MultiChoice finally switching off Mzwanele Manyi's controversial Afro Worldview on DStv as the channel's last-night discussion revolves around virginity testing and 'A, B and C-grade vaginas'.

Staffers at Mzwanele Manyi's Afro Worldview (DStv 405) were told on Monday to stay home from Tuesday as the day finally arrived that MultiChoice was cutting the channel, previously known as ANN7 and started by the Guptas, after its 5-year contract ran out and wasn't renewed.

Afro Worldview was set to go dark at 23:59 on Monday night as MultiChoice announced in January, with the channel that closed out Monday night, its final broadcasting night on DStv, with a discussion around virginity testing and "A, B and C-grade vaginas".

Employees at Afro Worldview said they were finally informed by Mzwanele Manyi on Monday during a meeting that Afro Worldview is going off the air.

It comes less than a month after the abrupt shutdown of Afro Voice, the newspaper previously known as The New Age that was taken over by Mzwanele Manyi's Afrotone Holdings through a vendor financing deal with the controversial Gupta family.

Mzwanele Manyi's Afrotone Media Holdings in June renamed The New Age as Afro Voice and ANN7 as Afro Worldview in an attempt to create distance from the tarnished brands mired in alleged Gupta corruption scandals as part of an announced "'strategic decision'' to take the media company "to greater heights".

Om Monday Afro Worldview staffers were told that they will be paid at the end of the month as planned.

There's been no statement from Afro Worldview on Monday about its shuttering that comes exactly 5 years after ANN7's utterly disastrous launch on 21 August 2013 on DStv. and that was recently recounted in Rajesh Sundaram's page-turner book, Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said it was disappointed at the way that Afro Worldview handled the channel's demise and that management were not more upfront with workers about what would be happening after Monday.

The Fedusa trade union said "we are concerned for the workers, however, it is difficult to ignore the propaganda history of the network and its previous owners".

Sometime on Saturday 18 August Mzwanele Manyi on Twitter posted a staff pic taken in the Afro Worldview studio, and pleaded: "Dear South Africa Please put this innocent team of Bread Winners in your prayers. They NEED their jobs."

MultiChoice on Monday reaffirmed to TVwithThinus what it announced earlier that Afro Worldview will be shut down on DStv on 20 August and said in response to a media enquiry that "our contract with Afro Worldview comes to an end today".

Afro Worldview closed out Monday night with a late-night discussion about virginity testing and talking about "A, B and C-grade vaginas".

"I know the lights are going off at the station but HTF is this allowed to air?" asked viewer Quinton Mtyala.

In a note to DStv subscribers, MultiChoice said it would make an announcement regarding the new TV news channel replacing Afro Worldview on 28 August.

The future of SABC News channel in doubt, will continue on DStv while discussions between the SABC and MultiChoice continue.

Not only will Afro Worldview disappear on 20 August from MultiChoice's DStv but the future of a second channel in the news block is now in doubt: the South African public broadcaster's SABC News channel could soon be a gonner too since the SABC and MultiChoice haven't signed a new contract.

The struggling and cash-strapped SABC doesn't have the money to fund and run SABC News (DStv 404) on its own although it is supposed to be one of the SABC's envisioned, freely available TV channels for digital terrestrial television (DTT).

If MultiChoice doesn't extend the contract for SABC News, the channel will presumably have to shutter just like SABC News International, the public broadcaster's first try at a 24-hour TV news channel that bled the corporation dry and was terminated after bleeding millions of rand after just three years at the end of March 2010.

Ironically the fate of a public broadcasting TV news channel lies squarely in the hands of a commercial company, in this case Naspers' pay-TV arm, MultiChoice.

According to insider sources who asked for anonymity because they're not allowed to speak directly to media, SABC managers allegedly had a meeting with fixed-term producers for the SABC News channel on Monday, informing them that the SABC has not reached an agreement with MultiChoice for the renewal of SABC News.

There's now growing buzz that producers will apparently receive letters this week informing them that production on SABC News will stop, although producer contracts allegedly still run until the end of August.

