MultiChoice has removed the word 'Catch Up' from its DStv streaming service – this is where and how you now find previous episodes.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice has decided to remove its DStv Catch Up naming convention for recorded and already shown content but hasn't done away with actual "catch up" content - DStv subscribers are just no longer able to find it under a specific header category.

Earlier this month MultiChoice removed its well-known "Catch Up" menu from the interface of its DStv streaming service. It's the second naming convention change to its streaming service after MultiChoice removed the "Now" from its "DStv Now" streaming service.

DStv subscribers have been logged out and as they log in, many are wondering what happened to DStv Catch Up, whether their screen is just taking time to load and if they should wait a while, or if Catch Up has been taken away, or moved elsewhere.

MultiChoice that didn't communicate the change to subscribers has indeed "moved" and "removed"  DStv's Catch Up from its streaming app and online website but has not actually removed any of the actual content - Catch Up is only gone insofar as the name is concerned. 

Until now people who logged into DStv's streaming service could click on "Live TV" (still there) or "Catch Up", making a clear distinction for users between where to navigate to find a rolling love TV channel on the DStv bouquet or library content.

The content available as "catch up" - latest episodes of current shows already broadcast, binge-stacks and library catalogues - is still there, it's just no longer under a specific overall Catch Up header. Users should now directly click on "TV shows", "Movies", "Sport" or "Kids" to find specific programming. 

Whatever content there is to catch up with within these genres will be under these category headers.

While MultiChoice is doing away with its popular "Catch Up" naming convention, the blue "play" icon button and word "Catch Up" remains on the DStv remote control, including the remote control of the just-launched DStv Explora Ultra decoder.

MultiChoice was asked why it decided to do away with the Catch Up name and header in DStv streaming and didn't communicate this to consumers but didn't answer these questions. In response to why the change was made, MultiChoice said that "Over the last two weeks we began rolling out a navigation change that makes it easier for our streaming customers to find content to watch".

"The option to watch Catch Up remains the same, but titles are now grouped into user-friendly categories, namely TV shows, Movies, Sport and Kids."

"The change is already live on the web and will be rolled out to the apps across supported devices in the coming weeks. All the same titles that customers enjoy streaming under the Catch Up section remain on the service and can be found via the new categories," MultiChoice said.

MultiChoice and M-Net adds African telenovela channel Novela Magic to DStv for Southern Africa with mostly Nigerian telenovelas.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice and M-Net will be adding a new telenovela TV channel on its DStv service from today, 27 November, with Novela Magic (DStv 165) that will start at 18:00.

Novela Magic that will roll out in a phased approach and that will be broadcast in standard definition (SD) only, will start in South Africa and the rest of the Southern African region from today and will be available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact and DStv Family subscribers.

Novela Magic will daily but end at 21:30 and is described as an "African-focused telenovela channel" that will collect and showcase African telenovelas from across the continent. 

Series created in the language of the country of origin will be dubbed into English. 

Novela Magic will launch with 4 telenovelas: Unbroken, Zuba, Forbidden, and Battleground. Novela Magic will initially have predominantly Nigerian-produced content from West Africa with some content produced in Southern Africa.

"For over 30 years M-Net has been bringing to audiences across the African continent compelling stories that harness the imagination of our viewers while also showcasing the vast talent that is harboured on the continent," says Nkateko Mabaso, M-Net CEO.

"We want to continue this legacy of showcasing the best African stories with themes that resonate and engage our viewers, hence the launch of this new Novela Magic channel."

Unbroken from Nigeria tells a love story between Tivdo and Jesse who are madly in love. Tivdo plans to marry Jesse until tragedy strikes, leaving him disabled after a car accident where his beloved fiancée, Jesse, was on the wheel.

 

In Zuba, Zambia's first telenovela, an innocent, rural teenage girl must leave her family and education behind to do a maid’s job with a complex, wealthy urban family where she falls for the young son of the house.

M-Net says that although the telenovelas on Novela Magic would have been broadcast and seen on other TV channels before it is now collecting African telenovelas on this thematic channel.

South Africa's government wants to force video streaming services like Netflix into a 30% local content quota: Here's why it's a bad plan and will end up hurting consumers.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's government is floating a controversial new plan to force local and international video streaming services like Netflix, Showmax, Amazon Prime Video and others in future, to carry at least 30% local content in the country - although a big problem is that the plan isn't practically feasible.

Forcing streamers to have a third of their content be local South African series and films will likely end up hurting consumers by taking away choice if these streamers, in order to comply, instead decide to downsize instead of upsize their overall ringfenced offering for South Africa to comply as they chase a percentage.

South Africa's department of communications and digital technologies not only wants to impose content quotas on streaming services. 

As part of its plan, it now also wants to change the existing legislation to force MultiChoice (DStv), StarTimes (StarSat) as well as subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Netflix SA, Showmax, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video and others to collect SABC TV Licence fees that will be added into consumers' the bills from these private companies because the SABC isn't able to do proper licence fee collection.

About the plan to force a 30% local content catalogue quota on streamers, Collin Mashile, chief director of broadcasting policy at the department of communications and digital technologies, said "These video-on-demand subscription services, when they come and operate in South Africa, everything that they show to South Africans in terms of their catalogue, 30% of that catalogue must include South African content".

The draft legislation also proposes the creation of a government "team" that would be able to blacklist and block subscribers' payments from South African banks to international streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video if streamers don't comply with regulations. 

Forcing video streaming services to make their offering 30% local will however have unintended consequences for the South African consumer that only becomes clear when you know how these streamers operate and how they make money.

The problems with local content quotas for video streaming services are threefold:

1. Catalogue downsizing instead of upsizing bad for consumers

Firstly, it's extremely likely that video streamers won't "upsize" their content catalogues to add local South African content to make a 30% local target - they will downsize to manage margins.

