Nandi Madida has announced that she has dumped the show BET A-List on BET (DStv 129) bringing to a quick end the "original" presenter version of Viacom Africa's show.
Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) announced the BET A-List with big fanfare in August 2016, but less than a year later both Nandi Madida and Ayanda Thabethe are gonners.
Ayanda Thabethe exited BET A-List in May 2017 and this week Nandi Madida announced that she will also not be back again on the celebrity magazine show. BET A-List is currently not broadcasting.
With ongoing presenter and on-air changes to BET A-List within its first year on the air as well as timeslot moves, it's been difficult for viewers to settle in with the show or for the show to break through to the DStv pay-TV audience on MultiChoice's platform.
"I would like to announce that I have made the difficult decision not to return to BET Africa next season," Nandi Madida said in a statement on social media."
"Thank you BET Africa. A special thank you to Weldun Media for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to launch BET A-List. Many thanks to everyone, keeping you forever in my heart."
In a separate statement from Monde Twala, vice president of BET, youth and music for VIMN Africa he says "we would like to thank Nandi for sharing this journey with us as co-host of BET’s A-List, it has been a pleasure to work with her on series one."
" Nandi is a highly talented artist and we extend our best wishes of success to her in her future endeavors."
"Season one was highly popular and we are excited to bring season two to screen for our viewers in the near future. This first season captivated BET Africa's audiences with the latest fashion and entertainment trends from our continent and abroad."
MultiChoice is lowering DStv subscription prices for DStv subscribers in Zambia, Kenya, Ghana - and possibly in more African countries - for all DStv bouquets from 1 September 2017.
No price reduction has been announced for DStv in South Africa.
"This substantial price reduction across our DStv packages reinforces our commitment to ensuring that our customers receive the best possible access to great entertainment and outstanding value," says Kobus Bezuidenhout, regional director for MultiChoice Investment Holdings (MIH) West & Central Africa.
In Kenya DStv Premium will be cut by 3.42% to Sh7,900 and DStv Compact Plus by 4.15% Sh5,200.
DStv Compact is reduced to Sh3,200 and DStv Access by 9.52% to Sh950.
MultiChoice Africa said the DStv price reduction in Kenya is due to the strengthening of the Kenyan shilling against the American dollar. MultiChoice Africa's GOtv subscriptions for its digital terrestrial TV service will remain unchanged.
According to Eric Odipo, MultiChoice Kenya managing director, the MultiChoice Kenya price cut is as a result of the improving Kenya Shilling against the dollar.
"The majority of our input costs are in US dollars and we hope we will not experience any further currency devaluations or other unexpected increases in costs for the remainder of the year. It is also a way of rewarding our customers for their loyalty and support," says Eric Odipo.
In Zambia DStv Premium is reduced by 3.42% to K790, DStv Compact Plus is cut a whopping 16.04% to K450, DStv Compact is reduced by 6.54% to K300, DStv Family is going down 2.43% to K200 and DStv Access is reduced by 7.4% to K100.
According to Ngoza Kasunga, MultiChoice Zambia acting managing director, the reduction in that country isn't based on currencies like fluctiations in the value of the Kwacha, but on a value proposition.
"MultiChoice continuously reviews its packages ans price points in the dynamic market conditions with the interests of our customers at heart and with one objective in mind – to delight customers by constantly offering them more value," said Ngoza Kasunga.
"We are delivering more value to our customers by giving them access to amazing local and international content at a price they can afford."
"The business recognizes that we are living in changing economic times and wants to reward customers for their ongoing loyalty and support. In April 2016, we had a 'no price increases' or price lock on all packages in order to provide relief to our customers in the current tough economic conditions."
Ngoza Kasunga at a breakfast press briefing held on Tuesday in Lusaka, said MultiChoice Zambia "doesn't price based on what competitors are doing".
Should Zambia's Kwacha not depreciate and production costs remain the same, the new MultiChoice Zambia prices for DStv subscriptions will remain in place until MultiChoice Zambia holds its next price review in April of 2018.
In GhanaCecil Sunka-Mills, MultiChoice Ghana general managerin a statement said MultiChoice Ghana is lowering DStv subscription fees to make DStv more affordable.
"We want to do our bit by adjusting the price of their DStv packages to make them more affordable while adding more value."
"The majority of our input costs are in US dollars and we hope we won't experience any further currency devaluations or other unexpected increases in costs for the remainder of the year."
Winter has finally arrived in Game of Thrones, but while there won't be any new episodes of the fantasy drama series on TV until 2019, there's at least some Game of Thrones television to tide you over with a new behind-the-scenes, post-season, YouTube series.
While the long wait has now started after the conclusion of the uneven 7th season of Game of Thrones seen in South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101), fans of the show can now start to watch the Game Revealed series on YouTube with one episode dedicated to the "making of" behind each one of the 7th season's 7 episodes.
Meanwhile The Hollywood Reporter reports that production on the 8th and final Game of Thrones season is set to begin in October and could likely run as late as August 2018 with filming that willbe taking place in colder climates around the world.
With the huge amount of post-production work and special effects needed (realistic-looking ice dragon rendering takes time, people), it's likely that Game of Thrones will only be back on TV in 2019.
"Our production people are trying to figure out a timeline for the shoot and how much time the special effects take," Casey Bloys, HBO programming president told The Hollywood Reporter.
"The shooting is complicated enough - on different continents, with all the technical aspects - and the special effects are a whole other production period that we're trying to figure out. That is a big factor in all of this."
HBO has refrained from giving any official return date for the final season's shortened 6 episodes.
The new Game Revealed post-season show reveals how some of the things in the 7th season came to life, from creating White Walkers to a singing guest star to crafting Dragonstone.
Maisie Williams, Emilia Clarke and other cast and crew debrief on the making of the just concluded season of Game of Thrones. New episodes of Game Revealed will become available on YouTube on Mondays.
