MultiChoice and M-Net shutter DStv's 1Magic and ME channels.

by Thinus Ferreira  

  

As part of M-Net's linear pay-TV channels portfolio consolidation, MultiChoice is shutting down both the 1Magic and ME channels at the end of this month, with DStv subscribers losing another two TV channels at the same time as DStv's price hike for 2024 kicks in from April.

The axing of M-Net's linear 1Magic and ME channels was originally planned to take place just before the relaunch of MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax last month but was pushed out by two months.

The loss of the 1Magic and ME channels is the latest in a string of eight TV channels that will have gone dark on MultiChoice's DStv over just the first three months of this year while South African pay-TV subscribers are expected to pay more for the traditional satellite pay-TV service.

Gone for Dstv subscribers since the beginning of 2024 are the Deutsche Welle, Emmanuel TV, B4U Movies, 1Free State TV, NWTV and People's Weather TV channels.

MultiChoice in response to a media query from TVwithThinus confirmed that the two TV channels are getting axed and says the "M-Net universe is streamlining towards a better and simpler viewing experience".

"From 31 March 2024, M-Net will streamline its channel offering to provide a more seamless entertainment experience for DStv customers. While we will be bidding farewell to 1Magic and ME Channels, we're confident that these changes will pave the way for an array of fresh, engaging content across our other channels, making for a more robust and streamlined offering."

"M-Net is committed to giving customers only the best in entertainment and endeavours to continuously improve our customers' viewing experience."

1Magic (DStv 103) which launched in January 2018 is shutting down after five years and was available to DStv Premium and DStv Compact subscribers.

When M-Net launched 1Magic out of the shuttered VUZU AMP channel in early 2018, M-Net claimed that 1Magic would be "introducing a bigger, exclusive content slate that what we currently have on VUZU AMP". That promise however went unfulfilled over the past half a decade that the channel was in existence.

At the time M-Net said that it had "identified a need to invest in more local entertainment for our viewers, in the premium segment". 

The plan was for 1Magic to be a localised version of the M-Net channel to attract and retain DStv Premium subscribers through premium local productions but most of the content, including The River, only really found an audience when it got screened on Mzansi Magic.

ME that is shutting down two years and three months after it launched in November 2021 was available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact and DStv Family subscribers and was created out of the shuttered and fused together M-Net City and VUZU TV channels. 

ME offered lower-tiered DStv subscribers a way to see first-run M-Net content, especially American series, later, as part of the windowing-down approach followed by the traditional pay-TV model.

ALSO READ: Deutsche Welle and Emmanuel TV going dark on MultiChoice's DStv.

ALSO READ: More TV channels on MultiChoice's DStv axed including People’s Weather.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice's DStv price increase for 2024: Two packages increasing with above-inflation rates.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice hikes DStv decoder prices by up to over 17%.

1Magic: M-Net confirms the Tshedza Pictures produced The River won't run through it after 6 seasons.

Thinus Ferreira

M-Net confirmed industry whispers that the Tshedza Pictures produced telenovela The River for its 1 Magic (DStv 103) channel will be ending with the upcoming 6th and final season that will start on 6 February.

The River starring Sindi Dlathu and Hlomla Dandala and that introduced various new on-screen talent to viewers over the past half a decade, launched in February 2018 as a prime-time drama vehicle to anchor M-Net's 1Magic channel.

1Magic made its debut on DStv at the same time as The River which was positioned as the channel's flagship show, with the channel which was created as a premium version of the existing Mzansi Magic channel for higher-tiered DStv subscribers. 

The loss of The River set in the fictitious Refilwe, leaves 1Magic without an announced replacement, which means that M-Net is set to announce a new telenovela for the channel later this year to revitalise the channel's programming line-up after the end of The River.

Created by Phathu Makwarela and Gwydion Beynon, re-versioned for adaptations in Nigeria and Angola and winning 26 Golden Horn statuettes at the South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas), show star Sindi Dlathu also transitioned to become series co-executive producer.

Tshedza Pictures is now producing Gqeberha: The Empire which recently started on Mzansi Magic as the first telenovela being filmed in South Africa's Eastern Cape province.

M-Net in a statement confirms that "1Magic's The River is coming to an end with its upcoming sixth season".

"At M-Net local entertainment channels we would like to extend our most sincere gratitude to the cast and crew of The River for a memorable five years," says Shirley Adonisi, M-Net director for local entertainment channels.

"Their hard work, dedication and brilliance have led to the telenovela's success. The final season is going to be the show's most epic one yet. The drama will be bigger and better, setting the stage for the ultimate finale".

Showrunner Phathu Makwarela says "When we created The River seven years ago, we knew that we wanted to tell a story that will have a definite ending".

