Tag Archives: DSTV

News Central launches stock market show

Nigerian newscaster News Central TV has teamed up with Lagos-based financial literacy and advocacy platform Nairametrics to launch a stock market show called MarketPulse.

Kayode Akintemi

MarketPulse offers in-depth coverage of the Nigerian Exchange, delivering detailed analysis and updates on key developments in Nigeria’s financial sector, according to the companies. The show also covers selected African markets and prominent stock exchanges around the globe, informing viewers about international financial trends.

The new programme airs on News Central TV on MultiChoice’s pay TV platform DStv and Chinese-owned platform StarTimes every weekday at 16.00.

Ugodre Obi-Chukwu, CEO of Nairametrics, said: “Our mission has always been to empower wealth creation through information. We believe the capital markets represent one of the most potent avenues for wealth generation worldwide. This is why we are deeply committed to providing comprehensive and insightful coverage in this critical area.

“Our partnership with News Central combines cutting-edge technology, modern journalism and data-driven financial insights, ensuring our content is not only reliable but also actionable. Together, we aim to deliver the most up-to-date and relevant financial news to help our audience make informed investment decisions.”

Kayode Akintemi, MD of News Central TV, added: “News Central’s core focus is to drive solutions journalism and community engagement in our nation. This partnership is a milestone not only because of the numerous potential that both parties bring to the table but because of the immense contribution that this will bring to the African market.

“Market Pulse will be a show that shapes the business reporting and provides viewers and stakeholders with information and insight that will be unmatched anywhere else.”

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Big Brother Titans auditions open

A new spin-off from the Big Brother reality TV franchise, titled Big Brother Titans, has begun auditioning prospective Nigerian and South African participants.

The show is slated to start airing next year and will be a mix of reality shows Big Brother Naija and Big Brother Mzansi and will feature new contestants from both Nigeria and South Africa.

Interested participants aged 21 and over who would like to be one of the Big Brother housemates can register here.

“Introducing Big Brother Titans. Naija meets Southie, Afrobeat meets Amapiano. It’s gonna be lit. If you think you’ve got what it takes to be in this special edition, go ahead and register now,” said DStv in a statement.

Auditions are open until October 22.

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Canal+ ups its stake in MultiChoice

Blood Psalms

France’s Canal+ Group has increased its stake in African pay TV company MultiChoice Group to more than 26%, having almost doubled its interest in the company over the past year.

Canal+ has gradually upped its stake in the South African company behind the DStv and GOtv pay TV platforms since it first acquired a 6.5% interest in October 2020.

A year ago, the Paris-based broadcasting giant announced that it owned 15% stake in MultiChoice; this rose to 18.44% in June this year, then 20.12% a month later.

A statement to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) this week revealed that Canal+ has further increased this to 26.26%. Canal+ is owned by Vivendi, a mass media holding company that also owns Gameloft, Havas and Prisma Media.

As required by South Africa’s Companies Act, MultiChoice has filed the required notice with the JSE’s Takeover Regulation Panel. If Canal+ acquires a 35% interest in MutliChoice, it would trigger a mandatory offer to shareholders.

However, whether or not Canal+ and Vivendi owner Vincent Bollore intends to make an offer to acquire MultiChoice, it would face some major hurdles, given South Africa’s tight restrictions over the foreign ownership of broadcasters.

“While the group regularly engages investors and maintains an open dialogue with the investment community, its policy is not to comment on its individual shareholders, nor on its interactions with them,” said MultiChoice this week.

Canal+ and MultiChoice have worked together in recent years, coproducing shows such as the South African action-drama series Spinners (8×50’) and gritty Kenyan police procedural Crime & Justice, both made with MultiChoice’s streamer Showmax.

Showmax and Canal+’s African OTT platform MyCanal also coproduced 10-episode South African drama Blood Psalms, based on a pre-colonial Xhosa legend. Canal+ also operates Canal+ Afrique, an African version of Canal+ available mainly in the francophone countries of Central and West Africa.

