BREAKING. In its aggressive takeover bid Canal+ will carve and spin out MultiChoice's broadcast licence in South Africa and DStv subscibers as 'Licence Co' as MultiChoice Group keeps video assets

by Thinus Ferreira

To push its aggressive takeover of South Africa's MultiChoice Group through successfully and circumvent the country's regulations preventing a majority-owned share in local media, France's Canal+ will restructure MultiChoice and carve out its broadcasting licence and South African DStv subscribers into "Licence Co" as a new separate entity while the remainder contains its video assets as the MultiChoice Group.

Canal+ is progressing with its aggressive buyout of R32 billion for MultiChoice although various regulatory hurdles are supposed to prevent foreign ownership of a large South African media company like MultiChoice.

Canal+'s plan for a "post-transaction structure" for MultiChoice is to carve out MultiChoice's broadcasting licence in South Africa, overseen by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) and MultiChoice South Africa's DStv subscribers in South Africa into a new company called Licence Co.

Canal+'s Licence Co will be a new entity, while the remainder of MultiChoice's video entertainment assets will then remain part of the MultiChoice Group.

The MultiChoice broadcast licence carve out is part of Canal+ plan to circumvent and get around South Africa's broadcast and ownership regulations. 

The dilemma Canal+ and MultiChoice have is that they can't legally get around a foreign entity owning a South African broadcast licence, in this case for traditional pay-TV. 

The plan is now for this "problem-part" preventing Canal+'s MultiChoice takeover from going through - MultiChoice South Africa and its South African broadcasting licence and South African set of DStv subscribers - to be siloed as Licence Co.

Licence Co. in South Africa will literally hold the pay-TV licence and manage the DStv subscribers, while MultiChoice Group will legally-technically no longer be a broadcaster but a video content supplier.

Like a family trust, Licence Co, although an "independent" company, will exist with the express aim to benefit the MultiChoice Group.

Also to note: MultiChoice Group, belonging to French owners and as the so-called "video content hub", will now mean that Canal+ and MultiChoice's French owners will now be paying to keep the South African public broadcaster's SABC News, eMedia's eNCA and Newzroom Africa's as South African TV news channels on the air on DStv.

This is, in effect, a French private company paying for and in control of South African TV news, as well as news elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

Canal+ and MultiChoice has to secure approvals for the mega-takeover deal from Icasa, the Takeover Regulation Panel, South Africa's Competition Tribunal, shareholders, the Financial Surveillance Department and adhere to other requirements like black-economic empowerment (BEE) and with Canal+ not have voting rights of more than 20% as mandated by the Electronic Communications Act.

On paper Licence Co will be a new "independent company" but in real effect work in tandem with MultiChoice Group - as it exists currently containing MultiChoice's operational structure, technology, staff and content assets. 

Licence Co will become/remain the entity dealing with South African DStv subscribers.

Canal+ and MultiChoice plan to spin out Licence Co's ownership as majority-owned by the current Phuthuma Nathi scheme (27%), as well as two black-owned companies - Identity Partners Itai Consortium with Sonja de Bruyn and Afrifund Investments from the former Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko - as well as a Workers' Trust (ESOP).

With smart accounting and legal wrangling, Canal+ and MultiChoice are crafting it so that the MultiChoice's Group's shareholding in the new Licenco Co will be 49% and 20% on the dot in terms of voting rights - right what the regulators require.

"MultiChoice Group will retain its existing 75% direct interest in MultiChoice South Africa, which will exclude Licence Co. Phuthuma Nathi will similarly retain its existing 25% interest in MultiChoice South Africa," Canal+ and MultiChoice announced in a takeover update statement on Tuesday.

"The transaction will not lead to any disruption for LicenceCo’'s South African viewers, who will continue to access its services as normal. Licence Co will enter into various commercial agreements with MultiChoice Group subsidiaries in relation to the services currently provided to Licence Co by other MultiChoice Group entities," they stated.

"These relate to, among other things, the provision of content, technology, subscriber management and support and other functions."

"Canal+ and MultiChoice are confident that the envisaged structure meets the requirements of all applicable laws, including the restrictions on foreign ownership and control of broadcasting licences contained in the Electronic Communications Act."