"Now on its sixth season, we feel the time is right to bring the story of these beloved characters to an end, on our own terms and when viewers still treasure the show. As the saying goes, 'a good dancer always knows when to leave the stage', and now it's that time for The River."

The Real Housewives of Gqeberha on the show's drama and tears: 'If you put 5 queens in one room there's going to be fireworks'.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Real Housewives of Gqeberha starting tonight on 1Magic (DStv 103) at 20:30 promises explosive fights between the women but also more humour than some of the other versions and tears flowing in the first episode - with one of the housewives underscoring the drama that's going to be dished up, saying "if you put five queens in one room, there's going to be fireworks".

The GOAT Original with Jemma Ford as showrunner, was largely filmed over the past year in Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth, and across the Eastern Cape province as the latest South African version of the NBCUniversal Formats franchise.

As to the decision to do a version also set in Gqeberha, Shirley Adonisi, M-Net director of local entertainment channels, who spoke at the show's media launch on Thursday night in the city, says "it was a no-brainer".

"We have so many other franchises of The Real Housewives, yet because we're so diverse as a country and a continent, there are many spaces that our audience don't get to see and each province has its own nuances, its own cultural differences, it's own unique flavour so to speak."

"So you can't compare The Real Housewives of Johannesburg to The Real Housewives of Durban - it's a totally different flavour."

"We really felt as M-Net we would love to explore this part of the world - it's beautiful the scenery, the culture. It's just been an amazing adventure to just find these ladies, find their stories. We really didn't want anything fake about it."

About criticism that there are now too many The Real Housewives versions in South Africa and across the continent, Shirley Adonisi says "I don't think too many are ever a bad thing. I think we've all been in a space where we didn't have choice. I think Covid had taught us that where we had no choice but to stay home".

"I think as MultiChoice, as a company that has productions all across Africa, our aim is actually to expose as many corners of our continent as possible to people. When we find a format that we believe works for this space, why not?"

"I think the beauty is that you have a choice as the viewer. You can choose which franchise is your favourite. From our end, our aim is to entertain and in a way educate. You see the glitz and the glamour but then you also see that they are real people."

"They are mothers, they are wives. They cry, they fight, they are honest with each other. And how brave you have to be to be authentic, but also the power of sisterhood."

Jemma Ford says the selection process to find and cast the women started in December 2021. She says viewers can expect "spice"."There's a lot of spice, coupled with humour".

Salon owner Unathi Faku, and wife of the city's former mayor, says "what happened between us I didn't expect. You have to watch and see. I was so surprised".

Socialite Liz Prins says "I have met a wonderful person on this show - an awesome, awesome friend that I think will be a friend for me for life. I didn't come into the show expecting to make friends. I know what the show is about, I know that the ladies don't really like each other. But I've met someone and she's classy and beautiful."

"And they deserve each other," quips businesswoman Buli G Ngomane. She adds: "Regardless of what happens in terms of action and drama, it is important that women are showcased in all of their fabulousness, at every turn, in every way - regardless of whether we get along or not".

Events planner at the Nelson Mandela stadium, Norma Nicol says "if you put five queens in one room, there's going to be fireworks. And then it always ends up with who's left standing". 

The Real Housewives of Abuja to debut on 17 February on Showmax will bring a second set of Nigerian woman to NBCUniversal reality franchise.

by Thinus Ferreira

With the format proliferating like TV hamsters, MultiChoice's next African edition of The Real Housewives franchise will be The Real Housewives of Abuja which will be released on Showmax on 17 February across Africa, showcasing the lives of six women living in Nigeria's capital and eighth largest city.

The Real Housewives of Abuja, set in another Nigeria city similar to The Real Housewives of Lagos, will release a new episode on Showmax every Friday and will include the Abuja women Arafa, Comfort Booth, OJ Posharella, Princess Jecoco, Samantha Homossany and Tutupie, as "they navigate their opulent lives, relationships, family and businesses within the powerful city of Abuja and beyond".

The reality series's launch will follow after the debut of The Real Housewives of Gqeberha which will have its TV debut on M-Net's 1Magic (DStv 103) on 3 February following women in the Eastern Cape's Nelson Mandela Bay metropole.

The Real Housewives of Abuja and The Real Housewives of Gqeberha are the latest two African franchise editions, joining existing series like The Real Housewives of Johannesburg, The Real Housewives of Pretoria, The Real Housewives of Lagos, The Real Housewives of Cape Town, as well as The Real Housewives of Durban which will have its third season starting on 1 February on Showmax.

The Real Housewives of Abuja is produced by Delmedia Productions.

Busola Tejumola, MultiChoice head of content and West Africa channels, says "Telling our local story is at the core of what we do, and we are glad to continue this partnership with NBCUniversal Formats, to bring the franchise to a second city in Nigeria".