MultiChoice is backed by African internet company Naspers.

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DStv opens doors to Movie Room

Thabile Ngwato and Thokozani Nkosi of Ngwato Nkosi Group

African pay TV operator DStv is set to launch a new channel called Movie Room this month.

Movie Room is operated by South Africa-based Ngwato Nkosi Group, a company formed by TV production entrepreneurs Thokozani Nkosi and Thabile Ngwato, who also founded news channel Newzroom Afrika.

The new channel will build on the platform created by Newzroom Afrika and expand the group’s entertainment offering.

“From big blockbuster hits to unforgettable cinema classics, this channel will offer entertaining local and international movies 24/7,” Nkosi said.

“We’ll be carefully curating the line-up to cater for every mood, such as edge-of-your-seat action or the comfort of an old favourite. Of course, we’ll also apply the unique perspective that we’ve become known for.”

Ngwato added: “This is an exciting next step in our journey. Newzroom Afrika has been successful beyond all expectations, and we will use the experience of setting up the channel from scratch to make smart decisions in our approach with Movie Room. Our team is entrepreneurial by nature and we have a core group of seasoned and creative talent that sets us apart.”

Georginah Machiridza, executive head of content strategy and third-party channels at DStv owner MultiChoice, said: “We’re excited to bring subscribers the widest possible choice of fine movies to satisfy all tastes and seasons.”

Movie Room will start airing on DStv channel 113 on August 27 and will be available in South Africa to all DStv Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, Family and Access customers.

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Idols SA returns for season 18

Idols SA judges

South African talent/reality show Idols SA is back for an 18th season, after debuting in the country in 2002.

The show is based on popular UK show Pop Idol, which debuted on ITV in 2001 and has been produced in more than 50 territories, including the US. The format is distributed by Fremantle.

The South African adaptation aims to determine the best young singer in South Africa and is set to debut on MNet-owned SA network Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161) at 17.30 on July 17.

Under the theme Singing a Different Tune, this year’s show will see 16 hopefuls compete.

The judges who will nurture and usher in these new talents including pop culture icon Thembi Seete, rapper/producer extraordinaire JR Bogopa and multi-talented choreographer and TV star Somizi Mhlongo, while the host will be co-executive producer Tebogo ‘ProVerb’ Thekisho.

Shirley Adonisi, director of local entertainment channels at MNet, said: “Idols SA is back! As much as it is about the music, it is also about the people. We are proud to unearth new and emerging talent, and our viewers form emotional connections with the singers as we follow along their journey from audition stage to making a career from their passion. We are excited to see who season 18 brings us.

“We are also excited to welcome our new headline sponsor, Standard Bank, as a valued partner for this season. They have, over the years, proven to be passionate about making dreams come true, and our winners should look forward to a basket of great prizes, which will be announced in due course.”

Lindy Lou Alexander, head of brand and marketing at Standard Bank, added: “True to our values at Standard Bank, we want to give South Africans the tools and support they need to achieve their dreams and aspirations and this sponsorship helps us do just that. It’s all about taking the first steps to building your dreams and believing that it can be a reality. We’re really excited to be part of the journey, all the best to those fighting to make their dreams a reality.”

Berenike Trytsman (aka Berry) from Cape Town emerged as the winner of season 17.

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Nigerian Idol unveils S6 finalists

Musical reality show Nigerian Idol has revealed the top 11 contestants who will compete for a chance to win this year’s sixth season.

The top contestants out of 68 chosen by judges Seyi Shay, DJ Sose and Obi Asika are: Faith Mark, Akunna Okey, Daniel Ikechi, Dotun Deloye, Clinton Francis, Emmanuel Elijah, Comfort Alalade, Faith Jason, Beyonce Ajomiwe, Kingdom Kroseide and Faith Onyeje.

