Television services have emerged among the most admired brands in Africa, joining a number of other globally revered brands on Brand Africa’s list of the top 100 most-admired brands in Africa.
Martin Mabutho
The list for 2020 compiled by Johannesburg, South Africa-based Brand Africa includes Nigeria’s Channels TV, Silverbird TV, NTA and MultiChoice-owned video entertainment platform DStv.
The list was revealed in a virtual event co-hosted by Brand Africa, represented by founder and chairman Thebe Ikalafeng; Feyi Olubodun, founder and managing partner of Lagos-based marketing agency Open Squares; and Martin Mabutho, chief customer officer at MultiChoice Nigeria.
Compared to last year’s list, DStv moved up nine places from its #45 ranking in 2019 to #36 in this year’s top-100 brands list and up one place from #4 to #3 on the list of most-admired African brands.
Speaking at the virtual event, Mabutho said: “It is our honour to be associated with Africa’s best brands and we are delighted to co-host this session in conjunction with Brand Africa and Open Squares.
“I believe that as Africans, we have what it takes to launch our brands to the next level and even compete favourably with global brands. It is what drives us at MultiChoice Nigeria to continuously create and enhance our platforms to showcase these excellent African brands. Congratulations to all winners.”
WarnerMedia-owned regional pay TV broadcaster TNT Africa is gearing up to launch its first slate of original productions on July 4.
Escape From Pretoria stars Daniel Radcliffe (right) and Daniel Webber (left)
The channel’s line-up will feature a slate of new movies produced or acquired by Particular Crowd, Turner Latin America’s original movie company, which was launched earlier this year.
The pan-African channel will premiere Escape From Pretoria, a true-life story of Tim Jenkin (played by Daniel Radcliffe) and Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber).
The young, white South Africans were branded ‘terrorists’ for working covert operations for Nelson Mandela’s banned party ANC. Incarcerated in Pretoria Central Prison’s maximum-security wing in 1978, they decide to send the apartheid regime a clear message by escaping.
Other titles include Buffaloed, directed by Tanya Wexler; Human Capital, a thriller starring Liev Schreiber and directed by Marc Meyers; and Guns Akimbo, also starring Harry Potter star Radcliffe.
Guillermo Farré
Guillermo Farré, head of general entertainment channels at WarnerMedia Africa, said: “With this launch, we are expanding our TNT Africa’s channel offering. We’ve been extremely successful with our selection of American blockbusters to become the second most-watched movie channel in South Africa.
“We’re always obsessed with creating unique experiences for our fans, and with the new TNT Original Movies, we’re providing our audiences with an exciting, wide-ranging and consistent flow of high-quality programming across all genres. Our subsidiary Particular Crowd’s creators bring it all, building a slate of originals that is nothing short of amazing, aligned with international standards.
“Escape From Pretoria will resonate with the local audience while acting as a hook to introduce the new editorial strategy of TNT Original Movies. The race-against-time thriller, with an international cast, is exciting and captivating. We think this is timely wherein the current climate staying at home is our new routine.”
Jiva! is from Cape Town-based prodco Blue Ice Africa
Streaming giant Netflix has commissioned an original drama series from Cape Town-based prodco Blue Ice Africa.
Jiva! follows the life of a talented street dancer who, while juggling the demands of a dead-end job, family responsibility and a rocky love life, realises her dance moves could be her ticket out of a working-class neighbourhood in Durban, South Africa.
The series, which was created by Busisiwe Ntintili, is a local African production from script to screen, and will showcase an all-African cast and crew.
Ntintili will act as showrunner on Jiva! and will exec produce with Adam Friedlander and Tebogo Maila. Scottnes L Smith, Mandla Dube and Mmambatho Montsho will direct.
Dancer, actor and radio personality Bontle Modiselle and Tom London, founder of South African dance crew Soweto’s Finest, join the creative team as choreographers.
In March, Netflix teamed with Star Wars actor John Boyega’s production outfit UpperRoom to develop non-English-language films drawn from Africa.
Earlier this week, the streamer renewed its first African original series, Queen Sono, for a second season. The six-parter, starring Pearl Thusi in the title role, was Netflix’s first script-to-screen original production on the continent.