South Africa doesn't produce enough and doesn't have enough local content for a streaming service like Netflix to add even if it wanted to. For every two new shows Netflix adds, it will have to find one local series from South Africa to add. 

That is beside the large back-catalogue of local South African content that a streamer like Netflix would have to suddenly find and acquire even if this volume of content were to be available. 

A streamer like Netflix alone adds more new (international) content per month in terms of scripted series than what a local South African broadcaster like the SABC produces in the same time and often at a lower quality.

If Netflix, Showmax or Amazon Prime Video is forced to carry 30% local South African content, they will maybe add some more local content to a degree, but what they will definitely do to make the formula work is not add local content in as much as rather downsize the size of their overall content.

The overall Netflix South Africa content catalogue is already smaller than other countries, like the United States for instance, because of licensing rights and existing licensing restrictions for the territory. 

If Netflix SA for example had 1000 titles and must carry 30% local content, it's not going to switch out and add or make 333 titles be local. It will much more likely reduce the overall 1000 availability to 300 so that it now only needs 100 local shows to make the percentage. 

That means less choice for the consumer.

International streamers like Netflix don't buy or commission content for a specific territory but makes content in a specific country meant for its entire global service. It would be weird to force a Netflix to buy content just for South Africa - and the truth is that Netflix won't. It will just restrict what it offers in South Africa further and that is not good for consumers.

2. Paying to carry dead video content weight around

Secondly, private companies like Netflix, Showmax and Amazon Prime Video are in the video content business with the aim of being profitable and making money.

Commissioning expensive-to-produce local South African content costs money, as does acquiring the content licensing rights of local library content. 

Video streaming services all use consumer data and constantly analyse algorithm data to see what content resonates and what shows and films are being watched. Content that doesn't attract and keep viewers are culled and removed, or cancelled. 

Similar to how YouTube algorithms carefully watch you while you watch a video and promotes videos depending on how much of a video was watched, neither MultiChoice, Netflix nor Amazon are interested in, or would ever spend hundreds of millions of rand to just acquire hours of boring and unappealing local content that are not watched just because it's "local".

Private video companies that are not in the charity business want to gain, keep and make money from users through monetising their time and attention.  

In this entertainment monetisation, the consumer engagement experience is key.  

These companies are not going to dilute their catalogue or experience with local South African content that their users are not interested in, or that makes the content discovery process for the consumer more difficult as users are forced to wade through more local content that they don't want to see in the first place but that costs a lot of money to carry. 

3. Not enough local content to share

Thirdly, it isn't as simple as just adding local content. Library content actually has to be acquired, or more specifically the licensing rights to carry and show it for a period of time must be obtained.

This can be non-exclusive, or exclusive, and services usually pay a bit more for exclusivity. Why would you pay to offer Game of Thrones and take that hit of acquiring a title in your operating expenses budget if your potential customer could just as well decide to access your competitor because Game of Thrones is there as well?

Netflix SA just acquired and added the South African drama series Hard Copy from Quizzical Pictures. It makes no sense for Netflix to pay to get Hard Copy for a period of time only to have Hard Copy also available on Showmax at the same time. It's a waste of money.

Now imagine each of these streaming services, trying to find enough shows for each of them to get to a 30% quota. 

There are not enough available. And Showmax or Amazon Prime Video isn't going to add Hard Copy just after the licence expired on Netflix because the potential return on the expense is going to be even lower after that window's exposure for a specific title.

ALSO READ: Time running out for South African video consumers to say if they want DStv and Netflix to add and collect SABC TV Licence fees with their payments.

Time running out for South African video consumers to say if they want DStv and Netflix to add and collect SABC TV Licence fees with their payments.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africans have until Monday, 30 November at 16:00 to give their opinion on whether they want the country's laws changed to force pay-TV services like MultiChoice (DStv) and StarTimes (StarSat), as well as streaming services like Netflix SA, Showmax and others to tack on a SABC TV Licence fee on behalf of the struggling South African public broadcaster.

South Africa's department of communications and digital technologies wants to change the existing legislation to force pay-TV operators as well as local and international video streaming services like Netflix to collect SABC TV Licence fees from consumers on behalf of the SABC even though they are private companies and services.

South African consumers will have to pay this SABC TV Licence fee even if they watch Netflix through a smartphone, Showmax on a tablet or stream DStv on a laptop and are not watching any SABC content.

The financially struggling South African public broadcaster that once again suspended its retrenchment process due to political and trade union pressure made a net loss of R511 million for its 2019/2020 financial year and is on track to make a loss in excess of R1.2 billion in the next financial year.

Less than a third of South African TV households that the SABC is aware of as having a SABC TV Licence still bothers to pay it.

The proposal to shift the burden of collecting SABC TV Licence fees on behalf of the SABC is contained in the Draft White Paper on Audio and Audio-visual Content Services Policy Framework: A New Vision for South Africa 2020.

Comments can be emailed to aacs@dtps.gov.za or submitted in writing to: The Acting- Director-General, Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, Block A3, IParioll Office Park, 1166 Park Street, Hatfield, Pretoria, Private Bag X860, Pretoria, 0001.

Phumzile Van Damme, a member of parliament of the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party, in a statement says that the DA is "unequivocally opposed to any efforts that would require any additional payment of TV licence fees. The public has already had to suffer the consequences of the billions in bailouts the SABC has received".

"Given the emergence of streaming services like Netflix, Apple TV+, Showmax, Amazon Prime Video and others, the White Paper broadens the definition of a “broadcasting service” to include online broadcasting services."

"By implication, that would require the payment of a license fee for the viewing any “broadcasting services” which would include streaming services, regardless of the device on which it is viewed."