Announcing the news on Instagram, MultiChoice-owned TV platform DStv said: “Your TV screen is about to be lit! Meet your Nigerian Idol top 11. Who will you vote for?”

The show is sponsored by Bigi Drinks and Tecno Mobile and will launch on May 9 on Africa Magic Showcase (DStv channel 151), Africa Magic Urban (DStv channel 153) and Africa Magic Family (DStv channel 154 & GOtv channel 2) from 19.00.

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MultiChoice unveils pop-up channels

Pay TV operator MultiChoice has unveiled plans for more pop-up TV channels this year, which will be available to more subscribers to pay platform DStv on lower-tier packages.

Aletta Alberts

This initiative was revealed at a virtual MultiChoice media showcase, during which the company also discussed its upcoming content slate, sports coverage, technological advances and upcoming changes to its business.

The new pop-up channels are Fast & the Furious and AfroCinema. The latter will air on channel 198 from May 21 to 30 as a festival of African film to celebrate Africa Day (May 25).

Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice’s head of content and third-party channels, said: “The past year came with many challenges and, in a time of physical distance where the world felt a little bit smaller for everyone, it was a privilege to make things a little brighter by bringing the world’s best content home.

“In some ways, it has reignited our passion not only as a broadcaster that connects people and stories, but as a curator of an unsurpassed viewing experience. No matter where you are or what you’re into, as Africa’s most-loved storyteller, we’re lighting up the screens with serious star power and entertainment that shines above the rest.

“This year we’re doing pop-up channels like never before, with more of them but also more accessibility to DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact and even DStv Family subscribers.”

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SuperSport drops second WWE channel

Sub-Saharan African pay TV broadcaster SuperSport will remove one of its two SuperSport WWE wrestling channels from the DStv platform at the end of this month.

Clinton van den Berg

DStv channel 128 will remain the sole channel dedicated to WWE while DStv channel 236 will be axed. The move comes eight months after the channel was launched when SuperSport rejigged its sport channels line-up on DStv.

Last August, SuperSport said that the replication of the WWE channel on channel 128 and 236 was to bring it into the fold as part of the block of SuperSport channels.

SuperSport spokesman Clinton van den Berg told South African blogger TV with Thinus: “The two channels are exactly the same and as such were only splitting audiences and causing confusion. We opted to retain channel 128 as it’s the original channel number assigned to WWE.”

An on-screen message on the DStv electronic programme guide states: “The SuperSport WWE channel on channel 236 will be consolidated from 2 channels (128 and 236) to one (128) on 1 May 2021. Channel 236 will no longer be available from 30 April 2021 and you can continue to catch all your WWE superstars and content on channel 128.”

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MTN, DStv in Brand Africa’s top 100 list

Thebe Ikalafeng

Telecoms company MTN Group and pay TV operator DStv have won places in marketing body Brand Africa’s list of the top 100 most admired brands on the continent.

The list for 2022, which looked at Nigeria, West Africa and Africa as a whole, was compiled by Johannesburg-based company Brand Africa and was revealed at a ceremony held in Lagos, Nigeria.

MTN ranked as the most admired African brand, while MultiChoice-owned DStv was named top media name, followed by the BBC and CNN in that category. Broadcaster Channels TV was the most admired Nigerian media brand.

Overall, taking into account both African and non-African brands, US footwear maker Nike took the top spot once again as most admired brand in Africa, as it did in 2021 and 2020. Overall, only 17 of the top 100 brands originated in Africa, including MTN (10th place), Globacom (32nd) and DStv (37th).

Thebe Ikalafeng, founder of Brand Africa, said: “No one can do Africa better than Africans.” But he acknowledged that Africans often undervalue the continent’s brands, which is why he launched Brand Africa in 2010, to drive collaboration promoting African places, products and people.

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MultiChoice, Airtel partner on mobile

Pay TV group MultiChoice and telecoms company Airtel Uganda have collaborated to offer tailored data bundles to DStv subscribers to enable them to access TV programming on their smartphones via the Airtel network.

