Disney appoints Evert van der Veer as Disney+ vice president for programming for the EMEA region.

by Thinus Ferreira

Evert van der Veer who was vice president, media networks at The Walt Disney Company Africa has been appointed as Disney+ vice president for programming for the EMEA region that is Europe, the Middle East and Africa region.

Evert van der Veer was general manager for FOX Networks Group for sub-Saharan Africa before Disney's takeover of 21st Century Fox after which he became vice president, media networks at The Walt Disney Company Africa and oversaw the repositioned and combined portfolio of the FOX Networks Group Africa portfolio and Disney's channels in Africa.

After being based in Johannesburg, South Africa for the past few years, Evert van der Veer will now be based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands and travel regularly to London and other EMEA markets for his new job that he started from October.

Evert van der Veer will be responsible for Disney+'s programming strategy as well as managing content planning, operations, and regulatory compliance.

Disney shut down the FOX channel at the end of September on MultiChoice's DStv and China's StarTimes and StarSat pay-TV services across the continent as it gets ready to launch its Disney+ video streaming service sometime from June 2022 in South Africa.

Tracy-Ann van Rooyen exited M-Net in June this year and jumped to Disney where she was appointed as Walt Disney Africa media networks' senior programming and scheduling manager.

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. An elegy to FOX - and the unavoidable decline of linear pay-TV as you knew it.

ALSO READ: What Disney+ could cost when it launches in South Africa from sometime after June 2022 and what South African Disney+ subscribers might pay.

ALSO READ: Top TV programmer Tracy-Ann van Rooyen exits M-Net and jumps to Walt Disney Africa's media networks as senior programming and scheduling manager.

ALSO READ: Disney+ to launch in South Africa in winter 2022.

ALSO READ: Disney ends the FOX channel in Africa after 11 years, rips away 11th and final season ending of The Walking Dead from pay-TV viewers.

Top TV programmer Tracy-Ann van Rooyen exits M-Net and jumps to Walt Disney Africa's media networks as senior programming and scheduling manager.

by Thinus Ferreira

TVwithThinus can reveal that the TV programmer Tracy-Ann van Rooyen has exited MultiChoice and M-Net and is jumping to The Walt Disney Company Africa where she is taking up the role of senior programmer and scheduler for the Mouse House's television networks in South Africa and across the African continent. from July.

As a respected and influential TV programming topper Tracy-Ann van Rooyen has been the head of acquisitions and scheduling for M-Net and related M-Net channels like VUZU and M-Net City across DStv for 4 years, before which she was the head of programming for M-Net's local entertainment channels since August 2013.

Before that Tracy-Ann van Rooyen worked at EndemolShine for 5 years as an assistant producer and then producer since November 2007, before which she was also a promo producer at Clearwater since 2003, and a producer and director at FremantleMedia since April 2005.

At M-Net, the highly-informed and jovial executive always struck a convivial tone with the media during upfronts and content presentations, often entertaining, informing, educating and regaling TV critics and the press covering television with witty comments and remarks about shows and sharing witty anecdotes and behind-the-scenes insider takes about American series. 

At Disney, Tracy-Ann van Rooyen will report directly in to Christine Service, senior vice president and general manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa.

In her new role, Tracy-Ann van Rooyen will oversee and contribute to the scheduling and programming - especially locally-produced content - for The Walt Disney Company Africa's collection of pay-TV channels available in South Africa and across Africa, namely The Disney Channel, Disney Junior, ESPN, FOX, National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD.  

With Disney's video streaming service, Disney+, that Disney has not yet decided to launch in South Africa or sub-Saharan Africa, Tracy-Ann van Rooyen will undoubtedly be tasked with shaping some of the longterm strategic direction in terms of how and which of the channels within the Disney networks fold to keep strong and vitalised as linear pay-TV channels within the Africa market, as Disney prepares to shutter over 100 of its channels internationally just this year.

Tracy-Ann van Rooyen will be taking up her new Disney television executive role from July 2021 with no word yet from M-Net as to who is replacing her role there or stepping in within an acting capacity in the scheduling and acquisition position.

"We can confirm that Tracy-Ann van Rooyen has been appointed as senior manager, programming and scheduling at The Walt Disney Company Africa," a Disney Africa spokesperson told TVwithThinus on Monday in response to a media enquiry.