Netflix will soon debut another African original globally, Blood & Water, a young adult drama series set in Cape Town, South Africa. The streamer has also previously announced its first Nigerian original series, from Nigerian director Akin Omotoso, as well as an animated project, Mama K’s Team Four.
South African free-to-air channel e.tv has picked up a Turkish drama series from Istanbul-based distributor Global Agency.
Evermore is from Turkey’s O3 Productions
Evermore, from Turkey’s O3 Productions, follows the love story between two people from different backgrounds and the struggles they face due to their differences.
Having also recently been sold into El Salvador, the drama is now available in 30 territories worldwide. Other countries to have aired Evermore include Poland, Romania, Kosovo, Ukraine, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Honduras, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Angola and Mozambique.
The series has also been adapted locally in the Middle East, while further sales deals are currently being negotiated, according to Global Agency.
Izzet Pinto, founder and CEO of Global Agency, said: “It’s a big challenge to be asked to wait patiently for weeks at home. In these difficult days, we try to help our clients by providing good content. We are eager to be a part of it until the end. We’d like everybody to maintain their positive attitude. We say stay home, stay safe, be with your loved ones and watch TV.”
Ethnic Channels Group-owned US cablenet The Africa Channel has launched in Canada via national telecoms and broadcast company Rogers Media.
Narendra Reddy
The Africa Channel has a slate of English-language pan-African series, specials, documentaries and feature films and is currently available in about seven million homes throughout the US and the Caribbean.
The channel will be available to viewers in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland via Rogers’ online channel aggregator Ignite TV.
Narendra Reddy, general manager of The Africa Channel, said: “We are confident the breadth of our content will appeal to both the African and Caribbean diaspora as well as audiences with an interest in global travel, lifestyle and culture.”
Chinese-owned digital terrestrial TV company StarTimes has been applauded by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for successfully covering the Ghana premier league games so far.
GFA president Kurt Okraku commended the pay TV company for the improvement in its coverage as well as having a strong African presence of the league games during the 2019/20 season.
He said: “Discussions are underway with the national broadcaster and other TV stations in the country to make them partners in broadcasting the games, via the StarTimes channel.”
A five-year agreement has been signed with StarTimes giving it the rights to broadcast live matches of the Ghanaian premier league as well as broadcast selected matches of the first division league and the women’s football league.
Abuja-based Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) has revealed the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) will soon embark on creating innovation hubs in six geo-political zones in the country.
Mohammed Ajiya
Having trained no fewer than 200 teachers from Niger State last year, DBI president and CEO Mohammed Ajiya said the hubs will be specifically used for the training of teachers and pupils at the grassroots level.
“In each of the geo-political zones, the NCC will very soon be sponsoring creation of innovation hubs where we can use those hubs as much as possible to harness needed talent.
“Very soon, we are going to start talent leadership training, where we are going teach out-of-school pupils and see how to harness their talents, how to become the next Bill Gates,” he said.
He encouraged teachers to improve their knowledge of digital technology and also urged the state government to avail themselves of the training being sponsored by the NCC at the DBI.
Turkish dramas Hercai and Love & Secrets have found more TV homes in Africa, after broadcaster and distributor ATV announced deals in Angola and Mozambique.
Patricia Abreu, channel director at Luanda-based Portuguese-language broadcaster Zap TV, has bagged the shows for both territories. The sales were unveiled at the Natpe convention in Miami, Florida last week.
The TV adaptation of Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Americanah has been picked up by upcoming US-based streaming service HBO Max.
The series has received a straight-to-series order from the SVoD platform, soon to be launched by AT&T-owned WarnerMedia as a rival to Netflix and Amazon Prime, and will be a limited series with 10 episodes.
The series is based on Adichie’s best-selling novel of the same name and will star Lupita Nyong’o. It tells the story of a woman born in Nigeria and her experiences upon moving to the US.
The series has been adapted from the 2013 novel by Danai Gurira, who also executive produces alongside Nyong’o for Eba Productions, Plan B Entertainment, Andrea Calderwood for Potboiler Television, Didi Rea and Danielle Del for D2 Productions and Nancy Won.