The SABC was asked whether this is accurate and whether the broadcaster can confirm a meeting with producers in which they were told that the channel won't be continuing, but the SABC declined to answer the question.

The SABC and MultiChoice were both asked, separately, about the future of the SABC News channel and whether it's accurate that the channel on DStv channel 404 will not be renewed and end during July.

Both the SABC and MultiChoice responded on Tuesday afternoon at 16:00 within minutes of each other, and with the exact same holding statement, saying that discussions are ongoing and that SABC News and SABC Encore will stay on the air on DStv for the time being.

"The SABC and MultiChoice are currently in discussions to carry the SABC News and SABC Encore channels on DStv. We will communicate the outcome once the discussions have been finalised. The channels will continue to air on DStv whilst the discussions are ongoing," said the SABC and MultiChoice.

Earlier this year the new SABC board told parliament's portfolio committee on communications that it would like to see the SABC News channel continue.

The SABC started SABC News (DStv 404) in August 2013, along with SABC Encore (DStv 156) as a placeholder rerun channel in May 2015. Both channels were part of an exclusive two-channel packaged deal with MultiChoice. In May 2015 the footprint of the SABC News channel was extended beyond South Africa into several other African countries on DStv.

These two channels - although they're content from and created by the public broadcaster - are however not available to other satellite TV platforms like StarSat, e.tv's Openview or Deukom in the way that SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 are.

In November 2017 explosive, leaked meeting transcripts between MultiChoice and the SABC, as well as #GuptaLeaks contracts between MultiChoice and the controversial ANN7 (DStv 405) channel, now renamed Afro Worldview, became public, showing massive payments from MultiChoice to the Guptas.

These payments not only raised multiple serious questions over possible corporate impropriety, but also over TV news channel carriage deals and payments for these channels, as well as raising eyebrows over a private pay-TV company's possible undue influence in the country's switch from analogue to digital TV broadcasting.

MultiChoice told the SABC it would pay the broadcaster R100 million for the SABC News channel but but only on the strict must-have contract clause condition that the SABC must support MultiChoice's stance on conditional access (CA) for digital television.

MultiChoice also dramatically upped its payments from R50 million per year to R100 million per year and then R141 million per year, as well as a questionable, additional R25 million payment to the Guptas for the low-rated, mistake-filled and often criticised ANN7.

It means that MultiChoice has been paying ANN7, now Afro Worldview owned by Mzwanele Manyi, more money despite its very low ratings than what MultiChoice has been paying eNCA (DStv 403) that has more than 50% of the overall TV news audience share on DStv. eMedia Investments will now start a second TV news channel, OpenNews, within months on its own Openview platform as a backup if eNCA were to discontinue on DStv.

Since November 2017 the SABC is aware of how much more money MultiChoice is paying Afro Worldview, although the SABC in May 2018 had 25.23% of the overall TV news channel audience share, compared to Afro Worldview's paltry and sliding 9%.

Meanwhile MultiChoice is finalising the shortlist for a new black-owned local TV news channel to replace Afro Worldview with 24 applications from various consortiums that were received.

MultiChoice doesn't want to announce any of the names of the applicants for public scrutiny and will only communicate who the successful TV news channel bidder is after a new channel carriage contract has been signed.

Four businesses want to start new free-to-air TV channels in South Africa, including ANN7, Sekunjalo through Tshwaranang, and Econet Media's Kwesé TV.

Four business consortiums want to start new freely available TV channels in South Africa - including the so-called "Gupta news" channel ANN7 that MultiChoice is dumping from DStv in August, as well as Sekunjalo that owns the South African print group, Independent Media, looking to launch its first TV channel.

South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) received four applications from interested parties who want to start individual, commercial free-to-air (FTA) TV channels.

The last time the regulator opened applications for people to start free-to-air channels to be competition for the SABC and e.tv in 2014, all 5 who applied were disqualified in 2016.

All 5 were refused licences due to problems with cross-media ownership that didn't adhere to regulations, not complying with foreign ownership restrictions, not complying with the ownership share regarding historically-disadvantaged groups and not proving they have adequate financial backing to start sustainable TV channels in South Africa.

