Broadcast, Film and Convergence in Africa - Issue no 219 - 13 August 2015
Top Story
Stories from the Continent: Triggerfish launches Story Lab, an animation competition with US$3.5 million of investment over 3 years
Cape Town’s Triggerfish Animation Studios has been ploughing a lonely furrow. It has produced two commercially successful, feature length animation films. It now wants to scale up and work with others who want to create African stories for the global market. Russell Southwood spoke to Stuart Forrest, CEO of Triggerfish about what Story Lab aims to do and who it’s partnered with to make it happen. According to Forrest, the idea for Story Lab was about addressing the need for script development. Triggerfish has the production facilities and the ability to produce at a global level but needed more…
Broadcast
Community TV stations withdraw from Act-SA
Two community television stations have withdrawn from the nascent body formed to represent the sector, the Association of Community Television - South Africa (Act-SA). Cape Town TV and 1KZN TV…
Broadcast
Pay-TV Reaches 21 Percent of TV Households in East African Community
Pay-TV has reached 21 percent of TV households in East African community, a region that consists of five member countries, namely; Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania & Uganda. The five countries…
Broadcast
ACTV Introduces Nigeria's First Cabletv Multi-Room Viewership
Lagos — Nigeria's wholly owned indigenous pay TV, African Cable Television (ACTV) has introduced the first multi-room and independent viewership solution on cable TV in Nigeria. Before this solution, the…
Content
Al Jazeera Launches My Nigeria documentary series
Premiering on Al Jazeera English on 24 August 2015, My Nigeria is a series of six half-hour documentaries that pulse with the energy of Africa’s leading economy telling the human…
Content
Timveni TV Launches New Urban Lifestyle Show in Malawi
Lilongwe — Timveni TV has launched "StarZone" an urban lifestyle brand that provides urban entertainment experiences and media content to a youthful Malawian target audience. In an interview with Malawi…
Content
New DStv Star Wars channel launching soon
DStv Premium subscribers will soon get a dedicated Star Wars pop-up channel from M-Net from 31 August on channel 109, Channel 24 reported. The channel is set to be available…
Content
BBC Africa offers live EPL coverage
From Saturday 8 August, football fans in Africa can follow the exciting live action of the new season of the Barclays Premier League in four languages. BBC Africa will bring…
Content
DStv updating its BBC channels
The BBC is finally changing its set of BBC channels on MultiChoice’s DStv pay-TV platform to update it to the rest of the world. The BBC is finally changing its…
Content
KTN News available to all in East Africa
MultiChoice Africa is delighted to announce that KTN News channel is now available to all DSTV subscribers in the East African region. Subscribers of DStv in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia,…
Content
Silent No More - Radio in Cameroon Amplifies the Voices of Women and Girls
Mokolo, Cameroon — Conditions are often harrowing for women and girls in Cameroon's Far North Region. Violence, child marriage and maternal death are all too familiar experiences in this part…
Distribution
Nigeria Wants her Programmes Broadcast in China
The federal ministry of information has advocated for the broadcast of Nigerian programmes in the Chinese electronic media to further strengthen the cultural ties between Nigeria and China. Permanent secretary…
Distribution
Afrotainment Expands to Africa with the Launch of OUI TV On Startimes
The Afrotainment Family of channels, the leader in African Home Entertainment on Television in the USA and Canada announced today that it is expanding into Africa with the launch of…
Distribution
StarTimes Entrusts SES Platform Services to Deliver TV Content across Sub-Saharan Africa
LUXEMBOURG- SES Platform Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES S.A. (NYSE Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), announced today that StarTimes, the fastest-growing digital TV operator in Africa, will distribute TV channels for their…
Distribution
DW to broadcast across Eastern Europe and Africa via SES satellites
German broadcaster expands internationally by delivering two channels using ASTRA 4A, ASTRA 5B and SES-5SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced today that German broadcaster Deutsche…
Technology & Convergence
Airtel Unveils New Digital Content Products in Kenya
Airtel has announced the launch of two new innovative digital products. The Airtel Jam Sessions, a music show and Airtel Future Shapers, a written feature on innovative young Kenyans in…
Technology & Convergence
Minister Updates Parliament on DTT Migration in South Africa
Cape Town — The Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) team will this morning present a progress report on digital migration to the Portfolio Committee on Communications as well as Telecommunications and…
Regulation & Policy
StarSat won’t withdraw DStv complaint
StarSat parent On Digital Media (ODM) has no intention of withdrawing a complaint it lodged against DStv parent MultiChoice in 2013 at the Competition Commission in which it accused its…
Investment
Kenya Suspends Multi-million deal with CNN over Terrorism Slur
Kenya has suspended a multimillion shilling marketing communication deal with Cable News Network (CNN) in the latest sign of an escalating row with the American news channel over a recent…
Investment
Digital Migration to Blame for NMG's 8 Percent Drop in Pre-Tax Profits
Nation Media Group (NMG) has posted its half-year profit before tax which dropped to Kshs 1.43 billion from Kshs 1.56 billion posted in the first six months of last year,…
Investment
Botswana Football Association and Department Broadcasting Services Seal Deal
Gaborone — Botswana Football Association (BFA) and Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS) have agreed on a five-year broadcasting deal.The agreement would see Botswana Television (Btv) broadcasting be Mobile Premiership matches…
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Opportunities
Kenyan Students Invited to Submit Entries for DSTV Eutelsat Star Awards DStv and Eutelsat are calling on all learners between the age of 14 and 19 to submit their entries…
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People
ZBC Fires Top Executives The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) has, with immediate effect, dismissed suspended chief executive Mr Happison Muchechetere, general manager-finance Mr Elliot Kasu, acting radio head Mr Allan…
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Events
Save the Date: 26-30 October 2015KALASHA INTERNATIONAL FILM & TV FESTIVAL & MARKETNAIROBI, KENYACall for Entries & Registration now openRegistration has opened for film, TV and creative players to join…