Head of original content for HBO Max, Sarah Aubrey said: “Americanah has sparked a cultural phenomenon and is revered by fans around the world. It has affected me deeply as one of the most moving, socially relevant and romantic stories of our time.
“With exceptional talent like Lupita and Danai in front of and behind the camera, this series will give viewers a uniquely heartfelt and unforgettable experience.”
The pan-African Animation du Monde 2020 preliminary round will wrap at the Lagos Comic Convention (LCC) from September 19 to 21, having held its fourth preliminaries at Nairobi Comic Con last weekend.
The continental finals will take place at Discop Johannesburg in November as soon as the LCC preliminary is concluded. The three finalists that emerged from each of the five regional preliminaries will compete in the hope of being selected as one of two winners that will represent the continent and compete at the Annecy/MIFA in 2020.
For a chance to participate at the LCC convention, click here. Registration ends on September 5.
The announcement by Annecy/MIFA that the focus for 2020 will be Africa is an opportunity for creators from the continent to showcase their content to the world and Nigeria – being the largest comic book market in Africa – has equally produced some of the best talent West Africa has to offer.
Dami Solesi, CEO and creative director of Lagos-based Smids Animation Studios, was one of the continental winners of the competition at the maiden preliminary round of Animation du Monde that held at LCC 2018.
Having pitched her idea at Annecy/MIFA 2019, she had so much to say about her experience. “Going through the Annecy/MIFA pitches has opened my eyes to a new world of content production and how I can bring my ideas to life.
“From the onset at the LCC, my project was constantly being refined at each stage. At Discop Johannesburg, I was meeting with each of the experts and appreciated the contribution that each expert made towards the project. They even provided opportunities beyond the competition and I’m still in communication with many of them as regards updates on my project,” she said.
“I believe every single creative who has an idea should apply for this because going through the process, whether you win or not, your project would be refined. And those lessons are invaluable to any creative as of right now,” she said.
Mbuotidem Johnson, owner of Basement Studios and also a participant at Annecy/MIFA 2018, said: “Whenever I am asked to talk about my experience at Annecy, I say it is Disneyland for filmmakers. I had dreamed of going to Annecy for as long as I can remember, and I am glad this dream became a reality in 2018. My whole perspective of the animation industry changed.”
Animation du Monde’s mission is to give animation projects in developing animation industries from across the world the opportunity to participate at the highest level internationally during the MIFA Pitches. The MIFA Pitches is arguably the biggest animation-focused pitching forum in the world, taking place against the backdrop of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Market/MIFA.
Pay TV company StarTimes is making plans to enhance agricultural development in Africa by enabling access to digital terrestrial content in rural areas through its digital media platform.
At the 10th edition of the African Green Revolution Forum, StarTimes vice general manager for overseas business Zhang Junqi acknowledged the limitation of digitisation in Africa. He said this was caused by a lack of infrastructure, which leads to low penetration of information communication resources.
“We intend to make it our social obligation to make our broadcast platforms available for relevant educational content targeting the rural population,” he said.
“At StarTimes, we have initiated the broadcast of agriculture-related content from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and other relevant resources, which have been localised in each country and broadcast in local dialects,” he added.
The Access to Satellite Television for 10,000 African Villages project, which aims to equip over 10,000 villages with satellite television, will be completed at the end of 2019.
Chinese-owned StarTimes intends to leverage this to not only boost cooperation between China and Africa but also to extend television services in rural areas.
The African Green Revolution Forum, taking place earlier this month, brought together stakeholders in the agricultural sector to discuss policies to achieve an inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the continent.
Abuja-based digital broadcast technology company Pinnacle Communications has signed a deal with US firm GatesAir to continue digital switchover (DSO) across Nigeria.
Lucky Omoluwa
Pinnacle’s pact with the US firm will enable the expansion of new digital TV services and the DSO initiative, which is expected to reach more than 50 million homes and 170 million residents.
GatesAir produces wireless, over-the-air content delivery solutions for radio and TV broadcasters.
The Nigerian company has had a relationship with the Ohio-based firm since 1998 to launch TV and FM radio systems across Nigeria and recently took a delegation to the GatesAir’s manufacturing facility in the US to see the next-generation product designs and readiness to complete greenfield build-outs.
