Broadcast, Film and Convergence in Africa Issue no. 157 - 30th May 2013
Top Story
East Africa: Broadcasters prepare to capitalise on the opportunities from the digital transition
Tanzania has become the first mainland African country to declare that it has completed the digital transition. New channels are now available to free-to-air viewers on their set-top boxes (see Distribution News below). This provides an interesting opportunity for the delgates to the Broadcast, Film and Music Africa Conference taking place at the end of the month to look at these new opportunities.The catch with the Tanzanian announcement is that the country has simply completed the installation of the transmission infrastructure, the supply side of the equation. No-one knows whether all TV households in Tanzania (the demand side) have yet…
Broadcast
The Global Trend for branded broadcast content
Oh how I love my PVR! After years of being in the advertising and communications business, my husband and I delight in zapping the rubbish ads and moving on to…
Broadcast
Eutelsat assembly: use of satellite to bridge the digital divide
The 38th Assembly of Parties of the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization EUTELSAT took place 15 and 16 May 2013 in Paris, under the Chairmanship of Ms Marta Leandro of Portugal…
Broadcast
South African Viewers Hooked on AIDS-themed Show
Sixty-nine percent of the people in the world infected with HIV-AIDS live in Sub-Saharan Africa. The situation is particularly dire in the southern part of the continent. And in South…
Broadcast
Broadcast - In Brief
- In May, Franco-German TV channel Arte presented an 82 mins TV magazine on hip-hop and rap, an African-related music and dance movement that started in the 70’s in the…
Content
African film enjoys rare Cannes outing
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun collects the Jury Prize in Cannes in 2010 for his film Un Homme qui Crie (A Screaming Man). African film is enjoying a rare invitation to cinema's top…
Content
South Africa: Script Doctor provides training in Durban and a workshop in Johannesburg
International "script doctor" Miguel Machalski will be working this week with the Durban team that developed and co-produced the award-winning feature film, Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky), to develop the…
Content
Pamela Douglas will present a three-day syllabus that relies on screening clips and full episodes of shows to demonstrate screenwriting techniques on 16, 17 and 18 August 2013 in Johannesburg.
The writer will discuss why American television is so successful and will elaborate on the global future of TV. There will be time for interactive discussions and participants interested in…
Content
Mediatech Africa – The continent’s tech show that caters for content creators
The countdown to Mediatech 2013 has started and anticipation for the top brands and services on offer this year in broadcast, film and production has begun to build. Professionals involved…
Content
‘Where The Road Runs Out’, a South African co-production filmed in S.A.
Where The Road Runs Out, is directed by Rudolf Buitendach (Dark Hearts) and starring Ivorian born actor & Cesar award winner Isaach De Bankole (Casino Royale, The Diving Bell &…
Content
Encounters, Africa’s premier documentary event in June
The 15th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival runs from 6-16 June 2013 in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Africa’s premier documentary event will screen the most-talked about documentaries from around…
Content
Content - In Brief
- Kagiso Lediga’s new movie Blitz Patrollei (The long arm of the law just got shorter) went into cinemas in South Africa on 10th May 2013 at various recognized cinemas.…
Distribution
FRANCE 24 now available on DTT in Tanzania
FRANCE 24 has concluded a new distribution agreement with Tanzanian operator Sahara Media and is now available on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in the country. FRANCE 24 English version in now…
Distribution
INA acquired archive of post-genocide Rwanda footage
France’s Institut National de l’Audiovisuel acquired archive of post-genocide Rwanda footage from award-winning documentarian Anne Aghion.The Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA)—the organization charged with preserving and providing access to France’s…
Distribution
Namibia: Vision Africa prepares for MediaMetrics 2013
Vision Africa, a full-service marketing and stakeholder research company in Namibia, is currently preparing for this year's MediaMetrics survey. Fieldwork for this national study is scheduled to start in June…
Distribution
South Africa: International audit results of TAMS due mid-May
The SAARF Board decided last year that an international audit of the TAMS panel was necessary to review the methodology, identify any possible shortcomings in the panel as well as…
Distribution
Distribution - In Brief
- The opening up of premium sports TV rights to multiple broadcasters could become a reality in South Africa if the Government and regulator turn comments made this week in…
Technology & Convergence
Google reportedly in talks with South Africa and Kenya regulators to build wireless networks on TV airwaves
Google is reportedly working on a way to connect more people around the world to the Internet, specifically those in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The Wall Street Journal is…
Technology & Convergence
The Fifth SADC Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum
The Fifth SADC Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum took place on April 15-17, 2013 in Swakopmund, Namibia. The main objective was to review the implementation of the SADC Roadmap for Digital…
Technology & Convergence
Pay TV: the price of pick and choose
A proposed US bill, if signed into law, could result in American pay-television subscribers being able to pick and choose the channels they want to subscribe to. But before South…
Technology & Convergence
South Africa: Pule in about-turn on digital TV
The communications minister has told parliament that a government policy that mandated that set-top boxes support a control system for digital terrestrial television would be reviewed. Communications minister Dina Pule…
Technology & Convergence
Technology & Convergence - In Brief
- In South Africa, total data traffic on Vodacom’s network has increased 40% year on year, according to group CEO Shameel Joosub, with average monthly data usage per smartphone user…
Regulation & Policy
Zambia: StarTimes selected as for digital migration
The Zambian Government has not yet awarded a contract for the supply, delivery and installation of terrestrial digital migration to Star Software Technology of China. The Chinese firm, also known…
Regulation & Policy
Kenya: CCK targets more Royal Media TV frequencies
The Communication Commission of Kenya is set to shut down seven more broadcast transmitters belonging to Royal Media Services, just months after another crackdown and an ongoing legal tussle.The regulator…
Regulation & Policy
DTT in South Africa, March 2013: Sentech attained 80.43% population coverage
The Portfolio Committee on Communications has applauded Sentech for exceeding the targeted 80% DTT population coverage four days before the targeted date. As at 28 March 2013, the state-owned company…
Regulation & Policy
Regulation & Policy - In Brief
- e.tv, the South African free-to-air television channel has set up e On Demand, a catch-up service that allows you to watch some of our past programmes online for free.…
Investment
South Africa's film industry more than pays for itself , says new report
South Africa's film industry more than pays for itself with a 2.89 multiplier says the National Film and Video Foundation survey.The first-ever national study of South Africa's film industry based…
Investment
Zuku adds 11 channels to Zuku TV platform
Wananchi Group-owned East African pay TV platform Zuku has added 11 new channels to its offering after striking a series of carriage deals.The new channels include short movies service Shorts…
Investment
Investment - In Brief
- A screening of anti-xenophobia films were been held by the Johannesburg based non- governmental organisation, African Diaspora Forum, on 18 May to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the victims…
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Events
6-23 June 2013Encounters - South African International Documentary Film Festival Capte Town, South AfricaEncounters is Africa’s premier documentary event, celebrating its 15th edition in 2013.For more information click here:26-27 June…
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People
SA's sci-fi siren set to seduce HollywoodA week after her latest novel, The Shining Girls, hit the Sunday Times Bestseller list in the UK, Lauren Beukes began negotiating film rights…
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Opportunities
Call for entries: Al Jazeera Pitching Forum at EncountersOn Saturday 15 June 2013 in Cape Town, two commissioning editors from Al Jazeera will listen to pitches from 16 African filmmakers.…
