MultiChoice Africa to expand technical education help with customised masterclasses between its MultiChoice Talent Factory film academy and various African countries' TV channels to improve production quality.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice Africa plans to expand the cooperation and skills transfer between its MultiChoice Talent Factory Africa film academy running in Southern, East and West Africa, and TV channels in various African countries to try and improve the television content being produced and production quality.

The MultiChoice Talent Factory Africa hopes to initially help a further 300 broadcast workers in television in various African TV markets with customised masterclasses which will be developed for specific African countries.

MultiChoice's African offshoot of its South African MultiChoice Talent Factory has been running successfully for a few years now, with the African film academy emulating the programme of the MultiChoice Talent Factory South Africa.

Now the MultiChoice Talent Factory Africa which has been doing industry masterclasses and other educational efforts in various African countries going beyond the training of just a specific year's students on-site in Lusaka, Nairobi and Lagos, plans to expand its support, cooperation and training programme with local TV channels in various countries.

The MultiChoice Talent Factory Africa wants to expand the skill transfer programme it offers to help TV channels with online learning courses, masterclasses, as well as practical training. 

It will be done through certified short courses in critical production skills such as post-production, sound, screenwriting, 3D animation and cinematography and MultiChoice will try to initially help 300 broadcast workers in various local African TV markets.

"Our vision is to upskill production professionals, and to raise the standard of productions right across Africa," says Fhulufhelo Badugela, MultiChoice Africa CEO.

"This will boost Africa's film and television industry exponentially, because as you capacitate more people, more people are motivated to start projects, and everybody benefits, including the viewers."

"This is an investment in the future of our industry, and investment goes beyond financial investment it also requires skills, time and a core understanding of the consumer needs but the most immediate impact will be to raise the standard of productions across Africa."

"Local broadcasters are the grassroots of the TV industry in every country. By building the industry we are enabling local job creation, enabling an industry to contribute to the economy and responding to the ongoing consumer demand for quality local entertainment."

"The people on the programme will gain skills relevant to their own field of expertise – so their knowledge will be immediately applicable. We are also able to reach more people by doing the training in-country," says Fhulufhelo Badugela.

"We have seen the impact investments can have. In Zimbabwe, we ran a training programme to support the launch of new local entertainment channels. The standard of the new channels is excellent, and the market has really opened up in terms of the productions being launched and the calibre of Zimbabwe's filmmakers."

"Improving the skills of our TV professionals will give audiences more choice and more chance to see themselves reflected in the content they consume. It's about quality African content for African viewers."

MultiChoice adds Maningue Magic in Mozambique and Kwenda Magic in Angola as new Portuguese channels to DStv that will produce localised TV content.

by Thinus Ferreira

On Monday MultiChoice added two new Portuguese-language TV channels: Maningue Magic in Mozambique and Kwenda Magic in Angola - for DStv and GOtv subscribers in these two African countries, with M-Net that is producing O Rio in Portuguese for Kwenda Magic as a second localised adaptation of South Africa's The River telenovela on 1Magic.

Maningue Magic and Kwenda Magic as two new Lusophone TV channels - both produced and packaged by M-Net - will show dramas, telenovelas, localised versions of reality shows, comedies, dubbed international content and local music from Monday 17 January.

"These channel launches are an exciting milestone for MultiChoice, and our hyperlocal strategy," says Joao Ribeiro, Kwenda Magic and Maningue Magic channel head.

"MultiChoice's mission is to showcase Africa's diverse, rich culture through our continent's deep storytelling history. To have two new 24-hour channels in local languages, featuring locally produced content, provides an incredibly powerful platform to do this."

Over the past 18 months, MultiChoice expanded its local content offering through several new TV channel launches including Pearl Magic Prime, Akwaaba Magic and Abol TV in Uganda, Ghana, and Ethiopia as MultiChoice prepares for the increased inaccessibility and unavailability of foreign content from Hollywood.

As Hollywood and international studios produce and funnel shows to their own video streaming services to try and build scale, they are no longer making this content available through their international distributor networks, forcing pay-TV services like MultiChoice to ramp up locally-produced and owned content.

"Until now, independent producers had few outlets for their work and had to act on many levels, struggling to get budgets, and to have their content shown," says Joao Ribeiro about the creation of Maningue Magic and Kwenda Magic.

"With our channels requiring content 24 hours a day, we can now invite local producers to pitch ideas, to commission and develop projects, and to pay fair, market-related rates for work."

"By investing in the industry, we are creating opportunities for local talent, telling local stories, and adding to the stability of the industry. We are committed to growing the industry in countries where we operate, and to deliver content that resonates with our viewers."

"We are commissioning work from established producers as well as smaller companies across the continent while also creating opportunities for alumni of the MultiChoice Talent Factory."

Fhulufhelo Badugela, MultiChoice Africa CEO, says "When we develop local channels or produce local content, we aim to create a platform that reflects local culture, so audiences see themselves represented in the content they watch".