Colin Asiimwe

Amit Kapur, chief commercial officer at Airtel Uganda, said that it was perfect timing to release this product considering the evolution of smartphones.

“Airtel Uganda continues to increase convenience and diversity by constantly introducing innovative products that simplify communications through strategic partnerships like this,” said Kapur.

Colin Asiimwe, head of marketing at Multichoice Uganda, added that the DStv ‘smart bundles’ will further improve customers’ viewing experiences by enabling them to enjoy the DStv app, stream live TV and catch up on premium movies, series and sports without having to be in front of the traditional TV.

“Multichoice remains committed to delivering the best video entertainment experience in Uganda through enhancing customer experience. The partnership with Airtel Uganda is a step in the right direction to ensure customer satisfaction,” he added.

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MultiChoice brings Disney+ to South Africa

Pay TV company MultiChoice has partnered with The Walt Disney Company Africa to bring streaming service Disney+ to the company’s DStv digital satellite platform in South Africa.

Christine Service

Disney+ is set to launch in South Africa on May 18 and will be available to DStv subscribers via the Explora Ultra decoder. They will have access to a collection of exclusive originals, including feature-length films, documentaries, live-action, animated series and shortform content.

Christine Service, senior VP and general manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa, said: “This is yet another proud milestone in our partnership with the MultiChoice Group. We are delighted to be collaborating to bring South African DStv subscribers access to Disney+’s incredible catalogue of films, series and exclusive content.”

Calvo Mawela, group CEO of MultiChoice, added: “In line with our business objective of adding value and enhancing our ecosystem, we are focused on making sure that all our customers can enjoy their favourite shows and movies anywhere, anytime, on our world-class platforms.

Calvo Mawela

“The digital world has brought with it fundamental shifts and our customers are looking for convenient access to a portfolio of entertainment options. MultiChoice’s partnership with Disney+ leads with an expanded choice of content, ease and convenience of subscription and payment, with the DStv Explora Ultra as an enabler.”

Disney+ launched in the US in November 2019 and has since expanded around the world and amassed more than 130 million subscribers. It will be available in more than 50 countries by the end of 2022 and in over 160 by the end of 2023.

As well as the South African launch next month, Disney+ will also debut in the Middle East and North Africa on June 8 and in Israel on June 16.

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PremiumFree TV reaches South Africa

Free-to-air satellite television service PremiumFree TV from international channels operator AfricaXP will launch in South Africa on May 1.

Craig Kelly

The new service will feature a bouquet of 18 TV channels, including BongoTV (focusing on Swahili movies), True African Channel (African blockbusters), Fresh (reality shows), Limelight (family and action movies), Romanza+ Africa (telenovelas) and LOL Africa (comedy).

Also in the bouquet are Sports Connect, Kiddiwinks, Pulse, Riverwood (Kenyan movies), RPM (motor sports channel), LifeTV (crime and investigation), DIVA (entertainment), Gospellife, Fight Night (martial arts and boxing) and Synapse (e-gaming).

Viewers can access the channels through Openview decoders, MultiChoice’s DStv decoders and universal free-to-air set-top decoders using a satellite dish.

In late 2018, AfricaXP launched PremiumFree TV in Nigeria and Ghana in West Africa with 13 TV channels as a freely available satellite TV offering. The company is bringing its multichannel bouquet to sub-Saharan Africa two-and-a-half years later after acquiring space on Intelsat’s IS20 satellite.

AfricaXP CEO Craig Kelly told SA blog TV With Thinus: “Broadcasting unencrypted not only means that the service can be offered free of charge, it also means that the channels can be instantly received on dishes and decoders already owned, installed and connected. It’s all about instant reach for us and with no extra equipment or cost for the viewer.