Phumzile Van Damme says that the South African public should not have to "pay a cent more" to keep the SABC afloat.

"The SABC must find creative ways to self-sustain, and break-even without requiring the public to fork out any more money."

"The DA notes that the SABC has promised to take cognizance of public outcry about the proposed license fee and will make its own submission to the department regarding the proposal."

ALSO READ: SA wants to force a 30% local content quota on streamers like Netflix – here’s why it’s a bad idea

Coronavirus: Second season of South Africa's Queen Sono drama series canned over Covid-19; cancellation of Netflix's first African Original series happened because it 'couldn't be executed in these current trying times,' says Diprente director Kagiso Lediga.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African produced Queen Sono has become the Netflix series to be abruptly cancelled after renewal because of the global Covid-19 pandemic, with Netflix telling TVwithThinus that it is no longer moving forward with Netflix's first Netflix African Original series it ever commissioned that was already renewed for a second season earlier in 2020.

Netflix already cancelled shows like GLOW, The Society, I am Not Okay with This that were renewed and supposed to have further seasons because of the financial and logistical production implications of Covid-19.

Queen Sono, produced by Diprente and headlined by Pearl Thusi, was renewed earlier this year but has now also been axed.

Netflix mentioned nothing to the media about Queen Sono's cancellation during last week's first-ever Netflix South Africa Content Showcase 2020 event with Dorothy Ghettuba, head of Netflix's African Originals and Ben Amadasun, director of licensing and co-productions in Africa.

In response to a media enquiry, Netflix says "We’ve made the difficult decision not to move forward with season 2 of Queen Sono".

"We are incredibly proud of the Diprente team for sharing their audacious vision and bringing it to life with Netflix."

"A huge thank you to our fans across the world for the love shared for our first African Original series. Netflix is also grateful to the amazing efforts shown by the cast and crew for their stellar efforts in creating this show for our members around the world."

 We’ll continue to work closely with South Africa’s creative industry to keep producing more compelling 'made-in-South Africa' stories."

Kagiso Lediga, Diprente director, says that "We wrote a beautiful story that spanned the continent but unfortunately could not be executed in these current trying times".

In response to the Queen Sono cancellation, Pearl Thusi says "It’s so incredible that we as a team got a lifetime opportunity to make history together as there will never be another ‘first’ African Netflix Original Series. I’m proud of the work we did, but everything happens for a reason. I am excited about what the future holds."

Newzroom Afrika switches to using SuperSport's studio facilities at M-Net in Randburg, doesn't respond to media enquiries whether set change is Covid-19 or set reconstruction related.

by Thinus Ferreira

Newzroom Afrika (DStv 405) this week suddenly switched from its own studio set facilities to making use of SuperSport's studio and existing set at M-Net in Randburg, with the TV news channel that has refused to respond to media enquiries on whether the change is Covid-19 or new set construction related.

On Monday Newzroom Afrika started to originate from the "old" SuperSport set at M-Net's Randburg complex in Johannesburg - that has also been used by Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101) - instead of Newzroom Afrika's usual main studio complex on the corner of 4th Avenue and 7th Street in Linden.

Viewers and the media noticed immediately but Newzroom Afrika has so far refused to respond to media enquiries.

TVwithThinus asked Zamahlasela Gabela, Newzroom Afrika's marketing and publicity boss, and Faith Moliea (who is currently on leave) in multiple media enquiries since Monday about the Newzroom Afrika SuperSport studio change, and on Tuesday also called.

Newzroom Afrika was asked whether the studio change to SuperSport is because of Covid-19 contamination at the Newzroom Afrika building in Johannesburg, or whether it's because the existing set design is being upgraded or redesigned or in the process of being replaced through new construction - the two most likely explanations.

By Wednesday afternoon Newzroom Afrika hasn't bothered to respond to any of the queries.

Earlier this year Newzroom Afrika operations started to be directly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, similar to other TV news outlets, with the TV news channel that saw staffers testing positive for Covid-19 in both Cape Town and Johannesburg and the Linden newsroom cordoning off sections, creating one-way corridors and ending things like desk swapping.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Newzroom Afrika staffers test positive for Covid-19, prompts more changes at the TV news channel's Linden newsroom including cordoning off sections, one-way corridors and an end to desk swapping.

ENTER THE BATCAVE. National Geographic's Virus Hunters special documentary travels the world during Covid-19 to look at bats - and what humanity can and should learn from this global pandemic.

by Thinus Ferreira

"There was a moment in the Turkish batcave where I got slightly flustered and touched my eye with my finger. After there was so much talk of 'don't touch your face', there I was, not in a supermarket - I'm literally in a batcave - and I touched my eye. I was slightly worried about that."

So says the ABC News foreign correspondent James Longman who was part of a Zoom roundtable presentation that National Geographic held for South African media for the Virus Hunters TV documentary special that will be broadcast on National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220) on Wednesday 25 November at 21:00.

Before the roundtable presentation, National Geographic also provided media with a digital screener of the documentary to watch and preview. 

In the Virus Hunters documentary, James Longman, together with the National Geographic fellow, epidemiologist and ecologist Christopher Golden, travel across the world to talk to "virus hunter" scientists to get their thoughts on virus pandemics and Covid-19.

They look at how scientists across the globe track, test and analyse animals - from bats to pigs - to try and give humanity and the world a fighting chance against diseases like the coronavirus.

Although Virus Hunters on National Geographic is a hard-hitting, often-gritty, investigative hour of documentary television, it is quite beautifully made with several cinematic flourishes right through until the very end when the credits roll.

