Ramprakash 'Ramu' Gopidayal, Creator of Impressions as First-ever Indian Show on SABC and Broadcaster's First Indian Technician, Dead at 70

by Thinus Ferreira

Ramprakash Gopidayal, known as "Ramu", who created Impressions as the first-ever Indian programme for the South African public broadcaster in Apartheid-era South Africa in 1986 and who was also the first-ever Indian technician at the broadcaster, has died. He was 70.

Ramprakash Gopidayal died on Thursday after an undisclosed illness.

In a announcement, his family said "It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our dearly beloved Ramprakash Gopidayal".

"He was a devoted husband, loving father, cherished grandfather, and a true friend to many. he will be remembered for his kindness, generosity, and the positive impact he had on all who knew him."

Ramprakash Gopidayal joined the SABC in 1980 as the South African public broadcaster first-ever Indian technician.

Ramu became the executive producer of Impressions, the SABC's first weekly magazine lifestyle programme on South African television focused on the Indian community, and launched it at a time when the broadcaster had no template for how to do it.

Impressions on TV4 was hugely successful, showcasing South African Indian culture, personalities, community stories, news, music,  lifestyle and fashion.

Impressions ran for 14 years on the SABC after it eas rebranded as Eastern Mosaic in 2000.

Lotus FM, then called Radio Lotus, is where Ramprakash Gopidayal, a guitarist, helped to set up the resident band Kamal Sungeeth with the plan to have the band play and build up a recording archive for the SABC of the music of local Indian artists in all languages.

So successful was the creation of Kamal Sungeeth as an in-house band that they went on the road and toured nationally throughout South Africa, and then also appeared on Impressions.

The band's success also led to South Africa's first Indian songwriting competition in the five languages of Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujaranti and Telugu used in South Africa.

After his exit from the SABC, Ramprakash Gopidayal worked as station manager at Hindvani, the first radio station in South Africa for the Hindi-speaking community in the country, and also worked in the cellphone industry.

CCMA Orders SABC to Pay Almost R800 000 for 'Grossly Unfair' Mess in Which CEO Nomsa Chabeli Signed Off on Staffer's Promotion That Ended in Computer Says No Rejection Email

by Thinus Ferreira

The SABC has been ordered to pay a promoted and then spurned staffer almost R800 000 as part of a botched promotion appointment followed by an automated rejection email slammed as "grossly unfair", after SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli approved the worker's promotion and her appointment was then abruptly halted and rejected.

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has ordered the SABC to pay staffer Nomhle Zenzile a year's higher pay of R766 608.48 after the public broadcaster's "reckless mismanagement of an internal recruitment process".

The shocking case started after Nomhle Zenzile, a SABC learning and development consultant with 13 years of experience, applied for an organisational development specialist position in 2024.

After an interview for the position, the panel recommended her appointment, and then Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO, approved and signed it on 28 November 2024. 

In addition, the SABC's human resources rep formally congratulated Nomhle Zenzile, gave her a start date for her new position and even a "dummy payslip" of what her new salary would be.

Shockingly, the SABC then, for some reason, abruptly halted the process, with Nombhle Zenzule getting no answers or feedback - until January 2025 when she received an automated system rejection email.

Nomhle Zenzile, a member of the Bemawu trade union at the SABC, took her case to the CCMA.

Thula Cebekhulu, CCMA commissioner, ruled that the SABC was allowed not to give the promotion due to a changing requirement for an industrial psychology qualification.

The CCMA however, also ruled that the SABC's conduct throughout the process of Nomhle Zenzile's job "promotion" was grossly unfair.

According to the CCMA, the SABC "created a legitimate expectation that the applicant was recommended and appointed for the position" with the public broadcaster heavily criticised for its unprofessional recruitment process.

Thula Cebekhulu noted the "severe prejudice, disappointment, and suffering endured by the employee as she waited months for clarity".

Hannes du Buisson, Bemawu representative, says "This ruling is a massive vindication for our member and a stern warning to the SABC".

"Employers cannot play fast and loose with the careers, livelihoods, and psychological well-being of their staff. When a recruitment panel recommends a candidate, an HR representative congratulates them with a payslip, and the CEO signs the approval, an employer cannot simply walk away and hide behind an automated rejection email."