“After years of stagnation in the African TV market, characterised by the regular failure of new pay TV initiatives, Intelsat’s decision to seek out AfricaXP as a partner and allocate one of the few available transponders on IS20 to PremiumFree TV is a clear vote of confidence in the PremiumFree TV project. Intelsat has a clear conviction that multichannel free-to-air TV delivered over satellite has a big role to play in the future of the African TV market.”

Intelsat senior account director Christelle Meyer added: “Many countries dealing with economic disparity or smaller populations struggle with making fibre and mobile broadband work as a universal media distribution technology. Satellite will play a vital role in delivering rich media content to all corners of the continent well into the future.”

Meyer said that since January 7 PremiumFree TV has been transmitting a pilot channel on the IS20 transponder with at least 18 TV channels in a bouquet that will be tested from April and PremiumFree TV will officially launch on May 1.

“It’s exciting to be able to offer a compelling multichannel bouquet to such a large and underserved market. Free-to-air TV is critical in stimulating the market by offering value to a segment that can’t afford to pay regularly for premium content, if at all,” Meyer added.

“A strong media industry is symbiotic for the whole ecosystem. Strong free-to-air drives penetration of TV sets, stimulate content development and grows viewing habits which in turn attracts advertisers. We hope to make our contribution to stimulating activity to the benefit for all players.”

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MNet acquires Harry & Meghan interview

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Pay TV channel MNet has bagged the African broadcasting rights to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan’s exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The two-hour interview, titled CBS Presents Oprah With Meghan & Harry, will air in Africa on March 8 on Mnet, DStv channel 101, at 19.30, according to South African blog TV With Thinus.

In the show, Oscar winner Winfrey discusses a range of topics with Meghan including life as a royal, philanthropic work, marriage and handling pressure. Harry will also speak about their move to the US, future plans and dreams.

CBS Presents Oprah with Meghan & Harry is produced by Harpo Productions, executive produced by Terry Wood and Tara Montgomery as well as Brian Piotrowicz, co-executive producer.

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DStv to offer pop-up Korean net tvN Africa

tvN Africa will feature a range of Korean programmes

MultiChoice-owned African pay TV operator DStv is gearing up to debut a new pop-up Korean channel called tvN Africa.

The new channel will air on DStv 134 from March 1 for four months with new programming every weekday at 18.45. It will feature music variety shows like I-Land, Korean dramas including Encounter, romantic series and action dramas such as Signal.

Michael Jung, MD of tvN owner CJ ENM Hong Kong, said: “It is evident Hallyu fever is on the rise in Africa. We are thrilled to partner with MultiChoice, the leading pay TV provider in Africa, to be the first Korean entertainment brand to launch on DStv. We will do our best to bring all premium Korean entertainment to the fans.”

Yolisa Phahle, Multichoice Group’s CEO of general entertainment and connected video, said: “Delivering the tvN channel to millions of viewers on our continent is part of DStv’s commitment to bring the best of the world home.

“DStv customers can now explore South Korean lifestyle through tvN’s dynamic entertainment offering. Through the quality of its rich stories the channel broadens the already extensive range of viewing options we have on DStv for a variety of audiences.”

The new channel will be available to DStv Premium, Compact and Compact Plus customers.

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Streamers are ‘existential threat’ to DStv

International OTT services like Netflix and Disney+ pose an “existential competitive threat” to DStv, according to the pay TV service’s operator, MultiChoice.

The warning came during MultiChoice’s presentation at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)’s recent inquiry into the subscription TV broadcasting services market in South Africa.

Noting that international OTT operators are its biggest competitors, the pay TV company said: “Currently, competition is fierce and will continue to grow rapidly and in a disruptive way. We consider providers like Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, HBO Now and Peacock to be an existential competitive threat.”

MultiChoice also debunked the idea suggested by ICASA that the company is somewhat protected from these streaming platforms because many South Africans still suffer from a considerable broadband deficit and would not be able to access such platforms, and thus still rely mostly on DStv services.