"The main thing is to do work where you can give people some answers and talk to real specialists. So often in my work, it's a minute, or 2 minutes or 3 minutes on the evening news. Actually now with Virus Hunters it's a full hour of telling people the science and what they can do to empower themselves," says James Longman.

'It isn't just some exotic issue that happens in the far reaches of our world. These are issues that can happen at home.'

"The thing I found most fascinating - all of it was really interesting to me - is that Virus Hunters is a way of giving people a way of better understanding and contextualising why these things happen and explaining to viewers that it isn't just some exotic issue that happens in the far reaches of our world, but these are issues that can happen at home," says James Longman.

"We spend a lot of time I think in the media 'othering' other parts of the world - Africa is obviously the continent that experiences that the most - and to tell the audience that, yes, the next pandemic could come out of a Liberian batcave, but equally it could come out of a farm in the midwest of the United States."

"Hopefully the end result of something like Virus Hunters is that we understand that we all face an equal amount of risk and that it's incumbent on everyone to change their behaviours when it comes to the natural world."

Media could only pose possible questions through typing it in a Zoom chatbox. TVwithThinus asked what some of the challenges were in filming and making Virus Hunters, and travelling internationally during this year's Covid-19 global pandemic.

"A lot of countries are in total lockdown so you have to first get permission to go there in the first place. Luckily when you work with National Geographic, it's such a name that it offers so much access. It's extraordinary the amount of admiration there is for the brand."

'People will be slightly sceptical looking at cameras, and then they hear it's National Geographic and their faces change. They love it.'

"I've never really experienced that. I used to work for the BBC and it had a little bit of that but there's something special about National Geographic. You could be in a Liberian rainforest or on a farm in Iowa and people will be slightly sceptical looking at cameras, and then they hear it's National Geographic and their faces change. They love it. So I suppose that made our lives a little easier."

"The crew - Chris and I and our cameraman and producer, we were in a 'bubble', so we were not worried about each other's infection risk but we were constantly getting tested. We had to get tested when we arrived in Turkey and left Turkey."

"Actually in Liberia, the mandate is that you have to be tested before arriving, and you're tested before you leave - and the threat of possible Liberian quarantine isn't really something that any of us anticipated when we were there."

"We were a little bit worried that we'd end up testing positive and having to live in some kind of military prison. We heard that that's where the Liberians were keeping people. Can you imagine 14 days in some cell with a sponge and a bowl to wash yourself? No thanks. So we were very careful when we saw how strict the Liberian authorities were," says James Longman.

"Why something like National Geographic is so important and why Virus Hunters is so important is because it actually speaks to people who know what they're talking about  - get away from the politics and just talk to the scientists."

"So much of the debate around Covid-19 has become much, much too politicised and that's why a show like Virus Hunters is so important. Just present people with the science and that's what National Geographic does best."

During the Zoom media presentation TVwithThinus typed a number of questions specifically about the making of this TV documentary to find out more about the behind-the-scenes production of Virus Hunters; none of these were asked or answered.

ALSO READ: A WORLD GONE VIRAL. National Geographic's really remarkable November 2020 special single-issue Covid-19 edition and how it ties in with the month's Virus Hunters TV documentary.

A WORLD GONE VIRAL. National Geographic's really remarkable November 2020 special single-issue Covid-19 edition and how it ties in with the month's Virus Hunters TV documentary.

by Thinus Ferreira

The yellow doorframe brand that's a portal to the world and the rest of the universe has a wonderful tie-in this month between the National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220) TV channel and its monthly National Geographic magazine.

On National Geographic its Virus Hunters special documentary will be broadcast today, 25 November at 21:00, and then there is the November 2020 single-topic edition, headlined "A World Gone Viral: How the pandemic is changing our lives".

The wonderfully insightful and well-researched, well-travelled (despite Covid-19) Virus Hunters look at the Covid-19 pandemic through the lens of other viruses, how they spread and what it means for mankind and nature within the context of today's world.

Virus Hunters is a bit gross (and enters a real bat cave in Africa) so be aware squeamish viewers. 

This well-researched documentary TV special is however very informative, has some quite cinematic and beautiful scenes and will educate and widen your perspective on viruses, Covid-19 and the global pandemic.

Virus Hunters tracks some of the experts currently searching to identify the chain of events that could cause the next global pandemic.

The National Geographic fellow, epidemiologist and ecologist Christopher Golden is on a mission to connect the dots on culture, disease and the environment to discover the patterns that cause global health crises. 

In Virus Hunters the ABC News foreign correspondent James Longman together with Christopher Golden travel across Africa to Europe and then the United States (during Covid-19!) to meet some of these scientists on a quest to understand and stop the Covid-19 outbreak and to try and prevent the next deadly pandemic.

Virus Hunters beautifully ties in with the National Geographic November 2020 special issue print edition and online at natgeo.com/coronavirus.

The November 2020 issue has over 140 pages packed with carefully collected, beautiful, sometimes harrowing, often moving, essays and reports from across the world that adds to your knowledge of the world, changs your perception about things, and changes you.

Articles within this November 2020 issue range from the coronavirus explained, to how it has changed our lives, to how the first 100 days played out, the devastating year that 2020 has turned out to be, and a look at what the impact of the pandemic could be on planet Earth.

Can we trust the science about the pandemic that emptied streets and filled graveyards? How have the poor been affected, and young people between 18 to 25? From Kenya to Indonesia, and from Belgium to the United States and even Jordan, the November issues covers it all.

I really can just fully recommend this National Geographic November 2020 issue as an incredible read, and thanks a lot to National Geographic for sending me this magazine. 

One day we'll look at this stunning, fateful year in human history, and the test that it presented to humanity. 

This specific National Geographic magazine is one of those treasure chest keepsake media that you'll always be able to go back to for how it captured the science, reflected the mood, and referenced and presented our understanding of the world at the time. 2020.  

