SABC backtracks on promises to broadcast Springbok Test rugby, cites ongoing Competition Appeal Court case over SuperSport sublicensing rights.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African public broadcaster has abruptly backtracked on public promises and a signed agreement from a week ago to broadcast the upcoming Springbok Tests today on 6 July and on 13 July between South Africa's national rugby team and Ireland.

On Friday night, the SABC suddenly cited an ongoing case before South Africa's Competition Appeal Court between MultiChoice on the one side, and the SABC and eMedia on the other side, over the contentious sublicensing of sports rights for breaking its promise and previously announced deal with MultiChoice and SuperSport.

The SABC in a statement on Friday night said that it is going back on its promises of showing these two rugby test matches due to the legal case over sublicensing rights that is ongoing. 

A week ago the SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli said that SuperSport and the SABC were pleased to announced that the public broadcaster will broadcast the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup final live, as well as two Springbok test matches on a delayed basis.

Nomsa Chabeli said that the "SABC has a pivotal role to inspire and build national pride and patriotism amongst citizens, and this agreement is one of the many initiatives that the organisation has been working hard on to ensure that citizens participate in major historic country moments".

According to Nomsa Chabeli the SABC was "excited that we have clinched a deal for two Springbok test matches to be broadcast on Saturday 6 July and Saturday 13 July  nd this is testament to our commitment to inclusivity and ensuring that our diverse audiences’ needs are catered for".

On Friday night Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC spokesperson, in a statement said the "SABC regrets that it will no longer be able to broadcast the Springbok Inbound test matches against Ireland on Saturday 6 July and Saturday 13 July as previously communicated".

"This decision follows the recent urgent litigation at the Competition Appeal Court over the broadcast rights to the  test matches which necessitated the SABC to review its decision to continue with the sublicense agreement concluded with MultiChoice."

According to the SABC, the broadcaster "will always strive to achieve its sports broadcast mandate without compromising its commercial objectives".

On Friday the SABC didn't say why it cancelled the deal with SuperSport and how this broken broadcast promise breaks its "testament to our commitment to inclusivity and ensuring that our diverse audiences' needs are catered for".

After the SABC's statement, MultiChoice and SuperSport then sent out a statement to the media late on Friday night.

"MultiChoice notes the decision by the SABC to terminate the sublicensing agreement signed with SuperSport, which would have allowed them to broadcast the Springbok test matches against Ireland, starting Saturday at Loftus Versfeld," MultiChoice said.

"Whilst the public broadcaster's decision is regrettable, MultiChoice fully respects and accepts the decision. MultiChoice will continue engaging with the SABC in seeking a working relationship that would benefit both viewers and sports bodies."

The sublicensing deal that the SABC signed with MultiChoice very likely violated the Competition Tribunal's ruling that states that for the time being, sports content acquired by the SABC from SuperSport can't be blocked out when shown on the SABC's TV channels on eMedia's Openview satellite service.

In its sublicensing agreements with MultiChoice and SuperSport, the SABC agreed that it would show old filler content on its SABC TV channels on Openview, while the version of the SABC's digital terrestrial TV channels, and the version of the SABC TV channels carried on MultiChoice's DStv, show the SuperSport-acquired content.

The SABC also agreed in the deals that it wouldn't show SuperSport sublicensed content on its own SABC+ video streaming service.

The Competition Tribunal in its ruling said that "MultiChoice, including its subsidiary SuperSport, and the SABC are interdicted from implementing and enforcing any restriction in sublicensing agreements entered into between them."

"MultiChoice, including its subsidiary SuperSport, and the SABC are further interdicted from including restrictions which prohibit the SABC from transmitting or making available sublicensed broadcasts on platforms owned or operated by eMedia, through Openview, in future sublicensing agreements concluded between them relating to the broadcasting of sporting events."

"The Tribunal has granted eMedia interim relief pending the final determination of its complaint to the Commission, or for a period of 6 months, whichever occurs first".