Webber Wentzel and DLA Piper are the joint legal advisors to MultiChoice, while Herbert Smith Freehills and Werksmans are the advisors to MultiChoice on competition and broadcasting matters.

Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Morgan Stanley & Co International plc and the joint financial advisors to MultiChoice, while FTI Consulting are the so-called "strategic communications" advisors to MultiChoice.

Bowmans is the South African legal advisors to Canal+, with Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP repping as the international legal advisors to Canal+, and BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan as Canal+'s joint legal advisors.

The Brunswick Group is the "strategic communications" advisors for Canal+.

In the joint statement, Maxime Saada, Canal+ CEO - and notably having his prepared quote placed first at the top - says "This transaction is an opportunity to create a unique global media company, with a strong presence across Africa, with the scale, expertise and creativity to compete and partner with the

largest players within the media sector and beyond".

"I am confident that the contemplated post-transaction structure will comply with South Africa's

laws and regulations. Canal+ has placed Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment at the heart of the transaction and is delighted to welcome in this potential structure, alongside Phuthuma Nathi, new HDP shareholders and broadened employee ownership."

"We remain committed to deliver on our ambition to bring MultiChoice and Canal+ together, with

today's announcement representing another step forward."

The prepared quote from Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice Group CEO, states "We are very pleased about the progress that has been made in relation to this transaction".

"In a fast-evolving industry that is becoming increasingly competitive, the opportunity to combine our

efforts to increase scale and bring our subscribers an even better offering is something that

continues to excite us."

"MultiChoice has a long and proud history of creating significant value for the shareholders of

Phuthuma Nathi, one of the most successful BBBEE schemes in South Africa."

"To continue this journey with Phuthuma Nathi, while at the same time broadening the BBBEE participation in our business through new partnerships that also involves our staff, is an inspiring prospect."

Netflix reveals year's content slate at Next on Netflix 2025 including new South African films and series

by Thinus Ferreira

On Thursday Netflix revealed more information about its upcoming slate of films and series for 2025, as well as a sizzle reel in which a character moves through various Netflix content.

"We're not just one thing. We’re the best of film, TV, documentaries, stand-up, animation and live events - and we're doing it in 50 languages," said Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer.

"We're not afraid to make big bets on compelling voices and new ideas - whether it's a plot twist, an original story, or a big live moment."

"That's what Netflix is all about. Bold choices. Creativity. Surprises. Fandom. Entertaining the world. That's what keeps our members coming back week after week, month after month, year after year. And that's what we'll be doing in 2025."

Netflix's upcoming slate of new South African films include Semi-Soeter, a follow-up of the Afrikaans film Semi-Soet, as a romantic comedy directed by Joshua Rous and produced by Anel Alexander and Zandré Coetzer.

Meet the Khumalos, a new family film, is written, directed and produced by Jayan Moodley who created the Kandasamys family comedy franchise.

A new Afrikaans drama series, Tuiskoms, is also coming to Netflix South Africa and will debut on 28 February, produced by Infinity Films.

A new drama series Go!, produced by Ten30Films with Kutlwano Ditsele as creator and producer will be released on Netflix on 21 March, with directors Thuli Zuma and Tristan Holmes.

The Go! cast includes Thandolwethu Zondi, Wonder Ndlovu, Dawn Thandeka King, Wiseman Ncube and Katlego Danke. 

A third season of Kings of Jo'Burg from Ferguson Films will debut on Netflix in 2025 as well featuring Connie Ferguson and Zolisa Xaluva, as well as the second season of Unseen featuring Gail Mabalane, Dineo Langa, Waldemar Schultz, Ilse Klink and Siv Ngesi.

Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds is a new documentary film.

American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden is another new documentary series.

Chaos: The Manson Murders is a new documentary film.

Netflix released a clip for Apple Cider Vinegar, a series about two young women who advocate for wellness remedies to cure deadly diseases, who see their lives unravel as they unknowingly - and knowingly - mislead the world:

The unscripted series, Court of Gold, about Serbia's basketball team, got a clip:

Netflix will release the second part of the first season of Tyler Perry's Beauty, and part 3 of the 6th season of Cobra Kai.