ALSO READ: ENTER THE BATCAVE. National Geographic's Virus Hunters special documentary travels the world during Covid-19 to look at bats - and what humanity can and should learn from this global pandemic.

BREAKING. Bowing under trade union and political pressure the cash-strapped SABC once again suspends its retrenchment plan until 2021, says it will further review its proposed restructuring.

by Thinus Ferreira

After an acrimonious week of in-fighting between top management, the SABC board and trade unions - sprinkled with political parties adding their populist voices to say they're against any job losses as well - the beleaguered South African public broadcaster on Tuesday announced that it had caved before trade union and political pressure and is once again suspending its retrenchment process until 2021.

The SABC stressed that the retrenchment process has however not been terminated - just suspended.

The SABC roughly requires R270 million per month just to pay salaries with the wage bill that is by far the biggest single expense at the crumbling broadcaster. 

After retrenchment letters were issued, angry and upset SABC workers have been protesting about the overstaffed SABC's retrenchment plan in which 400 workers could likely lose their jobs. 

Some political parties like the ANC and EFF have joined trade unions and protesting SABC workers in public protest action.

The SABC board have said in 2019 and again this year that if the ANC-led government doesn't want job cuts it will need to commit to give the SABC an additional R1 billion per year. The SABC that just made a net loss of R511 is on track to make another loss of at least R1.2 billion next year.

Meanwhile, staff say that SABC top management executives took a lazy, uninformed and unworkable cookie-cutter approach in deciding on cuts within the proposed new SABC structure.

On Tuesday the SABC in a statement announced that the "SABC board has extended the suspension of the section 189 process, to the end of December 2020, to enable additional consultations. This decision followed further engagements with organised labour and other stakeholders". 

The SABC said that "During this period, the SABC management and its employees will jointly work with all participating parties, to further review the proposed structures with the intent to ensure that they are optimal and enabling to achieve the public mandate of the SABC."

"The SABC and the participating parties will utilise this time for further mediated sessions with an independent labour expert to explore alternative options to minimising the impact of retrenchments.  The issued redundancy letters will also be extended by the same period."

Here are the 2 buttons that MultiChoice changed on its new DStv Explora Ultra remote control and what these small yet very big changes mean and reveal about the future.

by Thinus Ferreira

There are two small yet very big changes on the new DStv Explora Ultra remote control: Two of the buttons look different and are quite indicative of how DStv is stepping back in order to take a huge leap forward.

MultiChoice is busy releasing its new next-generation DStv Explora Ultra in retail at a recommended retail price of R2 499.

This new DStv Explora Ultra decoder gives DStv subscribers who might want to subscribe to it as well, or already have it and want to access it, a portal to Netflix South Africa. 

MultiChoice will soon very likely also offer similar access to Amazon Prime Video and in future likely also other subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) like the Walt Disney Company's Disney+, WarnerMedia's HBO Max, ViacomCBS's Paramount+, Discovery's to be launched new streamer and others that will all eventually reside on such a set-top box.

This is how the DStv Explora remote control has looked until now:

Here is how the DStv Explora Ultra remote control has changed:

A new blue "home" button

On the new DStv Explora Ultra remote control, MultiChoice has replaced the blue DStv oval button with a home icon.

Pressing this blue button, like before, takes the DStv subscriber directly to the home page of the DStv interface - one where there will now be the option to access and/or subscribe to third-party video streamers. 

MultiChoice hasn't said this, but there are clearly 2 reasons for removing the word "DStv" from this button and replacing it with a more generic "home" icon:

Firstly, MultiChoice literally wants the DStv subscriber to no longer necessarily think of "going to DStv" or accessing DStv, in as much as MultiChoice wants the video consumer to think of it as "going home". 

Pressing the home icon button, instead of pressing a "DStv" button, should give you the feeling and the consumer experience of "I'm home where all my stories are collected for me to access". 

Secondly, because MultiChoice is giving more and different access to more things it is "stepping back" in order to step forward. 

In a seemingly counter-intuitive way, but in a way that works very successfully, DStv now gets to look bigger by looking less interested in being seen in a "small" way on a button. DStv is now much bigger than a button. 

Through removing the word "DStv" from the button (the DStv brand name is still black-embossed at the bottom of the remote control) MultiChoice is sending a signal that it is becoming a video utility. 

MultiChoice is no longer as concerned whether you watch DStv specifically, or DStv Catch Up, or Netflix SA or in future Amazon Prime Video or Disney+. It just wants you as a pay-TV customer to engage with all of the wonderful potential content through its environment. 

MultiChoice sees itself as being bigger than "DStv" and able to offer more than a single this or a single that service - it wants to be the overall substrate on which, and through which, all of the various video moss grow.

Like Daniel Clamp says in Gremlins 2, "You make a place for things ... things come", or like the voice whispered to Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams from the cornfield: "If you build it, they will come". 

MultiChoice wants to be The Field and is building it.

A new white "Apps" button

This is basically also the reason for the change to the second button on the DStv Explora Ultra remote.

Above the "DStv" or now home icon blue button, the black "Showmax" button has been replaced with a white button.

This now-white button no longer carries the word Showmax and the Showmax brand symbol on it but now has a windows/grid-icon with the word "Apps".

Pressing this button no longer takes the DStv subscriber to Showmax, but to the newly designed SVOD carousel interface, the little storefront or store window where MultiChoice will display all of the various video streaming services it has on offer and has partnered with.

While Showmax will always remain MultiChoice's video streamer firstborn and therefore have a special place in its heart, the rival, highly successful "frenemies" are now equally welcome on the same faceplate.