America's 2021 NFL Super Bowl LV clash between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes to air live across Africa on Monday 8 February on ESPN and ESPN2, will include The Weeknd halftime show but not the American commercials.

by Thinus Ferreira

America's 2021 American National Football League's (NFL) Super Bowl LV will be broadcast live on ESPN's 2 ESPN Africa channels, ESPN (DStv 218 / StarSat 248) and ESPN2 (DStv 219 / StarSat 249) early on Monday morning 8 February 2021.

The African broadcast of the 55th Super Bowl will include the entertainment halftime show but not the usually iconic American TV commercials. 

ESPN tells TVwithThinus that in the place of the American commercials, viewers in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa will see filler promos and other localised commercials, similar to when M-Net is showing American award-shows like the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards live.

With Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking on the defending champions of Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, the ESPN coverage on the ESPN Africa channels will start on Monday 8 February at 01:30 in the morning (Central African Time CAT), with repeats at 07:30 and 14:30 later during the day on ESPN, and a repeat on ESPN2 at 20:30.  

This year the Super Bowl LV halftime show will be headlined by The Weeknd. America's "The Star-Spangled Banner" national anthem will be a duet this year, performed by the R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan and the country singer Erich Church ahead of the match.

"This NFL Super Bowl LV is set to be a quarterback showdown as one of the league's brightest young stars, Mahomes, takes on one of its greatest, Brady, and both have a lot at stake," says Evert van der Veer, vice president of media networks at The Walt Disney Company Africa.

"On top of that, for the first time, fans across Africa will also be able to enjoy the world-renowned halftime show. It's going to be an incredible night."

National Geographic rolls out 10th Big Cat Month on Nat Geo Wild in February 2021 with 7 premiere specials including Tiger Queen of Taru.

by Thinus Ferreira

National Geographic is doing its 10th Big Cat Month in February 2021 and will again broadcast a lot of special appointment programming on its Nat Geo Wild (DStv 182 / StarSat 221) channel, featuring various big cats in the wild, including 7 premiere specials.

Besides the specials, National Geographic's month-long event will include several interstitials that will be broadcast in-between programming, featuring National Geographic Explorers who are working to protect big cats around the globe.

"Big Cat Month is an exciting television event for us every year and a firm viewer-favourite. This year is particularly special as we will be broadcasting no less than seven premieres highlighting the incredible lives led by these ferocious felines, to many of whom, Africa is home," says  Evert van der Veer, vice president, media networks, The Walt Disney Company Africa. 

"Even more remarkable is that many of the filmmakers are actively involved in wildlife conservation themselves, including  Aishwarya Sridhar, who makes her debut on the channel with the premiere of Tiger Queen of Taru".

The National Geographic Society is partnering its Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic Wild for Big Cat Month.

Nat Geo Wild's Big Cat Month starts on 7 February 2021 with the premiere of Jade Eyed Leopard, narrated by actor Jeremy Irons and directed by the acclaimed local big-cat filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert.

In this one-hour special National Geographic cameras capture the story of a young leopard, Toto, during the critical first three years of her life. 

Viewers getto follow this cub with deep aquamarine eyes – an exceptionally rare trait – and experience her challenges and triumphs firsthand as Toto learns the fundamental skills of survival and makes her passage to adulthood. 

Cecil: The Legacy of a King, premieres Sunday, 14 February at 18:00. This special follows the life and legacy of one of the world's most famous lions - Cecil. 

The ultimate big cat king, Cecil was a warrior, a father and a loyal brother. But his untimely death at the hands of an illegal hunt in Zimbabwe - spelt the end of his extraordinary reign; evoking feelings of fury and sadness to all who hear his tale across the globe. 

Still in Africa, Serengeti Speed Queen tells the story of cheetah Nzuri, the speed queen of the Serengeti – for whom being fast isn’t enough – on Sunday, 21 February at 18:00m.

She is constantly bullied by hyenas on the grassland and hunted by lions in the marsh. When two of her cubs are killed, the family is exiled to the forest. There, she learns to adapt her hunting methods and adds strategy to speed in order to outwit her enemies and steer her remaining cubs successfully to adulthood.

Nat Geo Wild's Big Cat Month 2021 culminates in the premiere of Tiger Queen of Taru, by filmmaker Aishwarya Sridhar on Sunday, 28 February at 18:00. 

This unique special that was filmed over six years tells the story of Maya the tigress in a tiger reserve in Tadoba, Central India. 