To try and lift ratings e.tv will switch the timeslots of its telenovela Broken Vows and its prime time TV news bulletin eNews Direct from Monday 4 September although the apparently odd move will see both half hour shows face even stiffer competition that might drag viewership lower.
As part of the red letter channel's acquisition of Days of Our Lives and take-over of the Sony and Corday production from the SABC's SABC3, e.tv is doing a major retooling of its prime-time schedule from September with Days' placement at 17:30.
While music show Club 808 on Fridays is strangely shipped off to the earlier 16:30 timeslot from Friday 8 September when its target audience won't be home to watch it, e.tv is also switching around Broken Vows and eNews Direct - both struggling in the ratings - by giving them the other show's timeslot.
e.tv hasn't made any announcements yet, but from Monday 4 September the telenovela Broken Vows produced by Clive Morris Productionswill move from 20:00 to 18:30 where it will have to compete head-to-head with the 6th season of SABC1's hugely successful Skeem Saam youth drama.
From 4 September the eNews Direct at 18:30 will be moved to 20:00 opposite SABC1's super-soap Generations - The Legacy.
Skeem Saam and Generations command a ratings share of respectively 61% and 68.2%. It means that during their timeslots, more than two-thirds of all South African TV sets that are turned on, are tuned to these shows.
What it means it that it will likely be very difficult for e.tv's Broken Vows and for eNews Direct in their switcheroo-timeslots to find a sizeable enough audience, although they haven't been doing well where they've been scheduled currently either.
Two and a half years ago in January 2015 e.tv promised "a regeneration of 8pm" - a play of words on SABC1's Generations with e.tv's introduction of a local telenovela during this timeslot on weekday, but that strategy hasn't worked and now the channel is reversing course.
Days of Our Lives is now going to serve as the lead-in to an e.tv superblock of soap, with Broken Vows at 18:30, Rhythm City at 19:00 and Scandal at 19:30.
It remains to be seen whether e.tv viewers can stay put for a marathon 2 and a half hours of soap television during early prime time as working class families with dueling priorities rush home, battle to bath and to put food on the table in time for dinner.
After having battled depression, Viacom Africa announced Tshego Mosupye (26) as the winner of the MTV Base VJ Search on Sunday evening who will now join MTV Base as a new presenter with an initial 12-month contract.
Tshego Mosupye from Pretoria who also won other prizes, beat out Kuhle Adams and Gontse Makgoba as well as 8 000 other hopefuls in Viacom International Media Networks Africa's (VIMN Africa) nationwide search for a new MTV Base presenter.
He will now make appearances at international award shows and report for MTV Base (DStv 322).
"Youth culture is the heartbeat that drives our business," says Monde Twala, vice president for BET, youth and music for VIMN Africa in a statement announcing Tshego Mosupye as the new MTV Base VJ.
"MTV Base remains on trend and continues to nurture fledgling talent into on-screen superstars and we see Tshego as another incredible local success story."
"Winning the MTV Base VJ Search has already transformed his life and we look forward to his journey the next year. Our VIMN Africa vision for the continent is to work towards unlocking the potential of our homegrown talent."
In the prepared statement Tshego Mosupye says "As a VJ, one must be fully aware of what's happening in the streets and current affairs in relation to the music. I am thrilled and humbled to share the stage with an iconic brand as MTV Base, a channel that is always ahead of our time and always shifting youth culture."
Tshego Mosupye says "people might think I have it all figured out. They don't realise that I'm the guy who is inspired by people and this motivates me".
"I look forward to revealing the real me - not the dude that looks like he has it all together, because I don't really, not always."
He says he "loves fitness - one of the methods I reached out to to break free from my bout of depression. I read and I love creating and designing clothes.Whatever I do, I always give it my all and do the best I can. I am inspired to become my greatest self."
Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service Showmax says it's offering subscribers who signed up to see the Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor boxing fight a refund after pay-per-view chaos led to a viewing delay because of encoding issues.
The hyped Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor bout entitled "The Money Fight" was broadcast on SuperSport on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform very early today, with Showmax that promised it would have it available shortly thereafter by 10:00 on Sunday morning - but that didn't happen.
On social media Showmax said the service will offer people who signed up to watch the boxing fight a refund.
In response to a media enquiry about what happened, Showmax says the "The Money Fight" is now available on the service.
The pay-per-view disaster started in America when Showtime, that produced the boxing event for TV, couldn't cope with the large number of Americans who decided to sign up with the pay-per-view method to stream-watch the boxing clash.
For South African viewers it meant a delay from the 05:00 starting time by an hour.
According to Floyd Mayweather "the pay-per-view servers in California and Florida crashed".
Showtime said that "due to high demand, we have reports of scattered outages from various cable and satellite provides and the online offering. We will delay the start of the main event slightly to allow for systems to get on track. We do not expect a lengthy delay."
The Showtime delay in America caused a knock-on effect for Showmax.
"Once we get the fight file, we then encode it into the various qualities needed and upload it to our content management system," Showmax told TVwithThinus.
"We were on the back foot a bit from the more than one hour delay to the start of the fight and the fact that it lasted longer than we'd anticipated."
"We'd run a bunch of tests ahead of time on express coding that had worked fine, but on the day we ran into some challenges and had to fall back on our standard encoding procedure which is quite a bit slower."
"We understand how frustrating this is for customers and ask anyone affected to get in touch with the customer care team. In the meantime we're going to do a full post-mortem to understand exactly what went wrong and to make sure we don't have a repeat in the future," said Showmax.