Infinity Media Networks - the company name that owned ANN7 before selling it to Mzwanele Manyi's Afrotone Media Holdings - wanted to start a freely available version of ANN7, and has now applied again.

Icasa has published the 4 applicant's names in the Government Gazette of 13 March 2018 with the public that had until 4 April to respond.

The actual applications and application documents are available to the public, but can only be access by people who are in Johannesburg and who physically have to go to the Icasa library in Sandton during office hours. Icasa says the applications are not available online for the public to study.


The following businesses applied for TV channel licenses:

Kwesé Free TV
Econet Media runs Kwesé TV as a pay-TV service outside of South Africa in several Southern African countries but doesn't have a licence to run a pay-TV service in South Africa.
Kwesé has a South African office in Bryanston, Johannesburg, and its one channel, Kwesé Free Sports was just added to the free-to-air satellite service, OpenView HD (OVHD) run by eMedia Investment's Platco Digital.

Econet Media would like to get a foot in the door by starting a free TV channel in South Africa that will start getting its brand out there and build brand recognition in the country, after which it will wait until it can apply for a pay-TV license to become competition for MultiChoice's DStv, StarSat and Deukom.


Infinity Media Networks
Infinity Media Networks used to run ANN7. Then the controversial Gupta family sold ANN7 to Mzwanele Manyi and his Afrotone Media Holdings in a "vendor financing" agreement.
Now Infinity Media Networks is listed again as an applicant to start a new, free-to-air TV channel.

While Infinity Media Networks' name is listed as the applicant for a TV licence, the telephone number listed is that of ANN7 in Midrand - 011 542 1222. The physical office address and the postal address are those currently used by ANN7, and the email addresses provided to the public in the Government Gazette are both ANN7 email addresses.


Free to Air TV
Little is known about this applicant whose office address is given as being in Melrose North, Johannesburg.


Tshwaranang Media
Tshwaranang Media is from Sekunjalo Independent Media (SIM) controlled by Iqbal Survé who owns 55% of the Independent Media Group.

The contact details provided to Icasa are those of the African News Agency (ANA), the tiny wire service run by Sekunjalo and Independent Media, where the contact point for Tshwaranang Media is given as ANA Pictures CEO and Independent Media Solutions (IMS), Amit Makan.

Tshwaranang Media also lists contact details at Condé Nast in Cape Town, with Condé Nast Independent Magazines (CNIM) that is part of Sekunjalo Independent Media.

Before selling its treasured archives to MultiChoice, the SABC also sold it to ANN7 as Gupta executives laughed at 'stupid' SABC: 'The people at the SABC can be bought for a meal and a drink'.

Before the struggling South African public broadcaster sold its treasured archives to MultiChoice in a controversial channels deal, the SABC also apparently sold it to ANN7 (DStv 405) as Gupta executives laughed at the "stupid SABC" and said: "The people at the SABC can be bought for a meal and a drink; they are willing to give away their treasure trove of historical footage for peanuts".

The stunning claim is the latest of many to emerge from the buzzed about new book, Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, by author Rajesh Sundaram, a former ANN7 giving an insider's perspective on the horrific working conditions during the set-up and eventual disastrous launch of the "Gupta news" channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in August 2013.

While much has already been reported about the SABC's controversial deal with MultiChoice selling its archives to Naspers' pay-TV unit, it's now coming to light that the SABC actually also allegedly sold its archives for a fraction of what it's worth to the Gupta family accused in a litany of widespread State Capture allegations.

In his book, Rajesh Sundaram writes that that Laxmi Goel, an executive roped in by the Guptas to help with the setting up and launch of ANN7, during a meeting revealed "an elaborate plan to buy archival footage from the SABC".

"He told me how the Guptas had got a nod from the state broadcaster to buy this valuable archive. The SABC had plans to set up a 24/7 news channel of their own, but they were willing to sell their archives for a sweet deal to the Guptas".

"They have all their archives on mini DV tapes. Their library is not automated or digitised, and it takes them ages to find any footage. We will bring these tapes to our studio and digitise them. So from day one we will have a tapeless library with systems that will make it possible for us to pull out footage within a few seconds."