Here, Bengal tigers chase wild dogs, fight sloth bears and feud among themselves over bloodlines and territory in never-before-seen footage. Maya writes her own rules when it comes to raising a litter, yet motherhood doesn’t come easy. However, one thing is clear, Maya will do whatever it takes to secure her bloodline within the Kingdom of Taru.  

"We partnered with the Jouberts 11 years ago to create National Geographic Society’s Big Cats Initiative to shed light on these vital and vulnerable wild felines," says Colby Bishop, senior director of wildlife programmes at National Geographic Society.

"More than a decade later, the initiative continues to make major strides in its mission to protect big cats in the wild, including the removal of 13 000 life-threatening snares from their habitats; building more than 2 100 livestock enclosures to reduce human-wildlife conflict with big cats, and providing funds for grantees to work in more than 300 communities."

"National Geographic Wild is the perfect platform to premiere Jade Eyed Leopard as part of Big Cat Month 2021 and to inspire further protection for these majestic creatures around the world," says Colby Bishop.

PROGRAMMING NOTE. 2020 Sharkfest on National Geographic starting 4 July has month-long shark documentaries including the South African filmed Shark vs Whale.

by Thinus Ferreira

The 2020 Sharkfest programming strand returns to National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220) starting on Saturday 4 July from 14:00 to 19:00 and on Nat Geo WILD (DStv 182 / StarSat 221) starting on Monday 6 July, from 18:00.

National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD will broadcast 4 weeks of shark programming with 17 original premieres until the end of July during its 8th Sharkfest event.

"For the past 8 years, National Geographic and National Geographic Wild have been the destination for viewers to get up close and personal with one of the world’s most awe-inspiring creatures, and this year we’re eating up the competition with an unprecedented line-up of action-packed shark shows" says Geoff Daniels, executive vice president of global unscripted entertainment at National Geographic.

"Over 4 full weeks, our viewers will get the ultimate home-field advantage to witness the ocean's superstars in their prime, so pull up your beach chairs and get ready for some Sharkfest."

Evert van der Veer, vice president, media networks at The Walt Disney Company Africa, says "This year's Sharkfest is going to hit a grand-slam with entertaining, heart-pounding content that showcases the ocean's fiercest and often most misunderstood predators".

One of the documentaries, Shark vs Whale was filmed off the coast of South Africa.

When Sharks Attack

Saturday 4 July 16:30 National Geographic, from 5 July 18:00 Nat Geo WILD

For families on beaches across the world, a split second is all it takes to turn a dream vacation into a nightmare. Sudden shark attacks frequently occur, and the motive behind the bite often puzzles locals and scientists alike. When Sharks Attack investigates these incidences to shed light on why and where shark encounters take place with the hope that if we understand the behaviour, we might be able to limit the number of attacks.

America’s Deadliest Sharks

Monday 6 July 18:00 Nat Geo WILD

Up to 175 species of shark live in the oceans around the United States but only a handful of those have been known to attack humans. Despite that, they have more shark attacks there every year than the rest of the world combined.

What the Shark

Tuesday 7 July 18:00 Nat Geo WILD

This film is a deep dive - from the sunny beach to the 8000-foot abyss, where extreme adaptation is critical to survival. 

For sharks in this dark void, pressure, or a lack of it, could blow flesh to pieces, and inky darkness could mean never finding prey. But these weirdsters have their act together. They're a ghostly cast of living monsters that defy the convention of life on Earth as we know it.

Shark vs. Surfer 

Tuesday 14 July 18:00 Nat Geo WILD

Surfers aren’t the only athletes in the water; they share the playing field with the most powerful players below surface, and often, they’re no match for the real danger among the waves. 

This documentary travels to the most shark-infested surf spots around the world to hear harrowing shark-and-surfer stories told by the survivors, along with insight from the world’s leading marine biologists, Ryan Johnson and Dr. Steven Kajuira.

World’s Biggest Tiger Shark

Wednesday 15 July 18:00 Nat Geo WILD

Cinematographer Andy Casagrande and marine biologist Kori Garza journey to a remote lagoon in French Polynesia to dive with the “tigers of Tahiti” in search of the world’s largest living tiger shark, Kamakai. While there, they capture cooperative hunting tactics between two juvenile tiger sharks for the first time ever on film.