"The new series will follow the luxurious lives of six influential and successful women in Abuja."

Arafa, creative director and founder of Selaralifestyle is a married mom of twins and an art entrepreneur. 

Comfort Booth is a partner at Asia Ahmed & Co and is a lawyer, social commentator, travel blogger and talk show host.

Ojoma Sule, known as "OJ Posharella", is an entrepreneur and CEO of the Posharella Group of Companies.

The hotelier Princess Jecoco is a married mom or two as the managing director of the Sefcon hotel group and is a lawyer, brand ambassador, influencer and content creator.

Samantha Homossany is the creative director of Zohi Taglit and is a wellness entrepreneur. She is married to an Israeli millionaire and the mother of four kids. 

Tutupie is the creative director of Urban Day Party and is an event curator who is a certified chef.

After 4 years, filming finally starts on M-Net's Shaka Ilembe drama series from MultiChoice and Bomb Productions, Lemogang Tsipa to portray adult Zulu king.

by Thinus Ferreira

Four years after announcing it in May 2018 and languishing in a seemingly protracted pre-production doldrum, filming has finally started on MultiChoice and Bomb Productions' TV drama series Shaka Ilembe in South Africa's Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, with Lemogang Tsipa who will portray the adult king and newcomer Ntando Zondi as the boy Zulu warrior boy.

Besides Lemogang Tsipa, Nomzamo Mbatha will play Queen Nandi, Shaka's mother with Nomzamo who is also an executive producer of Shaka Ilembe.

Years after announcing Shaka Ilembe but struggling to move forward with filming of the project, MultiChoice and Bomb Productions are now finally filming scenes of the series on which work had already started two years before MultiChoice and M-Net publicly announced it in May 2018.

The production has consulted historians, academics and family descendants, including the late King Goodwill Zwelithini and Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. 

So far Shaka Ilembe has provided work for 8 000 people, MultiChoice said on Wednesday of the series which will debut in 2023.

While Shaka Ilembe was initially earmarked for linear playout on M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel, it's likely that the show has now been shifted to M-Net's 1Magic (DStv 103) channel to go to DStv Premium subscribers first.

The Shaka Ilembe cast also includes Thembinkosi Mthembu as King Dingisway and Wiseman Mncube as King Zwide.

Angus Gibson, Bomb Productions creative director, says "It is magical witnessing these performers bring life to characters we only know from the history books. When the cast arrive on set, fully dressed in wardrobe and hair from the period, I am blown away."

Lemogang Tsipa

Nomzamo Mbatha

Thembinkosi Mthembu

Senzo Radebe

"Being able to bring this important story to the screen with such stellar talent speaks to the heart of MultiChoice's ongoing commitment and investment in our local entertainment industry," said Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice CEO of general entertainment and connected video, in a prepared statement on Wednesday.

"We are committed to telling great African stories and this is a proudly African series told through the lens of Africans for the very first time."

"We want people to learn about our history and culture, but we also want to keep viewers glued in anticipation. This drama seeks to uncover nuggets of history, but creates narrative in the gaps by putting known characters alongside fictional characters in order to keep the story moving."

In the statement, Nomzamo Mbatha says "I am honoured to bring the giant that is Queen Nandi to life. History will remember those who informed its people of where we come from, to better understand who we are. I am fortunate to be part of a project that is much bigger than ourselves and to tell this story in our own language".

Nhlanhla Mtaka, an executive and cultural advisor on the series, says "This is our appointment with history; we want to capture the authenticity and deepen the understanding of this era".

ALSO READ: M-Net adds another black historical drama series, Shaka-Ilembe, from Bomb Productions that will explore the precolonial South African kingdoms that influenced and gave rise to Shaka Zulu.

Tshedza Pictures adds new Hlophe family to The River telenovela on 1Magic, casts Sindi Dlathu's real-life sister Tina in daughter role.

by Thinus Ferreira

The 5th season of The River on 1Magic (DStv 103) has made casting additions in the form of a new Hlophe family whose members will be stirring the pot in the Tshedza Pictures produced local South African weekday telenovela.

The Hlophe family is described as "wealthy, excellent and very, very dangerous.

The Hlophe family is led by traditional patriarch Bukhosi (played by Bheki Mkhwane), described as being "as quick with his brain as he is with his gun. With a military past that comes in handy for his work as a heist king, he’s brash, outspoken and charming. He's made of steel – so he's not the one to cross".

Bukhosi is married to a younger second wife, Nomafu (played by Brenda Mhlongo).

She is described that "beneath her shiny and well-groomed exterior is a tough woman who has clawed her way out of poverty. She's a terrible stepmother but she knows how to clean money – and she's set to become Lindiwe Dikana's biggest rival yet".