Reporters Without Borders attacked by PR firm working for far-right TV channel CNews owned by MultiChoice takeover owner Vivendi.

by AFP - Agence France Presse

Reporters Without Borders (also known in French as Reporters sans frontières or RSF) on Thursday accused a PR firm with links to French billionaire conservative Vincent Bollore of orchestrating a "vast disinformation campaign" against it.

The Paris-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), known for its work in defending press freedom around the world, said the PR firm, Progressif Media, had set up false websites made to look like that of RSF.

It also sent out messages on X, formerly known as Twitter, to discredit RSF, the NGO said.

The fake sites included content accusing RSF of trying to censor CNews, France's most popular news channel that is regularly accused of promoting far-right views. 

Progressif Media, RSF found, is part-owned by Bollore's telecoms conglomerate Vivendi, and is based on the same premises.

Vivendi also owns CNews and several other news organisations that are seen as shifting France's media landscape to the right in recent years.

Vivendi's Canal+ is busy with an aggressive takeover bid to buy MultiChoice in South Africa despite strict regulations barring foreign ownership of local media companies like MultiChoice, although it hasn't stopped Canal+ from gobbling up all available MultiChoice shares and making an official buyout bid approved by a special MultiChoice board.

Vivendi, which denies political bias in its news outlets, told AFP it had "no knowledge of possible illegal practices attributed to Progressif Media by RSF". 

However, a spokesperson confirmed Progressif Media had been deployed by a part of its media empire "to counter certain arguments about CNews". 

"We will see what happens next, what choices Vivendi will make now that the facts have been exposed publicly," said Arnaud Froger, head of RSF investigations. 

CNews launched in 2017 and is often compared to Fox News in the United States. According to RSF, the campaign came shortly after it made a formal complaint calling for stricter oversight of CNews.

Following RSF's complaint, media regulator Arcom was instructed in February to tighten control over TV and radio stations to ensure balanced political coverage. Bollore, known for having conservative views, has been gradually buying up many of the most important media companies in France, including film producers Canal+, Paris Match magazine and Europe 1 radio.

- Additional reporting by Thinus Ferreira

Legend Manqele: BarLeader TV production company shuttered, Bonang Matheba 'unprofessional' and owed nothing, Mohale Motaung not paid for Showmax wedding special after 'certain things went down at M-Net' - report

by Thinus Ferreira

Legend Manqele has been forced to shut down his production banner BarLeader TV, says he owes Bonang Matheba nothing who is allegedly "unprofessional" and that her reality show Being Bonang was cancelled over her own "bad behaviour", and that Mohale Motaung is also owed no money and couldn't be paid after "certain things went down at M-Net" following a disastrous Showmax wedding special with Somizi Mhlongo.

In an interview with City Press newspaper (paywall), the controversial TV producer Legend Manqele says he was forced to shut down his BarLeader TV production company following reputation damage and that he and his production company was damaged by "badly managed and badly behaved talent".

Legend Manqele claims that Bonang Matheba's reality show Being Bonang for M-Net's canned 1Magic TV channel on DStv was cancelled due to her "bad behaviour", that she's "unprofessional" and that BarLeader TV doesn't owe her any money. 

He says Bonang Matheba "was paid for her show. At times, she was paid late or the following month because she wouldn't arrive to shoots, or we would find ourselves on set and she wasn't there. Or we had to extend our hours into the night because she forgot. She wasn't being managed well and she wasn't necessarily professional".

BarLeader TV took over the production of the reality show Living the Dream with Somizi from its second season for M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) TV channel. 

That was followed by the tacky reality TV wedding series, Somizi & Mohale: The Union which was filmed for MultiChoice's Showmax video streamer in 2020. 

After the couple's relationship soured, leaked production recordings shocked the industry and the public in which Mohale Motaung accused Somizi Mhlongo of alleged violent physical abuse and of having threatened to kill him with a kitchen knife.