Outgoing Our Perfect Wedding presenter Thembisa Mdoda on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) won the Ultimate Viewers' Choice award on Saturday night after she earlier also won the Favourite Presenter category at the inaugural and first DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards 2017 that was broadcast live on the channel. Over 1 million votes were
cast for 50 nominees in 10 categories, as South Africans voted for the various categories, with Bonang Matheba, brilliant as host, who held sway at the Sandton Convention Centre from where SuperSport's outside broadcast unit helped with the live broadcast on the channel carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform. TV executives and producers, on-air talent, publicists, government officials, fashionistas, musicians, sport stars, comedians and the media turned up for the first DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards 2017. The legendary jazz musician, Hugh
Masekela, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award handed to him by M-Net
CEO, Yolisa Phahle. Community worker Anna Dithane was awarded the life changer category winner. Musical acts and stars who performed live at the DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards 2017 includedLady Zamar, Zodwa Wabantu, Thandiswa Mazwai, Lebo Sekgobela and Gqom, along with DJ Cleo, Winnie Khumalo, Busiswa, Cassper Nyovest and Tshedi Mholi as a special surprise guest.
Winners: SONG OF THE YEAR: Prince Kaybee –
Charlotte TV PRESENTER: Thembisa Mdods COMEDIAN: Summay RISING STAR: Sjava RADIO PERSONALITY: B2Cada ACTOR: Themba Ndaba ACTRESS: Vatiswa Ndara MUSIC ARTIST/GROUP: Kwesta DJ: Black Coffee SPORT PERSONALITY: Caster Semenya ULTIMATE VIEWERS' CHOICE: Thembisa Mdoda
This year's kykNET Silwerskermfees 2017 announced its winners in this year's annual Afrikaans film festival on Saturday night during an awards show in Camps Bay, Cape Town where Vaselinetjie was announced as the best film.
This year the Silwerskermfees 2017 had 65 local Afrikaans films that were showcased, along with several panel discussions.
The trash-talking American talk show host Wendy Williams' The Wendy Williams Show is set to return on 18 September for her show's 9th season.
The Wendy Williams Show is seen in South Africa and across Africa on Viacom International Media Networks Africa's (VIMN Africa) African channel feed for the BET (DStv 129) channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform
"We do our show from the heart. How can we make it bigger, better and more entertaining for you," says the "say it like you mean it" talk show host in a show-tease for the upcoming season.
The Wendy Williams Show has already been renewed until 2019-2020 for an 11th season.
CNN has ended its Snapchat Discover magazine to launch a new Snapchat daily news show, The Update in an attempt to reach more younger news consumers.
CNN announced the news only today, Wednesday, in South Africa and Africa, two days after the Snapchat show announcement was made elsewhere in the world and launched on Monday.
In a statement CNN says The Update includes a rundown of the biggest news from stories of the day from CNN reporters and bureaus around the world and will include breaking news segments.
Each The Update show includes five or more stories as CNN targets digital news consumers on smart devices. "We are introducing our brilliant cast of world
class anchors and reporters to a young audience in a smart, accessible way with The Update," says Samantha Barry, CNN’s executive producer for social and emerging media in a statement released by Burson-Marsteller in South Africa on Wednesday. "In today's news environment, people are hungry for news and
they want a quick update of where things are at within one tap of their phone.
So, we're serving that up, speaking their language and delivering it in
beautiful, vertical, mobile friendly video." "Since launching content on Snapchat, we have
believed in the importance of giving our community access to accurate and
authoritative news coverage, and CNN has played an important part in that from
the beginning," says Sean Mills, senior director of content programming for
Snapchat.
"It's more critical than ever that Snapchatters have access to the
best journalism in the world, right when news breaks, and we’re excited to watch
CNN deliver that to them through The Update."
Snapchat users can find The Update in the Shows
section of their Stories pages.
CNN says The Update will build on and complement
news coverage Snapchat offers its community through all of its content formats
on Discover.
Thembisa Mdoda is out as presenter of Our Perfect Wedding on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) and will be replaced through a presenter search competition.
There's been no announcement from M-Net's Mzansi Magic on Thembisa Mdoda's exit yet but her contract with the top-rated show has not been renewed.
Thembisa Mdoda joined Our Perfect Wedding in late 2015 from the 6th season of the show.
With her catchphrase of "Sifike! Sabona! Satshatisa!", Our Perfect Wedding is not just the most watched programme on Mzansi Magic but the most watched show on all of MultiChoice's DStv pay-TV offering, attracting around 1.84 million viewers per episode.
Thembisa Mdoda, a mother of twin boys, left Our Perfect Wedding for a few weeks earlier in 2017 for undisclosed reasons and were replaced by Nomsa Buthelezi. She returned in July.
UPDATE Wednesday 23 August 2017 17:19 - There's now a statement from Mzansi Magic. "After 7 successful seasons of the popular
reality show, Our Perfect Wedding is switching gears with a presenter search
open to the public," says Mzansi Magic in a statement issued late on Wednesday afternoon. "With three seasons under her belt ushering
couples to the altar, Thembisa Mdoda is bidding farewell to the show." "Thembisa Mdoda’s contract has come to an
end. We thank her for her commitment and contribution to the success of OPW," says Nondumiso Mabece, head of publicity at M-Net local entertainment channels. "We are looking forward to the exciting
journey the show will be taking, opening up the platform for a hidden gem, a
new face with untapped talent. This is an opportunity not to be missed." Nomsa Buthelezi is employed as the temporary Our Perfect Wedding presenter. "The new presenter
will need to have a warm personality to match and the ability to connect with
the viewers," says Nondumiso Mabece.
Here is what's needed for the Our Perfect Wedding presenter search auditions:
Contestants must be 25 years old and upwards, should
be South African citizens with a valid South African
ID.
The potential presenter will be auditioned by the producers and
shortlisted for a second round of auditions. A panel of judges will select the
contestants that will battle it out for the public vote in the final
phase.
e.tv is bumping its struggling music show Club 808 aimed at young adults to an earlier "death timeslot" of 16:40 from Friday 8 September where it will now be shown during the late afternoon kiddies hour.
