MultiChoice has launched a new separate Chinese channels bouquet in the rest of Africa at the beginning of March, entitled Great Wall Africa, and which is part of the pay TV platform's major investment in the continent in conjunction with China's state-run China Central Television (CCTV).
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CCTV officially opened its CCTV Africa production office and CCTV Africa news production centre in Nairobi Kenia in January - the first time China Central Television News (CCTVN) has set up a production centre anywhere outside of China.
CCTV News is basically following the model of CNN International and BBC World News and is trying to make big inroads in Africa and the way that the continent's increasing mobile and mobile using consumers get their news.
While South African viewers already saw CCTVN (DStv 409) - China's 24 hour English news channel - this channel is now forming part of the Great Wall Africa bouquet for the rest of Africa. The Great Wall Africa bouquet consists out of 11 TV channels showcasing China and its diverse people with a selection of local Chinese TV stations in a range of languages including Chinese (Mandarin), English and French.
MultiChoice is a backer of CCTV's expansion across the continent.
The channels included in the Great Wall Africa bouquet includes:
■ CCTV News: A 24 hour news channel, already seen in South Africa. Africa Live which can be seen weekdays at 19:00 (South African time) and which started in January is a fantastic news panorama of the continent's news with profile and business stories.
■ CCTV 4: Offers news, documentaries and series targeting Mandarin, Cantonese and English speaking viewers.
■ CCTV François: A Chinese channel in French.
■ CCTV 9 Documentary: Offers a combination of documentaries that showcase Chinese history, nature, social interactions and cultural lifestyle in both local Mandarin Chinese and English.
■ CNC: Chinese news channel.
The bouquet also has a selection of Mandarin focused channels:
■ The Mandarin Entertainment Channel: A 24 hour entertainment channel offering drama series, children programs, variety shows and news programming.
■ China Movie: 24 hour Mandarin movie channel that features Chinese movies.
■ Shanghai Dragon TV: 24 hour Mandarin channel featuring movies, drama, global news, finance news, variety shows, children, educational content, cultural programs and lifestyle programs.
■ Hunan TV: 24 hour Mandarin channel featuring movies, drama, global news, finance news, variety shows, children, educational content, cultural programs and lifestyle programs.
■ JSTV – 1: 24 hour Mandarin entertainment television channel focusing on the Wuyue culture. The channel broadcasts news, showbiz information and television dramas.
■ Phoenix Entertainment: 24 hour Mandarin channel featuring movies, drama, global news, finance news, variety shows, children, educational content, cultural programs and lifestyle programs.
MultiChoice's Great Wall Africa bouquet is available in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comores, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.
DStv is making the Great Wall Africa bouquet available for free until the end of March after which the separate subscription will kick in.