Shark vs Whale

Friday 17 July 18:00 Nat Geo WILD

A routine drone survey turns deadly when Ryan Johnson, a marine biologist based in South Africa, films a humpback whale being attacked and strategically drowned by a great white shark. 

The never-before-seen behaviour causes a complete perspective shift on a creature Johnson has spent his life studying. To make sense of the event, he follows humpback whales on their migration, mapping places that may make them vulnerable, and takes a new look at great white sharks to discover how and why they become whale killers.

Most Wanted Sharks

Monday 20 July 18:00 Nat Geo WILD

Of the millions of sharks in our oceans, a select few are so fascinating, they’ve become worldwide celebrities with legions of fans and followers. Marine biologist and shark-suit inventor Jeremiah Sullivan dives into the stories of the most sensational shark stars of all time.

Sharkcano

Tuesday 21 July 18:00 Nat Geo WILD

Sharks and volcanoes, across the globe: where you find one, you find the other. Researchers have not figured out what attracts sharks to the hotspots, but world-renowned shark scientist Dr Michael Heithaus is on a mission to figure out the answer. He crisscrosses the globe and risks life and limb to uncover the shocking real-life link between these two fearsome forces of nature.

Sharks vs. Dolphins: Blood Battle

Sunday 28 July 18:00 Nat Geo WILD

The ultimate feud is waged beneath the waves: sharks versus dolphins. 

They’ve shared the ocean for millennia, but scientists have only just begun to understand the complex relationship between the two. The special follows a team of experts as they travel to the epicentre of this savage struggle - Shark Bay, Australia - to unlock the secrets of shark and dolphin combat.

FOX finally adds some more stale content more than a year after MultiChoice said it would start on DStv.

by Thinus Ferreira

FOX is finally adding some content, a now-stale Brit series entitled Killing Eve - coming to South African and African viewers more than a year after MultiChoice initially promised that it would be on DStv, and more than 2 years since it was first broadcast internationally.

In May Killing Eve will start on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) - a British spy thriller that has long since lost the buzz it had since it made its 8-episode first season debut back in April 2018.

After TV critics and journalists kept asking and asking MultiChoice when Killing Eve might be shown in South Africa, MultiChoice in December 2018 at its MultiChoice Content Showcase told the media that Killing Eve would be on its Showmax video streaming service and M-Net (DStv 101) starting around March 2019.

It didn't happen and MultiChoice never said anything about Killing Eve with Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer again.

MultiChoice and M-Net told journalists who kept asking through 2019 about the show that the pay-TV operator doesn't know when it might get the series.

As old as Killing Eve is the publicity and marketing approach by Disney and FOX Networks Group Europe & Africa that deliberately took hours to send the press release to the rest of the media on Tuesday, after sending the general FOX programming press release "exclusively" only to certain media earlier. 

FOX Africa's publicity division decided that not all media will get the same general press release information about programming at the same time.

"Killing Eve combines everything that makes a spy thriller great, with exquisitely crafted plot lines, witty villains, fascinating lead characters, unending intrigue, fast-paced movement, and surprises at every turn," says Evert van der Veer, vice president for media networks at The Walt Disney Company Africa, in the prepared general press release that was only sent to some media and hours later to the rest.

"FOX continues to identify and secure bold and premium, previously unseen programming for local viewers. Given that South African audiences have not had the opportunity to watch this riveting series before, we can’t wait to broadcast seasons one, two and three directly after one another so that they can enjoy all of the action of this acclaimed series back to back."

In FOX’s new War of the Worlds science fiction drama series you can’t even hide in a shop’s ice-cream fridge from aliens.

It borrows all of the best tropes from Independence Day, Falling Skies, The Walking Dead, Jurassic Park and Terminator - with unexpected twists in a modern-day setting - with viewers who won't be able to guess where the story of the TV adaptation of H. G. Well's classic science fiction novel, War of the Worlds, will go that starts on FOX (DStv 125) on Wednesday 30 October at 20:45.

FOX's new reimagining of H.G. Well's timeless classic is one of two this year with the BBC that also made a War of the Worlds although that mini-series is set in Edwardian England.

The 8-episode War of the Worlds FOX series is set in modern-day France and London since it's a co-production between Urban Myth Films in partnership with CANAL+, as well as Fox Networks Group Europe & Africa and AGC Television.

War of the Worlds is Fox Networks Group's second production after the Deep State series.