National Geographic Adds TV Special, Expedition: Saving Our Seas, on 16 November Exploring All 5 Ocean Basins

by Thinus Ferreira

National Geographic is adding the hour-long TV special, Expedition: Saving Our Seas, that will premiere on Monday, 16 November on National Geographic (DStv 181) and will stream on Disney+ and explore all 5 of the world's ocean basins.

Produced by Offspring Films, Expedition: Saving Our Seas has Auli'i Cravalho as narrator.

The documentary follows teams of National Geographic Explorers as they investigate our global ocean, from seashore to seafloor.

Viewers get to see the ocean's depths through remotely operated vehicle SuBastian aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor in the Southern Ocean, including oceanographer Dr Andrew Thurber, biological oceanographer Dr Kim Bernard and microbial oceanographer Dr Allison Fong as they survey the basin's depths and its icy surface.

Tracking blue whales and their krill prey, Dr Bernard returns alongside Explorer and marine ecologist Dr Leigh Torres and the local Māori community to New Zealand's South Taranaki Bight.

Explorer Dr Anya Brown studies coral for heat tolerance in the Cook Islands. Both teams are racing to understand how rising temperatures are reshaping Pacific Ocean ecosystems.

Meanwhile, deep below the Indian Ocean's surface, the first deep-sea scientist from the Seychelles, Explorer Sheena Talma, and her Seychellois team are getting training on deep-ocean camera lander systems off the coast of South Africa.

They will deploy similar landers in the Seychelles to gather data to support fisheries and marine protected area management.

Along the Gambian coastline, coastal researcher, marine ecologist and Explorer Maiyai Taal Hocheimy trains local students to measure ocean depth and currents and works with Explorer Dr Angelo Bernardino to map and assess the mangrove forests standing between the capital, Banjul, and the encroaching water.

In the Arctic Ocean, warming at four times the rate as the rest of the planet, marine biogeochemist Dr Kristina Brown conducts the first-known scientific study of a secluded marine bay called the Sherman Basin to chart a seafloor no one has ever seen.

Then there is  Dr Katy Croff Bell, founder of the Ocean Discovery League, who is developing a Deep Ocean Research and Imaging System (DORIS) as a lightweight, low-cost device designed to open up deep-sea exploration to communities that have not previously had access to their deep-ocean waters.

Expedition: Saving Our Seas is directed by Katharine Arthy and executive produced by Sam Hodgson for Offspring Films, Vanessa Serrao and Kaitlin Yarnall for National Geographic Society, and Tracy Rudolph Jackson for National Geographic.

Samsung Rolls Out Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S12+ With Substantial Price Hike

by Thinus Ferreira

Samsung has rolled out its Galaxy Tab S12 tablet series - its Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+.

Both the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+ feature immersive displays and come bundled with the ergonomically designed S Pen for note-taking and editing.

At 5.1mm, the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is Samsung's thinnest Galaxy Tab and its most powerful Galaxy Tab to date.

On a single charge, the battery lasts up to 23 hours on Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and up to 21 hours on Galaxy Tab S12+, with recharging from 0% to 100% in about 95 minutes with the 45W adapter.

The 3nm processor delivers improved GPU power compared to Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra that increases speed and responsiveness for gaming as well as rendering complex creative projects, or for notetaking.

Samsung says a newly designed 3D Vapour Chamber efficiently dissipates heat to support more reliable performance during demanding tasks, whether users are editing video or gaming.

The Galaxy Tab S12 series also comes with an expansive screen. The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra features a large 14.6-inch display, while the Galaxy Tab S12+ features a larger 12.6-inch display and slimmer bezels than its predecessor, offering more screen space.

Both models feature Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays reaching up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness with clear and vivid visuals indoors and the upgraded Vision Booster now adjusts brightness in real time based on lighting conditions.

Soundwise, the tablets have 4-channel spatial audio. Samsung claims that is is "twice as many channels as the previous generation" for a richer, more immersive gaming experience, as well as scenarios where users are streaming content, following a tutorial or editing.

However, the previous Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra already featured a quad-speaker (4-channel) setup. 

While the Tab S12 series introduces improved spatial audio processing and hardware tuning, it does not actually double the number of physical audio channels from the previous year

The Galaxy Tab S12 series runs Android 17 with One UI 9 and the latest Galaxy AI.

A user can split the screen into up to three sections in Multi Window layout, for instance, take notes in Samsung Notes on one side while playing a lecture and opening an AI assistant on the other.