The once successful music show, damaged after multiple timeslot changes, will be replacing the American talk show Steve Harvey on Fridays at 16:30 on e.tv from the second week of September when its audience isn't actually home to watch it.
Club 808 has to move for the weekday soap Days of Our Lives that e.tv took over from the SABC's SABC3 channel.
Since Days of Our Lives will be shown on weekdays from 17:30 to 18:30, Club 808 in its 18:00 timeslot on Fridays couldn't stay, and instead of moving it later or to weekends where it has been shown before, e.tv decided to move Club 808 earlier where it will sit opposite shows like Daily Thetha on SABC1, Hectic Nine-9 on SABC2 and Afternoon Express on SABC3.
Club 808 on e.tv has seen several day and timeslot changes, together with a revolving door of presenters and even a channel change to eKasi+ that all caused damage to the show's once above-average viewership.
In June Bontle Modiselle became the latest presenter to join Club 808 alongside Lawrence Maleka that will now have to play to the channel's teen viewers who usually watch Craz-e and Shiz Live.
There's been no announcement regarding the timeslot change from e.tv yet.
The new-and-great but cancelled American science fiction drama series Time After Time finally has a starting date on M-Net (DStv 101) - let's make that now M-Net City (DStv 115).
DStv subscribers can tune in for Time After Time from Monday 4 September 22:00.
UPDATE Wednesday 23 August 12:00 - I've just heard from M-Net that Time After Time has been pushed to December, so it will not be starting on 4 September. The 2nd season of Stan Lee's Lucky Man will replace Time After Time on 4 September at 22:00. Stan Lee’s season 1 was scheduled on
M-Net Edge and its new home will be M-Net City. M-Net says more shows will be premiering on M-Net City going forward, Elementary having been the first.
First a bit about Time After Time, and then some questions.
I've seen some of episodes of the drama series and its excellent and intelligent and very clever.
Time After Time that has a 12-episode first season and got cancelled after just 5 of the 12 episodes that were produced were broadcast in America, revolves around the young writer H.G. Wells (Freddie Stroma) traveling from Victorian era London to modern-day New York in a time machine.
He tries to catch his doctor "friend" (now enemy) who stole his invention and who is actually the notorious, serial killer Jack the Ripper (Josh Bowman).
Time After Time is based on the 1979 film of the same name.
Now for the same-old questions about some inexplicable M-Net scheduling that is coming up yet again in my mind - and also one new question.
At the beginning of the year M-Net showed TV critics at MultiChoice's DStv Content Showcase 2017 that, yes, it has Time After Time (and Timeless) and would be having it on the channel.
I was soo specifically excited that these two shows (besides several others that also made me happy!) were acquired by M-Net.
While Timeless (that got cancelled in America and then renewed for a second season) remained on M-Net (DStv 101) where it is currently being broadcast and will end its first season on Saturday 9 September at 20:00, Time After Time that's the exact same type of show, got pushed away to M-Net City.
What I once again don't understand is why.
You'd think that M-Net would keep the same "type" of shows together on the same type of channels to get maximum ratings value from DStv subscribers who are in a sense over time [no pun intended] "trained" as to where they should tune to, to watch what and where you can expect to see what content.
Viewers watching Timeless and enjoying it on M-Net (DStv 101) at this very moment might have no idea that Time After Time also exists and is (going to be) on M-Net City.
I've watched and hugely enjoyed both - and if I'm very honest, Time After Time is for me the better one of the two, and the drama series that I've enjoyed a bit more in terms of the few episodes I've managed to see of it (although Timeless is cool too).
Question two: Will M-Net only be showing the 5 episodes of Time After Time on M-Net City that was broadcast in America on ABC before it was abruptly cancelled for a game show?
Or will South African viewers and DStv subscribers be seeing all 12 episodes that were broadcast in countries like Spain and that are available on Amazon Prime Video in certain territories?
I've asked M-Net several times the past month or so how many episodes of Time After Time's been been acquired to show in South Africa but haven't gotten a definitive answer back yet.
If it does happen to be 12 it will be great, and M-Net should actually make a much bigger song and dance about it.
It will mean that Time After Time will be another one of the very few instances where South African viewers and M-Net and DStv subscribers are actually getting to see more of a certain show than what American viewers did - just like what M-Net did with Zero Hour and also managed with Friends with Better Lives that was great.
If I were M-Net I would have scheduled Time After Time in the exact same timeslot as Timeless and have it start and follow on seamlessly after Timeless since viewers watching Timeless would keep tuning in and very likely continue to watch Time After Time.
Of course it also makes much better sense to put Time After Time on the actual M-Net (DStv 101) channel instead of burning it off on the non-descript M-Net City where it just doesn't feel prestigey.
At least M-Net City is a high definition (HD) channel so South African viewers will be able to watch Time After Time in HD.
On the review site Rotten Tomatoes Time After Time holds a "67% fresh" rating, with a whopping "84% want to see" grade and a "71% liked it" audience score. Surely it more than complies with the standard needed to be your classic "must-see" M-Net show?
Purely personal irony to me is that out of all the new American TV shows of 2017 that I've watched so far this year, Time After Time (although it got cancelled) is my personal best American TV show of the season.
If shows like Hunters and Twin Peaks are good enough for M-Net (DStv 101) and the beautiful Forever was on M-Net Edge why isn't Time After Time good enough for the same channel when it's clearly so much better and so much more prestige-fittingly "M-Net" than something like Hunters?
There's a big overall mystery and several secrets as to how various characters are connected in Time After Time to both H.G. Wells and to Jack the Ripper and even I don't know the answers to these.
I really hope M-Net shows all of the episodes because it's a fascinating series and I can't wait to discover the answers.