Also coming in 2025 are the American historical drama series Death by Lightning, the animated series Death May Cry, the third season of the drama series The Diplomat, as well as new drama series Tyler Perry's She The People.

The documentary film, Eddie, is about Eddie Murphy, while Everybody's Live with John Mulaney is a new weekly talk show which will do live episodes globally from 12 March.

The film The Electric State got a new clip:

Fear Street: Prom Queen is a new film coming to Netflix in 2025, and Forever is a new American drama series:

Frankenstein is a new film, and there will be the third season of Ginny & Georgia.

 

Gone Girls: The Long Island serial killer and Katrina: Come Hell or High Water are two new documentary series also coming to Netflix this year, with Pangolin: Kulu's Journey that is a new documentary film of which this first-look photo was released:

Titan is another new documentary film:

Other new Netflix films include Happy Gilmore 2, Kinda Pregnant, Havoc, R&B, In Your Dreams, RIP and The Woman in Cabin 10.

The Leopard is a new international drama series making its debut in 2025 on Netflix, and it got a trailer:

Tyler Perry's film Madea's Destination Wedding was announced as a tile, and released a first-look photo:

MultiChoice nabs another alleged Waka piracy TV reseller in Worcester

by Thinus Ferreira

Irdeto, MultiChoice's security company - together with the Western Cape Provincial Commercial Crime Investigation Unit - have raided and arrested another alleged Waka piracy TV reseller in Worcester.

MultiChoice nabbed a man suspected of allegedly selling smart TV boxes, pre-installed with applications that give unauthorised access to DStv content. 

The police confiscated a Huawei P20 mobile phone, a USB, as well as 12 Smart TV boxes. The man is allegedly a Waka TV reseller.

"Our collaborative approach with law enforcement agencies across the continent is yielding positive results in our ongoing fight against piracy," says Frikkie Jonker, Irdeto broadcasting cybersecurity and anti-piracy director.

"We are not holding back, and we will ensure that we do everything possible to stop piracy and protect intellectual rights of content creators in Africa."

ALSO READ: Pirate Waka TV wacked with another arrest as MultiChoice promises 'more raids on illegal resellers'.

Sky News overhauls for digital future, plots move to premium pay news content with increased AI as traditional TV news declines in 'Sky News 2030' strategy

by Thinus Ferreira

Britain's Sky News (DStv 402) has announced the start of an organisational overhaul as part of its "Sky News 2030" strategy in which it will pivot to create and deliver digital and premium pay news content as the state of traditional TV news continues to decline.  

Sky News will give less resources on breaking news and covering live news, will have to reorganise the newsroom, eliminate duplicate processes and use artificial intelligence (AI) more.

While American TV news like CNN and Britain's Sky News and starting to face the inevitable future that requires a drastic rethink to remain viable, South Africa's eNCA (DStv 403) from eMedia on MultiChoice's DStv, SABC News (DStv 404), as well as Newzroom Africa (DStv 405) have not yet announced drastic realignments to their operating models.

Sky News chairman David Rhodes, in a speech to staff, announced that Sky News will overhaul its programming and newsroom as part of a new editorial strategy to create premium paid content that will have to offset the losses and decline of traditional television and TV news.

Sky News, as part of its "Sky News 2030" strategy, will try to build "new income streams centred around subject hubs that will offer paid products from podcasts and newsletters to events and live shows".

Sky News' app is not available in South Africa for South African viewers, but David Rhodes wants to build out new products and services for Sky News to get UK and international TV news viewers to pay for that.

With all of the planned new products and services, the traditional, 36-year-old Sky News channel will continue to remain available as a traditional pay-TV channel.

According to David Rhodes, Sky News' resources will now focus more on creating premium content for which audiences will have to pay. According to him, only 30% of Sky News' current news output can be classified as "premium" and he wants that to change to "70%".

"Linear TV audiences and linear monetisation are in a structural decline," he said.

"We are not the first to recognise that premium experiences, where engaged audiences are willing to pay, are where we need to be."