Instead of paying the couple their R1.5 million for Somizi & Mohale: The Union, Legend Manqele says he paid the South African Revenue Service (SARS) since Somizi Mhlongo owed SARS money. Since BarLeader TV closed down and the payment agreement was with SARS, Legend Manqele says he doesn't owe Somizi Mhlongo money.

Legend Manqele says BarLeader TV was owed money by M-Net for Showmax's Somizi & Mohale: The Union but didn't get it "because certain things went down at M-Net". 

Issued Cape Town film permits up 22% as movie-making becomes all-year business while feature film production make steady gains.

by Thinus Ferreira

International and local TV commercials filmed in sun-drenched Cape Town still reign supreme as the bulk of film permits issued by the Mother City but as the city transitions to an all-year filming destination the production of feature films is ticking up too.

More filmmaking in Cape Town, as well as more filmmaking all year round, has led to an overall increase of 22% in the number of film permits issued by Cape Town over the past year.

The City of Cape Town's Film Permit Office recorded an increase in the number of permits issued during the 2023/24 financial year: Up from 3 910 to 4 757 for the period between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024. 

That's a 22% increase overall, with TV adverts called TVCs still comprising the bulk of film shoots over the past financial year (1 604 permits issued). 

This was followed by 962 permits for "micro-shoots". There were also 168 large local and international feature films shot in Cape Town over the past year – almost double from the previous year.

Over the past 12 months, Cape Town issued permits for the filming of local and international feature films, commercials, TV series, stills photography, documentary films, short films, student projects and music videos. In addition, the permit office also received bookings for more than 9 317 film locations in the same period.

To boost Cape Town's film industry, the city froze tariffs for filming in the city for the fourth consecutive year. 

This includes zero rated-fees for the deployment of metro police and traffic services who help with road closures, while the freeze on safety and security tariffs for filming has saved the film industry R700 000 in production costs.

"In the past, Cape Town attracted a lot of film productions during the summer season due to a number of factors, including our beautiful long summer days," says Alderman JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security in Cape Town.

"However, what we are seeing over the last couple of years is that filming is increasingly becoming an all-year business and this is good for both the industry and Cape Town."

"We are seeing more and more productions taking place in the winter months and this was the case for the concluding financial year. This is critical for an industry that contributes billions to the economy and employs over 30 000 people."

eMedia launches new Openview OV512 decoder.

by Thinus Ferreira

eMedia has launched a new Openview OV512 decoder which is its first with a built-in Wi-Fi receiver, as well as an upgraded remote control.

The Openview OV512 decoder that will retail for R799, has a built-in Wi-Fi receiver.

The upgraded Openview remote control has a dedicated "+MORE"-button to access streaming content directly, an "ON-DEMAND"-button for additional content, and "HOME"-functions.

Openview says that viewers can now "enjoy more local and international shows and movies with the ability to pause, rewind, and fast-forward on-demand content in crystal-clear picture quality and HD compatibility".

Mmatshipi Matebane, executive for retail, says in a statement "Our new, sleek, and stylish decoder continues the trend of cutting-edge technology that Openview is known for. We remain dedicated to providing our customers with the best entertainment experience, and these new changes are a testament to that commitment."

eMedia has activated just over 3.5 million Openview decoders across South Africa and Southern Africa since it launched its free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV service.

SABC+ app relaunched again as it adds advertising and makes user registration compulsory.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African public broadcaster has relaunched its SABC+ video streaming app for the second time in seven months, but now requiring users to register again, adding back some catch-up content functionality and forcing users to see ads.

The SABC has relaunched its SABC+ over-the-top app again after its last relaunch in December 2023.

SABC+ users have to redownload the app again and register through the creation of a new user account and providing a cellphone number.

With the relaunched SABC+ app, the SABC is once again starting over from scratch to build a user base for the third time. 

The SABC told TVwithThinus in May that SABC+ amassed over a million users. SABC+ originally launched in November 2022 when the SABC took over Telkom's sold-off Telkom ONE streamer.

When the SABC took over the Telkom ONE platform, users had to register to access it. With the relaunch in December 2023 the user registration requirement was dropped. The user account requirement is now back, although users are not required to provide a valid SABC TV Licence number.

