Play Room Live! was an interactive youth programme that aired on Play Room (DStv channel 300). Aimed at children aged 12–14, it competed with SABC 1’s YO.TV and SABC 2’s Hectic Nine-9 by mixing fun with education. Topics covered maths, history, science and social media.
The show originally ran as a one-hour weekday programme at 15:00 and was accompanied by a catch-up edition called Play Room Live! Reloaded. It was even shortlisted for an International Emmy in the Kids: Factual & Entertainment category.
Over the years the programme went through several timeslot changes, moving from 15:00 to 16:00. It also saw multiple presenter changes before being revamped as Play Room Live! 2.0, with the runtime cut to 30 minutes.
Similar to how NickMusic quietly disappeared from Nicktoons, Play Room Live! is believed to have been cancelled. The show has been absent for most of 2026. When the 2.0 version was first introduced, it felt as though Play Room was dealing with production delays. It took between two and four months to launch, and the show received very little promotion. At times it felt more like schedule filler than a flagship programme.
We emailed The Rooms Network but received no reply. We then contacted MultiChoice and received the following response:
“Good day Insidus ZA. Thank you for contacting MultiChoice.
Play Room (DStv Channel 300) has periodically adjusted its live-presenter blocks and afternoon youth lineups, leading to noticeable changes in interactive shows like Play Room Live.”
In the months after the show’s apparent cancellation, Play Room has focused more on licensed imports such as Shaq’s Garage and Rainbow Rangers, many of which have been dubbed into Zulu. The channel recently introduced a Zulu-dubbed version of SpongeBob SquarePants, following its earlier runs on e.tv and Nicktoons.
It appears Play Room went through some internal restructuring that affected Play Room Live!. The channel’s parent company, the Ngwato Nkosi Group, is also understood to have disbanded. Movie Room and Play Room form part of one company, while Newzroom Afrika belongs to another.
There was a period when Play Room looked almost frozen, going several months with very little new content. It is encouraging to see the channel has since moved past that stage.
The departure of Play Room Live! likely reflects broader changes in viewing habits. Even SABC 2 no longer airs Hectic Nine-9 as frequently as it once did. Many children now prefer online content, and linear channels often use DStv more as a window for existing programming than as a home for expensive original live shows.
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire on Disney Channel
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire is an American musical sitcom developed by Randi Barnes. It is based on the Disney Junior series Vampirina, which itself was adapted from the Vampirina Ballerina books by Anne Marie Pace. The series stars Kenzi Richardson, Jiwon Lee, Shaun Dixon, Milo Maharlika and Faith Hedley.
Synopsis
"Vee Hauntley, a teenage vampire, leaves Transylvania to attend a performing-arts boarding school. While living among humans, she pursues her passion for music and tries to keep her vampire identity secret to avoid the Van Helsing vampire hunters. The situation becomes more complicated when her overprotective parents send an overzealous ghost to watch over her, and one of her classmates turns out to be a Van Helsing in disguise."
The first season premiered on 12 September 2025 and ended on 14 November 2025. The second and final season premiered on 6 October 2026. Lead actress Kenzi Richardson is also attached to a pilot for a potential new Disney Channel series titled Aquamarine.
Disney Channel marketed the second season as a “finale” without any formal announcement to the media. This approach is consistent with the network’s recent handling of other series, including the cancellations of Electric Bloom and Disney’s Saturdays.
The end of Vampirina: Teenage Vampire comes shortly after Disney Channel concluded Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, whose third and final season is due to roll out across South Africa by November. That would leave the late-night Disney+ original series Coven Academy as the only live-action show remaining on the linear Disney Channel.
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