CORONAVIRUS. Covid-19 cases shutter production on Netflix's Bridgerton and HBO's House of the Dragon in Britain.

by Thinus Ferreira

Two TV series filmed in the United Kingdom have shuttered production after Covid-19 positive cases with filming of the second season of Bridgerton on Netflix that is indefinitely on hold, and with production that has also been paused for a few days on HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon.

Bridgerton, produced by Shondaland through Household Pictures, shut down on Thursday due to a Covid-19 positive case, restarted on Friday, but then shuttered production indefinitely after a second Covid-19 positive case, according to The New York Times.

Netflix didn't want to say whether it is crew or cast who had positive Covid-19 results, as cases of the more contagious Delta-variant of the coronavirus is fuelling thousands of new cases in the global pandemic.

House of the Dragon, a prequel fantasy series from HBO revolving around the House of Targaryen while dragons were still numerous in Westeros, halted production that will resume again on Wednesday, according to Deadline.

Sky News reported that filming of Netflix's film version of Matilda The Musical, also produced in the United Kingdom, has also been partially halted, with Netfix that confirmed that someone in one of the production units tested positive for Covid-19.

CORONAVIRUS. The 2021 Vodacom Durban July horse racing day to go ahead on Saturday but without any attendance after South Africa moves to adjusted lockdown Level 4 because of Covid-19 pandemic.

by Thinus Ferreira

This coming Saturday's 2021 Vodacom Durban July horse racing day will continue on 3 July and go ahead but without any attendance or crowds after the South African government moved the country to an adjusted Level 4 lockdown because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

With a dramatic surge in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths especially as the more contagious Delta-variant of the coronavirus has taken hold in especially the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced a move back to adjusted Level 4 lockdown regulations until at least Sunday 11 July.

According to the new Level 4 lockdown regulations, all gatherings are prohibited. The Vodacom Durban July event planned for this coming Saturday at the Greyville Racecourse will however go ahead.

The "attendance at all race meetings in KwaZulu-Natal, from today until further notice, will be limited to essential services personnel: trainers, jockeys, grooms, National Horseracing Authority staff and Gold Circle employees required to ensure each race meeting can proceed," says Gold Circle in a statement.

"No owners, Gold Circle members or box/suite holders will be permitted access to either Hollywoodbets Greyville or Hollywoodbets Scottsville until further notice."

Saturday's 2021 Vodacom Durban July race meeting will be broadcast on television on Tellytrack (DStv 249), as well as on MultiChoice's SuperSport 4 (DStv 204) between 13:00 and 16:00.

The first horse race will take place on Saturday at 11.15 with the Vodacom Durban July run at 15:00.

MultiChoice: '8 out of 10 DStv subscribers who switch to Netflix keep us'; lack of rugby broadcasts the big reason customers are abandoning DStv Premium.

by Thinus Ferreira

When a premium DStv subscriber switches to video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, 8 out of 10 subscribers decide to keep their DStv subscription as well although they might downgrade to a lower package MultiChoice's new market research has found, with the lack of live rugby broadcasts that is one of the biggest reasons why the DStv Premium subscriber base keeps shrinking.

On Thursday last week MultiChoice released the results for its financial year ending 31 March 2021, with the report that notes that another 100 000 premium DStv subscribers - DStv Premium and DStv Compact Plus - have abandoned its top-end offering that they no longer see as offering enough value for money.

Although MultiChoice's overall pay-TV subscriber base grew thanks to an increase in its mass-market segment, its top-end customer segment in South Africa saw further erosion from 1.5 million to 1.4 million DStv subscribers - representing another 8% decrease in an ongoing decline in its most valuable subscribers.

The result is that MultiChoice's average revenue per user (ARPU) continues to decline for its customer base that brings in the most money, with the monthly ARPU of premium DStv customers that slid further from R588 to R580.

MultiChoice now has 20.9 million active subscribers of which 8.93 million (43%) are in South Africa - that remains the pay-TV operator's country with the largest subscriber base - and with 11.93 million (57%) combined in the rest of Africa (RoA).

"In terms of DStv Premium subscribers what we have seen is that we have customers who come down to the lower bouquets but at the same time we have customers who move on to the online platforms," Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice Group CEO, said on Friday in the pay-TV operator's bi-annual investors' call.

"Those DStv subscribers who move on to the over-the-top (OTT) platforms - what our research has given us - is that 8 out of 10 of those that move on to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video also remain on the DStv platform, which means that they stay in the lower bouquets."

Calvo Mawela noted that rugby broadcasts are one of the biggest drivers of DStv Premium uptake and that the loss of rugby because of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is a very big reason behind the ongoing decline in its top-end subscribers.

"What we've seen is that as a result of the lack of rugby, you see people coming down, but as soon as rugby comes back, you see people going up."

"Because this past year has been a very difficult year for rugby - that's why we are seeing a significant number of DStv subscribers who have downgraded from DStv Premium as compared to the previous year."

ALSO READ: MultiChoice: We won't add on SABC TV Licence fees to DStv subscribers' bills and collect licensing fees on behalf of South Africa's public broadcaster.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice sheds another 100 000 premium DStv subscribers and with it comes further top-channels ratings share erosion - but that doesn't mean advertisers will pay less to reach these dwindling but sought-after viewers.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice coins it during Covid and grows to 20.9 million subscribers although it continues to shed top-end DStv customers jumping to video streaming.  

Coronavirus: More TV and radio presenters struggling with Covid-19 during South Africa's third wave of the pandemic.

by Thinus Ferreira

More South African TV and radio presenters are testing positive for Covid-19 with the country that is officially experiencing a third wave of infections, with Mark Pilgrim, Toks van der Linde and Ettienne Ludick who are fighting against the coronavirus.

The radio DJ and voice artist Mark Pilgrim on social media revealed that he's got Covid with the words "Oh dear. It got me." In a public note to his immune system, Mark Pilgrim says "You've got this buddy! We've been through a lot together over the years. You kicked cancer's butt and also saved us after a heart attack."

"Now you're being challenged again and you're showing your strength once more! You're my heavyweight boxing champ and you're fighting so hard. I'm so proud of you."

The former Springbok rugby player Toks van der Linde who is a presenter of Friday night's Toks & Tjops on kykNET (DStv 144) revealed that he has also tested positive for Covid-19 whilst on holiday in the Maldives with his wife, Carol.

On Facebook, he said "It's Sunday morning in Baros, Maldives. A holiday that was a fairy tale has now become interesting. I'm Covid-positive. Please pray for us. This virus isn't a joke - believe me."

On Twitter, Toks said that he is "not in hospital just isolated on Baros island".

Netwerk24 reports that the radio and TV presenter Ettienne Ludick who is a presenter on SuperSport Blitz and of InTune on the SABC's Afrikaans radio station RSG, also tested positive for Covid-19. SuperSport says that it tests all staff on a weekly basis.

 Besides the RSG presenter Amore Bekker who is also sick with Covid, the RSG station manager Louise Jooste now also has Covid.