The Hlope sons are Mlilo (played by Vuyo Biyela) and Nkanyiso (played by Unathi Mkhize).

They are the product of Bukhosi's first marriage and have a strained relationship with their father, but he wants them to take over the family business.

"Mlilo is nothing like his father – yet he's everything like this father. Nkanyiso, on the other hand, is the more ambitious second born son who wants to wear the crown. Will the boys put their rivalry aside long enough for their family to continue thriving?" reads the official logline of the character descriptions.

The young daughter Khwezi (played by Tina Dlathu, real-life sister to Sindi Dlathu, who plays Lindiwe), is described as "smart, beautiful, and virtuous yet naïve".

She joins the family business for the time being after they buy into Khanyisa Diamonds. 

"But what happens when she finds herself in the middle of a situation that will rock both the Hlophe and Dikana families to the core?"

The Queen from Ferguson Films on Mzansi Magic cancelled after shortened 7th season, Lingashoni to end with a second season on 1Magic as Mzansi Magic also shifts focus to limited series with higher production values.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Queen from Ferguson Films on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) and Lingashoni from Stained Glass TV on 1Magic (DStv 103) have both been cancelled, M-Net confirmed on Friday.

The Queen from Ferguson Films has been renewed for a 7th and final, shortened season of 125 instead of the usual 250 full season order. The Queen will be replaced by a new local South African telenovela.

The 7th and final shortened season of The Queen will start in July 2022 on Mzansi Magic and broadcast its final episode on 13 January 2023.

Lingashoni from Stained Glass TV, that starts for a second season on 21 March has also been cancelled. Lingashoni will start its second season broadcast on 21 March 2022 and end its second season with a series finale that will be broadcast on 13 January 2023.

The Queen made its debut on Mansi Magic in August 2016 and reached 1 000 episodes by AUgust 2020 including a crossover episode with the 1Magic telenovela The River – a first for M-Net local productions and linking the two shows to exist within the same universe.

Lingashoni as the second telenovela for 1Magic made its debut in March 2021.

Similar to M-Net's kykNET division, Mzansi Magic is changing to stabilising the channel's content slate going forward and focusing on more limited series and reality series with bigger budgets and higher production values.

MultiChoice and M-Net are revising the channel strategies of Mzansi Magic and 1Magic "to keep abreast with changing audience preferences and the evolving competitor landscape".

Mzansi Magic says "The success of our local strategy depends on how well we adapt to what our viewers desire to see on screen".

"Telenovelas have been the crux of our weekday viewership and continue to be so on Mzansi Magic. A new telenovela will be introduced into the weekday 21:00-slot, replacing The Queen from January 2023."

"New content is still under development and will be announced in due course."

"While 1Magic is not traditionally known as the home of telenovelas, it houses one of our leading telenovelas, The River - a multi award-winning production that is popular with viewers. It has just been renewed for a 5th season. Our replacement for Lingashoni will be announced soon."

Shirley Adonisi, M-Net director of local entertainment channels, says "As the M-Net local entertainment channels, we would like to applaud the producers, cast and crew of The Queen and Lingashoni for their dedication to delivering riveting storylines and award-winning content in highly contested primetime slots".

"We maintain long-standing and positive relationships with Ferguson Films and Stained Glass TV, with both production houses having created other shows for our channels." 

"In the case of Ferguson Films they have given us hit shows including Rockville, Igazi, The Imposter and Unmarried; while Stained Glass TV is the studio behind our shows Ifalakhe, eHostela and the massively popular The Wife."  

"Our strategy is still focused on growing our local content offering. It is what drives our growth and our viewership figures and we are committed to giving our discerning audiences content that they can relate to and see themselves in".

'We look forward to the thrills of the next 12 months as both productions draw towards their respective finales."

MultiChoice to show Lalela Mswane in the 70th Miss Universe pageant to DStv subscribers on M-Net's 1Magic channel despite South African government's boycott.

by Thinus Ferreira

Although the South African government isn't supporting Miss South Africa competing in Miss Universe in Israel, MultiChoice and M-Net are, with the pay-TV service that will be broadcasting the 70th Miss Universe pageant in which Miss SA Lalela Mswane is taking part to DStv subscribers live on Monday morning from the Universe Arena in Eilat.

The Miss South Africa organisation has stopped issuing any press releases to the media following a political fallout in which the South African government withdrew its support of Miss South Africa over Miss SA Lalela Mswane's participation at the Miss Universe pageant in Israel.

MultiChoice is likewise not promoting the 70th Miss Universe pageant with any overt media push to draw attention to it and is taking a low-key approach regarding this programming but the 70th Miss Universe pageant does appear on the DStv electronic programme guide (EPG).

MultiChoice also told the media at its recent 2021 MultiChoice Showcase last month that it has secured the 70th Miss Universe pageant rights and will be showing it to DStv subscribers.