Confirming the business relationship, chairman and CEO of Pinnacle, Lucky Omoluwa said: “Sometime in 2016, we had 12 weeks to deliver a station. All the transmitters were from here. We didn’t do any site testing. We just plugged them in, and they’re still on.”
According to Gates Air’s MD for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, Andy McClelland, GatesAir has been on the digital path with Pinnacle for a short time, but will be on it for years to come.
“A state-of-the-art, digital, terrestrial television platform is being rolled out in the heart of Africa that can by the envy of not only Africa but of Europe,” he said.
Accelerate TV has launched a new music show, titled Audio Candy. It is hosted by movie producer and rapper Ikon, who will interview other guest artistes.
Other Nigerian artistes that feature on the show are Waje, Seyi Shay, Tomi Thomas, Terry Apala, Funbi and Nonso.
The Audio Candy show is a mix of RnB as well as hip-hop, with Collete Otusheso, head Accelerate TV, asking: “What smells like RnB and tastes like hip-hop?”
The show, which debuted on the Nigerian channel yesterday, promises to be exciting as invited artistes will have the opportunity to perform their own song and also do a collaboration on a classical song on the show.
The Nigerian International Television Summit (NITV) is set to take place in Lagos in September.
NITV will be hosting another edition of its international TV and content conference on September 5 at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos. Several local and international TV industry professionals will converge at the summit to discuss the future of local TV content on a global scale.
The summit will feature presentations, panel and roundtable discussions, workshops and opportunities for networking. Various local television broadcasting companies will be represented at the event, including MultiChoice Nigeria, Play TV, Rave TV, EbonyLife TV, R2TV, Linda Ikeji TV, EMCOAN, Aforevo, Yanga TV and Zee Entertainment.
The conference will comprise varied discussions addressing the issues and challenges currently facing the Nigerian TV industry with the theme focused on Local for Global: Local Content Meeting Global Demand.
Speakers due to be part of these discussions include top media executives and thought leaders in the industry, such as Funmi Adenaike, general manager of Play TV; John Ugbe, MD at MultiChoice Nigeria; Zachary Wazara, CEO of Kwese TV; Tosin Dokpesi, MD of AIT; Jared Murray-Bruce, executive director of STV; Ayo Animashuaun, CEO of HIP TV; and Emad Ahmad, general manager of Wazobia TV.
Interested participants can click here to register.
NITV was founded by Ijeoma Onah as a business summit that focuses on various aspects of the TV content business in Nigeria, from content production to licensing, distribution and post-production. It aims to help media executives understand the dynamics of the local and international TV content market. Content Nigeria is among the media partners.
African pay TV group MultiChoice is set to launch a pop-up TV channel in honour of the former president of South Africa and ANC leader, Nelson Mandela.
On Wednesday July 18, MultiChoice-owned pay TV platform DSTV will launch a pop-up channel dedicated to Mandela, aka Madiba, as a celebration of his legacy. The date also marks a 100 years since his birth.
The channel will broadcast for five days on DSTV channel 199. It will begin airing at 19.00 on that day and will be accessible to all DSTV subscribers.
Named Mandela 100 Tribute Channel, the channel was compiled by M-Net for DSTV. It will feature archive footage, films and documentaries of the late Mandela.
From Wednesday July 18 to Saturday July 21, the channel will air content including a four-part miniseries, films (such as The Long Walk to Freedom and Invictus) and documentaries. These include The Face of Unity; In the Name of Mandela; War & Peace; Mandela’s Unsung Heroes; and Countdown to Freedom.
Speaking about the channel, Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice’s CEO of general entertainment, said: “Around the globe, Nelson Mandela is revered as a hero of the struggle and as the man who led South Africa to democracy. While striving for justice and freedom and shaping a nation, he also changed the world with his humility and indomitable spirit.
“We are immensely proud to dedicate a unique pop-up channel to celebrate the life and legacy of this beacon of selflessness and reconciliation, who gave hope to millions.”
Pan-African digital satellite TV provider DStv is set to start airing a new reality show tagged One Night With My Ex.
