South Africa

Naspers to spin off MultiChoice

South African conglomerate Naspers is to spin off Africa’s leading pay TV operator MultiChoice as part of a move designed in part to assuage investor concerns about its own share price. Naspers plans to float MultiChoice on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and simultaneously unbundle the shares in the business to its shareholders. The new company, […]

South African minister slams SABC cut-back plans

South African communications minister Nomvula Mokonyane has pushed back against plans by public broadcaster SABC to engage in concerted cost-cutting to turn its fortunes around. Mokonyane said that SABC was continuing to insist on a programme of intensive cost cutting alone rather than a more comprehensive approach to deal with its precarious finances. She said […]

South Africa government intervenes in SABC football dispute

Negotiations between South African national broadcaster SABC and the country’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) over broadcast fees broke down this week, leading to the intervention of government ministers to ensure that South African football continues to be aired on radio as well as TV. The SABC announced yesterday that it would not be able to […]

South African minister moves forward on digital switchover

South Africa’s minister of communications Nomvula Mokonyane has named the members of the Broadcasting Digital Migration Advisory Council that will advise her on matters relating to digital switchover and the development of digital-terrestrial TV. The naming of council members follows the appointment of Aldred Dreyer as project director for the DTT Programme Management Office (PMO). […]

FilmBox channels secure berth on StarSat line-up

SPI/FilmBox’s channels FilmBox Africa HD and FashionBox HD are to launch on the StarSat DTH and OTT platforms in South Africa. The launch will give StarSat Africa subscribers with access to FilmBox Africa the chance to view content including action crime series No Easy Days from Red Rock Entertainment, which will premiere on the channel […]

NBCUniversal rebrands flagship UK channel

NBCUniversal has renamed its flagship UK entertainment service Universal Channel as Universal TV with refreshed branding. The new look for the UK channel debuts today, with South Africa to follow on May 10. Universal TV will roll out in in Australia, Germany, Latin America and Brazil in the coming months. The rebrand, which spans linear, […]

South Africa sets subsidised box deadline

The South African government’s communications department has set a deadline of March 31 for registration to receive subsidised digital-terrestrial set-top boxes in the North West and Free State provinces. Families earning below ZAR3,200 (€189) qualify to receive the government-subsidised decoders. Qualifying households can register at their nearest Post Office. Communications department officials are currently taking […]

MultiChoice to probe its ANN7 deal amidst controversy

Naspers-owned South African pay TV outfit MultiChoice is to investigate whether there was any evidence of wrongdoing related to its contract with news channel ANN7, which was owned until earlier this year by the controversial Gupta family, according to local reports. MultiChoice will investigate whether what it paid for carriage of the channel was in […]

Nina TV launches on new African TV platform Black

Telenovelas channel Nina TV has launched in South Africa on mobile operator Cell C’s new entertainment platform Black. Nina TV, which launched in 2015, has expanded its presence in English-speaking African markets, including Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania. The channel airs a mix of content from Globo, including titles such as Precious Pearl, Caribbean Flower and […]

SABC seeks changes to enable retransmission fees

South African public broadcaster SABC has called on the country’s media regulator ICASA to conduct an urgent review of must-carry obligations in a bid to secure retransmission fees for its channels. The broadcaster has called on ICASA to revie regualtions that allow Multichoice and other subscription broadcasters to carry SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 for free. […]

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