Former M-Net exec Kaye Ann Williams now heading up Amazon Prime Video South Africa's scripted series and movies division.

by Thinus Ferreira

Kaye Ann Williams who was the head of M-Net's local productions and independent films is now the head of scripted series and movies at Amazon Prime Video in South Africa.

Kaye Ann Williams already exited M-Net in the latter part of 2022, jumping to Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios in Cape Town but MultiChoice made no statement at the time, and neither did Amazon Prime Video Africa issue any press announcement about her hiring.

Amazon Prime Video Africa's headhunting of Kaye Ann Williams and subsequent braindrain of MultiChoice is part of an ongoing trend of high-level MultiChoice staffers and executive who continue to jump to streaming services focused on the Africa and South African region - specifically Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Showmax.

The highly respected Kay Ann Williams joined Amazon Prime Video in October 2022 after 7 years at M-Net where she was commissioning editor and for the last five years of her tenure there, head of local productions.

Kaye Ann Williams joins Candice Fangueiro who jumped from MultiChoice's Showmax to Amazon Prime Video where she is now planning and programming senior manager for Africa since October 2022, with Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu as Amazon Prime Video's head of originals for Africa.   

Brendan Gabriel is now Amazon Studios' senior unscripted creative executive in South Africa, with Lala Akindoju who joined as senior movies creative executive, based in Nigeria. 

TAC Studios running The Africa Channel appoints Mokopi Shale as senior development producer as part of its expanding Africa-team in Johannesburg.

TAC Studios, the production arm of The Africa Channel has appointed Mokopi Shale as a senior development producer as part of TAC Studios' expanding Africa-based team in Johannesburg.

The Africa Channel that broadcasts primarily in the United States, its production arm TAC Studios and its global digital streaming service Demand Africa, shows English-language content from South Africa and the rest of Africa including series, specials, documentaries, feature films, music, biographies and cultural and historical content.

The Africa channel has offices in Los Angeles and in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Africa Channel is broadcast from Los Angeles and is available in North America and the Caribbean, while its on-demand service is accessible worldwide on the web.

"“We are extremely pleased to have Mokopi Shale join our creative team," says Brendan Gabriel, vice president of production and the creative director.

"Mokopi Shale's expertise in book adaptation, scripted development and production in Africa is a valuable asset in support of our mission to raise awareness and export African-influenced content to the world."

"Mokopi Shale will be involved in all aspects of development, financing, production and global distribution. In addition, she will play a key role in acquiring multicultural content for Demand Africa, The Africa Channel's global over-the-top (OTT) platform."

"Mokopi Shale's appointment reflects The Africa Channel’s continued commitment to investing in talent in Africa, and her invaluable experience will escalate our ability to develop original content, identify books for adaptation, evaluate concept submissions and implement co-development initiatives."

Mokopi Shale says "I'm excited to join The Africa Channel. This is particularly exciting as it would allow me to work with writers and producers from across the world, to develop authentic and reflective representations of Africa for global audiences".

"I believe that with the rise of global streaming platforms and new methods of distribution there is a growing appetite for content that speaks to and represents Africans across the diaspora. I am always eager to learn, share ideas, and work with others to see what magic we can produce, and I believe this job will provide me with that opportunity."

Mokopi Shale who started as a radio drama actress in 1998 and worked for several years on-screen as a TV presenter made the shift to TV production after joining Ochre Moving Pictures, where she created and sold television and corporate projects for the company.

Mokopi Shale was also a commissioning editor at the South African public broadcaster she managed SABC dramas like Generations and miniseries such as Entabeni and Ubizo. Mokopi Shale then started Fuze Films.