The Pro Keyboard has an aluminium finish, while the Book Cover Keyboard Slim allows for flexibility with comfortable viewing angles.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab S12 series is available in South Africa since 6 November and comes in grey and silver.

The premium positioning tiering comes with a substantial price increase. In South Africa, the base Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra 5G (256GB) enters the market at approximately R30 000 to R32 000 once-off, representing a sharp price hike over the previous generation.

To try and soften the initial price shock, Samsung is running a local promotional campaign running until 31 January 2027. Purchases made during this window include a R1 500 voucher, 6 months of free Google AI Pro and heavily discounted Samsung Care+ protection plans starting at R99 per month.

Canal+'s MultiChoice Dumps Another Streamer As It Rips Away GOtv Stream in its 9 African Markets After 3 Years

by Thinus Ferreira

Canal+'s MultiChoice is getting rid of another one of its video streaming services months after it axed Showmax and has ripped away and ended its GOtv Stream mobile application across all of its operational African markets without any explanation.

The GOtv Stream was launched in December 2023 to give subscribers a digital streaming alternative, in the way that DStv Stream is the alternative for DStv subscribers.

GOtv is MultiChoice's digital terrestrial television (DTT) pay-TV version, targeting lower-to-middle-income households across Africa who don't need a satellite dish installation but get a few TV channels with a decoder and an antenna.

GOtv Stream was available in the African markets of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi and Mozambique, and besides the pay-TV channels on a package, also allowed and included the streaming of a country's free-to-air TV channels.

Up to 4 devices could use a GOtv Stream account, but streaming was only allowed on one device at a time, meaning no concurrent streams, and it blocked casting.

GOtv Stream was launched in Nigeria and Zambia in December 2023 and then in other African markets as a free, value-added feature for active decoders, allowing MultiChoice's GOtv subscribers to watch live TV channels and catch-up content on their mobile devices like phones and tablets through streaming.

In a notification, MultiChoice gives absolutely no explanation for dumping GOtv, telling GOtv subscribers to watch on their TV sets using their decoders.

"GOtv Stream has been discontinued. You can continue enjoying the channels included in your active GOtv package on your GOtv decoder," MultiChoice says.

The GOtv Stream app was removed from Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store on 21 October.

The GOtv Stream shutdown directly follows a period of massive structural change within the group since the French media giant Canal+ took over MultiChoice, with Canal+ focused on aggressive cost-cutting, offering staff severance packages, realignment of various brands, reducing brand, package and decoder options and getting rid of loss-making and underperforming operational cost centres.  

Canal+ dumped the Showmax streaming service in March, followed by the recent restructuring and repackaging of the various DStv bouquets, first in South Africa in mid-September and two months later in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.

Canal+ Dumps Africa Magic Family Channel on DStv Replaced by Africa Magic+

by Thinus Ferreira

Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net have dumped the Africa Magic Family channel after 12 years on 5 November 2026, replacing it with Africa Magic+.

Africa Magic Family, packaged by M-Net, spent more than a decade on DStv, broadcasting family-focused Nollywood dramas and series for a predominantly Nigerian pay-TV audience.

Like in South Africa, where Mzansi Wethu has been replaced with the Wethu+ channel and moved to the DStv Starter package, Africa Magic+ will fulfil the same role and has also been moved to the new DStv Starter package.

Canal+, MultiChoice and M-Net have strategically moved Africa Magic+ to its lower-priced tiers to expand its audience reach.

LIV Golf Collapses and is Done as Saudi Arabia's Sports-washing Leaves Canal+'s SuperSport with Egg on the Face

by Thinus Ferreira

Saudi Arabia's LIV Golf sports-washing, which was publicised and showcased by Canal+'s SuperSport without qualms, has finally fully imploded and is shutting down internationally, meaning all operations and events in South Africa are officially cancelled.

At a bankruptcy court hearing on Thursday, the league's legal team officially confirmed that they have abandoned all restructuring plans, known as "LIV 2.0" and that LIV Golf is shutting down with a total liquidation and wind-down of the business starting Monday.

LIV Golf initially said that they intended to continue in South Africa - but that was just some temporary plan that has now completely fallen apart.