"We know the people at the SABC, so we will get footage at a very low rate. You will have to make sure that all the footage of historical importance at the SABC is included in the 100-hour bulk deal we plan to do with them," Laxmi Goel apparently told Rajesh Sundaram.

"But the SABC eventually did not allow the footage to be taken away from their office. Rahul Singh, a senior video librarian from India, was sent with mini digital video format tapes and asked to bring back 100 hours of footage from the thousands of tapes at the SABC archives".

"He spent about a month going to the SABC every day and sitting at a video editing bay there and transferring all the valuable historical footage the SABC had in its tape library. By the time he resigned and went back to India, he had collected 60 hours of priceless footage from the SABC library," writes Rajesh Sundaram.

"We are paying them a lump sum to get this footage. We have got a very sweet deal with them. The people at the SABC can be bought for a meal or a drink; they are willing to give away their treasure trove of historical footage footage for peanuts."

"They have a clause in the contract that says that we will have to also pay them a "per second" fee for every time we air the footage we have taken from them. But they are so stupid, how will they be able to tell what is their footage? How can they audit our use? We will get all their footage forever at just this one-time cost," Nazeem Howa said when the footage transfer were discussed later, writes Rajesh Sundaram.

He writes that Rahul was instructed "to take anyone he interacts with at the SABC for a drink or mean any time they wanted to when he was at the SABC transferring footage. He was told by Nazeem that this cost would be reimbursed to him".

"Get all of Nelson Mandela's footage, get footage of the atrocities on the blacks during the apartheid years; we can use it to show the young people of today how the whites treated their grandparents and parents. This footage is priceless, and I want you to take as much of it as possible back with you. Even if you get more than 100 hours, get that, we will pay them under the table, Atul Gupta told Rahul during our discussion."

"The archival footage at the SABC was indeed of a very high quality and in my view worth millions of rands," writes Rajesh Sundaram. "Nazeem, Laxmi and Atul repeatedly told me that the contract with the SABC for this sale favoured ANN7, was drafted by Gupta lawyers and that the price of the footage was 'peanuts' compared to its real value."

"Rahul digitised all the footage he got the very same day and catalogued and classified it on the video library system. This meant transferring the footage from tapes to servers. After the footage was tagged and put on the server, ANN7 was able to retrieve and air it in a matter of seconds, something that would take the SABC team hours or even days to do."

"I have not been able to figure out why the SABC signed this contract and handed valuable footage shot over decades to a company that had far superior archiving technology and would be a rival to its own proposed 24-hour news channel".

The SABC was asked in a media enquiry on Monday if the public broadcaster possibly has any comment or statement regarding what Rajesh Sundaram writes in his book Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, about the SABC and the SABC's archive material that was given to ANN7.

The SABC didn't respond.

Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV is published by Jacana Media and is available in bookstores at R185.

Democratic Alliance reveals MultiChoice is refusing to release its full internal report on the controversial 'Gupta news' ANN7 channel despite PAIA application; MultiChoice says the DA has not shown that it has a right to access the report under that Act.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) political party says Naspers' satellite pay-TV business, MultiChoice has this month refused the DA's request for the full report on its payments to the controversial "Gupta News" ANN7 (DStv 405) channel and that MultiChoice says it doesn't recognise "public interest as a right.

MultiChoice told TVwithThinus in response to a media enquiry asking about the Democratic Alliance's statement, that the DA's comments are misleading.

It has also come to light that the meeting of the portfolio committee on communications scheduled in parliament for this week that was supposed to be attended by MultiChoice, ANN7 and the broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), has been postponed.

Humphrey Maxegwana, chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on communications, said that the meeting to hear from MultiChoice, ANN7 and Icasa what is going on, had been postponed without giving any reason as to why this week's meeting was abruptly cancelled.

Phumzile Van Damme, a Democratic Alliance member of parliament (MP) on Wednesday said that MultiChoice has refused the DA's request for the full report on its payments to ANN7 allegedly to influence government policy on digital terrestrial television (DTT) migration in its favour.

"MultiChoice states that it is under no legal obligation to make the report public, and furthermore does not recognise 'public interest' as a recognised right," said Phumzile Van Damme.