Commenting on ICASA’s draft findings, MultiChoice said the assertion that good-quality broadband access is limited and expensive in South Africa is not true. It argued that broadband access is already sufficiently widespread for DStv viewers to switch to OTT on a massive scale.

The Naspers-owned company backed up its claim by highlighting that three-quarters of DStv subscribers already watch TV on other devices, which means they have sufficient broadband for streaming.

“OTT entrants follow a powerful and competitive business model that is reshaping the competitive landscape and we are directly affected by growing competition from Netflix, YouTube and other streaming services,” MultiChoice said.

“This is seen in the sharp decline in premium subscriptions. The four largest DStv bouquets across all levels have seen significant falls in real prices in the last three years. Strangling MultiChoice does not guarantee access to rights and will impact other licencees, jeopardise jobs, erode the tax base and cause harm, with no benefits to the country.”

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DStv to offer taste of Honey

MultiChoice-owned pay TV operator DStv will carry a pan-African lifestyle channel named Honey from February 12.

John Ugbe

The launch of the new TV channel is part of MultiChoice’s efforts to offer content that celebrates and explores African lives by focusing on lifestyle, fashion, food, weddings, dating and reality.

The channel will be broadcast in all key African markets including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, DRC, Cameroon and South Africa.

The channel is operated by South African print media company Media24’s television unit, which is also responsible for Afrikaans lifestyle channel VIA. Like MultiChoice, Media24 is backed by South African internet group Naspers. Honey will air on DStv channel 173.

MultiChoice Nigeria’s CEO John Ugbe said: “DStv is thrilled to launch Honey. The channel is part of our commitment to keep bringing fresh, authentic, and local content to our Nigerian subscribers. For many years, we’ve seen lifestyle is a popular genre in the country; and now our subscribers will see their own talent, food, celebrations and their families as the well-deserved hero.”

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Africa Magic unveils new gameshow

MultiChoice-owned entertainment channel Africa Magic has unveiled a new gameshow titled Come Play Naija.

Come Play Naija

The 60-minute gameshow format involves two teams competing against each other for a chance to win millions of Naira and other surprise prizes such as a new car.

The show is divided into five segments with different games, namely a trivia game, three obstacle courses and a contest called Spin the Wheel. Each segment will require one or more team members to participate in the games which are valued from N400,000 to N2,000,000.

Subscribers to MultiChoice’s pay TV platforms DStv and GOtv will also have the opportunity to take part in the home play edition on the Saturday live show to win cash prizes.

Busola Tejumola, executive head of content and West Africa channels at MultiChoice Nigeria, said: “The new show is an entertainment package that will further affirm Africa Magic’s position as a leading local entertainment provider, ranging from reality shows to movies, drama series, and now family gameshows.

“We are very excited about our latest show which happens to be a first-of-its-kind family gameshow in Nigeria. We know how much our viewers enjoyed the Big Brother Naija’s Friday night games, so we decided to create a show where they get to participate in light-hearted, fun, entertaining and fast-paced games to win amazing prizes.”

The show will be hosted by media personality Hero Daniels and will premiere on March 3 at 9pm on Africa Magic Showcase (DStv channel 151), Africa Magic Urban (DStv channel 153 and GOtv SUPA channel 6) and Africa Magic Family (DStv channel 154 and GOtv channel 2).

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Africa on course for 51m TV subscribers

Pay TV subscriptions in Africa will rise to 51 million in the next five years, according to a report by UK-based analysis firm Digital TV Research.

The report, titled Africa Pay TV Forecasts, predicts that nearly 17 million pay TV subscribers will be added in Africa between 2020 and 2026.

Of the total, Nigeria will account for close to 11 million, with South Africa bringing in nine million.

South Africa-based MultiChoice, which operates sub-Saharan African satellite TV service DStv and smaller pay TV service GOtv, had 15.5 million subscribers across both platforms at the end of 2020.

Simon Murray, Digital TV Research’s principal analyst, expects this figure to rise to 19.7 million by 2026 “with a marked slowdown of satellite TV growth.”

