Contestants, viewers, on cloud 9 as the 9th season of Big Brother Africa, Hotshots finally launches after fiery setback.

Producers, M-Net and DStv, and viewers, are on cloud number 9 following the launch of the 9th fame-courting season of Big Brother Africa - entitled Big Brother Africa Hotshots - on Sunday night in Johannesburg in a new camera house following a devastating fire a month ago which scuppered the launch.

Endemol SA, M-Net, MultiChoice and Sasasni Studios have so far refused to divulge the cause of the fire which threw the show into crisis and cut a month of the running time. Big Brother Africa Hotshots will now run for only 63 days on television, instead of 90.

"We not only beat the fire, we kept a positive attitude," said Big Brother Africa Hotshots host IK Osakioduwa from the live launch programme studio at Red Pepper productions in Linden, Johannesburg, calling the fire which destroyed the Sasani Studios stage on 2 September "a little setback".

Further down the road, in 7th Street, was the big house complex, hastily put together in the past 3 weeks to accomodate the voyeur show's contestants and camera crew.

Gone on Sunday night were the massive live crowd from the previous 8 seasons at launch of the Endemol South Africa produced show, replaced with a 70-odd, seated audience of media representatives, as journalists flown in from various publications across the continent sat ready with insta-vote devices to score the contestants as they were introduced.

On Sunday night the 26 new housemates - the first time including a contestant from Rwanda - entered the reality house of the show which can now be watched on MultiChoice's DStv on channels 197 and 198 for 24-hours per day, as well as with highlights shown on the AfricaMagic Showcase channel. The show is beamed to an audience of 25 million viewers across the African continent.

In a well-conceptualised and well-executed launch show, the 26 contestants - ranging from an exotic dancer, hairdresser, poet, fashion designer, aspiring actress and photographer to a business woman, radio presenter and more - had to perform talents (mostly singing) like an American beauty pageant, while they got scored by the studio audience.

A technical mishap which didn't influence the outcome of the final top-vote getter, Leveda, marred the live launch show when half the studio audience's voting devices didn't work during the talent performance of contestant Permithias, making it impossible to cast a vote for the contestant.

Live performances during the launch show included appearances by Nigeria's Davido and DJ Dimplez and AB Crazy, Tanzania's Diamond, as well as South Africa's Cassper Nyovest.

Over the course of the next three months contestants will have to "outshine" each other in celebrity and performance based tasks, having to "entertain" TV audiences in order to prevent being evicted from the house.

BREAKING. After the fire, Big Brother Africa Hotshots to start on 5 October; reality show finds new production house facility in Johannesburg.

Big Brother Africa Hotshots will now start on 5 October, with the Endemol South Africa produced reality format show which has found a new location and production facility in Johannesburg following the devastating fire at Sasani Studios' stage 1 two weeks ago.

The upcoming 9th season of Big Brother Africa entitled Hotshots was postponed when a blaze destroyed cameras, glass, other equipment, and damaged props, walls, the roof and other instrumentals on 2 September.

Endemol South Africa and M-Net quickly scouted various locations in an emergency exercise - including looking at London and the Big Brother House outside Jerusalem in Israel, but decided to remain in South Africa and make do, so as to lessen exorbitant production costs and insane and intricate visa regulations.

Changed South African visa regulations and Ebola fears from West Africa already damaged the upcoming season which first saw the chosen Ghana contestants dumped from the show, followed by Sierra Leone and Rwanda being eliminated from the season before housemates had even entered the house.

To go through a protracted process to secure visas for African contestants, South African crew and equipment proved too difficult and too high a hurdle for the producers who settled on a studio in Johannesburg.

Big Brother Africa Hotshots will now start on Sunday 5 October at 19:00 on two dedicated MultiChoice channels on DStv across Africa, with regular highlight programmes on M-Net's AfricaMagic Showcase channel.

EXCLUSIVE. M-Net's burnt Big Brother Africa Hotshots on DStv most likely moving house to London or Israel's Big Brother fascilities.

You're reading it here first. 

Big Brother Africa Hotshots will most likely "emigrate" to the Big Brother fascilities in London in the United Kingdom or to the Big Brother house in Israel, TV with Thinus can exclusively reveal.

According to sources close to the production, the producers Endemol South Africa and M-Net's AfricaMagic on MultiChoice's DStv had identified the Big Brothers in the United Kingdom and Israel as the top two, and most likely, choices following the destructive fire at Sasani Studios which ruined this Sunday start of the 9th season of the voyeur reality format show.

Whether either of the most likely houses or most practical houses will be used is not definite, but it is what discussions centred around on Wednesday in meetings I've learnt.

I asked M-Net and MultiChoice whether its correct that Big Brother Africa is considering using the UK or Israel Big Brother houses, and when there would be an answer as to where the show is being moved to for 91 days.

"At this stage no decision has been made and a multitude of options are all being explored," MultiChoice Africa said on Thursday.

It will mean the relocation of the African contestants to a whole other continent as well as uplinking and other logistical challenges.

"M-Net and Endemol SA have a full team working on an alternative venue for Big Brother Africa," Caroline Creasy from MultiChoice Africa said on Wednesday.

A huge logistical nightmare is looming for the show if its able to secure a new house. The production staff already had a massive headache securing visas for pan-African contestants following abrupt changes to South Africa's visa regulations which first saw Ghawa and then the contestants from Sierra Leone and Rwanda dumped from the show.

Moving house will mean not just a move for the contestants but also some of the South Africa crew and producers who didn't need visas - and a new round of visa applications and changes for the contestants, as well as the shipping of some technical equipment and props.

Sivan Pillay, managing director of Endemol South Africa, and Anton Burggraaf, the head of entertainment television at Endemol SA have so far not responded to media enquiries regarding the fire which gutted the production.

Ninth season of Big Brother Africa starting on 7 September on DStv entitled Big Brother Hotshots; contestants will have to 'outshine' to win.

The upcoming 9th season of Big Brother Africa, produced by M-Net for MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform across the continent, will be entitled Big Brother Africa Hotshots.

Big Brother Africa Hotshots will start on Sunday 7 September at 20:00, with two dedicated TV channels on DStv - channels 197 and 198, and summary programmes will also be broadcast on M-Net's AfricaMagic channels.

The 9th season of the show which remains a driver for the uptake of DStv subscriptions across Africa, will run for 91 days.

Endemol South Africa which again produces the show had to dump the selected contestants from Ghana - not over Ebola fears but because of South Africa's restrictive new visa regulations - and is replacing them with people from Ghana already living in South Africa.

The winner of Big Brother Africa Hotshots will get $300 000.

"We work hard to make each season of Big Brother Africa bigger than the last - and we've really upped the ante this year," says Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, M-Net Africa's regional director for West Africa.

The housemate contestants will start the new season of the voyeur format reality show in two glamorous houses and will have to "outshine" each other according to the producers.

"They'll party like A-listers, rub shoulders with celebrity guests and face formidable challenges," says M-Net.

IK Osakioduwa is back as the presenter of the 9th season - the 6th time that he is hosting.