Despite the South African government's snub of Miss SA, M-Net will carry the 3-hour 70th Miss Universe pageant in which Lalela Mswane will appear, as a live broadcast on Monday morning 13 December at 02:00 on 1Magic (DStv 103) with a primetime repeat on Monday night at 22:00 on the same channel.

The 70th Miss Universe pageant will get another repeat airing on M-Net's Me (DStv 115) channel on Sunday 19 December at 20:00, making the broadcast available to more lower-tiered DStv subscribers.

TV REVIEW. MultiChoice and M-Net's 1 Night with Mzansi special done from Dubai is little more than boring puffery and yawnful paint-by-numbers programmatic content.

by Thinus Ferreira

2 TVs out of 10

The boring and disappointing 1 Night with Mzansi variety TV special of MultiChoice and M-Net that ran on Sunday night on its 1Magic channel on DStv, done from Dubai, unspooled as a perfunctory and pre-packaged song-speech-song advertorial promo that was little more than a paint-by-numbers television cliché.

Produced by Freshly Minced with Darren Hayward as director and executive producer and Warren Bleksley as TV director who also oversaw post-production work, 1 Night with Mzansi, done from the Dubai Opera House, ran with fewer obvious mistakes and on-air problems than MultiChoice's cringe-inducing pan-African Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards. 

Thankfully there were no wrong envelopes to open this time.

The wardrobe stylist working on 1 Night with Mzansi was probably too scared, but somebody should have intervened and helped Imtiaz Patel, MultiChoice Group executive chairman, to get a tailor, who appeared on the opera stage in what looked like a cheap and badly fitted suit to read a speech from a teleprompter with crumpled pants that are far too long and that should be taken in at the seam.

This company's executive chairman appeared on DStv in a pre-planned, produced appearance - meaning that how Imtiaz Patel looks and how he is perceived, is and should be a part of MultiChoice's production budget and a carefully-crafted pre-production process for this show-and-tell. Why wasn't it?

But it wasn't just Imtiaz Patel's pants and appearance that was a GQ-no-no and too long. 

1 Night with Mzansi - with Paul Egberink as creative producer and Lulu Mlangeni as assistant director and choreographer - turned out to be nothing more than tedious fill-the-block programming, alternating between must-include speeches from officials and ministers, must-include promo-filler like SKA telescope inappropriate for a "show" like this, interspersed with pick-a-culture-and-add-an-artist, song-and-dance numbers.

1 Night with Mzansi looked as if MultiChoice decided to splash some cash on the creation of a piece of touring industrial theatre and decided to just get some cameras as well so someone can film it and so that DStv can show the resulting marketing exercise. Two MultiChoice birds with one DStv stone.

With 1 Night with Mzansi, MultiChoice and M-Net fell in the same trap as the SAFTAs and other boring televised South African awards shows where executives in TV are not thinking about making real made-for-TV content for DStv subscribers having to watch it at home. 

Instead, MultiChoice execs forced boring content into a stage show, filmed for TV, as merely something that they clearly thought would presumably make them and the pay-TV company look good, and in reality amounting to nothing more than show-off puffery that just tick boxes.

The problem with a hollow dog-and-pony show like 1 Night with Mzansi is that viewers quickly abandon any boring variety or awards show for its lack of actual entertainment value. 

Viewers leave when they're force-fed irrelevant puff-piece speeches that run for multiple minutes with talking heads they simply don't and never will care about.

Besides some sound issues regarding the audio mix and level problems (the master volume of 1 Night with Mzansi was softer and not equalised properly by either the outside broadcast team or MultiChoice's ingestion team in Randburg) there were little technically wrong with 1 Night with Mzansi besides some preview camera shots that were ill-chosen for a few seconds as live.

Qualitatively however 1 Night with Mzansi lacked spice and pizzazz.

Mi Casa, Sho Madjozi, DJ Maphorisa, Daliwonga, Blaq Diamond, Nothembi Mkhwebane, Khuzai, Coenie de Villiers, the Drakenberg Boys Choir and the Mzansi Youth Choir all performed in what felt like a quickly forgettable episode of SA's Got Talent where nothing really stood out with any dazzling "wow"-factor.

Speaking of Got Talent, MultiChoice's 1 Night with Mzansi lacked anything remotely like the Ndlovu Youth Choir's astounding rendition of Toto's "Africa" at America's Got Talent and which is what something like 1 Night with Mzansi should presumably be: energetic, hypnotic, transcendently African in a surprising new way.

One wonders if the Arab dignitaries in the Dubai Opera House sitting in the sparsely seated front row were offended at all by host Nomzamo Mbata showing some side-breast, or why MultiChoice went to the trouble of setting up the semblance of a pre-show red carpet and showed snippets of it if there wasn't really any broad South African media representation behind the rope line.

