Issue no. 181 20 June 2014
Top Story
Digital Content in Africa: MTN Play Côte d’Ivoire is looking for digital content that will play well on mobile phones
Since July 2013, MTN has been getting its feet wet with content by piloting a VoD services offer - MTN Play - in Cote d’Ivoire. Balancing Act’s associate editor Sylvain Béletre talked to Laurent Duprey, Head of Product & Services Department and Boubakar Sorgho, Manager Consumer Project, at MTN Côte d’Ivoire.At the end of 2013, Balancing Act launched a market report reviewing all VoD platforms related to Africa (report updated since). MTN Play in Ivory Coast was one of the 52 platforms we listed. Nine out of the 52 are set up by telcos. For African Telecoms service providers, there…
Broadcast
Despite DTT, TV is not dead - far from it!
Balancing Act’s Associate editor Sylvain Béletre attended the opening of a new exhibition at the heart of Paris dedicated to the history of Television and interviewed a member of the…
Broadcast
Africa: Is Rwanda Ready for Big Brother Africa?
AFRICA'S MOST popular reality TV show Big Brother is back. This year, Rwanda will participate in the show which will have representatives from 14 countries eyeing $300,000 (Rwf 210 million)…
Broadcast
The Future of TV
More and more video being consumed on smartphones and tablets, more ad dollars moving from print to mobile video and a gradual evolution away from channels to Apps. That’s the…
Broadcast
Project for an Arabic cultural television channel
The 22nd General Conference of ALECSO (Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization) was held from 27 to 29 May 2014 at its headquarters in Tunis. It was the opportunity…
Broadcast
Broadcast - In Brief
Acting Director of the BBC World Service Group, Liliane Landor, has called on the Ethiopian authorities to stop jamming BBC broadcasts in the Middle East and North Africa. She joined…
Content
ZIFF 2014: Festival Launched
The Zanzibar International film Festival will be celebrating its 17th Edition 14th June 2014. This edition will be marked by a number of impressive activities that also foreshadow the great…
Content
SA films earn Cannes success
South African films represented at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which ran from 14 to 25 May, with many of our local productions securing potential deals with international companies and…
Content
On the Africa Channel UK: “It’s Africa’s Time”
With the summer months on the horizon, the Africa Channel UK has an action packed line up this June that will inspire, inform and blow away its audience!As an example,…
Content
Half a Yellow Sun: a taste of Nollywood to the World
PolicyMic makes an astute point in this article that when most Americans think of movies from Africa, it’s South Africa that they’re really thinking of. A vast continent is excluded…
Content
Content - In Brief
Trace TV broadcasts “Africa 10” a Magazine dedicated to the ranking of the best music of the black continent: coupé décalé, massoka, mapouka, kuduro, etc.Here are some cool music videos…
Content
Films: Sports Stories From Around the African Commonwealth
from the AiM Newsletter - Sports Tour in DundeeDear Friends of Africa in Motion,This week Sports Stories From Around the African Commonwealth is kicking off in Dundee with screenings of…
Distribution
Uganda: Epic pay TV battle
UCC optimistic ahead of 2015 digital migration deadline.Pay TV providers in Uganda are bracing themselves for a bruising battle for market share. Already, a new player, Azam Media Uganda Ltd,…
Distribution
FRED Media and African Business Channel ink three-year deal
Australian producer/distributor FRED Media has licensed over 30 hours of lifestyle & reality sport content to South Africa’s African Business Channel.African Business Channel has secured a number of award winning…
Distribution
Talk Talk launches the African TV Boost
THEMA is pleased to announce the launch of a new suite of premium African TV Channels with Talk Talk: the African TV Boost. This new pack extends TalkTalk’s pay TV…
Distribution
Benin: ORTB gets trained for regionalization
From May 12 to 20 2014, a delegation from ORTB ( Benin ) visited France 3, a national TV channel in France. Meetings allowed the ORTB delegation ledby Ms. Pascaline…
Distribution
Distribution - In Brief
Shahid is a new application that provides video content to high-end application and regionalized via the Samsung Smart TV. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced the signing of a partnership with…
Technology & Convergence
GeoPoll Unveils First Ever Overnight TV Ratings In African Markets