This is a show that gives people who are desperate for romantic closure the final opportunity to assess what went wrong in their past relationships and also to give room for forgiveness.
According to a statement from the company, each episode features two couples who make attempts to resolve their differences by dissecting matters ranging from infidelity, jealousy, deceit or lack of ambition with the aim of finding answers that could lead to healing and possible reunion.
“These lonely singles need their mysteries of lost love resolved. The reunion with the long-lost ex plays out in a single night in an apartment setting, in the hopes of leaving the experience feeling better than when they entered it. But, bringing former lovers together can be tricky and could result in turmoil for some,” the company said.
Reneilwe Sema, director of local entertainment channels at DStv channel M-Net, said: “One Night With My Ex is a reality show about ordinary people in search of closure. It’s about love, disappointment, heartache and second chances. We believe it will resonate with all our viewers, but for different reasons.”
Produced by South Africa-based Rapid Blue, the first season will debut on TV screens from April 19 for 13 instalments and will air every Friday at 8:00pm WAT on 1Magic (DStv channel 103).
The StarTimes ON mobile app now has a new data bundle for mobile internet subscribers, following the collaboration between the pay TV company and telecommunications company MTN.
With various new features on the mobile app, MTN subscribers now have access to unlimited entertainment and video-on-demand services at reduced costs, according to StarTimes.
Tony Tuo, director of OTT at StarTimes Nigeria, said: “All MTN subscribers would also enjoy five premium channels that offer news, music, religion, movies and other entertainment content for free on StarTimes ON, a service that users of other networks have to pay to access.
“StarTimes ON currently boasts of 3.5 million users in Nigeria and over 12 million across Africa. This makes its partnership with MTN the latest in an industry where it has become a common trend for telecoms and video operators to partner towards an effective delivery in a market where VoD and live streaming is on the rise,” he added.
StarTimes ON currently offers more than 70 channels of which over 40 of them are free to users. Of these, more than 40 are StarTimes-owned channels showing programmes ranging from sports to news, movies, entertainment, music and other content.
The project to bring satellite television to remote African villages, a result of collaboration between Africa and China, is already having an impact in Nigeria.
Justin Zhang
Announced at the Johannesburg summit between Africa and China in 2015, the project is named Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages.
It is not only enabling African families in rural areas to have access to digital TV signals with high-quality images and TV programmes but it is also strengthening the partnership between China and Africa.
There are already significant improvements in the communities where this project has been carried out, which is being made possible by Chinese-owned pay TV firm StarTimes.
As stated by Justin Zhang, CEO of StarTimes Nigeria: “StarTimes has installed two solar power projector TVs for the communities, one 32-inch digital TV set with a solar system and 20 satellite dishes and decoders, where they can watch more than 100 international and local channels.”
Xi Jinping
Aside from giving those in rural communities access to satellite TV, this project has led to the creation of jobs. “Nigerians from various villages have been trained on how to recharge, operate and provide the required maintenance support for all the products installed,” Zhang added.
Feedback was received from some communities in Abuja that had already started enjoying TV services provided by the project. Dimas Daniel, district head of the Hulumi community, commended the project and discussed the benefits to his community.
“The project being executed by StarTimes has positively changed our community, because it has been able to connect the Hulumi community to the global society,” said Daniel.
Bako Auta, another resident of the Hulumi community, said: “I remember how happy we were that evening when StarTimes distributed the decoders and TV sets and other equipment to us in the village. I also remember that so many people had to use generators to view the programme because it was so interesting and we have continued to benefit from it.
“My favourite channels are the foreign ones featured by StarTimes. I prefer them because they tell me what life is like on the side of the world,” Auta continued.
“I have seen so many things happening in the international scene across the sports sector, mechanised agriculture and the cultivation of land in some countries that have the technical ability to engage in it. I love movies and the diplomatic relationships between countries and news among other things.
“I learnt a lot from the channels and I sometimes practice what I have learned through the StarTimes TV programs,” he added.
Meanwhile, a resident of Kpadama village said: “Since the project was commissioned, we have had the opportunity to watch so many happenings that we were not aware of.”