"Last month the DA submitted an application to MultiChoice in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) for the full report compiled by its Audit and Risk Committee, to be made public, following MultiChoice's internal investigation into payments to the Gupta-linked ANN7.

"The press conference in January announcing its findings was scant on detail, vaguely admitting 'mistakes were made', and holding no-one accountable," said Phumzile Van Damme.

"No information was provided for the reasons for the payments to ANN7 first at R25 million, increased to R50 million and then R141 million."

"The DA believes that the public needs to know the full truth about the dealings between MultiChoice, ANN7 and indeed the SABC, and whether MultiChoice, a private company, engaged in 'policy capture' by paying inducements to influence government policy in its favour."

The matter is currently before Icasa's Complaints and Compliance Committee.

MultiChoice told TVwithThinus that "The DA's comments in regards to the PAIA application are misleading".

"MultiChoice has declined to provide access to documentation requested by the DA under PAIA. It has done so because the DA has not shown that it has a right to access the report under that Act. The documentation has also been refused on various other grounds, including that the documentation also contains protected commercial information and is legally privileged."

MultiChoice says the Democratic Alliance's application "is without merit".

Meanwhile Phumzile Van Damme also revealed that MultiChoice's refusal to make its full interla report into ANN7 public, coincides with the cancellation of a scheduled meeting in parliament this week that was to be attended by MultiChoice and ANN7 executives, as well as Icasa.

"When requesting the reason for the cancellation of the meeting, my colleague Veronica van Dyk, was told by the chairperson of the committee, Humphrey Maxegwana, that changes were made to the programme and the meeting would be rescheduled in the near future," said Phumzile Van Damme.

"The Democratic Alliance objected to this, as all parties in the committee, including the ABC, has agreed that the matter relating to MultiChoice was urgent, and needed to be dealt with as a priority. A meeting where a parliamentary inquiry, as ordered by the Speaker's office in August 2017, into Faith Muthambi's role in State Capture was due to be discussed, also mysteriously disappeared from the committee's programme."

"It therefore seems that all Gupta-related meetings are being kicked for touch and delayed in perpetuity as is sometimes teh case when dealing with uncomfortable matters at the communications committee. This has no doubt been exacerbated by reports today revealing the direct involvement of former president Jacob Zuma in the setting up of ANN7," said Phumzile Van Damme.

"The Democratic Alliance will continue to be relentless in its push for both meetings to be held, and inquiries conducted. Jacob Zuma must also be subpoenaed to appear before parliament to explain his role in the saga".

"The DA will not rest until the full truth is revealed about both policy and State Capture involving the department of communications, its entities, and the industry it regulates".

Another 90 minute extended Carte Blanche episode on M-Net on Sunday at 7pm looking at the Guptas, highway rock throwing and dictator Robert Mugabe's playboy sons.

There will be another 90 minute extended Carte Blanche episode on M-Net (DStv 101) on Sunday at 19:00 of the broadcaster's weekly investigative magazine show due to the higher than usual age restriction of the film following afterwards.

This week's Carte Blanche episode on M-Net has a fascinating look at the playboy sons of the Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe, and further explores the Eskom state capture saga involving the controversial Gupta family.

Carte Blanche also profiles the young train rescue heroes from Kroonstad, looks at the apparent disarray within South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) political party, investigates the shocking highway rock throwing crime, and why telemarketing in South Africa has become out of control.   

First Strike From The AFU

This week the Asset Forfeiture Unit launched their first strike against international consulting company McKinsey and the Gupta-linked company, Trillian. Their preservation order freezes R1.6 billion, but that is just the beginning, says the NPA. They hope to recover another R50- billion. In an exclusive interview, Carte Blanche sits down with Suzanne Daniels, the Eskom executive, who was the first to recommend these companies pay back the money, but was suspended shortly afterwards.

Producer: Joy Summers

Presenter: Devi Sankaree Govender

Researcher: Tony Beamish

                         

Young Heroes

At just 12 years old, their selfless efforts to assist victims of the Kroonstad train crash have earned them the admiration of the entire nation. After witnessing the incident, the two boys fearlessly rushed to the scene to help the injured, pulling babies and the elderly from the train. Carte Blanche meets young South African heroes Evert du Preez and Mokoni Chaka.