New Audience Measurement Service Launches with Unprecedented Data on the Viewing Habits of More Than 300 Million PeopleNAIROBI, Kenya, June 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ – GeoPoll ), the world’s…
Technology & Convergence
DTT: video-based emergency warnings for DVB-T2 networks
In advance of this month’s Broadcast Asia, ENENSYS, designers and manufacturers of digital TV transmission technologies, has today announced the launch of rEWS – a receiver-agnostic system providing video-based emergency…
Technology & Convergence
Stream a lot of video? Consider yourself a veritable eco-warrior
Here’s one more reason that streaming video is a good thing: it’s eco-friendly.The biggest savings is in your carbon footprint… no more running up to the local DVD outlet to…
Technology & Convergence
Exset expands value-add pay-TV ecosystems for emerging markets
Exset, pioneer of value-add pay-TV ecosystems for emerging markets, has today announced the full launch of its DMS 2.0 technology. This allows operators to provide a wide range of value-add…
Technology & Convergence
Technology & Convergence - In Brief
Verimatrix has extended its partnership with the Wananchi Group, the African triple-play provider, to provide content security for Zuku TV across direct-to-home (DTH) satellite, digital cable and IP-over-GPON networks —…
Regulation & Policy
Most African countries will not make the digital transition in June 2015, according to the CEO of Balancing Act
Russell Southwood made a disturbing statement about the digital transition in Africa whose deadline was set at June 2015 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU): “Almost 45 African countries, that…
Regulation & Policy
Congolese authorities’ biased treatment of media groups critical of the government
Reporters Without Borders is alarmed at the Congolese authorities’ biased treatment of media groups that are critical of the government.On 5 May 2014, the chairman of the Talassa group, which…
Regulation & Policy
U.S. to finance anti-militant TV channel in northern Nigeria
The United States is financing a new 24-hour satellite TV channel in northern Nigeria meant to counter insurgencies by the militant Islamist Boko Haram and other groups in the region,…
Regulation & Policy
Symposium on the regulation of satellite audiovisual communication
An international symposium took place on "the regulation of audiovisual communication via satellite and new means of distribution." The event was held in Abidjan on 10 and 11 June 2014,…
Regulation & Policy
Regulation & Policy - In Brief
A bomb blast targeting a television viewing centre for football in northeast Nigeria (Adamawa) killed an unknown number of people, a police spokesman said. Source: All Africa The Ivorian Ministry…
Investment
Film sector contributed R3.5-billion to South Africa's GDP
The government will continue to improve its incentive scheme for South Africa's film and television industry, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said at a meeting with members of the…
Investment
Documentary series on African migrants in 13 cities across the globe
Each month, IJNet features an international journalist who exemplifies the profession and has used the site to further his or her career. If you would like to be featured, email…
Investment
€ 685,000 for the audiovisual heritage of francophone Africa
The revival of the audiovisual heritage of francophone Africa is one of the objectives of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF in French) through a new "Digital Capital" project…
Investment
An investment fund of US$ 500 million for African media
Closing the 3rd New York Forum Africa last week in Libreville, the theme of media transformation in Africa has been debated between Richard Attias, Youssou Ndour, Anming Gao, General Secretary…
Investment
Investment - In Brief
The Moroccan advertising and marketing segment has reached 6 billion dirhams in 2013. This is what Jazuli Mounir (photo), vice president of the Group of advertisers Morocco (Gam), reiterated in…
More
Events
Important events in the African broadcast, film and TV sector3 June to 25 July 2014Africa in Motion (AIM) Edinburgh African Film FestivalVenue: ScotlandA large festival aimed at introducing African cinema…
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People
The former anchor [1984 - 1991] of the Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV), Eric Chinje, was appointed earlier this week as CEO of the African Media Initiative (AMI) for a…
More
Opportunities
African countries set to beat digital migration deadline A three days Digital Migration and Spectrum Policy Summit of African states ended Wednesday where delegates made and adopted various recommendations on…