When the league originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2026 in the United States, LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil released an open letter explicitly naming South Africa, Australia, and Asia as the "vital, highly profitable international markets" that they fully intended to preserve and build around for the proposed "LIV 2.0" relaunch in 2027.

But that all failed.

In March 2026, the league made its historic African debut by hosting LIV Golf South Africa at The Club at Steyn City in Johannesburg.

MultiChoice and SuperSport gleefully went along, although human rights organisations have repeatedly noted and explained at length how Saudi Arabia was using LIV Golf to try and deflect from Saudi Arabia's abhorrent behaviour.

In 2018, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by a 15-member team of Saudi assassins with the CIA that found that his killing was ordered and approved by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

LIV Golf created Stinger GC as a South African team, which was later rebranded as Southern Guards GC because of trademark complications.

The criticism regarding SuperSport's partnership with LIV Golf in South Africa mirrors the broader global debate over sports-washing. 

Media analysts, human rights advocates, and critics have argued that by promoting and broadcasting the league, SuperSport effectively and shamelessly served as the PR vehicle for Saudi Arabia's controversial state-backed project.

Through showcasing LIV Golf as some kind of a premier, high-energy entertainment spectacle, SuperSport joined in efforts of sportswashing on MultiChoice's DStv by diverting public attention away Saudi Arabia's from human rights abuses. 

Instead of associating the league's financial backer, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, with issues like the murder of Jamal Khashoggi or crackdowns on dissent, African audiences watching DStv were presented with a type of "celebratory" broadcast.

Unlike several major Western networks that hesitated to broadcast LIV Golf due to ethical concerns and public backlash, SuperSport shamelessly went "all-in" with LIV Golf.

SuperSport prioritised ratings and "new content", as well as media rights over corporate social responsibility, signalling that financial gain took precedence over taking a stand against autocratic regimes using sport for reputation management.

Hilariously, LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil and South Africa's sports minister Gayton McKenzie held a joint press conference promising that LIV Golf was "never leaving this continent again". 

There was also talk of a so-called "2027 relaunch" with a 4-day tournament scheduled for April 2027, that would be even "bigger, better and bolder", and with promises to expand with music, concerts, "fan zones" and to host future tournaments in other venues across South Africa by 2029.

Gayton McKenzie even paid R82 million in taxpayer money to pay LIV Golf Events for the tournament licence fee.

The shutdown is an absolute humiliation, particularly for South Africa and SuperSport.

SuperSport's uncritical and shameless LIV Golf promotion and its league has now ended in corporate embarrassment.

SuperSport wasn't just a passive broadcaster - it acted as a primary public relations engine for the Saudi state's reputation-cleansing efforts in Africa.

"As the broadcast partner to Africa’s first-ever LIV Golf tournament, LIV Golf South Africa, SuperSport has gone out to match the innovation that LIV Golf has brought to the sport of golf,” said Rendani Ramovha, Canal+ director for sports content in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa, still enthused in a prepared press statement in March.

Even after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund pulled out in April, SuperSport continued to report on and implicitly back the narrative that the league would survive through "LIV 2.0". 

By carrying water for the idea that a downsized, equity-based model would keep the breakaway circuit alive, the bankruptcy leaves SuperSport looking completely out of touch with the reality of the imploded league's toxic financials and players who jumped ship over pure greed and now try to return to the PGA.

Now SuperSport's "first-ever" LIV Golf tournament in South Africa has turned into "last-ever" - with egg on the face.

You Might Never Have Heard of MIFF - not the Melbourne Film Festival but the Mpumalanga International Film Festival Running Since 2013 with a Conservation Cinema Focus

by Thinus Ferreira

Well, this is embarrassing for somebody covering South Africa's film and TV industry: There exists a film festival I've never, and I mean, never heard of, but it's been up and running since 2013: The Mpumalanga International Film Festival, known as MIFF.

Obviously, there are other MIFFs - the Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia, as well as the Mumbai International Film Festival in India - but MIFF in the city of Mbombela in South Africa, taking place in August every year, started in 2013.

I've not known about MIFF, never heard anybody speak a word about it and I've been around since the days when Sithengi was the premier film and TV trade market and festival in Africa and took place in Cape Town until it collapsed in 2006.

I've now done my research, and the Mpumalanga International Film Festival in South Africa was founded by filmmaker and director Sifiso Nkosinathi Nobela.