The Sky News newsroom will be reorganised and "duplication" cut down by increasing the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

'I felt groped': More Big Brother Mzansi Umlilo scandal as M-Net and Red Pepper Pictures are forced to evict KayB over sexual assault

by Thinus Ferreira

M-Net and production company Red Pepper Pictures have been forced to remove yet another contestant from MultiChoice's scandal-riddled Big Brother Mzansi franchise with Florence Mphirime, known as KayB, evicted over sexual assault.

The abrupt removal of the 23-year-old student from Bloemfontein who groped and touched other contestants inappropriately is the first eviction from the latest Big Brother Mzansi Umlilo season, already mired in controversy, screened on MultiChoice's DStv.

The eviction from the show with LottoStar, Unilever's Robertsons Spice and Chillers Punch as sponsors and executive produced by Natalie Bleksley, and is the latest in a string of contestants in the South African and Nigerian franchises booted from the reality show - season after season - over physical violence, verbal threats like rape, verbal attacks, as well as sexual harassment and sexual assault.

KayB's removal comes after Bokang Chephetsa, known as Beekay, said "I felt groped" by KayB and after Fortunate Setwaba, known as Nate, separately said KayB touched her very inappropriately and that KayB fails to understand consent.

According to section 16 of the production rulebook, KayB's inappropriate touching and groping are classified as sexual assault. Contestants told her repeatedly they're uncomfortable with her repeated sexual advances in the form of conversations and inappropriate touching.

It comes just two days after producers had to send in an expert in harassment and consent into the camera-filled house who did an educational session with the contestants following the fallout from last week's Big Brother Mzansi Umlilo controversy.

Last week the show was engulfed in scandal when DStv broadcast sexual assault victim-shaming when Ashley Ogle and Bongiwe Booi, known as Bonni Bee, made shocking comments about KayB after she revealed that she was herself a victim of sexual assault.

Before the latest season started, Shirley Adonisi, M-Net director of local entertainment channels, said M-Net will do "devious things" to the new crop of contestants and "We're experimenting with things never done before".

"We're determined to make them as uncomfortable as possible. We’re really pushing the envelope. We'll test their intolerance to see how much they can take without breaking any legal rules. The team has come up with devious things."

On Wednesday M-Net waited for a produced made-for-TV moment to first showcase KayB's eviction on DStv before responding to media about the sexual harassment incidents that viewers have talked about since Tuesday.

Portia Hlongwane, M-Net spokesperson for Mzansi Magic, in response to a media query made on Wednesday afternoon, only on Thursday morning confirmed that KayB has been removed.

"In light of a conversation in the Big Brother Mzansi house concerning Beekay who claimed that he was physically violated by KayB, Big Brother investigated the matter further as the safety of all housemates is of utmost importance".

"After careful consideration, taking into account of the serious nature of the claim, Big Brother has decided that KayB be disqualified from the Big Brother house.:

"This decision closely follows an educational session that was held with all the housemates this past Sunday to raise awareness and instil knowledge about gender-based violence."

"We have always maintained that we do not condone any acts of gender-based violence and as such we will be taking the corrective action."

"Furthermore, due to the seriousness of this incident and the fact that the housemate in question was in the voting round for elimination this week, voting for housemates will be closed immediately to ensure fairness for all remaining housemates."

M-Net shied away from answering other questions.

M-Net was asked what it makes of the latest incident coming just days after someone specifically told the contestants what not to do, why this behaviour keeps happening and is being broadcast on DStv, and what brands like LottoStar and Unilever have told M-Net about being associated and featuring alongside unsavoury content.

M-Net declined to answer.

Big Brother Mzansi Umlilo is the fifth season under the Big Brother Mzansi moniker and the 11th season overall of Big Brother South Africa done by MultiChoice and M-Net in the country according to the Banijay format.

Big Brother Umlilo runs as a 24/7 channel on DStv with highlight programming on the Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel.

ALSO READ: More brand damage for MultiChoice and M-Net, Unilever's Robertsons Spice and LottoStar as Big Brother Mzansi shows 'deeply troubling' sexual assault victim-shaming on DStv

ALSO READ: M-Net will do 'devious things' and make housemates 'as uncomfortable as possible' in 2025's Big Brother Mzansi Umlilo

e.tv to court again to demand further extension in South Africa's digital TV switch-over with 'devastating impact' warning for country's TV ratings

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's umbrella TV broadcasters, together with organisations supporting public broadcasting, are back in court demanding the government push out the analogue TV signal switch-off deadline date looming at the end of March, warning about the "devastating impact" and the loss of a third of the country's total public TV audience overnight.