Lots of empty seats were visible and shown but while Dubai has more relaxed Covid-19 safe protocols it's understandable that MultiChoice will probably not pack a venue like the Dubai Opera House to capacity or that people won't want to physically attend something like 1 Night with Mzansi.

1 Night with Mzansi lacked energy. 

MultiChoice couldn't even bother to update its DStv electronic programme guide with any show-specific synopsis and the TV special tucked away on a late Sunday night felt quite low-key and like a metro TV train doing little more than going and stopping at pre-defined stations.

On-stage performances felt decidedly more like sideshow performances - complete as if someone filmed one of the Oscars or Emmys studio afterparties like HBO, MGM, Netflix or Vanity Fair where execs, dignitaries and some guests would mingle and a few party-hopping stars would drift in and out over the course of the night.

A Dance Moms-like Eisteddfod with obligatory costume changes and different people getting a chance to dance, sing and walk on stage isn't going to result in and does not make a "show". 

Magic moments and true showstopper performances need to be meticulously created with talent and skill that make those watching it, go: "That is amazing!".

MultiChoice's 1 Night with Mzansi could have been - should have been - more than a forgettable and throwaway weekend trade show get-together, filmed for television in Dubai and foisted onto DStv subscribers watching back home.

MultiChoice and M-Net prep a 2-hour One Night with Mzansi live variety TV special for DStv subscribers on Sunday 17 October from the Dubai Opera House.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice and M-Net are prepping a One Night with Mzansi variety TV special that it plans to broadcast on Sunday night for DStv subscribers live from the Dubai Opera House that will feature a range of concert stage-to-screen performances and singing like Britain's annual Royal Variety Performance.

With the aim of showcasing South African talent, One Night with Mzansi will be broadcast live on Sunday night 17 October at 21:00 as a 2-hour variety TV special on M-Net's 1Magic (DStv 103) and Mzansi Magic Music (Dstv 321) channels for DStv subscribers in South Africa, with a repeat on Mzansi Magic on Monday morning at 06:00.

The One Night with Mzansi variety TV special putting South African talent on stage will serve as a replacement of sorts to showcase local artists after the MultiChoice Group and M-Net scrapped both the 2021 African Magic Viewers' Choice Awards in Lagos, Nigeria and the 2021 DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards in Johannesburg this year, with kykNET that has been silent about the 2021 kykNET Silwerskermfees that will very likely also no longer take place this year.

Nomzamo Mbatha now living in Los Angeles and who appeared in the film Coming 2 America earlier this year will be the host of One Night with Mzansi, that will include performances by Mi Casa, Blaq Diamond, DJ Maphorisa, Ami Faku and the amapiano musician Daliwonga.

Also singing will be both the Mzansi Youth Choir and the Drakensberg Boys Choir, along with Sho Madjozi and the Maskandi artist Khuzai Mpungose.

Thando Thabethe, the Queen of Ndebele music Dr Nothembi Mkhwebane, Coenie de Villiers and Pabi Moloi of e.tv's The Morning Show have also been lined up to be part of the special.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and the country's minister of arts and culture, Nathi Mthethwa, as well as a representative of the South African Business Council (SABCO) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will make speeches during the live TV special.

MultiChoice's Showmax claims that The Real Housewives of Durban, abruptly moved from DStv to streaming, broke its first-day viewing records, but provides no first-day viewing numbers.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax on Wednesday once again made a dubious viewership claim, without releasing any viewership statistics to back up that claim, with the streamer that claimed that The Real Housewives of Durban has become its most-watched first-day viewed show.

Showmax announced that The Real Housewives of Durban apparently "has broken all previous first-day viewing records, claiming top spot on the streaming service" and that the show has remained the most-popular show on Showmax over the last week.

Showmax provided no numbers, ratings, or viewership stats to support or back up its nebulous claim.

Showmax was asked what the actual first-day viewership of The Real Housewives of Durban was since the press release contains no viewing numbers of the show or the previous first-day viewership record but Showmax told TVwithThinus that "Showmax doesn't release subscriber figures".

On 15 January last month, Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice CEO, told South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in the regulator's inquiry into pay-TV in South Africa, that MultiChoice is deliberately not reporting Showmax user numbers or viewership figures for its video streaming service because the subscriber base is too small.

In a supplied quote on Wednesday, Candice Fangueiro, Showmax head of content, says "We know our reality fans come for the drama and if you’re looking for fireworks, the first episode of The Real Housewives of Durban has it all, so we’re not surprised to see it break records.”

M-Net in January announced that The Real Housewives of Durban would start on its 1Magic (DStv 103) TV channel on 19 January, before inexplicably announcing a week later that it is now moving the series to Showmax.