"Localisation goes beyond simply duplicating popular formats in a different language or with a different cast. It's about incorporating a country's social, gender and religious conventions, as well pop-culture trends like music, influencers and celebrities into stories. This is what makes our hyperlocal strategy unique and exciting."

Content on Maningue Magic will include the telenovela Maida, about a naïve teenager who leaves the countryside for the big city; a Mozambican music show Estação do Boss; as well as  Date My Family Moçambique that will be a local version of the hit reality dating show.

The Influencer, a Mozambican original series will tell the story of a girl pursuing a dream to be a digital influencer who end on a network of drugs and prostitution. 

Top+ will showcase famous artists and personalities from Mozambique and Africa who are attracting attention on social networks. Txunado is a magazine show about Mozambican fashion, arts and lifestyle.

On Kwenda Magic, flagship shows include O Rio, an Angolan adaptation of popular 1Magic telenovela The River; Makongo, a new drama about a young man’s life in Luanda; and Salão de Beleza, a sitcom about a Luanda establishment and its diverse, dramatic customers.

O Rio in Portuguese is the second adaptation of South Africa's The River, following a first adaptation in Kenya for viewers in East Africa where that version runs as Kina. Although not an adaptation, South Africa's The River is also dubbed for broadcast in Nigeria.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice Showcase 2021: MultiChoice and M-Net aggressively ramp up Lusophone production targeting DStv subscribers with new channels and content in Portuguese in Mozambique and Angola.

MultiChoice Showcase 2021: MultiChoice and M-Net aggressively ramp up Lusophone production targeting DStv subscribers with new channels and content in Portuguese in Mozambique and Angola.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice is aggressively pursuing a localised-regionalised content strategy - that Africa's largest pay-TV operator calls "hyper-local" - rushing new content streams into African countries and in languages that were previously deemed too expensive for the investment, pooling production in harder to penetrate places from Ethiopia to Mozambique.

Reacting to both the rise of global streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and others, as well as to the increasing loss and unavailability of premium international content that studios are keeping for their own services, MultiChoice is ramping up local content in local languages across Africa - hoping that DStv and GOtv subscribers will bite as they're weaned off of Hollywood offerings that will still be there but not as readily available as in the past.

Fhulu Badugela, MultiChoice Africa CEO, appeared as the second guest during Thursday afternoon's MultiChoice Content Showcase 2021 that the pay-TV operator held as a virtual presentation for media, where she spoke about MultiChoice Africa's plans and investments in local content across the continent.

Fhulu Badugela said that DStv and GOtv subscribers are responding to M-Net's new localised TV channels packaged for MultiChoice, and new localised format competition, reality, and dating shows, as well as telenovelas and comedies that are being produced in Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Zimbabwe and in a growing number of African countries.

Up next is MultiChoice Africa's big Lusophone push as MultiChoice aggressively targets Mozambique with spin-off value for Angola as M-Net ramps up local production in Portuguese.

M-Net is moving aggressively into the Mozambique market and upping local content produced in Portuguese for DStv subscribers specifically in Mozambique and Angola.

In Mozambique, MultiChoice and M-Net will launch the new Maningue Magic channel on DStv channel number 503 on 17 January 2022. 

The channel will have a local telenovela Maida, local lifestyle show, Txunado, local drama The Influencer, as well as Boss Station, a Mozambiquan original music show. Viewers can also expect to see a local version of Date My Family that besides South Africa also has a Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Zimbabwe and other localised versions. 

In Angola where Portuguese is also the official language, DStv subscribers will be getting weekly comedy shows as well as a dubbed telenovela with the launch of Kwenda Magic as a new channel on DStv on channel 502 that is also taking place on 17 January 2022.

"MultiChoice's hyper-local content strategy sees us continue to tell stories that resonate with our customers, in their language and featuring characters they identify with – and helping take proudly African stories to global audiences," says the pay-TV company.

MultiChoice says that it is the biggest funder of local content in Africa and produced 2 692 hours of local content in the last financial year – 41% more than the year before – bringing its local content library to nearly 66 000 hours.

Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice CEO of general entertainment and connected video, says that MultiChoice and M-Net are "home to over 42 local channels across the continent because it's incumbent upon us to both cater for regional tastes and share familiar stories".

MultiChoice says that its owned reality formats continue to grow with Our Perfect Wedding that is rating number one in 90% of the territories in which it is broadcast and spawning more and more localised versions – most recently Gojwachin in Ethiopia. 

A Ghanaian version of Date My Family will make its debut in December 2021.

Nigeria's Tinsel – Africa's longest-running soapie – retains its number one position in its timeslot and now runs over 3 100 episodes. 

The telenovela The River is the top-performing show in its timeslot in South Africa and Nigeria among DStv Compact households and is dubbed for Nigeria and has been adapted as Kina in Kenya.