The cast includes Gabriel Byrne, Elizabeth McGovern from Downton Abbey, Léa Drucker, Adel Bencherif, Natasha Little, Daisy Edgar Jones, Ty Tennant, Stephen Campbell Moore, Bayo Gbadamosi, Aaron Heffernan, Stéphane Caillard and Guillaume Gouix.

When French astronomers detect a transmission from another galaxy, it is definitive proof of alien life ... but are they friendly or evil?

Humanity waits for further contact but then a devastating attack follows with surviving humans scattered and fighting for their lives. 

As aliens hunt and kill those left alive, the survivors ask a burning question: Who are these attackers and why do they want to destroy humans?

FOX's War of the Worlds adaptation is from writer Howard Overman who says that the science fiction series will show a post-apocalyptic world but one that isn't very disturbed. "If you look out your window and the city still looks the same, it's a strange experience because your life has totally changed but outside it's all very still and familiar".

"Our War of the Worlds is, at its core, a story about humanity. If aliens attacked tomorrow and life as we know it was destroyed, how would we cope? What would it tell us about each other, and more importantly, about ourselves?"

Evert Van der Veer, in charge of media networks at The Walt Disney Company Africa, says "We can’t wait for this bold recreation to premiere on African screens".

"We look forward to this world-class production based on a timeless story, that promises a unique combination of character-driven human drama and the very best science fiction."

Fox Africa boss Evert van der Veer repositioned to take charge of combined portfolio of Fox Networks Group Africa and Disney's channels in Africa as Fox-Disney restructuring continues.

The Walt Disney Company has repositioned the Fox Africa boss, Evert van der Veer, who will now look after all of the combined Fox and Disney channels available in South Africa and across sub-Sahara Africa, in a new overall TV channels supervision role from the adjacent two-doors Fox-Disney Africa head office in Illovo, Johannesburg.

The job elevation - with no specific title yet attached - comes a year and three months after Evert van der Veer was appointed as Fox Networks Group Africa general manager in May 2018.

In this role Evert van der Veer was looking the Fox Networks Group's pay-TV channels in South Africa and across Africa like FOX, FOX Life, National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, FOX Sports, and Baby TV available on pay-TV platforms like MultiChoice's DStv, StarTimes SA's StarSat, Cell C's black SVOD service and others, as well as the non-linear services like FOX+ and National Geographic+.

With Disney's ongoing international management restructuring following its takeover of 21st Century Fox, Evert van der Veer has now added oversight of the three Disney TV channels from The Walt Disney Company's recently restructured direct-to-consumer and international division: The Disney Channel (DStv 303), Disney XD (DStv 304) and Disney Junior (DStv 309) available on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service.

Evert van der Veer is now heading up the "media networks" segment of The Walt Disney Company Africa, responsible for the combined TV channels collection - those that were part of the Fox Networks Group business as well as the three Disney channels.

Evert van der Veer now reports to Christine Service, who remains The Walk Disney Company Africa's senior vice president and country manager.

Disney Africa was asked but couldn't tell TVwithThinus what Evert van der Veer job title is now and said the company's South African office will share more precise details later when it can.

Asked about the existence of Fox Networks Group Africa (FNG Africa) and whether it continues as a "stand-alone" business, Disney said that the Fox Africa office "is very much still in operation" and that the Fox Networks Group Africa business is now part of the wider Walt Disney Company Africa business.

Chef Gordon Ramsay goes on a global food exploration in his new show, Gordon Ramsay Unchartered, on National Geographic.

National Geographic has roped in Gordon Ramsay for a new 6-episode food and travel adventure series, Gordon Ramsay Unchartered, that starts on Wednesday, 7 August at 21:00 in which the Michelin-star chef travels the globe looking for new culinary inspiration.

In Gordon Ramsay Unchartered on National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220 / Cell C black 261) the chef visits New Zealand, Peru, Laos, Morocco, Hawaii and Alaska as he meets with indigenous people to learn about the cultures, dishes and flavours unique to each location.

Ingredients he finds and dishes he tastes are used to create new recipes as he cooks something new with a local food expert in the show produced by Studio Ramsay.

"It has been an amazing journey travelling off the beaten path with National Geographic and connecting with locals to learn and share incredible stories of unique traditions, delicacies and the extreme lengths it takes to harvest native ingredients. I have learned way more filming this series than I have in the last 10 years," says Gordon Ramsay.