The SABC says it "urges" all users to re-register on SABC+ by creating an account "in order to comply with the POPI Act".

To register on SABC+ a user must provide a cellphone number, name and surname, birth date, gender, country, province, and a password. Providing an email address is optional.

The latest SABC+ app will be available on Android, iOS and Huawei stores, Apple TV(TVOS), Google TV and Android boxes (the update will be delayed), as well as LG smartTVs.

The latest SABC+ app returns the catch-up functionality which was removed during the previous relaunch at the beginning of 2024, and adds voice command for content search, a TV schedule electronic programme guide (EPG) and "Radio Now Playing", as well as possible personalised recommendations and updates to the user interface.

Content download features will now be available on the mobile-only SABC+ version.

The latest SABC+ version gives unlimited access on multiple household devices but with the update comes display banner advertising and video adverts. An EPG reminder functionality is now also available.

The SABC has added Channel Africa broadcasting in the languages of Chinyanja, Kiswahili, English, French and Portuguese for the African diaspora worldwide. Other radio stations which are accessible through SABC+ include Springbok Radio, Radio Bantu, 5FM and Radio 2000.

TV channels include SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, SABC Sport, SABC News, SABC Education and SABC Lehae.

Streaming video quality can be selected between 240p, 360p, 720p and 1080p. 

In a prepared statement Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO, says "SABC+ will now be accessible across multiple devices, ensuring that our audiences can enjoy their favourite content anywhere, anytime. Our most beloved brands, including our top-rated radio stations as well as exciting new range of podcasts, will now be just a tap away".

The SABC effectively cancelled SABC2's Muvhango that has run out of episodes with no further contract for Word of Mouth Pictures.

by Thinus Ferreira

The SABC has effectively cancelled Muvhango on SABC2 – the channel's most-watched show – after 27 years, after the Venda soap ran out of produced episodes last night and leaves the channel with a gap in the 21:00 timeslot.

According to insiders, Muvhango, created by Duma Ndlovu and produced by Word of Mouth Pictures has completely shut down, with no new or contract extension for further episodes in place. I've learnt from the production compant that 15 June was the final day of work for the cast and crew.

The SABC and SABC2 gave viewers no warning that Tuesday night's Muvhango episode – episode 130 of the 25th season – would be the last. 

Viewers saw Kgosi and Reneilwe's wedding that ended the episode on a cliffhanger - very similar to Dynasty's "Moldavian Massacre" fifth season finale - where a sniper shot on the wedding guests with both Kgosi and Reneilwe falling down, while shocked wedding guests tried to call an ambulance and viewers were left wondering who is dead.

The SABC is now going to pad the Muvhango timeslot with old rebroadcasts from tonight at 21:00, starting from the first episode of the first season.

The long-running show was the South African public broadcaster's first Tshivenda language drama, which started in April 1997 with one episode per week, after which Muvhango over time expanded to become a 5-day per week soap.

Just before its cancellation notification, Danie Odendaal Productions which made 7de Laan for SABC2, also stopped production, withheld episode delivery and forced the SABC to pay outstanding debts in the millions of rand before further episodes were given to SABC2. 

It happened again after 7de Laan was cancelled when the producers demanded payment from the SABC before the last remaining episodes were filmed and delivered in the latter part of 2023.

Something similar has now happened with Muvhango.

Thanduxolo Jindela, a spokesperson for Word of Mouth Pictures, told TVwithThinus "the latest final episode aired last night. There are ongoing conversations with SABC. No contract has been signed yet. We are not shooting".

The production referred all other questions to the SABC and said the broadcaster should answer "content-related matters". 

The SABC has now put close to 200 people who were part of South Africa's TV and film industry out of work. 

Thanduxolo Jindela was asked repeatedly but didn't want to say how many people Word of Mouth Pictures employed for Muvhango, or how many episodes of the soap were produced in total. Muvhango's end credit list of Tuesday's final episode has 175 people working on the show, besides SABC people.