He launched MIFF to try and provide some type of independent, self-sustaining platform for local South African filmmakers and storytellers without having to leave Mpumalanga as a province.

MIFF apparently sets itself apart from traditional South African film festivals and trade markets through its focus on wildlife and "Conservation Cinema"

Given its location in Mpumalanga, home to the Big Five and the Blyde River Canyon, MIFF explicitly positions itself as Africa's premier wildlife and biodiversity filmmaking destination.

Unlike traditional film festivals held in convention centres or city theatres, MIFF hosts unique "wildlife cinema" screenings and its dedicated WildMarket directly inside the Kruger National Park at Skukuza.

It also features a dedicated Biodiversity Storytelling Incubation programme, specifically designed to support filmmakers doing work that highlights subjects like climate, landscapes, and humanity's relationship with the natural world.

At last week's 2026 MIP Africa and Fame Week in Cape Town, MIFF had a stand inside the CTICC2 and when I walked past and noticed it, I went to it and took a pamphlet and asked who does the PR or media liaison for MIFF.

Hopefully it's a film festival I'll be able to cover in future. Fom my side, I will definitely try, since I now know that it takes place in August every year. 

I think MIFF can do a lot more to reach out, and to start building relationships to get to know the various journalists and trade media and platforms covering South Africa's film and TV industry and film festival circuit. 

MIFF, as something from Mpumalanga and a film festival that definitely has a bespoke and important focal point - conservation cinema and wildlife filmmaking - could do with much more exposure and also deserves more coverage.

Why Southern African Countries Get 5 Rejigged DStv Packages with Premium Changed to Ultimate and Countries in West Africa and East Africa Only Get 4 Including Ultimate

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice Namibia is also restructuring its various DStv packages and will have the Movies & Series package like in South Africa - which is left out in the rest of Africa - but with the top-end package DStv Premium getting a name change to DStv Ultimate.

Broadly, Canal+ and MultiChoice's restructuring and rebranding of its DStv bouquets will now have 3 permutations across sub-Saharan Africa:

Firstly, there is DStv Starter, Select, Sports, Movies & Series and Premium in South Africa - a country that will now have 5 packages, and the word "Premium" retained for the top end and most expensive bouquet.

Secondly, there is Starter, Select, Sports and Ultimate in markets like East Africa and West Africa, where Canal+ has reduced the bouquet offering to 4, with no Movies & Series package, and the Premium package name changed to Ultimate.

Thirdly, there are a few countries in Southern Africa getting the hybrid blend of both and 5 stratified packages like in South Africa but with one name change.

Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, eSwatini and Lesotho are all getting Starter, Select, Sports, Movies & Series but with Premium renamed to Ultimate.

It can also be explained this way: Only South Africa as a country retains DStv Premium, while Premium is changed to DStv Ultimate everywhere outside of South Africa.

Only Southern African countries, outside of South Africa, get 5 DStv packages that include the option of the Movies & Series bouquet, with East and West African countries that don't get the Movies & Series option.

Namibia switched to the new DStv packages on 5 November.

On Wednesday in Windhoek, Roger Gertze, MultiChoice Namibia CEO, at that country's media event to announce the DStv package changes, confirmed that DStv subscribers in Namibia will get Starter, Select, Sports, Movies & Series and Ultimate, which he said "would give customers more control over the content they love most".

In response to a media query as to why there is differentiation in East Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa, and then also South Africa in the DStv packages after the restructuring, Canal+ Africa says MultiChoice Pty Ltd. runs the DStv packages in South Africa, while Canal+ Africa does it outside of South Africa.

"The DStv package line-up may differ across markets, as package structures and naming are tailored to each region. In South Africa, package decisions are led by MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd (LicenceCo), while in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, they are led by Canal+".

"As a result, the number of packages, the content included in each package and package names may vary by market, taking into account factors such as content rights, customer needs, regulatory requirements and technology readiness."

ALSO READ: In Ghana Canal+'s MultiChoice is Forced to Use Show Pony Minister to Announce Its Restructured DStv Packages Reduced to 4 From 5 November

ALSO READ: Canal+ and MultiChoice Reduce DStv Packages in Sub-Saharan Africa to 4, Premium Rebranded as Ultimate, Adds SuperSport Swahili as New Channel for East Africa: 'Our Customers Left Us and We Hope from 5 November They Start Coming Back'