DStv subscribers will be able to watch a new Sky documentary about Princess Diana on Wednesday to mark the 20th anniversary of her death with Diana: The People's Princess that will be shown on Sky News (DStv 402).
The documentary made by Sky News for broadcast on the Sky One channel in the United Kingdom but also on Sky News, doesn't appear on MultiChoice's DStv electronic programme guide (EPG) so subscribers can't set recordings for Diana: The People's Princess.
Diana: The People's Princess will however be shown on Sky News (DStv 402) on Wednesday 23 August at 16:00 South African time, with a rebroadcast at 21:00.
In Diana: The People's Princess, a man who saw a "beautifully made up" Diana in her coffin, and a pall bearer at her funeral share their emotional stories, as well as journalists and members of the public who witnessed the scene of the crash.
The moving accounts come from those who witnessed first-hand the events surrounding the death of Princess Diana with the documentary that looks at Diana's final hours, the extraordinary events leading up to her funeral and the enduring legacy of her charitable work.
Diana: The People's Princess is broadcast ahead of the 20th anniversary of her death on 31 August next week.
Brigadier Charles Ritchie helped with the repatriation of Diana's body back to the UK, and more significantly broke protocol by deciding that the Royal Standard and not the Union Flag should be draped on the coffin.
In Diana: The People's Princess, Brigadier Ritchie says: "Her body was in a coffin, there was never a mark on her face, she was beautifully made up, she looked as though she was sleeping.
"The RAF sergeant as I recall said, 'Which flag shall we put on the coffin sir?' And I said, 'What flag have you got?' And he said the Union Flag and the Royal Standard.
"I said, 'Well my head says the Union Jack, my heart says the Royal Standard'. Unless it is a member of the Royal family that is dead the Royal Standard should not be used.
"And I said 'put on the Royal Standard I will take responsibility.'"
The Standard Flag is normally only used for members of the Royal family. From the time of her divorce Diana was no longer known as Her Royal Highness.
Speaking about the reaction to his unorthodox choice he adds: "I was merely told technically I was wrong, but when you saw the reaction of the public… An official communication then arrived to the ambassador informing him to thank me for the unconventional decision I had taken, full stop."
Also speaking in Diana: The People's Princess is Philip Bartlett, who was only 23 and serving in the Welsh Guards, when he was asked to be one of the pallbearers on the day of Diana's funeral.
In the programme he talks movingly about what it meant to carry her coffin and escort the gun carriage through the centre of London on the way to Westminster Abbey.
Talking about the first moment they lifted her coffin and the huge responsibility of that day he says: "It was the first time we actually felt the weight of the coffin, we lifted it up and we thought this is quite heavy this is."
An American couple who were among the first people to witness the scene of the crash inside the tunnel in Paris share their story, along with journalists who reported on the news that the Princess of Wales has died.
M-Net (DStv 101) has finally given Wedding Bashers a new starting date with the new reality show that is now set to start on Sunday 17 September at 17:00 after an unexplained delay.
Viewers RSVP'ed for the new reality show Wedding Bashers on M-Net that was supposed to start on Sunday 13 August at 17:00.
Wedding Bashers was supposed to start on the same date and serve as the lead-in to My Kitchen Rules South Africa but the show, produced by [sic] Entertainment and executive produced by Gavin Wratten,was unexpectedly pushed from the M-Net schedule and postponed over apparent production delays that M-Net didn't explain.
The delay in the broadcast date saw M-Net cancel a planned media launch in August for Wedding Bashers. It's not yet clear if there will be on in September.
What is clear is that Wedding Bashers will now start on 17 September according to M-Net's updated schedule - about a month later than the original plan but a perfect date for a Spring wedding TV show launch.
Wedding Bashers is using former Survivor South Africa host Mark Bayly, socialite Denise Zimba, Food Network's Siba Mtongana, former Miss South Africa Cindy Nell-Roberts, and formerSurvivor SA Champions star and wedding planner Zavion Kotze as presenters.
Wedding Bashers will showcase South African weddings with those who allow their nuptuals to be judged by the gaggle of celebrity wedding crashers, standing the chance of winning big prizes.
Angry artists on Tuesday marched to the SABC and protested at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters over ongoing alleged, corrupt pay-for-play behaviour at the SABC where bribes are given and taken in exchange for musicians to get their songs played on air, saying that "bribes must end".
Over a hundred artists who marched from the Sentech tower in Brixton to the SABC in Auckland Park held a public protest at the SABC on Tuesday and handed a memorandum to the SABC's spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
The artists slammed the South African Broadcasting Corporation for "dragging" its feet in properly addressing the scourge of alleged payola at the SABC.
There was no comment or statement from the SABC's Kaizer Kganyago following the public protest.
In Tuesday's memorandum handed to the SABC, the group says that "bribes must end" at the SABC as far as playlisting of music is concerned.
"We as South African artists feel that our music that we submit every Tuesday to the SABC is not being valued or playlisted because of the corruption that has been happening through decades of the Syndicate Brown Envelope to SABC compilers."
"Our music have been kept in the SABC library even after 90/10 local being approved."
The "90/10" is a reference to Hlaudi Motsoeneng's edict for 90% local South African music to be played across the SABC's radio stations.
The group demanded that SABC compilers "must be monitored and there must be a team to do listening sessions with compilers for all the music we submit to be playlisted."
The group said "the SABC must have an office to submit [to ask] for interviews for all SABC radio stations".
Parliament on Tuesday narrowed-down and chose a shortlist of 36 names of people to be interviewed out of the applications received, to serve on the new SABC board.
The 36 candidates will be interviewed on 29 and 30 August and 1 September by the members of parliament of parliament's portfolio committee on communications.
The beleaguered SABC's board keeps lurching from crisis to crisis with hardly any SABC board in years that has served its full term of 5 years.
This happens as successive SABC board and board melts down due to infighting, macro political infighting over the SABC and the public broadcaster's byzantine and almost unconquerable financial, management and corruption challenges.