According to an insider connected to Muvhango "Duma Ndlovu has so many productions with M-Net's Mzansi Magic that he couldn't give a rat's ass about Muvhango. With the new government he no longer has the right political connections so they're not renewing because the SABC has no money anyway".

'In terms of the cast and crew - the favourites will be used in Mzansi Magic shows I would imagine. However, some of them have only ever worked on Muvhango so it will be tough for them".

The SABC was asked in media queries about Muvhango early on Wednesday and spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo was also phoned and asked about the show's apparent cancellation. 

The SABC failed to respond with answers to the questions asked about why the broadcaster ended Muvhango's contract which cancelled the long-running show.

What makes this Muvhango production shutdown different from any of the others before is that despite the SABC's non-payment in some cases and the production company's non-payment to cast and crew, there had always been a contract in place in all of those instances between the broadcaster and Word of Mouth Pictures for further episodes.

This time, the entire last contract with Word of Mouth Pictures ran out with the SABC commissioning editors who did nothing in the final few months of 2024 before yesterday's final episode aired to set up and sign a new contract for another Muvhango season.

There is nothing further for Word of Mouth Pictures to still produce or deliver to the SABC in terms of Muvhango episodes, with cast and crew who are effectively free to jump to new projects and effectively making them unavailable if there were to be new, future Muvhango episodes ordered.

Muvhango, currently in the 21:00 timeslot on SABC2 and the channel's only show pulling above a million viewers on weeknights, made household names of actors like Gabriel Temudzani, Dingaan Khumalo, Lindiwe Chibi, Khabonina Qubeka and others.

The apparent cancellation of Muvhango after almost three decades comes after the SABC's acing of its only Afrikaans soap 7de Laan which ended in December 2023 after 24 years, and the cancellation of The Estate on SABC3 after three seasons in May 2023 with the SABC that at the time only said production was "on hold".

After 7de Laan's cancellation ordersin July 2023, SABC insiders told TVwithThinus that Muvhango on SABC2 and Generations - The Legacy on SABC1 were the next two big-budget scripted shows on the chopping block since there simply are no money to keep them going. 

The public broadcaster is technically insolvent and can simply can no longer afford large ensemble cast shows, with the SABC now incapable of sustaining these type of multi-cam productions that are created to run for multiple years.

While Muvhango saw massive SABC audience erosion and has shed several millions of viewers since the show's heyday on SABC2 as it battled multiple timeslot changes across the SABC2 programming schedule over years, it remained the most-wached show on the channel with 1.29 million viewers in May with a 13.4% share.

Muvhango's shutdown comes after recent years of continuous non-payments and late payments of the cast and crew, with staff who decided several times over the last few years not to show up for work demanding payments, as well as work-stoppage from the production side due to lacks of funds. 

Following 7de Laan's axing and nothing which came of a promise to replace it with a new drama series following a pitch that was put out to the production industry at large, Muvhango has been SABC2's last scripted original drama series in production with new episodes. 

After Muvhango's exit last night, SABC2 has no original soap left that runs on the channel with new nightly episodes.

SABC future: SABC3 getting sold, SABC1 and SABC2 broken up in regional channels?

by Thinus Ferreira

Is the South African public broadcaster's SABC3 finally getting sold off with SABC1 and SABC2 broken up into several smaller provincial TV channels that have to work together and share provincial news and content as a network?

That could be in the future for the technically insolvent SABC which is once again experiencing dire financial problems after the Democratic Alliance political party's Solly Malatsi has been appointed by president Cyril Ramaphosa as South Africa's 15th minister of communication and digital technologies in the past 30 years.

The ANC's appointment of Solly Malatsi could spell significant policy changes for South Africa's communications sector, including massive changes to various communications parastatals like the beleaguered South African public broadcaster.

With South Africa long-delayed and still not completed switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT), as well as the forever-limping SABC, the department of communications - now spearheaded by Malatsi - will have to make decisions on the way forward with the DTT process and the future of the struggling broadcaster.

