MultiChoice launches two new channels

Pay TV company MultiChoice has launched two new channels for viewers in Angola and Mozambique.

Maningue Magic (Mozambique) and Kwenda Magic (Angola) will air dramas, telenovelas, comedies, local versions of hit reality shows, dubbed international content and homegrown music on MultiChoice’s DStv and GOtv platforms.

Maningue Magic features programmes including telenovela Maida, Mozambican music show Estação do Boss and Date My Family Moçambique, a local adaptation of the hit South African reality dating show Date My Family, which airs on Mzansi Magic.

Content on Kwenda Magic, meanwhile, includes O Rio, an Angolan adaptation of popular 1Magic telenovela The River; Makongo, a new drama about a young man’s life in Luanda; and Salão de Beleza, a sitcom about a Luanda establishment and its diverse customers.

Joao Ribeiro, channel head for both Kwenda Magic and Maningue Magic, said the channel launches represent “an exciting milestone” in MultiChoice’s hyperlocal strategy and are already providing a significant boost to the production industries in both countries.

“MultiChoice’s mission is to showcase Africa’s diverse, rich culture through our continent’s deep storytelling history. To have two new 24-hour channels in local languages, featuring locally produced content, provides an incredibly powerful platform to do this,” Ribeiro said.

“Until now, independent producers had few outlets for their work and had to act on many levels, struggling to get budgets and to have their content shown. With our channels requiring content 24 hours a day, we can now invite local producers to pitch ideas, to commission and develop projects, and to pay fair, market-related rates for work.

“By investing in the industry, we are creating opportunities for local talent, telling local stories, and adding to the stability of the industry. We believe it’s our responsibility to grow the industry in countries where we operate and to deliver content that resonates with our viewers.”

Commenting on the ongoing hyperlocal strategy and production of content across Africa, MultiChoice Africa CEO Fhulufhelo Badugela said: “When we develop local channels or produce local content, we aim to create a platform that reflects local culture, so audiences see themselves represented in the content they watch.

“Localisation goes beyond simply duplicating popular formats in a different language or with a different cast; it’s about incorporating a country’s social, gender and religious conventions, as well as pop-culture trends like music, influencers and celebrities, into stories. This is what makes our hyperlocal strategy unique and exciting.”

Over the past 18 months, MultiChoice has grown its local content offering by launching several channels, including Pearl Magic Prime, Akwaaba Magic and Abol TV in Uganda, Ghana and Ethiopia, respectively, as well as hit international coproductions like Reyka and ongoing local productions like the ever-popular Big Brother Naija.

Maningue Magic airs on DStv channel 503 and GOtv max channel 19, while Kwenda Magic airs on DStv channel 502.

tagged in: Kwenda Magic, Maningue Magic, MultiChoice