Actor Jonathan Pienaar dead at 63 due to heart failure

by Thinus Ferreira

Actor Jonathan Pienaar died on Monday morning in his sleep in Johannesburg after apparently suffering a type of heart failure.

His ex-wife, Rosana Maya - the couple recently got divorced - in a Facebook post said "Most beautiful man, unique soul… like your wolves, you gave so much for so little… the world is a lesser place without you in it, my sadness too deep. fly with angels my love".

Jonathan Pienaar was a prolific actor and appeared in several South African TV series and films. His health recently deteriorated after he had suffered a heart attack.

Jonathan Pienaar appeared as the character of De Villiers in the second and third seasons of Yizo Yizo on SABC1, was Pietman in the first and second seasons of Triptiek on SABC2, and portrayed Chris Barlow in the two seasons of The Lab on SABC3.

He had roles in numerous other South African TV soaps, ranging from Generations on SABC1 to Binnelanders on kykNET (DStv 144) and Legacy on M-Net (DStv 101).

In TV drama series, Jonathan Pienaar appeared in Cape Town, Hartland, Heartlines, Hillside, Hopeville, Keeping Score, Meeulanders and the second season of Onder Draai die Duiwel Rond.

Nothing for DStv Premium subscribers as MultiChoice one-ups other packages until 2026, increases decoder subsidies to try and boost sagging subs numbers

by Thinus Ferreira

DStv Premium subscribers - the customer tier that Canal+ Africa's MultiChoice has seen massive problems and a drop in subscriber numbers in - are losing out and getting nothing out of MultiChoice's decision to one-up other DStv subscribers to a higher tier until 2026.

Loath to do it, MultiChoice is also going back to the decoder subsidies well in an attempt to try and juice DStv decoder subscriber numbers in the time it has left before Canal+ has to report on MultiChoice's subscriber numbers.

Until 31 December, MultiChoice is giving only DStv subscribers with a decoder access to the TV channels available on one upper tier. 

That's bad news for DStv Premium subscribers who are paying for the top-tier package but getting nothing in addition - adding fuel to the fire of the consumer psychology of why DStv Premium subscribers keep abandoning MultiChoice en masse.

On Monday, MultiChoice sent a press release first to certain website publications, and then later the same press release to others, that it is giving Dstv decoder customers access to the TV channels of one higher-tiered package between 10 November and 31 December.

MultiChoice absolutely abhors DStv decoder subsidies and has told investors and stakeholders for years during annual financial results presentations how the traditional pay-TV operator would tro ty decrease decoder subsidies.

With the massive plunge in DStv subscriber numbers, Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice's latest plan to try and turn around plunging subscriber numbers, is to flood the market with new DStv decoder subsidies.

Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice hope that the lowered DStv decoder prices at the point of sale will be able to stall, and possibly even stabilise or the plunging DStv subscriber base in South Africa as well as across Africa.

The subscriber numbers might even start to rise again due to MultiChoice's latest decoder subsidies which will look bad on the next balance sheet come reporting time, but might stop the bleeding of subscribers on the other side.

MultiChoice has enacted DStv decoder subsidies in South Africa, as well as the Rest of Africa (RoA), which means cheaper physical DStv decoders. 

Once bought - cheaper - there is a likelihood that MultiChoice can translate those decoder sales into longer-term and 90-day active DStv subscribers.

MultiChoice says it has cut - meaning a bigger subsidy - DStv decoder prices since 1 November.

MultiChoice was intitially supposed to report half-year numbers this week on 12 November, but due to the Canal+ takeover that requirement from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has now fallen away.

Since MultiChoice doesn't have to reveal DStv subscriber numbers to investors this week, it now looks like MultiChoice and Canal+ are playing for time and using the reprieve to try and boost subscriber uptake over the coming months.

Trying to rake in potential new subs and those who abandoned DStv as churn through cheaper decoders, could help MultiChoice's subscriber numbers look somewhat better or more stabilised when the first reporting time rolls around in 2026. 

Byron du Plessis, CEO for pay-TV South Africa at MultiChoice, said the one-upping for November and December is part of MultiChoice's "broader plan to improve customer value" for DStv subscribers.

It's unclear how this broader plan to improve customer value yields better customer value to DStv Premium subscribers - supposedly MultiChoice's most valuable consumers and biggest contributor to ARPU (average revenue per unit). 