MultiChoice no longer wants to highlight a specific preference for a user and come across as if it's playing favourites between them - whoever wants to come and video play will now be included in the "multi-choice" offered to the DStv subscriber.

TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. The Walt Disney Company Africa's FOX Africa TV division continues to send general programming information to some media first - here's why the bad practice makes everyone a loser and ending up last.

by Thinus Ferreira

Sometimes it's not just those that are first who end up being last. Sometimes it's everybody.

Imagine something that's supposed to be received by everybody concurrently at the same time, but being parcelled out in a piecemeal approach over gaps in time.

That's been the case - and continuing - with general TV programming information from The Walt Disney Company Africa's FOX division.

Instead of the media in South Africa all being treated the same and receiving basic programming information about shows at the same time, FOX has decided to send certain media and journalists information first - and hours later to the rest.

To be clear: We're not talking about exclusive information, exclusive breaking news or a story that a journalist had put work and effort to source, or an exclusively arranged interview or story. It's basic, normal run-of-the-mill TV programming information press releases from Disney Africa's FOX Africa division about shows on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131).

Programming information and announcements from Killing Eve to The Walking Dead on FOX are deliberately sent to certain media first and then hours later to others. 

This is wrong.

It's also highly destructive. This PR practice is not just highly corrosive and damaging to FOX's existing media relationships within the South African media but also to the trust relationship with journalists who very well see what's going on, talk among each other about it, but stay quiet.

In Dante's great Inferno, he wrote that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who during a moral problem, maintain their neutrality. So here's TVwithThinus speaking out publicly.

It's bad when journalists and TV critics who are the media and who are in the media, (have to) read or hear about the news and programming of any TV channel, in this case FOX, not from FOX directly, but elsewhere - especially so if it's from any so-called "competition". 

Very little grates journalists and the media as much as having to read, hear or see information relevant to you and your readers and audiences, in or on a rival publication, platform or media outlet and then having to suddenly try and follow it up - wondering why you didn't get the email or basic press release.

It causes uncertainty, anxiety and resentment and makes the media wonder why publicists or people who are part of real-world publicity teams and who say they want to have a relationship with you, have apparently deliberately withheld that information and have not sent it to you.

When you can no longer trust that as a journalist, publication or media outlet that you're going to hear from and get the same fair, basic treatment and information from a company, for instance, TV channel A or B, because of perceived marketing and publicity favouritism, it not just stokes resentment under the press who perceive themselves to be placed as "less important" later in the queue but also actively makes them want to bother less using any of that information.

It's also damaging to FOX that is losing out on possible exposure when journalists, TV critics and media outlets decide to bin press releases, programming information and choice quotes from executives like Evert van der Veer, vice president, media networks, The Walt Disney Company Africa, that they otherwise would have used.

It also hurts the TV viewer who gets less access, negatively impacting the content discovery process.

With less possible stories and articles and with less platforms circulating the press release or parts of it because they are essentially forced to take an editorial decision not to run it to prevent being perceived as "also-ran", there is a dramatically smaller chance for a potential viewer or fan of a show to find, see and to read and engage with the information put out by, for instance, FOX.

The law of rapidly diminishing returns is at play here. 

Take online for instance: There's less and less incentive to use and copy-and-paste or rework what is essentially the basic same press release information without anything else to add hours after it's already been published somewhere on the internet - an eternity in the online news world.

It's ridiculous and non-sensical to have an expectation that a lot of media are suddenly going to put in the effort and time to work on information already "out there" hours ago from an "old" press release, simply because of the diminished return on the "investment" needed to do so.

Besides a lower click rate (information seekers already found it elsewhere), diminished monetisation of the news content, and having to give precious editorial space and time and effort to just "repeat" something, no journalists or media outlet really wants their story to show up on page 15 of a Google search simply because they only got the information hours later and already had to click and read the same information on page 1 of a Google search.

I first asked FOX in May this year what's going on and why it's sending basic TV programming press release information to some media, and hours later to the rest.

The response was that FOX sometimes makes an "agreement" with a particular media publication to announce something exclusively first, "to ensure that a show is announced in a big way, after which all other media receive it at the same time".

The big problem is that we're not talking about any exclusive information but basic programming information.

FOX's tiered media and staggered rollout approach turn everyone into losers - including FOX - when the media that FOX communicates with, perceives unfair treatment and journalists don't understand why it's happening.

In George Orwell's Animal Farm all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. 

It would serve all the animals better if the Fox farm went from "more equal" to just settling for plain old equal.

Independent Producers Organisation on SABC retrenchment plan: 'It's disturbing that the ANC ruling party and unions are up in arms against the SABC board over a few hundred SABC jobs but haven't taken issue with thousands in the production sector who have lost jobs'.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's Independent Producers Organisation (IPO) says that it rejects calls from trade unions for the dissolution of the SABC board and says that it finds it disturbing that the ANC ruling party and trade unions are now up in arms over job-losses at the public broadcaster but did nothing over the thousands of workers who had lost their jobs in the country's struggling TV and film industry already.

Tensions and public protest action have ramped up last week after the financially struggling South African public broadcaster issued retrenchment letters with SABC top management that wants to get rid of 400 workers at the bloated broadcaster.

The SABC board will again meet with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) this week, while the Bemawu trade union is bringing an interdict application at the Labour Court to halt the retrenchment process.

Politicians and political parties like the ANC and EFF have joined the public protest action of SABC workers, with the ANC and EFF also calling for an end to the SABC's retrenchment process.

Meanwhile, South Africa's battered film and TV industry had already shed thousands of jobs within the industry with many production companies that were forced to shutter as a confluence of the SABC drastically decreasing its local content spend, late and non-payment from the SABC for content that have been delivered because of cash-flow problems, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The SABC board have said in 2019 and again this year that if the ANC-led government doesn't want job cuts it will need to commit to give the SABC an additional R1 billion per year. The SABC that just made a net loss of R511 is on track to make another loss of at least R1.2 billion next year.