In the dense jungles of Laos he samples weaver ant eggs and dives in dangerous waters on the hunt for snails and giant water bugs.

He goes hunting for eels with his bare hands using traditional Maori techniques with a local fisherman by his side in New Zealand and works with local foragers to harvest Maui’s deadliest catch with homemade tools.

In Hawaii he goes spearfishing with the free diver Kimi Werner, climbs a rockface during a snowstorm with a local forager to harvest native herbs in Alaska, goes rappelling down a waterfall to meet with local mushroom hunters in Morocco, and hangs off a cliff in pursuit of cactus worms in Peru where it's considered a local delicacy.

"Audiences can expect the same Gordon Ramsay wit that they know and love, but this time getting his hands dirty through an authentic and immersive culinary adventure," says FOX Africa boss Evert Van der Veer.

The 7th annual SharkFest kicks off on Nat Geo WILD today, now running for 3 weeks until the end of July with various fascinating shark shows.

The 7th annual SharkFest kicks off on Nat Geo WILD (Dstv 182 / StarSat 262 / Cell C black 221) today, that instead of a week will now roll out shark-themed programming over 3 weeks until the end of July.

Nat Geo WILD starts its 2019 SharkFest with When Sharks Attack on Saturday, 6 July at 18:00 that has 6 episodes broadcast in 2 episodes at a time.

Experts try explain why Florida’s coastline is known as the shark capital of the world and why Reunion is one of the world’s deadliest islands after a sudden 23 horrifying attacks, including 9 deaths.

Investigators believe they must solve the greatest shark attack mystery of all time before history repeats itself, off the coast of Jersey, and they try to understand why, after centuries of living in harmony, the number of attacks by the Great Whites prowling the coast of West Australia sky-rocketed. Then the Seychelles is rocked by two deadly shark attacks in two weeks. 

Cannibal Sharks is on Sunday 7 July at 18:00, taking a look at the many shark species in our oceans, in which two of the world’s leading shark experts unpack and analyse the mounting evidence that shark-on-shark attacks happen a lot more than people realised.

Shark Kill Zone on 14 July looks at the surprisingly diverse ways sharks hunt and the solutions they have found to catching prey.

Man vs Shark on 21 July follows Jeremiah Sullivan’s lifelong mission he describes as "one man, one shark, no cages" for mankind since he first jumped in the water with the oceans most infamous predators 50 years ago.

On 28 July in Operation Sharklift, in a world-first, scientists catch, crane-lift, and relocate huge Bull sharks away from busy Noumea harbour to a pristine coral reef, far from people.

Eyewitness Shark Attack, with 3 episodes from 18:48, shark attacks caught on video reveal clues to help us understand these finned creatures like never before. Prepare for some frightening moments as a great white lunges for a shark researcher, or when a cage diver is horrified when a shark gets stuck in the cage and there is simply no way out.

Great Shark Chow Down on 28 July at 19:00 was produced in South Africa in which the world's leading scientists and cinematographers relive 5 five extraordinary shark feeding events. 

From being surrounded at night by 700 grey reek sharks, to a 300-strong gathering of blacktip, dusky and bronze sharks feeding on thousands of bait fish, to the spectacular sight of more than 200 blue sharks feeding on the carcass of a 7-ton whale; this is an unmatched exploration of from around the world. 

Shark expert, Greg Skomal also leaves the viewer with the sobering reminder that shark numbers worldwide are in decline. How much longer will we be able witness such extraordinary shark gatherings?

"With so many sharks off the coast of South Africa, we hope that this year’s Shark Fest helps present these misunderstood predators in a new light, and helps create an understanding of why we need to protect them," says Evert Van der Veer, Fox Networks Group Africa general manager.

"Always a fan favourite, I am sure audiences will feel inspired, learning more about their amazing lives."

National Geographic acquires award-winning, vertigo-inducing, free-climber documentary, Free Solo, set for broadcast on 4 March.

National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220 / Cell C black 262) has acquired Free Solo, the Bafta award-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary film from the award-winning documentary film-maker E. Chai Vasarhelyi and the world-renowned photographer and mountaineer Jimmy Chin for broadcast on Monday 4 March at 21:00.

Free Solo is an unflinching portrait of free soloist climber Alex Honnold as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock, the El Capitan in the Yosemite National Park in the United States without a rope.