The SABC currently has an interim board whose tenure expires at the end of September.
All 5 members of the SABC interim board were nominated, and they all made the shortlist to possibly serve on the public broadcaster's next new permanent SABC board.
Mr Mathatha Godfrey Tsedu
Mr Krish Naidoo
Ms Khanyisile Kweyama
Mr John Matisonn
Mrs Febe Potgieter-Gqubule
Ms Nomvuyiso Batyi
Ms Rachel Kalidass
Mr Thabiso Ratsomo
Mr Rufus Dzuguda Kharidzha
Mr Michael Markovitz
Mr William Currie
Mr Sandile Kama
Dr Deenadaylen Konar
Ms Harriet Meier
Ms Dawn Earp
Mr Michael Bauer
Judge Chris Greenland
Mr Desmond Golding
Mr Manaka Mathumo
Mr Victor Rambau
Mr Tshifhiwa Khorommbi
Mr Mcebo Khumalo
Ms Seipati Khumalo
Dr Thidziambi Nethengwe
Ms Cikizwa Dingi
Ms Louise Vale
Mr Yaasir Haffejee
Mr Kwanele Gumbi
Mr Jack Devnarian
Mr Bongumusa Makhathini
Mr Nkosana Mbokane
Mr Michael Sass
Mr Jim Matsho
Mr Jack Phahlane
Mr Dinkwanyane Mohuba
Ms Leanne Govindsamy
The ANC political party initially wanted the controversial former SABC News head and SABC executive Snuki Zikalala included on the list but the yesteryear Hlaudi Motsoeneng harbinger was eventually left off the list. Opposition political parties couldn't help themselves and laughed out loud in parliament when the ANC political party's Mziwamadoda Kalako read out Snuki Zikalala's name for wannabe inclusion on the list. The CV's of all 36 shortlisted candidates will be published on parliament's website for the public and civil society to submit comments.
In a statement the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party's MP Phumzile van Damme says the "DA has pushed to ensure that the process of appointing the new permanent board of the SABC is open and transparent for the people of South Africa to have their say."
"The SABC is a public broadcaster which serves the people of our country and they must be included in this process."
"The DA will continue to push for the process to be conducted with public participation to ensure that the SABC is once again restored to its former status as a world-class news and entertainment service provider".
On Tuesday in South Africa the COPE political party called for a ban and thorough investigation of the controversial and divisive "Guptanews" ANN7 (DStv 405) TV channel carried by MultiChoice on its DStv satellite pay-TV platform, joining the EFF and Democratic Alliance political parties that previously called for an ANN7 ban.
The EFF and the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party both called for a boycott and ban of the slanted and blooper-filled ANN7 earlier this year, and the EFF again did so on Tuesday.
These parties have now been joined by COPE - representing the majority of South Africa's opposition parties.
COPE's call for a shutdown of ANN7 and a thorough investigation into the controversial TV channel from Infinity Media Networks owned by Oakbay Investments, comes a day after Oakbay announced that ANN7 and The New Age newspaper are being "sold" through a vendor loan for R450 million to the former ANC spin tsar Mzwanele "Jimmy" Manyi.
Jimmy Manyi is a Gupta acolyte and a frequent on-air "analyst" on the "fake news" channel that stews in biased news through slanted, rhetorical questions put to one-sided panelists and where the Bell-Pottinger PR invented catchphrase of "white monopoly capital" to deflect from South African state capture is employed daily, and often.
COPE wants a thorough investigation of the R450 million deal between the Guptas' Oakbay and Jimmy Manyi's Lodidox pop-up shelf company, and is calling for a recall of ANN7's broadcasting license as a TV channel on MultiChoice's platform.
COPE calls the Oakbay-Manyi transaction to suddenly "buy" ANN7 and The New Age in a debt sale deal just days before the Bank of Baroda closes their bank accounts "extremely suspicious", saying that the "transaction is clouded in secrecy, giving rise to more questions than answers".
COPE wants to know who and how the deal was financed, what process was followed, and if South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) approved the sudden sale of ANN7.
In June the Democratic Alliance (DA) called for a boycott of ANN7 saying South Africans can't "allow the Guptas' propaganda to bring the credibility of our media into question".
"Hardworking and dedicated journalist and staff at both Gupta media houses are being abused by the corrupted political agendas of the ANC and the Guptas. The DA stands in solidarity with these journalists and staff who report with integrity, but are under enormous political pressure."
"It is time to stop giving The New Age and ANN7 the time of day, and see them for what they are: The Guptas’ own Closed Circuit Television. It is time to stop all funding of ANN7 and The New Age, to put a stop to the Guptas propaganda campaign."
The EFF political party reiterated its call for a boycott of ANN7, in a statement saying "There is nothing 'media transformation' about this deal; to call it this is like thinking the apartheid's creating of Bantustans was a progressive liberation move for black people".
"Like Bantustan leaders, Jimmy Manyi is a stooge representing the entrenchment of Gupta corruption in our country."
"We know that The New Age has been a sole beneficiary of many corrupt deals in state institutions like South African Airways (SAA) and the SABC, as well as in many state departments."
"This means The New Age should be returning all the money it made through illegal and questionable deals like that with the SABC Morning Live Business Breakfast briefings".
"We are not blind to the fact that Jimmy Manyi will continue the business of fake news and reporting that characterises the Gupta media empire. This is because Jimmy Manyi himself has been central to false propaganda and the defence of Zupta corruption that is killing many state institutions."
"He is the cheerleader of kleptocracy and a mascot of the Zupta corruption."
On Tuesday the satellite pay-TV service MultiChoice did a positive name-change in South Africa to one of its DStv bouquets, changing its second-tiered DStv Extra bouquet offering to DStv Compact Plus.
