you want to remain relevant, you must always bring fresh faces. MultiChoice has brought light to our football."

"The new format of the MultiChoice Diski Challenge will create a legacy that will benefit this country for many years to come not only the PSL clubs but also the junior national teams. This platform increases competitiveness and keeps our players active and sharp throughout the season."

Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice Group CEO says "When we launched the Diski partnership with the PSL 5 years ago, we could never have foreseen the incredible contribution it would make to local football".

"The MultiChoice Diski Challenge has become the cornerstone of South African football development and has seen over 150 players make the leap to professional football locally with others moving to European leagues."

"There are about 30 players called up for the 2019 Cosafa Cup, the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and the Under 20 World Cup currently taking place in Poland. It's these incredible milestones achieved in a relatively short period that have resulted in implementing an expansion to the tournament."

When we launched the Diski partnership with the PSL five years ago, we would never have foreseen the incredible contribution it would make to local football,” enthused Calvo Mawelo, CEO for MultiChoice Group.

The Diski Champions Tour, the Reserve League winner's prize, will now move from March to between late-April and early-May.