Producer: Mart-Marie Faure

Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli

DA Future

As the governing party, the ANC is experiencing resurgence under the new leadership of Cyril Ramaphosa, trouble is brewing in the opposition camps of the Democratic Alliance. From Cape Town, to Port Elizabeth, to Johannesburg, major internal power struggles plague the DA.  Can the official opposition survive the political fallout in the Western Cape and its key metropoles throughout the country?  Carte Blanche analyses a party, seemingly in disarray.

Producer: Liz Fish

Presenter: John Webb

Highway Rock Throwing

It’s a deadly practice, often with fatal consequences. Gauteng and KZN have seen a renewed spate of rock throwing from highway bridges, causing serious damage to vehicles, claiming lives and injuring several motorists. But are these just reckless pranks or part of a devious plan to rob injured motorists of their valuables?

Producer: Nicky Troll

Presenter: Claire Mawisa

Telemarketing: Your Rights

We all loath those persistent telemarketing calls offering anything form insurance policies to cellphone contracts. Locally, it’s big business and when it comes to marketing phone calls, South Africa now ranks among the top 5 most spammed countries in the world. But is it legal to offer unsolicited credit or to keep your private contact details on a database after you’ve asked for it to be removed? Carte Blanche finds out what your rights are as a consumer.

Producer: Sophia Phirippides

Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli

Mugabe Boys

Pouring expensive champagne over a luxury watch to prove it's real is the kind of excessive behaviour that enraged Zimbabweans, but it’s also how Robert Mugabe’s sons, earned themselves an international reputation for party excess and big spending.  After years of splurging on lavish hotel rooms and designer clothes in South Africa, will Mugabe's fall from power put an end to his sons' jet-setting lifestyles?

Producer: Journeyman Pictures

The Right2Know Campaign 'deeply concerned' over MultiChoice's dodgy dealings with SABC, ANN7; calls for Public Protector and parliamentary investigations.

The Right2Know Campaign has been weighing in on Naspers' widening scandal that has engulfed its pay-TV arm MultiChoice and its alleged dodgy dealings and contracts with the SABC and the controversial ANN7 channel from the Guptas, calling for urgent investigations by both the Public Protector and parliament.

At issue is whether the media conglom's lucrative pay-TV unit is or was involved in undue pressure to get the controversial Gupta family through their ANN7 channel, and the SABC, to exercise pressure in return for getting their TV news channels carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

Explosive, leaked meeting transcripts between MultiChoice and the South African public broadcaster the SABC, as well as #GuptaLeaks contracts between MultiChoice and the controversial ANN7 D(Stv 405) channel showing massive payments from DStv to the Guptas, have raised multiple serious questions over corporate impropriety.

MultiChoice told the SABC it would pay the broadcaster R100 million for the SABC News channel but but only on the strict must-have contract clause condition that the SABC must support MultiChoice's stance on conditional access (CA) for digital television.

MultiChoice also dramatically upped its payments from R50 million per year to R100 million per year and then R141 million per year, as well as a questionable, additional R25 million payment to the Guptas for the low-rated, bad quality, mistake-filled and often criticised ANN7.

MultiChoice is paying ANN7 more despite its barely there low ratings than eNCA (DStv 403) that has more than 50% of the overall TV news audience share.

It's all created the perception that MultiChoice has paid kickbacks to both the SABC and ANN7 to use its influence to get set-top box (STB) encryption dropped from government-subsidised STBs in the switch to digital terrestrial television (DTT).

MultiChoice and Naspers have denied the kickbacks allegations and the MultiChoice board announced that MultiChoice is starting an internal investigation of itself.

The Right2Know Campaign in a statement says it is "deeply worried by recent media revelations of suspect correspondence between, and dodgy payments from, MultiChoice to SABC and ANN7."

"R2K intends to lodge a complaint with the Public Protector and has written to parliament's communications committee to launch an inquiry."