The SABC roughly requires R270 million per month just to pay salaries with the wage bill that is by far the biggest single expense at the crumbling broadcaster. 

In the 2019/2020 financial year the SABC paid out an average salary of R791 000 per worker - roughly R66 000 per worker per month. This "average" is however skewed because of the multi-million rand remuneration packages of the SABC's top execs, directors and senior management who collective earned over R41 million in the financial year.

"While no-one supports retrenchments, particularly in these punishing economic times, the harsh reality is that without undergoing this process and trimming its bloated wage bill, the SABC will face financial ruin, putting thousands more jobs at risk in the organisation and its suppliers," says Quinton Fredericks, co-chairman of the Independent Producers Organisation, the industry umbrella organisation that represents South Africa's independent producers.

"The SABC board is the first to make any progress in managing the organisation’s cost to income ratio; reducing wasteful and fruitless expenditure, selling off non-essential assets and rooting out corruption," says the IPO.

"Importantly, it is also the first to act on the very direct instruction from Treasury when it received the bailout to reduce its unacceptably large headcount."

"The SABC spends 41 cents of every rand on salaries, whereas its spend on content – which is its core business – is only 22 cents, with local content only receiving 15 cents of that. As the public broadcaster, it is mandated to prioritise local content. By comparison, M-Net spends 15% on staff and 43% on local content. Further, as a percentage of revenue, eMedia  (e.tv) and the BBC spend 11% and 29% respectively on salaries."

"The SABC's wage bill has grown beyond all reason as a result of irregular and unjustified appointments, unwarranted bonuses and consistently above-inflation increases," says Quinton Fredericks.

"Conversely, it has slashed its spend on local content effectively cutting its rates to the production sector and the thousands of freelancers that work in it by an effective and staggering 50% over the last 12 years.

"It is disturbing that South Africa's parliament, the ANC ruling party and unions are up in arms against the SABC board over a few hundred SABC jobs, yet none of them have taken issue at all with the thousands of workers in the production sector who have lost their jobs, and the many small business production companies which have been forced to close down due to the SABC having reduced its spend on local content and, in the not so distant past, simply not paid producers for work that had been delivered to the broadcaster."

"The current SABC board's turnaround strategy is the first glimmer of hope for a sustainable future for the SABC. The measures in that strategy, including the retrenchments, are inevitable if the organisation is to survive, no matter who sits on its board," says Quinton Fredericks.

"Dissolving the SABC board, as the CWU demands, will cost the organisation and the country dearly."

"Replacing this SABC board with amenable disciples will not only lead to its rapid ruin, it also places the editorial independence of the public broadcaster and, in turn, our democracy under severe threat as we saw under the Hlaudi Motsoeneng era".

"An independent, objective broadcaster is a key pillar of a functioning democracy. We cannot allow this to be undermined by unrealistic populist rhetoric ostensibly aimed at saving a few hundred jobs at the cost of thousands of jobs across the production sector, and of a public broadcaster that is able to deliver effectively on the core requirements of its public service mandate," says Quinton Fredericks.

"The Independent Producers Organsiation recognises that the workers who may be retrenched at the SABC have extensive skills sets in the broadcasting, commissioning and production sector."

"These skills should be harnessed in building the capacity of small and medium black-owned production houses through agencies such as the MICTSeta and the National Skills Fund to reposition and build the capacity of the independent production sector in South Africa. This with a specific focus on developing our local indigenous film and television sector."

The cast and crew of e.tv's canned Rhythm City thought they were called together to be congratulated for their hard work and ratings during Covid-19 - then they were told they're fired during a cold speech.

by Thinus Ferreira

Just before the axe came down on e.tv's canned Rhythm City soap, the cast and crew thought that they were being called together to be congratulated for their hard work and ratings during the Covid-19 pandemic - but then they got fired during a "cold and clinical" speech.

On Friday e.tv shocked South Africa's TV industry when it suddenly announced that after 13 years it's over for its Rhythm City weekday prime time soap produced by Quizzical Pictures. 

On Sunday the City Press newspaper reported that the Rhythm City cast and crew were called together for an e.tv meeting, allegedly under the guise of it being a "meet-and-greet" session, only to be "let down" by the terrible cancellation news.

"The speech was cold and clinical. Everyone just had a look on their faces like: What am I going to do?" Rhythm City insiders at Sasani Studios said.

They thought that the e.tv team was coming to congratulate and to praise them for their perseverance and hard work through the Covid-19 pandemic crisis that even saw the production shut down more than once this year.

"It was a surprise as the show has been doing well. You don't can a successful show," a source said.

e.tv declined to say why it decided to cancel Rhythm City other than to say that it's been axed as "part of a business strategy". Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director, in a statement said that "e.tv continues to look forward to fulfilling its mandate of producing exceptional and relevant local content".

After 13 years Rhythm City, executive produced by Harriet Gavshon, will end with its final episode on 16 July 2021 with e.tv that plans to replace it with another daily drama series.

According to e.tv, Rhythm City's "on-air life cycle" is apparently not good enough for the channel anymore, with e.tv that took the decision to can Rhythm City after having reviewed the show's "on-air life cycle".

e.tv doesn't specifically mention any financial reasons for Rhythm City's cancellation in its surprising press statement, yet it stands to reason that Rhythm City's axing is because the soap is likely no longer profitable for e.tv, or is loss-making, or is no longer making enough money for the commercial free-to-air broadcaster.