The DA's recently published policy document for South Africa's information and communication technology (ICT) sector hints at what some of the DA's proposed plans for the SABC are, including the possibilities of selling off and breaking up the South African public broadcaster.

According to the DA's policy document, "There is no doubt that the SABC is in crisis" with 40% of its revenue just going to pay salaries, with the party saying "it is clear that the SABC is a bloated organisation in dire need of fixing".

The DA wants to hold public hearings to determine whether South Africa needs a public broadcaster and then "call for the SABC to be broken up into various commercial entities and sold to the highest bidder".

Under such a scenario the loss-making SABC3 as the broadcaster's only commercial TV channel will definitely go on the block as a long-struggling TV channel that lost half of its entire viewership between 2017 and 2021.

The other part of the plan is to "Consider the option of decentralising the SABC into provincial broadcasting stations to be independently run by and managed by the relevant provinces".

According to the DA's policy document, this decentralisation "will encompass a resource sharing model (similar to the broadcasting model of the United States). This model will increase cooperation between provincial broadcasters in the sharing of content to illuminate duplication of content production, which can reduce the subsequent costs".

There is also the suggestion to "Conduct a nationwide customer survey to identify the causes of viewership losses and implement relevant remedies".

The DA says that if the SABC remains as a public broadcaster in South Africa, it would be important to "Ensure that the public interest always comes first and that the SABC remains an independent public

broadcaster and institution as per the Broadcasting Act, and not a platform for political interference

and corruption".

"We will do this by removing all political appointees through ensuring that a skills audit is completed for all employees and then conduct a restructure of the entity where necessary."

Other plans and suggestions in the policy document include the implementation of "strict financial measures to turn around the SABC's dire financial situation" through cost-cutting, increasing support for making local productions, and increasing spending on more local content productions - but without any local content quotas mandated for SABC TV and radio.

The DA's policy document states that it is important for the SABC to "Seek new and increased revenue streams to fund the operation of the SABC and make it as independent as possible from public financing".

"One such a step will be a new agreement regarding the 'must carry' regulation which does not allow for the SABC to sell its content to other broadcasters."

"The broadcaster must however stay clear of controversial plans such those proposed in the draft white paper on audio and audio-visual content which would see consumers streaming a Netflix of Amazon production on their phone, having to pay a license fee to the SABC."

The policy document notes that the government "must engage with international and local streaming providers and consider a possible mutually beneficial relationship through content sharing. Users will then be able to access local and international content on SABC and other online streaming networks. In this instance, SABC will be able to generate demand by also including trendy, international

shows."

Warren Masemola as Giraffe the winner of season 2 of The Masked Singer SA on SABC3.

by Thinus Ferreira

Giraffe won the second season of The Masked Singer South Africa on SABC3 on Saturday night when the Sama and Safta winning actor Warren Masemola took off the costume to reveal that it was home behind the long-necked mask.

Throughout the second season of The Masked Singer SA, produced by Rose and Oaks for Primedia Studios, Giraffe was the favourite frontrunner.

With as much on-stage charisma and acrobatics as the limited lanky costume allowed, Giraffe belted out singalong tune after tune to the delight of both the in-studio audience and viewers watching from home.

In the second season finalé, Giraffe, Blue Crane, Owl and Gold all got a last chance in two sing-offs to perform for the detectives - J’Something, Sithelo Shozi, Somizi Mhlongo and Skhumba.

Up first in Saturday's episode were Blue Crane and Gold, with Gold who was unmasked as the gospel singer and medical practitioner Sbu Noah.

That was followed by a sing-off between Giraffe and Owl, with Owl who lost and was unmasked as actor Aubrey Poo.

In the final round between Giraffe and Blue Crane, Blue Cane had to remove her mask to reveal that it was the beautiful former Miss South Africa and author Shudufhadzo Musida.

Warren Masemola won the season 2 golden trophy with The Masked Singer SA that will see at least a third season as well since it was renewed for a second and third season in 2023.