In fact, it's foreseeable that there might very well be DStv Premium subscribers who decide to cancel their service permanently, or decide to downgrade during November for December and never return to DStv Premium again, when they see that it is only lower-tiered DStv subscriber packages getting upsell-benefits for free.

"What we’re doing with our Upsize campaign is part of a bigger value reset at DStv," said Byron du Plessis, in a prepared quote in the press release.

"We're focused on making DStv more accessible and rewarding, with affordability and customer experience at the heart of our strategy," said Byron du Plessis.

This will also sound bad for DStv Premium subscribers who get no discernible and visible improvement as subscribers in either affordability or customer experience.

MultiChoice apparently had some type of an online store but it's not known how that worked or what was sold through it. MultiChoice says "DStv is relaunching its online store later this month".

According to Byron du Plessis, "DStv and Canal+'s combined scale makes it possible to give customers across Africa more choice and better value than ever before".

VIA's Speel met Vuur TV chef Mynie Steffens dies after helicopter crash in Eastern Cape

by Thinus Ferreira

Mynie Steffens, the TV chef of the Afrikaans lifestyle cooking show Speel met Vuur on VIA (DStv 147) died on Monday morning near Patensie in the Eastern Cape province in a helicopter crash. She was 43.

The helicopter was busy spraying crops on a farm. Mynie Steffens was the co-presenter of Speel met Vuur together with Aldi van der Walt.

According to Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli, Eastern Cape police spokesperson, the helicopter crash happened just before 8:00 this morning.

The female crop duster pilot died on impact after the Robinson helicopter struck power lines and crashed on the Roodegrond farm while spraying crops at the farm outside Patensie. An inquest docket has been opened.

Exec Ops, in a Facebook post, said Exec Ops, Relay EMS and other emergency services responded to the incident.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the incident and ongoing investigations, no further details can be shared at this stage. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this tragedy."

Canal+ Africa boss David Mignot again hogs the limelight as SuperSport adds CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 coverage from Morocco with various language options

Thinus Ferreira

New Canal+ Africa boss David Mignot again hogged the limelight on Thursday afternoon in SuperSport's Studio 6 in Randburg when he hobnobbed with CAF president Dr Patrice Motsepe during SuperSport's announcement that the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 will be broadcast on MultiChoice's DStv with multiple language options.

Thursday's SuperSport in-studio announcement derby was David Mignot's second big public appearance following his meet-and-greet last month in Namibia with the country's president where MultiChoice debut a pandering profile piece of Ndemupelila Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Oddly, and somewhat hilariously, Rendani Ramovha, former SuperSport CEO and now Canal+ Africa director of sport content for English and Portuguese-speaking Africa, was pushed out of photos on Thursday with SuperSport only issuing media with signing and posing photos of David Mignot and Dr Patrice Motsepe.

Canal+ is taking credit for the CAF clinching, noting that it's Canal+ that will show the CAF Afcon 2025 from Morocco from 21 December "in French, English, Portuguese and indigenous languages, following SuperSport's deal for English-speaking broadcast rights of the 35th edition of the tournament".

CAF Afcon 2025 won't be made available on MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax. MultiChoice will run a dedicated SuperSport Afcon TV channel on the DStv line-up in December.

David Mignot, in a prepared quote, says "Our newly-formed merger with MultiChoice has already unlocked opportunities and benefits for our customers".

"This year’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 is a great demonstration of the power and potential of this common ambition: bringing together our expertise to offer unprecedented coverage."

"Moreover, broadcasting this competition in different languages is a strong way to build closeness with our viewers. For all these reasons, our subscribers will be part of the most spectacular celebration of African football."

Dr Patrice Motsepe's drop-in quote reads: "This is an exciting day for CAF and for African football".

"When the CAF Africa Cup of Nations takes place in Morocco in December, Africans everywhere - on the continent and across the diaspora - will be watching with pride. Millions will follow the games on television, celebrating the best that African football has to offer."

Rendani Ramovha in a supplied quote says "We are especially proud to be able to bring the story of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 live to all our viewers in English and Portuguese-speaking Sub-Saharan African territories".

"SuperSport has been the preferred choice for millions of passionate fans across the continent, and this tournament won’t be different, as we will have a dedicated SuperSport AFCON channel."

According to SuperSport, in Nigeria viewers will be able to hear coverage in English or Pidgin. Swahili will be available in East African countries like Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. 

South Africa, Angola and Mozambique will get a Portuguese option on SuperSport. South Africa will add a isiZulu and Setswana language options besides English and Portuguese commentary.