The SABC, e.tv and community TV stations collectively face the existential danger of the overnight loss of millions of viewers on 1 April when their ratings will plunge and with that their precious ad income.

The SOS Coalition and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) - organisations that lobby for the protection of public broadcasting - have now come on board and filed an affidavit in court supporting eMedia's e.tv that says it has once again been forced to go to court over the imminent switch-off date.

They say South African television risks losing almost a third of the entire remaining public access TV viewing audience overnight if analogue signals are cut in two months' time.

South Africa's last deadline date for the switch-off of analogue TV signals in the country's long-delayed digital migration process to digital terrestrial television (DTT) was 31 December 2024.

Last month, in another last-minute scramble, Solly Malatsi, minister of communications and digital technologies, hastily announced that the switch-off date would once again be pushed out by another three months to the end of March 2025.

But even these three months are not enough of a reprieve for the SABC, e.tv and community TV stations like Cape Town TV (CTV).

No money was budgeted for the DTT process beyond the end of last year and it is unclear where the department, parastatal signal distributor Sentech and others, will find the money for the current three-month extension that will cost millions more.

It costs the government and Sentech between R130 million to R160 million per year to transmit the same TV signal - for instance SABC1 or SABC3 - as both an analogue and a DTT signal, a process known as dual illumination.

Solly Malatsi is South Africa's 12th minister of communications and digital technologies overseeing the morass of the country's failed DTT migration process that has cost the country already over R12 billion over the past 10 years.

Last year the SABC told the department of communications and digital technologies that the public broadcaster would like the deadline to be extended by another year to the end of 2025. 

eMedia running the country's only commercial TV broadcaster e.tv didn't specify a specific extension date and said it isn't against the DTT process but that more time and a reasonable switch-off extension is required.

Now e.tv is once again taking the government to court over the disastrous DTT process and the latest deadline. 

The broadcaster already took the department to court previously and won in the Constitutional Court in 2022 over the DTT switch-off deadline.

Three years ago the court declared the then minister of communications' deadline of 30 June 2022 unconstitutional and recognised the massively adverse impact the switch-off then would have had on the public and the broadcasters.

Massive TV audience loss risk

On Friday SOS and MMA joined e.tv's latest court fight and lodged an affidavit at the High Court of South Africa in Pretoria, saying that although there's been yet another three-month DTT switch-off extension, that it is still not enough time to avert a South African public broadcasting disaster.

According to the groups' affidavit, the premature analogue signals switch-off on 31 March on the public, public broadcasting the SABC, community TV channels and e.tv would have a "devastating impact".

The groups are also upset about MMA and SOS "exclusion from regular consultations with broadcasters".

SOS and MMA note that if the government and Sentech were to flip the switches across the remaining provinces and kill analogue TV signals on 31 March 2025, "Poor and marginalised communities will be cut off from free-to-air television thus denying their right to access to information".

What will follow will be an immediate "Loss of advertising and sponsorship revenue for the SABC" with the groups warning that "The free-to-air audience will diminish from 55.1% of television household population to 26.6% of television household population". 

That will be 28.5% of the free-to-air audience - almost a third of South Africa's remaining public  TV audience that contribute to South Africa's television ratings - which will be gone overnight. 

"We are hoping that the High Court rules in the public interest as the Constitutional Court did in 2022," the groups say.

"We are also hopeful that the government will reconsider and postpone the analogue switch-off date of 31 March 2025 to ensure a proper roll-out of the set-top boxes (STBs) so that no South African

is left without access to television."

Battle to just get boxes

There are millions more South African TV households who either haven't had their free set-box box (STB) installed yet by the government as well as the "missing middle" who earn more than R3 500 and must buy one - although none exist in retail - and must still make the switch.

A shocking 467 000 poor households who have registered for the government-subsidised set-top boxes have not yet had these installed, with STBs gathering dust in locked South African Post Offices and Sentech warehouses.