Zhou Pingjian, the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, expressed China’s willingness to continue to bring projects that will improve the lot of Nigerians and Africans at large while Xi Jinping, president of China, has continued to express the commitment of his government to boosting the quality of life in Africa.
Mo Abudu, CEO of Nigerian broadcaster Ebonylife TV, was honoured with a Medaille d’Honneur award at the international content market MipTV in Cannes this week.
The award was presented to the noted TV producer and Nollywood filmmaker by Camille Bidermann, executive director of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the organisation behind the International Emmys.
“A major part of my acceptance speech was dedicated to the creative business leaders in the room and the need for a partnership between our respective continents, so that our stories can be told with authenticity and produced to the best international standards,” said Abudu right after the Tuesday evening event.
“If these stories are told from both our perspectives, there is a captive audience on both sides of the Atlantic waiting to be entertained as never before and with creative business leaders adding significantly to their bottom line.”
Abudu shared the stage with three other people honoured with Medaille d’Honneur awards that night: US writer, showrunner and producer, Ilene Chaiken; chairman of Banijay Group in France, Stéphane Courbit; and MD of the UK’s Sky Vision, Jane Millichip.
“The first African to receive this award,” continued Abudu. “Basking in the glory of receiving my award. I share this award with the EbonyLife team, I thank all our partners, sponsors, my family, my dearest mother, my darling Temidee and Koko and of course my bestos that have helped and supported us on our journey. Most important of all, I had to give God all the glory. Only HE makes all these incredible things possible in my life!” she added.
MipTV’s Médailles d’Honneur are awarded to senior executives who have made a significant contribution to the world of television and the development of the international TV community through their talent and leadership.
Top executives from the Nigerian TV industry were out in force on the first day of MipTV in Cannes today, with EbonyLife TV boss Mo Abudu and noted vlogger and web TV celebrity Linda Ikeji doing the circuit in the Palais des Festival.
Abudu was in Cannes to receive a 2019 Médailles d’Honneur award at the MipTV conference and market, alongside three other recipients: US writer/showrunner Ilene Chaiken; Banijay Group chairman Stéphane Courbit; and Sky Vision MD Jane Millichip.
The award is given to senior executives who have contributed to the development of the international TV community and to the world of TV. Abudu, who is a member of the International Academy of Television, Arts & Sciences board, is one of the most prolific producers in Africa.
The Médailles d’Honneur awards were handed out at a prestigious cocktail and awards event tonight in Cannes, at the InterContinental Carlton Hotel, attended by the great and good of the global TV industry.
Abudu was also in Cannes to moderate a panel session at the conference today, titled Global Hotspot: Producers To Watch From Africa. Joining the EbonyLife chief on stage were South Africa’s Kagiso Lediga, creator and executive producer of Queen Sono (Netflix); Shirley Frimpong-Manso, producer/CEO at Ghana’s Sparrow Productions; Courtney Williams, European regional director at Parrots Analytics; and Rethabile Ramaphakela, producer at Burnt Onion Productions of South Africa.
Linda Ikeji in the Palais des Festival for MipTV
The session explored how the appetite for new and original content has shined the spotlight on the vibrant and rising TV and film industries in Africa. This session focused on leading producers, hailing from South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, whose stories and talent have been embraced by international audiences.
After the session, Abudu said: “Exciting times ahead for the continent, but if there was a takeaway this afternoon it’s that more of us need to be out there sharing our stories. We need to get out there engaging with and speaking with international studios and production companies. We need to share our story ideas, development slates and then and only then can we truly change the narrative.”
Ikeji, boss of web TV service Linda Ikeji TV (LITV), was in Cannes not only to go to MipTV and promote the LITV catalogue to international buyers but also to attend the Nigerian International TV Summit (NITV) events that are scheduled to take place in France this week, including a conference in Cannes and another in Paris.
“I’m honoured to be invited to showcase our work and plans for Africa,” Ikeji said of her trip to MipTV. In 2012, US business magazine Forbes named Ikeji as one of the most prominent women in Africa, while last year she won the United Nations’ Global Leadership award.
Both Abudu and Ikeji posted pictures of themselves in Cannes via social media.