China-based StarTimes and StarSat will experience the most impressive growth, with combined subscriptions in Africa increasing from 10.1 million at the year end to 16.9 million by 2026.

France’s Vivendi, which had 5.4 million subscribers to its Canal + satellite TV platform and EasyTV in Africa by the year end, will see this figure rise to 7.9 million by 2026.

Meanwhile, other pay TV providers in Africa combined will go from three million subscribers at the end of 2020 to 6.3 million by 2026.

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DStv to debut Honey in 2021

MultiChoice-owned African pay TV operator DStv is set to launch a pan-African lifestyle channel called Honey next year.

Aletta Alberts

The channel is operated by South African print media company Media24’s television unit, which is also responsible for Afrikaans lifestyle channel VIA. Launching on February 12, it will be available on DStv channel 173 for Compact, Compact Plus and Premium subscribers.

Unscripted channel Honey’s content will be focused on lifestyle, fashion, food, weddings, dating and reality.

The channel will be broadcast in all key African regions. Like MultiChoice, Media24 is backed by South African internet group Naspers.

Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice CEO of general entertainment, said: “DStv is thrilled to launch Honey. The channel is part of our commitment to keep bringing fresh, authentic and local content to our African subscribers. For many years, we’ve seen lifestyle is a popular genre on the continent, and now our subscribers will see their own talent, food, celebrations and their families as the well-deserved hero.”

Aletta Alberts, head of content at MultiChoice, added: “Africa’s dynamism and way of life is the perfect ingredient for this exciting channel. Honey is going to add a sweet and sticky flavour to our subscriber offering. Lifestyle content is the ideal vehicle to reflect the continent’s diversity and sameness. Everyone curious about food, style and weddings is in for a treat.”

Izelle Venter, Honey’s channel head, said: “Media24 is delighted to collaborate with MultiChoice on this new adventure. The goal is to combine both companies’ best qualities, experience and knowledge to serve DStv subscribers with a new channel that is familiar, unique and entertaining.”

Zinzi Velelo, Honey’s head of content, added: “We are working with producers across the continent to ensure the lifestyle stories we tell are real and relevant. Our goal is to showcase the characters, talent and dynamics of everyday African life as never before.”

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Brainstorm’s Chitate launches streamer

Zimbabwean-born producer, writer and director Eddie Chitate has launched a streaming platform through his production company Brainstorm Entertainment.

Eddie Chitate

NoFTV focuses on urban youth culture across the African continent and aims to provide a platform that brings together east, west, north and southern African entertainment and current affairs on one platform as well as being the one-stop-shop for everything cool and hip about Africa.

Chitate said the new service fills a gap in the market. “NoFTV allows creatives and entrepreneurs to maximise their potential and ideas as well as giving them ownership,” he said.

“No more being at the mercy of the traditional broadcasters. It’s an all-encompassing entertainment platform and on it we will have TV shows, films, news, politics, documentaries, merchandise, music – pretty much everything important to the youth of Africa. We will partner with young creatives to give them a platform to showcase their talent.

“African entertainment is showing some growth and especially West African entertainers have managed to crack the code and be relevant across the globe. We need to produce more documentaries that tell our [black African] stories from our point of view, not what we’ve been fed by our past colonisers for the last few decades.”

Chitate launched Brainstorm Entertainment in South Africa and has produced film and television shows for both local and international markets. The first feature film he produced was Killing of Wendy (titled Divas in the US).

Through his leadership at Brainstorm, he has negotiated a licence deal with Vibe Media for sub-Saharan Africa and with NBCUniversal to be the first African producer to create original African shows for E! channel 124 on DStv

Chitate produced E! VIP, Africa’s version of E! True Hollywood Story, and collaborated with Forbes Africa to compile the first entertainment Who’s Who list, and was also the creator and executive producer of Diamond In The Ruff, a modelling reality series for Mzansi Magic.

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