This is also just the number of households the government is aware of and appears on its outdated database list. 

The department of communications and digital technologies has no idea how many people and TV households exist who are still making use of analogue TV and must pay to buy some type of bridging solution like MultiChoice's DStv, eMedia's Openview, a new DTT-enabled flatscreen TV set or some type of other STB.

This is also why the SABC wants to start its own satellite TV service, similar to Openview, to offer a type of pay-once solution to the "missing middle" to switch from analogue viewing to getting the SABC TV channels and radio stations through a decoder. 

The SABC says there are millions of these viewers in South Africa - TV households still on analogue who must pay for a STB but don't see the urgency or understand the need.

While e.tv refused to go along, kept its analogue signals on and was largely spared the devastating consequences of audience loss, the SABC that initially kept quiet and went along as the government turned its signals off in province after province over the past three years, saw its audience reach and ratings steadily diminish – something that the public has since called "devastating" and a "disaster".

Around 174 analogue transmitters across South Africa's most populated provinces - Gauteng, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape - are still on.

Collectively these four provinces' TV households represent more than half of South Africa's total population.

In the vast majority of cases, one "TV household" on the country's TV ratings system (TAMS) has multiple viewers. 

Depriving these TV households of their TV access will immediately wipe them - and the programmes they watch - from being counted towards the overnight audience ratings of shows ranging from Uzalo on SABC1, Muvhango on SABC2 and Scandal! on e.tv.

Besides viewers cut off from TV news, current affairs and other educational programming, lower ratings will force broadcasters like the SABC and e.tv to immediately lower ad fees on their rate cards, which will lead to lower ad income, and lower overall revenue.

The same goes for community TV channels like CTV and others already fighting an uphill battle with exorbitant signal transmission fees.

The struggling SABC is already technically insolvent and battling an ongoing trend of multi-year traditional TV ratings erosion and can ill afford a massive audience plunge.

Sony is not ending Blu-Ray discs - only production in Japan of blank recordable discs for that market

by Thinus Ferreira

Sony says it is definitely not ending production of Blu-ray discs or recordable Blu-Ray discs, but is ending the production in Japan of recordable, blank Blu-Ray discs.

Sony's clarification comes after some took a notification, in Japanese and meant for the Japanese market that it is ending production of blank, recordable Blu-Ray discs in Japan, that Sony would be ending the production of Blu-Ray discs completely.

Last week Thursday, Sony, in a Japanese notification on its "Recording Media" section of Sony's support website, told the Japanese market that it will no longer be making Blu-Ray disc media, MiniDiscs for recording, MD data for recording, or MiniDV cassettes, in Japan, from February 2025.

"There will be no successor models. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our many customers for their patronage to date," Sony said in Japanese. 

Then people elsewhere in the world translated Sony's Japanese message and wrongly applied and generalised it for Sony worldwide.

Sony says it's definitely not ending the production of Blu-Ray discs - a format it invented in October 2000 - and definitely not ending production of recordable discs for, and in the rest of the world.

"We sell blank storage Blu-ray discs for this use only in Japan. The subject products of this notification are these discs. No other products by Sony Pictures or Blu-ray player sold by Sony are the scope of this notification," Sony said in its statement.

Niggies set for March and filmed by Wolflight Films is kykNET's first drama series based on a true-crime double murder

by Thinus Ferreira

M-Net has commissioned and filmed a new Afrikaans drama series, Niggies, for kykNET (DStv 144), which is kykNET's first-ever drama series based on true-crime murders in South Africa.

Niggies will start on kykNET in March. 

Produced by Wolflight Films with Jaco Bouwer as director, the 9-episode Niggies started filming in October 2024 and wrapped on 7 December, with principal photography that took place around Cape Town.

Niggies is based on the double murders in 1965 of Issie Fourie and Petro Nel in the Free State province town of Odendaalsrus who were both abducted and murdered.

Issie's brother, André decided to bring the perpetrator to justice - something that took 18 years.

Niggies stars Beer Adriaanse as the older André, with Janru Steenkamp as the younger André, alongside Carel Nel.