A combination of ratings and profitability are the main drivers behind the fate of series and programming on commercial TV channels and Rhythm City is clearly no longer making sense as a "keeper" for e.tv within this matrix.

e.tv that doesn't want to give any specific reasons for Rhythm City's cancellation in its press release for something that is a long-running show, will fuel speculation within South Africa's TV industry and under viewers and fans as to what exactly led to its demise.

Rhythm City, created by Rolie Nikiwe and Neil McCarthy, made its broadcast debut on e.tv on 9 July 2007 and was the replacement for the struggling youth-focused Backstage - it was instantly much more popular and gave e.tv a foot in the door in the production of scripted, local South African prime time content that could pull significant ratings.

Rhythm City peaked at almost 5.2 million viewers in 2020 and has consistently ranked amongst the Top 10 most-watched prime time soap operas in South Africa, with its cancellation catching South Africa's TV industry by surprise.

In October Rhythm City pulled 4.04 million viewers at its monthly highwater mark in its 19:00 timeslot, making it the second most-watched show on the e.tv schedule behind Scandal! with 5.1 million viewers. 

In May this year, Rhythm City won the Best TV Soap award at 2020's 14th South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas).

 

ALSO READ: e.tv cancels Rhythm City after 13 years, Quizzical Pictures produced daily soap opera to end in July 2021 as part of unexplained 'business strategy' and will be replaced by another daily drama series.

Black Friday: SABC News anchors all wear black to protest against broadcaster's retrenchment plan as concerns over a possible on-air blackout grows.

by Thinus Ferreira

As concerns about a possible on-air SABC blackout and "black-on-air" situation grows, SABC News anchors and reporters on Friday surreptitiously joined their colleagues who were protesting outside through quietly wearing black attire on-air.

On Friday SABC News anchors and field reporters appeared dressed in black behind the anchor desk in Auckland Park and out covering the news - only the second time ever that they joined in making a statement on air through what they're wearing.

Angry SABC staff first organised a silent "Black Friday" clothing protest on 22 July 2016 when they wore black in open revolt against the then SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng and in support of their fired so-called "SABC8" news colleagues. 

Yesterday they all donned black clothing on-air again to send a strong and unified silent message.

SABC workers are protesting about the embattled and overstaffed South African public broadcaster's retrenchment plan in which 400 workers will likely lose their jobs. 

Some political parties like the ANC and EFF have joined trade unions and protesting SABC workers on Friday who picketed outside SABC buildings across South Africa.

Politicians and their populist rhetoric have provided no solutions for the SABC's deepening financial quagmire except politicising an already difficult issue and saying they don't want workers to lose their jobs. 

Various factions are now trying to distil the SABC battle over job cuts into a politicised battle between the SABC board - painted as "bad" - and SABC workers who are "good". In reality, the issues and the problems at the SABC are extremely complex and the challenges around the need for retrenchments much more multi-faceted. 

The SABC board have said in 2019 and again this year that if the ANC-led government doesn't want job cuts it will need to commit to give the SABC an additional R1 billion per year. The SABC that just made a net loss of R511 is on track to make another loss of at least R1.2 billion next year.

Meanwhile, staff say that SABC top management executives took a lazy, uninformed and unworkable cookie-cutter approach in deciding on cuts within the proposed new SABC structure.

As part of their controversial restructuring SABC execs have scrapped SABC News TV current affairs shows on SABC2 like Zwa Maramani in Tshivenda and Ngula Ya Vutivi in Xitsonga. For now, Fokus in Afrikaans on SABC2, Cutting Edge in Nguni on SABC1 and Special Assignment in English on SABC3 will remain on-air.

Hannes du Buisson, Bemawu spokesperson, said that "some of the complaints from staff are people saying 'My position on the system is as an administrator. The SABC scrapped my position but I'm the only one at the SABC that must pay certain content licensing fees."

The trade unions said that if the SABC fires permanent staff and then replace them again with freelancers and independent contractors that the personnel cost won't go away but that the cost of paying for labour would just end up somewhere else on the balance sheet.

Black-on-air concerns

Meanwhile concerns are growing around a possible blackout of the SABC's TV channels and radio stations - a situation known as "black-on-air", in particular the SABC News (DStv 404) TV channel.

Interestingly, it is both SABC executives, the SABC board and ordinary SABC staff's interest for SABC News to remain on-air without any blackout.

SABC News as a TV news channel - similar to eNCA, Newzroom Afrika and the now-defunct ANN7 and SABC Encore - was commissioned by MultiChoice and is made exclusively for the pay-TV provider who pays for it. 

The contract, worth millions of rand funnelled to SABC coffers, comes with clauses that include penalties for non-performance and non-delivery - like on-air blackouts.  

If there is to be any blackout of SABC News on DStv because of a strike or possible sabotage, the SABC that is already struggling financially, could lose even more money if MultiChoice enacts any penalty clauses over content disruption and decides to withhold or pay the SABC less.

To prevent a SABC blackout if staff strike or sabotage the channel feed or operations, Ian Plaatjes, SABC chief operating officer, told parliament's portfolio committee on Thursday that "a robust contingency plan" exists especially around SABC News.

He said that it was necessary to relook the plan since people getting retrenched were part of the original plan."Some of the names on there were people who might be affected and we just had to double-check that as well," he said.

Late on Friday the SABC issued a statement saying the broadcaster "is fully aware of a plan to create a 'blackout' on our platforms. We can confirm that there are contingency plans in place that will kick in immediately should this self-induced crisis be precipitated. There will be consequence management against any employee who is involved in the planned blackout".

The SABC said that it "has a statutory duty and public mandate to provide uninterrupted radio and television services for millions of South Africans" and that it "wants to assure the public that we remain committed to delivering our public mandate of informing, educating and entertaining South Africans, irrespective of any planned misconduct or ill-discipline".