MultiChoice has been offering, and using, a DStv Compact Plus bouquet elsewhere in Africa and the "introduction" of it through a name change in South Africa is a good service adjustment to align its second best offering in South Africa with what it is called on the rest of the African continent.
MultiChoice quietly launched DStv Extra just over 4 years ago in June 2013 but based on the brand name alone, consumers struggled to know where exactly it would fit into the tiered DStv offerings.
The renamed DStv Compact Plus makes it clearer that it's an enhanced "plus" version of DStv Compact.
From 1 September to 31 September all existing DStv Compact subscribers - DStv's third-tiered bouquet - will be "upgraded" and get access to the DStv Compact Plus (or old DStv Extra) channels without being charged more as a consumer sampling exercise.
DStv Compact Plus costs R489 per month and these DStv subscribers get access to DStv BoxOffice, DStv Catch Up and DStv Now online and on the app for smart devices.
DStv Compact Plus contains more channels than DStv Compact and additionally has channels like Comedy Central Africa (DStv 122), ITV Choice (DStv 123), Lifetime Africa (DStv 133) and the Afrikaans channel kykNET (DStv 144), as well as SuperSport 7 (DStv 207), SuperSport 8 (DStv 208) and BBC Worldwide's CBeebies (DStv 306).
"DStv Compact Plus is a great solution for our Compact customers looking
for more entertainment for their family," says Mark Rayner, MultiChoice South Africa CEO in a statement. "We strive to continuously enhance our
DStv packages to give our customers more entertainment value for their money." MultiChoice says the change from DStv Extra to DStv Compact Plus will also eliminate confusion between the DStv Extra offering and MultiChoice's XtraView service which allows customers to connect more than
one decoder under one subscription.
After bringing South African viewers back-to-back seasons of the American reality show Survivor that SABC3 used to alternate with The Amazing Race, a new season of The Amazing Race will finally return to SABC3 on Monday 25 September at 19:30.
SABC3 used to alternate series of Survivor and The Amazing Race on Mondays, but stopped during the South African Broadcasting Corporation's cash-crunch and evisceration of international content from the SABC - especially SABC3's schedule.
SABC3 earlier this year moved Survivor also from its longtime scheduling berth of Mondays to Tuesdays at 19:30 where Survivor: Worlds Apart is currently being shown.
Now SABC3 has acquired and paid for another season of The Amazing Race that will return to Mondays from Monday 25 September at 19:30.
What this means is that it will mark the first time that SABC3 is showing both Survivor and The Amazing Race concurrently on the public broadcaster's only commercial TV channel, instead of alternating them.
In the 25th season of The Amazing Race there's 11 teams of 2 people, racing through 8 countries - and for the first time ever, 4 teams competing in the final leg of the competition.
Like with Survivor, SABC3 is falling further and further behind America and the rest of the world with The Amazing Race.
While Survivor isn't available in high definition and not shown on any other TV channel available in South Africa, The Amazing Race can be seen on the Sony Channel (DStv 127) on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.
The Sony Channel is currently broadcasting the very latest 29th season of The Amazing Race with new episodes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 19:30.
Monday's total solar eclipse in America eclipsed everything - except Bonnie Tyler whose star burnt brightest thanks to her hit song "Total Eclipse of the Heart".
While the American president Donald Trump was warned not to - and then decided to look directly into the sun - it was Bonnie Tyler who lit up on Monday during the total eclipse when she sang her hit 1983 song on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and beforehand also did several interviews with a multitude of TV news channels and shows.
Bonnie's trippy power ballad "Total Eclipse of the Heart" surged to number 1 on iTunes and sales of the single jumped a whopping 267% on Amazon as the solar eclipse took place across America but was beamed by satellites to TV screens and followed worldwide.
Her Greatest Hits album also climbed to number 3 on Amazon's Movers & Shakers list. On the music streaming service, play of her song surged 2 859%.
According to Billboard, digital download sales of the song jumped by 503%.
Meanwhile, as everyone tries to just hold on forever and South Africa's Elon Musk on Monday warned against killer robots, REM silently waited their turn for "It's the End of the World" - probably not too far off now since we're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks.
On CNN - that always said it was different than E! Entertainment - anchor John Berman interviewed Bonnie Tyler, because, lets face it, when there's a total solar eclipse, Bonnie belting out a ballad is what we as the world need more than ever.
While a buoyant Bonnie (67) on a boat in the Bermuda Triangle was trying to keep her hair out of her face, John Berman awkwardly asked her" "How do you think a total eclipse of the heart differs from a total eclipse of the sun?"
Because it's important, he also wanted to know from Bonnie "Can you stare into a total eclipse of the heart without glasses?"
(Well, don't ask Donald Trump - he just might decide he wants to.)
Brave Bonnie in her raspy voice tried her best to answer and said "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is "the number one karaoke song".
Then Bonnie - who said the universe is amazing - decided to sing. And just like that, while the world these days seems to be falling apart, she brought back the light to our lives.
Luckily the CNN studio's fire sprinkler system was switched off or wasn't working on Monday because the anchor took out and flicked on a lighter, swaying a flame from side to side.
There was nothing we could do, but social media had a field day:
Thankfully the British were more reserved in their proper solar eclipse coverage.
On Sky News (DStv 402) anchor Kay Burley was running around just like she did at the Lindo Wing when Kate and Prince William had babies, asking people starting at the solar eclipse how they're feeling.
Even The Guardian was helpful for those suffering from bright eyes:
The SABC's SABC3 TV channel, Vodacom and Jeep have all distanced themselves from the controversial and imploding Cape Town model-search production Beeldskoon from Snapshots TV Productions.
The Weekend Argus reported that Beeldskoon, a model search competition done in Cape Town that made many promises to many people, has imploded.
