eMedia has strengthened its local children’s content offering with the acquisition of three South African animation series from Gqeberha-based producer Media Seven, bringing a substantial slate of locally produced animation to e.tv and its eToonz channel.
The three series — The Pencil Tin, Gordon and Nature Nerd — are aimed at children aged five to nine and are being rolled out across eMedia’s free-to-air platforms, including eToonz on Openview 130 and DStv 311.
The Pencil Tin comprises 25 episodes built around five narrated stories and 20 original songs, while Gordon features three narrated stories and 12 original songs. Nature Nerd consists of 23 episodes.
Scheduling of the new programming has already begun. The Pencil Tin and Gordon premiered on eToonz on 1 October and are also airing within e.tv’s Craz-e children’s programming block at 14:30.
Meanwhile, the English version of Nature Nerd is scheduled to debut on e.tv on 7 October at 15:00, followed by an isiXhosa version on 18 October at 17:30.
The acquisition also highlights the growing importance of localisation in South African children’s programming. Nature Nerd is being made available in both English and isiXhosa, with Lwamkelo Tshikini providing the voice for both language versions.
The Pencil Tin was developed by Polly Cordell, who created the concept, wrote the stories and designed the characters.
For the local animation sector, the deal points to two notable developments. First, eMedia is acquiring a volume of completed South African animation rather than announcing a traditional development slate, creating an immediate pipeline of locally produced children’s content for its platforms.
Second, the bilingual rollout of Nature Nerd demonstrates how existing locally produced content can be adapted to serve indigenous-language audiences without necessarily requiring an entirely separate production. Using the same voice artist across both versions also provides a practical model for extending the reach of children’s programming across South Africa’s multilingual broadcasting environment.
As broadcasters face continued pressure to provide relevant local content for younger audiences, the acquisition illustrates the potential for South African animation producers and broadcasters to work together to build content libraries that combine local storytelling, original production and language accessibility.