Canal+ appoints Hala Saab in Paris as Canal+ Africa communications boss over MultiChoice

Thinus Ferreira

Canal+ has installed Hala Saab, who will remain in Issy-les-Moulineaux in Paris, as the new Canal+ Africa communications boss overseeing MultiChoice in Africa.

Canal+ and Canal+ Africa's communications approach about what it's doing within MultiChoice has been disastrous, detached and beyond misguided since Canal+ under new Canal+ Africa boss David Mignot took over full control of MultiChoice in late September.

Hala Saab will sit in Paris and not relocate to Johannesburg, South Africa, similar to how MultiChoice Africa did communications in the past for the Rest of Africa (RoA), besides South Africa, out of MultiChoice's office in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Hala Saab has been appointed director of communication for Africa. She has already been responsible for Canal+'s communication across the African continent, but her scope has now been expanded to include the English and Portuguese-speaking MultiChoice markets.

According to MultiChoice Hala Saab will now "oversee all Canal+ communication activities across Africa". Hala Saab will report to Emilie Pietrini, Canal+'s chief brand and communication officer.

According to Canal+, Hala Saab is a graduate of ISC Paris with a specialisation in strategic marketing who began her career as a media buyer at Mediacom.

In 2001, she joined Canal+ France’s advertising sales division as advertising executive, then account director, and then head of sponsorship and special operations. 

In 2010, she took over as the head of product communication at Canal+ International. 

Four years later, she was appointed director of international communications, tasked with supporting the group’s development in Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Canal+ has been battling a barrage of extremely nasty and highly damaging news reports for weeks since it took over MultiChoice about shocking demands of 20% cost-cutting at MultiChoice that shocked and angered independent service providers, suppliers and producers.

Canal+ has apparently done nothing to stem the tide of highly negative news and lurid details like MultiChoice even running out of toilet paper for refusing to pay suppliers what they are owed and even SuperSport almost missing a sports broadcast.

Canal+ has so far not answered any questions posed by TVwithThinus seeking answers around the issue.

Hala Saab from Paris has a full plate if there are going to be attempts made to liaise and engage with and get to know South Africa and Africa's news media, who have had little to no contact so far with Canal+ Africa and are still waiting for responses and answers on the Canal+ Africa cost-cutting scandal that engulfed MultiChoice since October.

ALSO READ: 'Parles-tu français?': Canal+ Africa orders MultiChoice to cut agreed billing of suppliers and producers by 20%, staffers told to learn French

Annika Larsen sit-down and confession from Marike de Klerk murderer Luyanda Mboniswa to air on e.tv and eNCA

Thinus Ferreira

Reporter Annika Larsen has scored a sit-down interview with convicted killer Luyanda Mboniswa, who murdered former first lady Marike de Klerk, with Annika Larsen's compelling 23-minute documentary, The Confession - The Marike de Klerk Murder, that is airing on both e.tv and eNCA.

The Confession - The Marike de Klerk Murder will be on e.tv on Friday 7 November at 20:30, and on Sunday 10 November on eNCA (DStv 403) at 22:30.

In The Confession - The Marike de Klerk Murder Annika Larsen travels to Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, for a sit-down tell-all where Luyanda Mboniswa now lives after he was released after 22 years. 

The Confession - The Marike de Klerk Murder revisits the December 2001 murder of Marike de Klerk, the former first lady whose death sent shockwaves around the world. 

The case of the 22-year-old Luyanda Mboniswa, then employed as a security guard at the complex where de Klerk resided, was charged with the crime in a violent crime story that gripped the nation's attention.

Mboniswa initially confessed to involvement but denied being the killer, attempting to implicate others, including de Klerk's dance teacher, John Tebus, and her son Willem. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

After serving 22 years behind bars, Mboniswa's participation in an offender rehabilitation program led to his release in August 2023. 

Now, through this documentary, he speaks openly about the crime for the first time and admits his guilt to Annika Larsen on camera.

—finally admitting his guilt and, in doing so, lifting the cloud of suspicion that has hung over others for more than two decades.

"The Confession - The Marike de Klerk Murder offers viewers a rare opportunity to examine this pivotal moment of truth and explore the complexities of justice, rehabilitation, and closure," says e.tv.

PEU Communications switches filming of SABC1's Skeem Saam from Sasani Studios to SABC's Henley

Thinus Ferreira

Skeem Saam is no longer filmed at Sasani Studios but at the SABC's Henley studio facilities in Auckland Park as part of the South African public broadcaster's new initiative to move productions to in-house studio space in the SABC's ongoing cost-cutting measures.

