Issue no. 124 1 March 2012
Top Story
Cote Ouest brings Brazilian magic football to Africa – Brasileirao and Paulista available with magazine packages in English and French
There are so few new TV sporting opportunities and even fewer football opportunities. Cote Ouest, the largest distributor of TV programmes across the African continent has sealed a new agreement with Brazil's TV Globo allowing African TV broadcasters to relay the most spectacular Brazilian football matches all year round. Rights are available for both Pay TV and Free-To-Air. Sylvain Béletre, Senior Analyst at Balancing Act interviewed Nicolas Lacassagne, Cote Ouest’s new Marketing and Programmes’ Director to find out what the deal is all about.‘The two most impressive championships, Sao Paulo's regional Paulista and the national Brasileirao, have recently been sold…
Broadcast
TV5Monde: top audience in Mali
TV5Monde highlights the results of media audience survey in Mali where the channel reached its record audience and reinforced its position as the first international channel according to TNS Africascope…
Broadcast
Many Zimbabweans set to lose free to air TV channels broadcast from South Africa by Sentech
Many Zimbabweans are set to lose their access to free-to-air TV channels like SABC 1, 2 and 3 among others, after the High Court in Johannesburg ordered signal carrier Sentech…
Broadcast
South Africa: New pay-TV operators on the way?
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) wants to license new pay-TV operators to compete with incumbent MultiChoice, which owns DStv, and recent entrant On Digital Media, with TopTV, despite…
Broadcast
Endemol celebrates a decade of Big Brother in Africa
Endemol South Africa, the television and audio-visual entertainment company, will in May 2012 celebrate 10 years of broadcasting reality show, Big Brother, on the continent.Pay TV broadcaster M-Net first commissioned…
Broadcast
Broadcast - In Brief
- DStv rival TopTV has sold 360, 000 decoders since its launch two years ago, but of these only about half are actively using the service, the company's chairman and…
Content
Films shot in South Africa hits at US box office
The past few weekends have seen the number one films at the US box office all being shot in South Africa.Both Chronicle and Safe House have done extremely well in…
Content
Orlando Bloom and Djimon Hounsou to star in “Zulu”
South Africa is quickly becoming a hot spot in the movie world. Now a new project is in development set in the nation and it has just attached its two…
Content
South Africa: porn ‘censorship’ a constitutional matter, Top TV’s Chair Eddie Mbalo
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has no right under the country’s constitution to block pay-TV operator TopTV from launching adult channels and the fact that it has done…
Content
Hollywood hosted its first Tunisian Film Festival
The first ever Tunisian Film Festival hosted in Hollywood, California was held from January 10-12, 2012. The festival marks the one year anniversary of the Tunisian uprising.Organised by Free Tunisia,…
Content
Content - In Brief
Nick Grubb is back in the corporate radio world after running his own consultancy - this time for Kagiso Media as Kagiso Broadcasting COO. Grubb tells Bizcommunity.com why they are…
Distribution
Eurosport to keep Africa Cup of Nations
Just after the competition reached a thrilling conclusion with Zambia triumphing over Ivory Coast, Eurosport has announced that it will continue to show live coverage of the Africa Cup of…
Distribution
CTC international channel available in North Africa
CTC Media will see its international channel available to more than 120 million television households across Western and Eastern Europe as well as the Middle East, North Africa and Central…
Distribution
Distribution - In Brief
- In France, Thema reached a new agreement with operator Bouygues Telecom which allows the broadcast of African "ethnic" channels in Bouygues’ Bbox (multiplay box): This includes “Le Bouquet Africain”…
Distribution
Julian Fellowes’ Titanic drama sails onto BBC Entertainment in South Africa this April
BBC Worldwide Channels has acquired Titanic – the lavish new costume drama from the pen of Oscar-winner and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes – to air exclusively on BBC Entertainment…
Investment
‘Man on Ground’ raised about $30,000 via crowd funding
The South Africa-based actor and producer Akin Omotoso talks about his latest film, ‘Man on Ground’, set to be released across Africa this year.Akin Omotoso is a chip off the…
Investment
Namibia: digitalization at NBC
The Director General of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Albertus Aochamub speaks about the life at Cullinan Street, his plans for the broadcaster and why he welcomed with open arms…
Investment
Investment - In Brief
- MTN, Uganda's largest mobile operator, maintained its lead as top advertiser in the country in 2011, according to a new media report by Ipsos-Synovate- SES the worldwide satellite operator…
Regulation & Policy
Uganda: 1000 Journalists Attacked in Uganda in 2011
Over 1000 journalists were in 2011 attacked in Uganda according to the new Human Rights Network for Journalists report (HRNJ). The number is a huge leap compared to 58 journalists…
Regulation & Policy
Competition watchdog probes DStv's dominance
The Competition Authority is set to launch investigations into the operations of MultiChoice Africa, the owners of DStv, for abuse of market dominance following the collapse of its rivals in…
Regulation & Policy
Regulation & Policy - In Brief
- South African state-owned broadcast signal distribution company Sentech has lost a high court battle with e.tv sister company eBotswana over the piracy of television signals in Botswana. This follows…
Regulation & Policy
Concerns raised over the proposed UNIDROIT Space Assets Protocol
- The global satellite industry repeated its grave concerns over the proposed UNIDROIT Space Assets Protocol. As delegates of UNIDROIT and its member states convened on February 27 in Berlin,…
Technology & Convergence
Raystream opens regional office in South Africa
Raystream Inc. a provider of HD video compression services, is expanding its market reach with a new regional office in Johannesburg, South Africa. With its HD video compression technology, Raystream…
Technology & Convergence
never.no powers social TV for Al Jazeera English
OSLO, Norway — Nov. 13, 2011 — never.no today announced that Al Jazeera English used never.no's Interactivity Suite (IS) to enable Social TV by taking viewer questions; displaying Twitter, Facebook,…
Technology & Convergence
Technology & Convergence - In Brief
- TopTV has no immediate plans to introduce a personal video recorder (PVR) or high-definition (HD) broadcasts, despite earlier promises by former CEO Vino Govender, who recently left the pay-TV…
More
People
Chiomah Udeh, initiator of "The Africa International Film Festival" (AFRIFF) Chioma Udeh is the founder of "The Africa International Film Festival" (AFRIFF), whose second edition was held from November 30…
More
People - In Brief
- Zamantungwa (Zama) Mkosi was today appointed the CEO of the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa (NFVF). Mkosi, an admitted high court attorney, has a long and…
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Opportunities
$40,000 grant for African producers?Successfully launched in New York last year, the Dialogue of Cultures Festival is very proud to announce its $40,000 grant program for the production of a…
