Issue no 61 19 August 2009

Surviving in a small market: Gambia’s Unique FM innovates by offering reality radio

The radio sector in Africa is flourishing in those places where liberalisation has allowed anyone to launch a radio station. Radio is almost certainly Africa’s most distributed broadcast medium. So how does intense competition work in a very small market? Russell Southwood spoke to the founder of Gambia’s Unique FM about surviving in a small market, innovating to keep listener loyalty and living the dream. Gambia is a former British colony in West Africa that stretches out along the river of the same name. It is a long thin country going east west along the river of the same name…

Night Drive, a New South African horror movie from Film Factory goes into production

A new South African horror movie, Night Drive, produced by The Film Factory goes into production on 29 August. Night Drive is a gritty horror movie, set against the backdrop…

Novavision selling no-dialogue candid camera programmes into Africa

Balancing Act's Sylvain Béletre interviewed Francois-Xavier Poirier, CEO of Novavision, a French production house which specialises in no-dialogue candid camera programmes on its recent foray into the African market Q:…

Promax BDA Africa conference will take place again to inspire creatives

This year’s PromaxBDA Africa conference is entirely focused on making the recession, and all the ugly three-headed monsters that came with it, a little less painful. The SABC this week…

BBC to run drama-doc produced by Diverse on Winnie Mandela shot in Soweto

A British company has produced for the BBC a documentary-drama tracing the life of Winnie Mandela. Shot in Soweto, the film explores the sometimes controversial past of the former muse…

Content In Brief:

- The President of the NGO Plan-Ivoire, Bernard Bolly Bouekré, last Wednesday gave a copy of the film “the Black dress” (« La Robe Noire ») to the Operation of…

Nigeria: FIFA warns that Journalists could miss the U-17 World Cup if they fail to meet Accreditation Deadline

FIFA has advised journalists wishing to cover the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Nigeria 2009 to be conscious of the September 7 deadline for the submission of the accreditation application. According…

MHz completes e.TV contract in SA

Independent UK systems integrator Megahertz Broadcast Systems (MHz) has completed work on the server-based infrastructure and broadcast systems for a new 24-hour news channel at South African broadcaster e.TV. Alongside…

South African government increases TV licence to plug the financial gap

On Aug. 7th 2009, South Africa's Department of Communications has posted a notice on its Government Gazette notifying an increase in TV licence. The mandate of the SABC as a…

Uganda: Radio Talk Show Case - Court to Deliver Verdict On Incitement Charges on September 9

The court in Uganda’s Kabarole District has set September 9 as the date when it will deliver a verdict on a case in which six radio talk show panellists in…

Broadcast In Brief

- Senegalese news channel Canal Info News which stopped broadcasting in July 2009 has started broadcasting again from Wednesday 12th August at 13h30 from Dakar. A new generation transmitter allowing…

West African TV channels from Ghana and Benin now available on satellite

Discop organisers offer to help producers sell TV formats into Africa

Basic Lead, organiser of Discop Africa, offers an interesting service to producers. If you have a TV format that has had success in Europe, the Americas or Asia/Pacific, Basic Leads…

Male circumcision in East Africa: new film to be aired soon

Africa Works celebrated its third anniversary by trumpeting the arrival of a short documentary film about male circumcision rituals among the Bugisu in Uganda. The Bugisu live in the foothills…

Distribution In Brief:

- Cameroonian monthly media magazine Com.News has focussed its august 2009 issue on pan-African television. The release describes the battle of pan-African television channels like Vox Africa whose leaders (Jules…

Back to the future: Kenya’s first ever teletext service

At the point which media owners and broadcasters across the world are closing down their teletext systems, Kenya’s national broadcaster has chosen to install one. SysMedia has supplied the teletext…

ICTA hosts CRASA Forum to help fast track and harmonize migration from analogue to digital broadcasting in southern Africa

The harmonization process of digital broadcasting migration for the SADC region has begun. In view of this the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) will be hosting the Digital Broadcasting…

South Africa’s DoC extends consultation period for Public Service Broadcasting Discussion

The Department of Communications (DoC) has issued a notice in the Government Gazette, extending the deadline for Public Submissions in respect of the Public Service Broadcasting Discussion document. The deadline…

Namibia appoints Media Ombudsman to oversee self-regulation regime

Eberhard Hofmann, Chair of the Editors' Forum of Namibia (EFN), which recently announced the appointment of Clement Daniels, former Director of the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) who is currently with…

Regulation & Policy In Brief

- Officials from the South African auditor-general's office have set up shop at the SABC's headquarters in Auckland Park to investigate allegations of widespread mismanagement and corruption.

Online news agency Infosplusgabon invests to be able to deliver to TV and radio stations

Online news Agency Infosplusgabon becomes the first private Gabonese online press agency dedicated to the dissemination of news, features and editorials. The agency has recently invested in its website and…

Waterfront Studios puts money into a BrightDrive Recording System and Bones Dailies solutions

Bright Systems, Inc have announced that South Africa’s Waterfront Studios has installed a BrightDrive Recording System and two Bones Dailies nonlinear dailies solutions for its Cape Town head office. Together,…

Investment In Brief

- Following the release of Ice Age 3 and Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince, South Africa’s Nu Metro has broken its all time daily cinema attendance records twice…

Technology & Convergence In Brief

- Yasin Jama Ali, a reporter for the independent Radio Horyaal, was arrested by Somaliland police last Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden port city of Berbera. - Uganda’s President…