The confusing public announcements - of first saying a show would be on a DStv channel, and then suddenly on Showmax that angered and confused DStv subscribers - once again underscored and revealed how MultiChoice is grappling internally and itself doesn't know what the specific programming strategy and alignment between Showmax and its various M-Net channels are or should be.

The first season of 14 episodes of The Real Housewives of Durban is produced by Let It Rain Films including a reunion and features the Durban socialites and business women Annie Ludick, Ayanda Ncwane, Kgomotso Ndungane, Nonkanyiso Conco, Nonku Williams and Sorisha Naidoo.

ALSO READ: NBCUniversal Formats' Real Housewives reality franchise expands in South Africa with The Real Housewives of Durban coming to M-Net's 1Magic on DStv in 2021.

NBCUniversal Formats' Real Housewives reality franchise expands in South Africa with The Real Housewives of Durban coming to M-Net's 1Magic on DStv in 2021.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's format localisation of The Real Housewives reality franchise is expanding with M-Net that is adding The Real Housewives of Durban to 1Magic (Dstv 103) from Friday 19 January at 19:00 with 6 feisty women.

The Real Housewives of Durban is produced by Let It Rain Films and the first season will have 14 episodes, including the reunion.

The main cast of the KwaZulu/Natal-set series showing off their conspicuous consumption, lavish lifestyles and who will have fighting words for each other are Nonkanyiso Conco ( a so-called "baby mama" of former president Jacob Zuma and owner of Laconco Naturals); and businesswoman Ann-Toni Ludick (who runs her own events and marketing company as well as dance agency, and owns a salon called Annastethic).

Also included is the socialite Sorisha Naidoo (former Miss India South Africa pageant winner, former actress, DJ and wife to the billionaire businessman Vivian Reddy) who previously appeared in a similar type show, Divas of Jozi in 2016 on SABC3 and who is famed for her invitation-only Umhlanga dinner events at her Izinga Ridge home.

Also part of the main cast is Ayanda Ncwane (CEO of Ncwane Communications and Sfiso Ncwane Productions and the widow of the late gospel star Sfiso Ncwane); and Kgomotso Ndungane (the wife of the former Sharks and Springbok winger Odwa Ndungane who has her own events planning company, Oak Celebrations and recently launched her own luxury personal care brand, LeLaPa).

Rounding out The Real Housewives of Durban cast is Nonku Williams (a mother of three who is the founder of Ashes to Beauty Winery).

The Real Housewives is an NBCUniversal International format and is produced internationally in conjunction with NBCUniversal Formats, with The Real Housewives of Johannesburg that started in August 2018 and ran for two seasons. 

The Real Housewives of Durban with the new cast is now moving to the KZN coast to show viewers "the lavish lifestyle of the Durban wives" according to 1Magic.

"Reality TV has become our most followed genre, not only because it gives viewers authenticity and entertainment, but resonates with their lived experiences as it gives them a glance into a world in which they aspire to live one day," says Nomsa Philiso, director of local entertainment channels at M-Net, speaking about the new Real Housewives addition.

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 26 October 2020.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:

■ SABC3's Expresso presenter Katlego Maboe and that sexually transmitted disease (STD): No place to hide for TV personality.
Allegedly also cheated on Monique Muller while she was pregnant with their son and multiple other times claims her brother Seth Muller.

■ Monique Muller does tell-all sit-down interview over Katlego Maboe and alleged physical abuse:

Alleges that she got a restraining order the first time he hit her: "When the first physical attack happened, I got a protection order against him. He then admitted to sleeping with this woman".

- People called to couple's house late at night after alleged abuse.

- Monique Muller says there was a lot of intimidation against her brother Seth; other woman and her husband lock their social media accounts. (Afrikaans) (subscription required)

- Katlego Maboe "a wrecking ball of a human being".

- e.tv's Durban Gen drama series trolls with a "gown confession".

- Lessons from the Katlego Maboe debacle: Your private life on social media impacts your real professional life.

- The Katlego Maboe blame game saga:

Why are some people making the Katlego Maboe cheating and alleged abuse scandal about the issue that the shocking video should have been kept private, instead of the serious contents of the video?

■ In America, media executives are finally accepting the decline of traditional pay-TV; trying to figure out a new path forward.

- 25 million pay-TV subscribers to cancel over next 5 years; 

- Pay-TV operators no longer care whether customers subscribe or not but just keep increasing prices;

- billions in losses in revenue for Disney, NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia, ViacomCBS, Fox, Discovery Inc., AMC Networks;

- golden goose of bundling TV channels dying;

- Video streaming not the saviour and not superior;

- pay-TV channels like ESPN likely to cut back on programming, that will likely lead to less viewers;

- the total TV channels bundle is going to shrink

■ You think you want it, but why you don't want that happy ending.