Free Solo is described as "an edge-of-your seat thriller and an inspiring portrait of an athlete who
challenges both his body and his beliefs on a quest to triumph over the impossible, revealing
the personal toll of excellence".

As Alex Honnold begins his training, the armour of invincibility he has built up over decades unexpectedly breaks apart when he begins to fall in love, threatening his focus and giving way to injury and setbacks.

Free Solo captures deeply human moments with Alex Honnold as well as the death-defying climb
with artistry and masterful, vertigo-inducing camerawork.

"Alex Honnold's Free Solo climb is an awe-inspiring testimony to the power of perseverance
and tenacity, as he completes this incredible athletic feat," says Evert Van Der Veer, vice-president and general manager for Fox Networks Group Africa.

"Watching him pursue his lifelong dream, climbing the 3 200 foot Al Capitan without ropes is both petrifying and exhilarating."

IN PHOTOS: The exclusive, invite-only, golden delicious - and absolutely beautiful - 'A Night with Taraji P. Henson' dinner event of Fox Networks Group Africa.

On Friday evening, Fox Networks Group Africa held an extremely exclusive, invite-only, and absolutely beautiful media event for the Empire actress Taraji P. Henson.

The dazzling 3-course dinner for the star of Empire on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) was a brilliant bookend to her whirlwind second 5-day press tour visit to South Africa.

On the uber-exclusive guest list of 143 people - comprising mostly women - who snagged an invite to the top secret location, were FNG Africa executives and other top TV execs, top press and media celebrities, as well as bright rising South African female media stars.

Due to the high-profile nature of the event, access control was extremely tight - it was invite-only with names extremely carefully curated for the guest list for what was 2018's last South African TV party of the year.

Fox Africa's amazing Taraji P. Henson event dubbed "A Night with Taraji" was held at The Shed at Steyn City in Fourways, Johannesburg; inside what looks to be a massive, new aircraft hangar, beautifully decorated and customised for the intimate stage-and-screen and plated dinner evening.

So new is the ultra-exclus location that it doesn't appear on and is impossible to find on even Google Maps - the perfect place for a party with Taraji P. Henson.

After red carpet arrivals where guests mingled with appetisers and cocktail drinks, there followed opening remarks by FNG Africa boss Evert van der Veer and FNG Africa marketing boss Khosi Khanyile.

Then Anele Mdoda did an on-stage interview with Taraji P. Henson, followed by dinner and dessert.

A gleaming black dance floor beckoned where guests danced the night away with the event that was basked in hues of gold, white, black, and a dash of pink.

"A Night with Taraji"was not just mind-blowingly special, it was remarkable how "American Hollywood level" it was - something rarely seen and rarely successfully recreated by South African TV channels.

The whole event was extremely professional and brilliantly executed from beginning to end; very glamorous and very beautiful.

Most of all "A Night with Taraji" got that most elusive of ethereal qualities absolutely spot-on - being and feeling massive in scale, yet simultaneously feeling small, exclusive and intimate.

You saw it in the numerous small, very big, details: The enormous screen functioning as a stage backdrop; the waiter-to-guest ratio (constantly hovering waiters, constantly circulating with appetisers, taking drink orders, and plating food with basically no waiting time or having to look for someone to help); the flowers; the beautiful "American upfront"-like stage design and look; the smooth sound and audio-visual execution especially in a venue like this; and even Taraji P. Henson wearing a half-black, half-white dress mirrored by the table settings that had black chairs on the one side and transparent chairs on the other.

As 2018's South African television parties went, Fox Africa's "A Night with Taraji" in terms of quality, conceptualisation and creativity, execution, look, razzle-dazzle and ambience ranks at absolutely number one as a 3-way tie alongside M-Net's (DStv 101) The Wedding Bashers Give-back season "wedding reception dinner" and the bushveld under-the-trees Survivor SA: Philippines media launch.

Nothing else any other channels, broadcasters or shows did in 2018 came anywhere close to these three events and it was amazing and astounding how Fox Africa pulled off "A Night with Taraji" as a pitch-perfect year-ender media event for the who's who.

ALSO READ: Taraji P. Henson at Fox Africa's 'A Night with Taraji' dinner event talks embracing change, Hollywood pay disparity, looking for solutions - and playing Cookie on Empire with 'the why'.

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK. Outfoxed: How Fox Africa surprised South Africa's TV biz as it surged to first place with the best TV party of the year in mid-December and Empire's Taraji P. Henson.

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