Issue no. 115 - 13 October 2011
Top Story
African release of Viva Riva! May be the first sign that African film is in reset mode for a more commercial future
Nollywood is a huge continental film phenomenon but it has survived with a business model that clunks along the bottom as it is largely seen (by the yard) on television or on pirated VCDs. At the other end of the spectrum, African film is an greenhouse flower nurtured by international (mainly French) funding and seen mainly in European art-house cinemas and festivals. The release in early October of Congolese director Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s Viva Riva! in 18 African countries may be the first sign that African film is in reset mode and this time it might become commercial. Russell…
Broadcast
Naspers bets on $7 Pay-TV Plan to work magic across Africa and talks of going into francophone and lusophone Africa
Naspers Ltd. will expand its pay- television service to Uganda next week priced at about $7 a month and roll out packages in other African countries to add subscribers in…
Broadcast
Kenya: CCK to Issue Tough Broadcast Rules
10 October 2011: Radio and television broadcasters will soon be required to review their programming as the Communication Commission of Kenya enforces a new broadcast regime.The new regulations to be…
Broadcast
Eutelsat boosts broadcast TV resources for Middle East and North Africa
The Atlantic Bird 7 satellite of Eutelsat Communications has been successfully delivered into orbit by a Zenit-3SL rocket operated by Sea Launch AG from the ocean-based Odyssey Launch Platform in…
Broadcast
Arabsat launches its satellite 5C successfully
Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) has successfully launched 5C, its third satellite of the fifth generation, from French Guyana Island in South America by the Ariane-5 Rocket.The Ariane-5 rocket blasted…
Broadcast
Broadcast - In Brief
- Two top channels will launch on 14 October 2011 on DStv, with Discovery Networks, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) releasing TLC, its flagship female brand…
Content
South Africa: Country’s total Entertainment and Media Reached R98 Billion in 2010 – PWC
South Africa’s total entertainment and media (E&M) spending (advertising and end-user spend) increased by 21.1% in 2010, reaching R98 billion, according to a PwC South African entertainment and media 2011-2015…
Content
Bond film 23 will shoot in South Africa instead of India
We previously heard about the local Indian government and railway ministries being reluctant to allow EON Productions to shoot Bond 23 in their country this winter and the back-up plan…
Content
Reality TV not first choice of South Africans
Reviewing audience viewership of reality shows in South Africa would indicate that South Africans don't necessarily prefer reality programmes, as SAARF's TAMS Overnight ratings for August 2011 show that in…
Content
Kalasha film and TV award’11 winners
The glitz and glamour that was witnessed at this years Kalasha awards will forever be engraved on peoples’ minds for a long fortune of time. In the words of Nicki…
Content
Content - In Brief
- To celebrate the UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on 27 October 2011, the SABC on Wednesday, 5 October 2011, opened a portion of a larger exhibition from the…
Distribution
M-Net has licensed over 300-hours of its HD content to global TV network Africa HD
On 30 September, 2011, Multi channel Pan African content provider M-Net has licensed the North American rights to over 300-hours of its HD content to global television network Africa HD.…
Distribution
race TV sets up offices in Nigeria to reach Anglophone Africa
International music brand Trace Urban TV comes to Anglophone Africa, founder Oliver Laouchez and Head, Sam Onyemelukwe says it is set to launch in Lagos.Nigeria makes another leap in global…
Distribution
Distribution - In Brief
- In France, ‘Thema’, distributor of TV package "Le Bouquet Africain” announced start of Oct. 2011 that it signed an agreement with French telecoms operator SFR for the inclusion of…
Technology & Convergence
Nobody - not even Icasa - has any idea of what public TV channels who will have to carry after DTT.
No-one, no-one in South Africa - not the government, not the broadcasters, not the pay TV platforms, not even the regulator Icasa have any idea of who will have to…
Technology & Convergence
South Africa: Mobile TV’s DMB adapter reviewed
Mobile TV, the company looking to take radio and TV broadcasts to mobile devices in SA and challenge DStv Mobile in the process, has been running trials of Korea’s digital…
Technology & Convergence
Technology & Convergence - In Brief
- Digital consultancy immedia, creator of a number of uniquely African apps, has launched the iPad app version of DStv's TV Guide, reportedly the first of its kind for the…
Regulation & Policy
Ghana adopts DVB-T2 for digital terrestrial television
At the end of September 2011, NCA announced that the Government of Ghana has accepted the recommendations of the Digital Broadcasting Migration Committee (DBMC) to adopt the second generation Digital…
Regulation & Policy
Uganda: RDC Forces FM Radio Station to Suspend Show
Kitara FM, a Masindi based local FM station has reportedly suspended its political talk show and replaced it with a sports programme due to pressure from the Resident District Commissioner.…
Regulation & Policy
Regulation & Policy - In Brief
- In South Africa, Duncan McLeod, Tech Crunch reported that Super 5 Media, the troubled wannabe pay-TV operator formerly known as Telkom Media, has not been granted an extension to…
Investment
Namibia: Digital broadcast migration needs N$350 million
Namibia will experience the impact of digital terrestrial television (DTT) in the next one to three years, says Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology Stanley Simataa. Simataa informed the…
Investment
SportFive wins rights to broadcast Africa’s World Cup qualifiers
he broadcast rights to the African qualifying games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup have been sold to Italian company B4, in association with France’s SportFive, for “a minimum of…
Investment
Investment - In Brief
- In Zimbabwe, public hearings to scrutinize candidates who applied for commercial radio licenses from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) are scheduled to begin this month (Oct 2011), amid…
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People
- In South Africa, Thelma Melk, the long serving company secretary of the SABC is out; suspended because of allegations of ''poor work performance'' and taking unapproved leave. - In…
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Opportunities
From Cairo to Tunis, the Arab spring increases the number of TV channelsRevolutions in Egypt and Tunisia bring a breath of fresh air in an area formerly tightly controlled or…