■ Niecy Nash doesn't care about losing fans because of her wedding.

■ "Daylight robbery": SABC wants payment for watching Netflix South Africa. (subscription required)

Absurd tax is similar to King William III of England who introduced a daylight tax in 1696, causing people to brick up their windows to block the sunlight.

■ SABC's last resort to try and recover lost SABC TV Licence fees.

- Attorney: Neither MultiChoice nor Netflix SA is obliged to accept the responsibility of collecting SABC TV Licence fees.

■ SABC wanting Netflix SA, MultiChoice and others to collect SABC TV Licence fees would create a highly uncompetitive and uneven playing field in the media space:

The SABC needs to choose whether it is a public broadcaster or a commercial competitor, it cannot be both.

■ Tuning out the SABC:

Advertisers and the public have been given every reason to tune out of the SABC. The SABC doesn't even know who has a TV set.

■ SABC execs confirm it has received the letter of demand from the Bemawu trade union demanding that no members of Bemawu will be fired in South African public broadcaster's retrenchment process.

- Bemawu threatens to go to Labour Court if SABC refuses to continue retrenchment talks.

- The CWU trade union that supported Hlaudi Motsoeneng wants to take the battle to the streets and strike.

■ Netflix subscription plummeted and cancellations increased 800% after the release of controversial film Cuties.

Netflix's growth may already have peaked:

Growing evidence that the video streamer is close to saturating its biggest markets.

■ Black staffers demand that Vogue editor Anna Wintour resign.

"I have made mistakes along the way."

■ New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik on the Donald Trump "season finale" and the media burnout from the White House reality show.

■ TV reporter robbed of his cellphone while preparing for a live broadcast.

Diego Demarco of the TV news channel En Vivo El Nueve mugged in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

■ WATCH: The holodeck The Volume: The technology that's replacing the green screen.

■ Is the global video streaming service market oversaturated? In a crowded space there's going to be casualties.

■ Fox News (StarSat 261) president Jay Wallance and several on-air presenters including Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum, Dana Perino and Juan Williams told to quarantine after they were exposed to someone with Covid-19.

■ CNN (DStv 401) could be forced to face a new era without boss Jeff Zucker.

■ MultiChoice, Somizi Mhlongo and producer Legend Manqele all get lawyer's letters.

Drama continues over disastrous Dinner at Somizi on M-Net's 1Magic (DStv 103) that is allegedly content theft of Hastings Moeng's original idea.

BCCSA complaints roll in after Phat Joe’s homophobic DStv dinner show on M-Net's 1Magic channel, MultiChoice doesn't want to say why and how Cheeky Palate comments made it to air.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has received multiple complaints about the alleged homophobic broadcast of Phat Joe's new TV dinner show on M-Net's 1Magic (DStv 103) channel while MultiChoice is shying away from directly answering questions about why the content has been allowed to air.

In Majota Kambule's (known as Phat Joe) latest TV show, Cheeky Palate, produced by Connect TV with Basetsana Kumalo as executive producer that was broadcast Friday night, the host's TV dinner guests like former beauty queen Gerry Rantseli Elsdon and Joshua Maponga made utterances condemning homosexuality as sinful.

Neither the show nor 1Magic offered any counterpoint or balance during the broadcast that quickly veered into homophobia. Other guests in the episode included Nobuntu Webster, Gogo Dineo and Zwai Bala. Phat Joe himself was suspended in 2019 from his Radio 2000 show over homophobic comments.

The BCCSA told TVwithThinus on Tuesday that it had received 5 complaints so far about Cheeky Palate and that these have been submitted to MultiChoice and M-Net who will now have to provide a copy of the broadcast and their comment.

By Tuesday it appeared as if the episode was abruptly removed from MultiChoice's DStv Now Catch Up service. 

It's not clear whether the repeats of Cheeky Palate have been pulled from the 1Magic schedule and MultiChoic that was asked if rebroadcasts on the channel have been removed, didn't answer the question. 

A media enquiry to 1Magic, an in-house produced channel by M-Net, was passed to MultiChoice.

MulticChoice in response to the media enquiry said that "The first episode featured guests from different walks of life, who were invited to speak to their experiences and thoughts on spirituality".

"We acknowledge concerns expressed by some viewers who may have been offended by some of the views expressed on the show, particularly around the LGBTIQ+ community. The views expressed are not those of MultiChoice which embraces diversity, equality and inclusion."

MultiChoice was also asked why M-Net broadcasts homophobic comments like those that were expressed on its airwaves in Cheeky Palate and why the decision was made not to include balance to the viewpoints aired. 

MultiChoice was also asked whether the show and episode of Cheeky Palate in question remain on the schedule but MultiChoice chose not to give specific answers to these questions.