Then there are other drama series like The Unmarried that has reached over 2 million viewers across South Africa, Nigeria and Zambia, Lockdown and Die Byl that has been multi-season top performers on linear and VOD platforms. Nqobile reaches over 1.5 million viewers in South Africa.

MultiChoice says that Riona remains the most-watched drama among top segment audiences in Nigeria, Pazia has captured almost a third of the Tanzanian market, with Ubuntu and other dramas in its timeslot routinely reaching over a quarter of the combined Zambian DStv and GOtv market.

East Africa

MultiChoice says that the Maisha Bongo channel in 2022 will have new shows including Sinia - a drama about two wealthy families and the secrets and lies that are hidden beneath the glitz and glamour.

Danga revolves around the street-smart conmen Pipi, Angel and Mo who will stop at nothing to deceive the richest man in town, Mark. In La Familia, after 4 decades of prosperity "Mr & Mrs Ibrahim must pay a heavy price".

On Maisha Magic Plus, Tuko Talks sees Lynn Ngugi engage people from all walks of life in raw and tell-all conversations about their past, pain and joy. 

In Kenya but available across Africa, the Showmax Original crime procedural Crime and Justice will be back for a second season in 2022 with detectives Silas and Makena solving cases in the streets of Nairobi.

The Pearl Magic Prime channel will debut Chapterz, a new drama series that exposes a seemingly perfect family's hidden skeletons. 

On Zambezi Magic, Wanilata is a reality dating show in which singletons get the chance to connect with their crush. Every episode sees the contestants go on a date, with the final question being: "Do you love me?"

Our Perfect Wedding Zambia returns to ONEZED, as does Ubuntu, in which Chief Mukango promises his cousin Tachimba that he will succeed him as chief of Ubuntu when he dies. Things take an unexpected turn when a sickly and dying Chief Mukango names his daughter, Thandiwena, heir to the throne instead.

On Abol TV, Adey is a riveting dram series that shows the multiple facades of life behind the backdrop of 2 separate families that are somehow connected with a 17-year-old girl. 

In Zuret, a criminal organisation is running an operation to smuggle millions of dollars out of the country. A secret agent infiltrates the group to capture the ringleader, however, the secret agent discovers that the love of his life, who he hasn’t seen in years, is engaged to one of the criminals.

MultiChoice also launched the Maisha Magic Poa channel on DStv channel 144 on 1 October this year.

"Maisha Magic Poa is a game changer in the Tanzanian television and entertainment landscape whilst the new bouquet remains a testimony to MultiChoice's dedication to provide Tanzania with quality and affordable entertainment," says Fhulufhelo Badugela.

West Africa

On the Akwaaba Magic channel in Ghana, Dede is a naive rural teenager who is deceived by her stepmother to leave her family and life behind in order to work as a domestic helper in the home of Robertsons, a complicated wealthy family, where she falls for the youngest son, whilst struggling to achieve her dreams.

Inside Out’s Soraya cuts short her national service to fight for justice for her mother, framed for a murder committed by Maafio, a rich and powerful woman. 

The latest localised version Date My Family Ghana is coming to Ghana as a reality dating show and the 7th season of Big Brother Naija now has a June 2022 starting date on M-Net's Africa Magic channels on DStv that will once again see a group of isolated housemates do a series of tasks as they compete for a cash prize.

Date My Family Nigeria arrives in January 2022 while the 7th season of Idols Nigeria will kick off in February 2022.

Judging Matters helps to address legal issues from a small claims court, in partnership with the Lagos state ministry of Justice, hosted by Justice Olushola Williams and Ebuka Obi-Uchendu.

Shoot Your Shot returns for a 2nd season with Bisola Aiyeola as the presenter, helping people to set the right mood for an introduction to someone they have been crushing on. Love Come Back also returns, with host Ibrahim Sulaiman helping one man or woman in their quest to get another chance at love with an ex.

On the Honey channel Pastor's Wives will have a second season in 2022.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice Showcase 2021: 18 must-know info-blasts from this year's media event.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice Showcase 2021: Why month-old pre-recorded interviews from MultiChoice executives sitting in Dubai touting DStv's 'home-grown local content' in Africa?

ALSO READ: MultiChoice Showcase 2021: SuperSport to shine in 2022 with a vast locked-in offering of local and international sports events.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice Showcase 2021: 'Fuck, fuck fuck, fuck' says SuperSport in profanity-laced Springbok documentary sizzle reel for new Two Sides rugby and Pulse of a Nation football local documentaries coming to DStv in 2022. 

ALSO READ: MultiChoice Showcase 2021: PICTORIAL. A set of new Blood Psalms stills released as MultiChoice's delayed Showmax Original fantasy series from Yellowbone Entertainment waits to be paid its film rebate.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice Showcase 2021: M-Net renews Survivor South Africa for an all-stars 9th season to be broadcast in July 2022.