Issue no. 166 24 October 2013
Top Story
Thema starts selling an OTT box to deliver Le Bouquet Africain almost anywhere in European Union
Thema TV, distributor and agent for themed and ethnic TV channels worldwide announced the launch « Le Bouquet Africain - La Box TV » in partnership with Alpha Networks. With strong demand for Le Bouquet Africain in several European markets, Thema has decided to launch an “OTT box” allowing its viewers to receive African TV channels anywhere within the European Union (apart from France) with a simple broadband internet connection. Balancing Act’s Sylvain Béletre met up with François Thiellet, CEO of Thema to talk about it.The most remarkable thing about this launch is that it is the very first ‘OTT-box’…
Broadcast
Spacecom provides East Africa with DTH + DTT Content
Spacecom, the operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, has won a five-year deal worth $5.9 million for providing broadcast services to an East African video service provider.The customer will use…
Broadcast
GOtv attracts more than 400,000 paying subscribers
GOtv, MultiChoice’s nascent digital terrestrial television (DTT) service, has proven popular with viewers across Africa, bagging thousands of subscribers just two years after it first launched in Zambia.“The service has…
Broadcast
South Africa: OpenView HD prices revealed
On 26 September 2013 e.tv hosted a swanky affair to officially launch their four new channels that go live on 15 October. The event was attended by members of the…
Broadcast
EbonyLife TV coming to South Africa
TVSA can reveal that EbonyLife TV will be coming to South Africa soon. It's been available on DStv to viewers in East, West and Central Africa and will launch in…
Broadcast
South Africa: TopTV on pause – indefinitely
Marred with financial woes and failure to attract viewers, TopTV hits another snag and cannot relaunch as Starsat until certain “processes” are through.TopTV - SA's only pay-television alternative to MultiChoice's…
Broadcast
Broadcast - In Brief
- As from 10 October 2013 community radio station Cape Town TV (CTV) will be available to 20 million viewers across South Africa and Lesotho on the DStv satellite pay-TV…
Content
Colours of the Nile International Film Festival calls for entries from across Africa
Colours of the Nile International Film Festival (CNIFF) will take place from 5–9 February 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The East African festival is calling for submissions from across Africa…
Content
Felix, South African family film wins third festival award
Felix, the feel-good South African family film, has won the €5,000 Michel Award for Best Film at The Filmfest Hamburg Michel Children and Youth Film Festival in Germany. “We chose…
Content
African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) Opens Its Doors To Caribbean Filmmakers
The African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), which will take place in London in February 2014, has revealed its intent to fully engage Caribbean filmmakers and films from the region, in…
Content
eNews launches Zulu bulletin on eKasi+
eKasi+, available on new satellite platform OpenView HD, will broadcast comprehensive eNews Izindaba bulletins every evening at 8pm starting from Tuesday, 15 October 2013. The bulletins will cover local, international,…
Content
Content - In Brief
- The Forgotten Kingdom by South African producers ZenHQ Films and Binary Film Works has won two international awards in the past week. The first feature film produced in and…
Distribution
Samsung Video Hub for TVs in SA
The video on-demand service for Samsung TVs has received a South African launch date.Samsung Electronics South Africa announced in a press statement on Friday, 20 September 2013, that its video…
Distribution
StarTimes introduced six new additional channels
Pay TV and DTT provider StarTimes introduced six new additional channels to its platform in Africa. The launch includes GET TV, OH Africa, NBA TV, Setanta Action, Fine Living, and…
Distribution
Top movies on BitTorrent, iTunes, DStv BoxOffice
The top 10 pirated movies from Torrentfreak are compared to what is available through legal channelsTorrentfreak has released its list of the top 10 most downloaded movies using the BitTorrent…
Distribution
‘The future of African cinema lies on reinventing smart cinema’
The online distribution platform Africafilms.tv cements its collaboration with the African Film Festival of Cordoba-FCAT, offering five titles from the 18th October Cordoba, 18th October 2013. The professional forum at the…
Distribution
Distribution - In Brief
- Several African films are screening until 13 October as part of the African Creative Economy Conference in Cape Town. Titles include Karamoja Joint (Uganda, 2011), a dance workshop film…
Investment
StarTimes: Funding Crisis, expension under threat ‘It’s A Baseless Insinuation
Years after its debut and growth on the African continent, StarTimes, the Chinese-owned digital TV service provider, may be facing a funding crisis. This, inevitably, has put a handbrake on…
Investment
Namibia: NBC goes digital nationwide, GOtv on the field
The national broadcaster, Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), has finalised the digitalisation of its networks, and is now asking households to purchase the required decoders that would enable them to watch…
Investment
Sh300mn loan facility for Kenyan filmmakers
The Youth Enterprise Development Fund has launched a loan facility for filmmakers dubbed TAKE254 targeting young and upcoming players in the industry.The Youth Enterprise Development Fund Chairman Gor Semelang’o said…
Investment
How Ready is Nigeria for Digital Migration?
Among member countries of the International Telecommunications Union, Nigeria is one of those struggling to meet the 2015 deadline for digital migration. With less than two years to the deadline,…
Investment
Investent - In Brief
- South Africa, through the Department of Arts and Culture donated a sum of R1 million at the Western Sahara International Film Festival (Fisahara).Read more here
Regulation & Policy
South Africa: to censor or not to censor
The first South African film to be banned since 1994, Of Good Report, ignited the 2013 Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) into an explosive start, writes Professor Keyan Tomaselli, director…
Regulation & Policy
Somalia: Draft media Law is still too repressive, says NUSOJ
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) deplores the announcement by the Minister of Information, Posts, telecommunication and Transportation of the Federal Government that he will soon present draft media…
Regulation & Policy
Ghana deputy Minister commits to smooth digital migration
Ghana’s deputy Minister for Communications, Victoria Hammah, has pledged Government’s commitment to the smooth implementation of the Digital Terrestrial Transmission (DTT) process in all television stations in the country.The migration…
Regulation & Policy
Regulation & Policy - In Brief
- Morocco: Moroccan private TV channel MEDI 1 SAT saw fit to disseminate racist words against blacks in one of its entertainment programmes. The CSCA (Conseil Supérieur de la Communication…
Technology & Convergence
Samsung dominates African smartphone market
Samsung dominates Africa's smartphone market with 52.1 percent of sales in Q2, according to a study by IDC reported by the Ecofin agency. The South Korean giant's market share is…
Technology & Convergence
Africa: Where to Find the Next Billion Smartphone Users?
There are currently around 1.4 billion smartphones in the use around the world. Several developed markets including the U.S. have already exceeded 50% penetration of smartphones among cellular devices. As…
Technology & Convergence
Internet may boost SA entertainment and media market
SA's entertainment and media market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.9% in the next five years as a result of increased Internet access.According to…
Technology & Convergence
Technology & Convergence - In Brief
- Mobile broadband over smartphones and tablets has become the fastest growing segment of the global ICT market, according to International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU’s) flagship annual report Measuring the Information…
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Events
24th of October until the 1st of November 2013Africa in Motion (AIM) – Scotland African Film FestivalVenue: Scotland, Edinburgh A large festival aimed at introducing African cinema to Scottish audiences.…
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People
Nollywood's 100 Most Influential People are...In order to be titled a Nollywood's Most Influential Person( NMIP) the person's actions and opinions should strongly influence positively the course of events in…
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Opportunities
ZIFF call for entriesThe Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) is now accepting film submissions for the 2014 edition, which takes place from 14 to 22 June. Entries from Africa (including…