Beeldskoon, allegedly fraught with problems and short on cash, saw its production manager Megan Scholtz reportedlyquit halfway through who says it was difficult to feed the models daily while the production was filming in a Camps Bay villa and in Stellenbosch.
Beeldskoon created by Alfredo Alfred, promised a Jeep Renegade as a SMS competition prize "sponsored" by Jeep for the public, and a Fiat for the winner and a Los Angeles based modelling mentorship.
Beeldskoon was punted for broadcast on SABC3 from September with a years-old logo of the SABC's SABC3 TV channel, although SABC3 says it knows nothing about the competition.
"On behalf of SABC3, we are not aware of this title," said the broadcaster.
Vodacom and Jeep also disavowed their involvement with Beeldskoon.
Crew who worked on Beeldskoon told The Weekend Argus they haven't been paid their salaries. Alfredo Alfred allegedly also owes money to a hair salon, the Rosenview Guesthouse and the Camps Bay villa.
The former ANC publicist Mzwanele "Jimmy" Manyi's Lodidox company has brought the controversial "Gupta-news" TV channel ANN7 (DStv 405) on DStv for R300 million and the Gupta-newspaper The New Age for R150 million under a "vendor licensing" deal.
"Vendor licensing" means that the Guptas is lending Jimmy Manyi the money to buy their ANN7 and The New Age.
The Bank of Baroda is closing Oakbay Investments bank accounts - including those of ANN7 and The New Age at the end of August.
The borrow-to-buy ANN7 and The New Age sale means the Oakbay media entities get new bank accounts through Jimmy Manyi.
The controversial Jimmy Manyi with close ties to the Guptas frequently appears as a "political analyst" and as an "analyst" on the controversial ANN7 channel carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform that just turned 4 years old where he shills for the Guptas and mentions the Bell-Pottinger created "white monopoly capital" catch-phrase.
The unprofessional and news-skewing ANN7 and The New Age continue to hog headlines as part of the "Gupta-leaks" trove of emails and ongoing revelations regarding South African "state-capture and notorious Jacob Zuma-linked dealings.
The Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments in a statement says the R450 million sale of its two media entities "is part of Oakbay’s commitment to preserve jobs and provide certainty to over 7 500 hard-working employees throughout the group and to safeguard the inherent value of the businesses in which they work."
Offloading the controversial ANN7 TV channel from Infinity Media Networks and The New Age to Lodidox "will also allow the shareholder the time to focus on clearing its name in the face of unfounded media allegations", says Oakbay Investments.
"Under a new majority shareholder, Oakbay believes that both businesses and their employees will have the bright and prosperous future they deserve," says Ronica Ragavan, Oakbay Investments acting CEO in the statement.
"We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Lodidox and the management team; the sale of our shareholdings will secure the future of these businesses and help preserve the jobs of their employees."
"Both businesses are inherently sound and well positioned for growth in their respective market segments. We wish them every success in the future."
Jimmy Manyi says he is "delighted to have reached agreement with Oakbay and look forward to successfully completing the deal."
"These are two strong businesses which are full of potential and, under the right external circumstances, can become an increasingly important and relevant part of the South African media landscape."
"In addition, I am particularly impressed that the shareholders of Oakbay have agreed to do a vendor financing at acceptable terms as part of their commitment to transformation and to expedite the transaction."
Thando Thabethe as the latest on-air face to quit the South African public broadcaster will be starting her upcoming TV talk show on TLC Entertainment (DStv 135) in early 2018 that will be entitled Thando Bares All.
The "slightly risque" 8-episode Thando Bares All is produced by Oxyg3n Media and will see Thando Thabethe talking with people about "body positivity" and "things that society might be afraid or embarrassed to speak about".
Thando Thabethe recently quit her role on the SABC's Generations weekday soap on SABC1 for the chance to appeal to a pay-TV audience in a localised African TV talk show for Discovery Networks International's female-focused African channel feed of TLC Entertainment.
Thando Thabethe couldn't continue to be seen on the South African public broadcaster as a SABC face and as one of Discovery's new faces on TLC Entertainment and opted to take a chance on appealing and reaching out to a new audience after she appeared on TLC Entertainment in 2016 as a judge in a presenter search competition.
Topics in the 8 episodes of Thando Bares All will discuss polygamy, "naked attraction", outrageous style and body issues with themes borrowed and synchronising with other well-known TLC Entertainment programming.
Casissa Cupido, winnter of TLC Entertainment's Next Great Presenter Search 2016 and now the official TLC Entertainment voice-over artist, will film vox pop inserts with the public for Thando Bares All.
'When TLC approached me to present this show, I was ecstatic," says Thando Thabethe in a prepared statement.
"I'm a huge fan of the channel and thoroughly enjoyed with the brand as a judge for its Next Great Presenter competition in 2016."
"This for me is a step in the right direction for my career in the entertainment industry. I can't wait to start filming Thando Bares All and finding out what South Africans think about the topics that really matter," says Thando Thabethe.
"TLC Entertainment proudly celebrates inspirational, larger-than-life characters and we are incredibly excited to welcome Thando to the family," says Dilek Doyran, vice president of commercial development and country manager of Africa at Discovery Networks Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA).
"Thando Bares All is about bringing people together and tackling topics we know our viewers will have strong opinions on."
"With her charismatic personality and unique presenting style, Thando was the perfect fit to front the series and we look forward to bringing even more 'OMG' moments to our viewers when Thando Bares All comes to TLC early next year," says Dilek Doyran.
"Oxyg3n Media are delighted to be working with TLC Entertainment on this new and exciting talk show," says Rebecca Fuller-Campbell, Oxyg3n Media CEO.
"We can't think of anyone better than Thando and Carissa to talk TLC topics with the heart that represents the channel."
"It has been a very interesting journey for us to decide what topics to discuss, but I have no doubt that the TLC audience will be captivated by this unique, colourful, heartfelt and slightly risque talk show."