Niggies starts with the double abduction and murder of Issie Fourie and Petro Nel in Odendaalsrus in 1965 and stretches across the 1960s and 1980s. The story is set in Odendaalsrus, Allanridge and Kroonstad in the northeastern Free State. 

Niggies has Roelof Storm as executive producer with Saartjie Botha and Philip Rademeyer who penned the script.

Jaco Bouwer says "While the abduction and murders made headlines at the time, the details of the story have been forgotten by all but those directly affected by the trauma".

"We didn't want to open old wounds but rather explore what really happened, with some dramatic license, and examine it in the context of modern South Africa where these events are more common than they were 60 years ago."

Waldimar Pelser, M-Net director of premium channels, says "Niggies is a raw exploration of loss and how unresolved trauma can destroy families".

"It is not a sensational story about violence - rather, it is a sensitive examination of how pain can be managed, and healing found in a place where hope is not supposed to exist."

Samsung Galaxy S25 series launched with improved video editing quality, recycled cobalt and a stronger screen

by Thinus Ferreira

Samsung has launched its Samsung Galaxy S25 series last week Wednesday which comes with certain further advancements in AI technology, a stronger screen, a claim of recycled cobalt, as well as further enhancements in the quality and capabilities offered in video editing.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 series was announced through a global Unpacked streaming event, with Samsung South Africa that held a media event on Wednesday for the streaming at the WITS Anglo American Digital Dome in Johannesburg.

Unfortunately, Samsung SA's PR company Cheil SA didn't bother to communicate beforehand about it or with any notification that there would be a Samsung Galaxy S25 series streaming event or offering any link.

Neither was there even any invitation to the media event, or reaching out to hear if its possible to actually attend it. 

However, late on Wednesday night after the media event, Cheil then emailed out a press release about the Samsung Galaxy S25 series.

The cost of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (256GB) in South Africa is R30 000, R32 000 for the 512GB and R35 for 1TB. The Samsung Galaxy S25+ (256GB) will retail around R23 500, with the pricing for the Samsung Galaxy S25 (256GB) that is around R20 000.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 comes with One UI 7, the Galaxy S25 series' "AI companion".

The Galaxy S25 series is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Samsung's most powerful processor yet on its Galaxy S series, that according to Samsung delivers a performance boost of 40% in NPU, 37% in CPU and 30% in GPU compared to the previous generation. 

With a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera sensor upgraded from the previous 12MP, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has clarity and vibrancy with 10-bit HDR recording now applied by default, offering four times richer colour expression according to Samsung, compared to 8-bit. 

Samsung is also enhancing video editing capabilities and quality on the new device with the Galaxy S25 that has Audio Eraser which simplifies the removal of unwanted noise in videos.

For a DSLR-like experience on mobile Galaxy S25 introduces depth-of-field control with Virtual Aperture, integrated into the popular Expert RAW. 

The Galaxy S25 also comes with Galaxy Log, enabling precise colour grading options for more professional video production.

Portrait Studio has also been enhanced Samsung says, allowing users to create personalised avatars with more true-to-life facial expressions. Filters introduces new analogue-style filters, delivering a film-like aesthetic for photos and videos.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 also has a stronger build and screen.

With durable titanium and the new Corning Gorilla Armor 2, a first-of-its-kind material, the screen is more durable than glass. 

It combines Corning’s glass-ceramic with a proprietary anti-reflective surface treatment, helping to ensure advanced drop protection alongside anti-reflection surface treatment and scratch resistance.

Samsung further claims that its Galaxy S25 series device now uses a minimum of 50% recycled cobalt for its battery.

According to the manufacturer, the Galaxy S25 will be the first Galaxy smartphone to feature batteries made with recycled cobalt sourced from previous Galaxy devices or the batteries discarded during the manufacturing process.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery, capable of 45W wired fast charging and 25W wireless fast charging. The Galaxy S25+ has a smaller 4,900mAh battery, also with 45W fast wired charging and 15W fast wireless charging.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is available in Titanium Silverblue, Titanium Black, Titanium Whitesilver and Titanium Grey, while the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ will be available in Navy, Silver Shadow, Icyblue and Mint.