From September, SABC1's Skeem Saam is filmed at the SABC and no longer at eMedia Holdings' Sasani Studios in Highlands North in Johannesburg where the show was produced for decades. 

The move is unrelated to the Skeem Saam on-set fire in February at Sasani Studios that saw two crew members injured and hospitalised.

The SABC started looking into bringing more of its productions in-house in 2024 to save costs. 

As Skeem Saam is concerned, the first phase of the transition was done and completed in November last year when Skeem Saam's post-production operations moved to the SABC.

The SABC, in its latest 2024/'25 annual report, states that Skeem Saam's full studio move from Sasani Studios to the SABC was scheduled to be completed by September 2025.

"Bringing these and other productions in-house will help the business reduce costs previously spent on third parties," the SABC notes.

PEU Communications told TVwithThinus that Skeem Saam "officially transitioned its production from Sasani Studios to the SABC in Auckland Park officially on 1 September. We are now fully operating from the SABC studio space and the move has gone smoothly, with everyone well settled in".

ALSO READ: Peu Communications resumes Skeem Saam filming after Sasani Studios fire, set damage unknown

Actor Phillip Henn dead at 63

Thinus Ferreira

Actor Phillip Henn died on Wednesday from bleeding on the brain. He was 63.

Phillip Henn's most recent on-screen TV role was in e.tv's Afrikaans telenovela Kelders van Geheime.

There's been no statement from e.tv or KFilms about Phillip Henn's death.

According to reports, Phillip Henn fell on Sunday at a house in Oesterbaai in the Eastern Cape and was taken to a hospital in Gqeberha.

According to his sister, he suffered from some type of attacks the previous 10 days due to a lack of oxygen to the brain.

In May last year Phillip Henn underwent 9-hour long heart bypass surgery.

Besides Kelders van Geheime, Phillip Henn is most well-known for his role as Johann Vorster in Egoli on M-Net (DStv 101), and later Chris van Deventer in Binnelanders on kykNET (DStv 144) and then as the character of Eben Swanepoel in Suidooster, also on kykNET.

Phillip Henn was an avid photographer and his novel, 500 Myl was published in 2019 about children fighting in the Anglo-Boer War.

He previously spoke about how his drug addiction stole 9 years of his life, and that he had already been using drugs while he was working on Egoli.

His brother died also died earlier this year. He leaves behind two sisters.

SABC revives Top Billing with Cardova produced lifestyle magazine show back from March 2026 with former faces, adding a shorts format, looking at doing TikTok presenter search

Thinus Ferreira

The iconic weekly South African lifestyle magazine show Top Billing will return to SABC3 from March 2026 with several of the former famous presenters, six years after it was cancelled in October 2019. 

Returning within a social saturated TV era, Top Billing also plans to do a TikTok Top Billing Presenter Search to find new presenters and will interact and engage viewers by adding a Top Billing shorts format as a second-screen experience.

Talking about experiences, besides the weekly TV show, Top Billing also plans to branch out into finely-curated "Top Billing Experiences" where viewers, fans and VIP guests will be able to physically get together in unique locales and settings, together with the presenters, around certain experiences and curated lifestyle celebrations with sponsors.

The Top Billing announcement was made on Tuesday evening at the Chefs Warehouse restaurant at the Tintswalo Atlantic hotel near Chapmanspeak in Cape Town, where an exclusive gathering of 90 people, including several former Top Billing presenters, feasted on a specially curated 7-course dinner, in true "Top Billing"-style.

The SABC issued no press release about the Top Billing revival.

Also in attendance at the event were Patience Stevens and Batsetsana Kumalo, the original executive producers who steered Top Billing under the Tswelopele Productions banner, and who will once again run the show, this time as a Cardova Productions show, together with Bradley BalsamoVan Den Berg.

Top Billing will kick off with a special Top Billing reunion episode on Thursday 27 November on SABC3 with several of the former presenters back to do a special episode, after which the regular season will start from March 2026 on the channel.

In attendance on Tuesday night were various producers, influencers, SABC executives, Patience Stevens and Basetsana Kumalo, along with the SABC's head of local productions Lala Tuku.

Former Top Billing presenters also attended, including like Michael Mol, Janez Vermeiren, Jonathan Boyton-Lee, Fezile Mkhize, Ryle de Mornay, and Harmony Katulondi.