"It is insinuated that these payments from MultiChoice to the Gupta-linked ANN7 and the SABC were intended as kickbacks to influence government policy on encryption of digital terrestrial television (DTT) signals."

"At the centre of this appears to be Faith Muthambi who then presided over the department of communications, and who is alleged to have pursued MultiChoice’s market dominance agenda in concert with various Gupta associates."

"This would suggest blatant corruption on the part of MultiChoice and Faith Muthambi to advantage themselves in the disastrous roll-out of digital TV, which has seriously undermined the public's right to know."

"If MultiChoice is innocent it should welcome the parliament and the Public Protector's probes," says the Right2Know Campaign.

"It should be noted, though, that this is not the first time there have been revelations of irregularities surrounding digital TV and set-top boxes (STBs)."

"Media reports have also linked Altech UEC and Mxolisi Saady Zuma, the president’s son, to STB procurement bribery."

"The Gupta family has sought to influence government policy on digital TV in order to make money for their various businesses since 2012 when they invited Dina Pule, who was the communications minister then, to their house for canvassing."

"Right2Know notes that the department of communication has to date not released the report of the investigation into alleged STB corruption which was commissioned by the National Treasury and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers."

"R2K has therefore written to parliament’s communications committee calling for an urgent probe into the dealings between MultiChoice, Faith Muthambi and the Guptas, and also will lodge a complaint with the Office of the Public Protector demanding an urgent probe."

"R2K demands that these probes be initiated immediately with the outcomes being publicised in 3 months".

ANC political party's chief whip Jackson Mthembu calls for a parliamentary investigation into MultiChoice over dubious ANN7 and SABC dealings: 'If we want to call that State Capture, I have no problem'.

Dr Jack & Curtis cartoon on Radio 702's EyewitnessNews (EWN) 


Jackson Mthembu, the ANC political party's chief whip on Tuesday called for an urgent parliamentary investigation into media conglom Naspers and its pay-TV unit MultiChoice amidst a growing scandal of allegations regarding improper corporate influence by the pay-TV company on South Africa's digital TV process.

Naspers and MultiChoice are increasingly mired in a barrage of damaging news headlines and revelations regarding MultiChoice's alleged undue corporate influence on the controversial Gupta family's ANN7 (DStv 405) channel and the SABC to allegedly help influence the South African government's policy on digital TV in MultiChoice's favour.

Jackson Mthembu, the ANC communications committee chairperson, addressed journalist at the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the political party’s 54th national elective conference.

"The matter should be investigated and all those who might have done things not in accordance with our stated objectives must be called to account after a proper investigation," Jackson Mthembu said.

"Now if we want to call that state capture, I have no problem."

"If you want to benefit and you then want to influence government policy towards your benefit as a private citizen or corporate citizen, indeed you might be trying to capture the state for your benefit," Jackson Mthembu said.

At issue is whether the media conglom's lucrative pay-TV unit is or was involved in undue pressure to get the controversial Gupta family through their ANN7 channel, and the SABC, to exercise pressure in return for getting their TV news channels carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

Explosive, leaked meeting transcripts between MultiChoice and the South African public broadcaster the SABC, as well as #GuptaLeaks contracts between MultiChoice and the controversial ANN7 D(Stv 405) channel showing massive payments from DStv to the Guptas, have raised multiple serious questions over corporate impropriety.

MultiChoice told the SABC it would pay the broadcaster R100 million for the SABC News channel but but only on the strict must-have contract clause condition that the SABC must support MultiChoice's stance on conditional access (CA) for digital television.

MultiChoice also dramatically upped its payments from R50 million per year to R100 million per year and then R141 million per year, as well as a questionable, additional R25 million payment to the Guptas for the low-rated, bad quality, mistake-filled and often criticised ANN7.

MultiChoice is paying ANN7 more despite its barely there low ratings than eNCA (DStv 403) that has more than 50% of the overall TV news audience share.

It's all created the perception that MultiChoice has paid kickbacks to both the SABC and ANN7 to use its influence to get set-top box (STB) encryption dropped from government-subsidised STBs in the switch to digital terrestrial television (DTT).

MultiChoice and Naspers that have denied the kickbacks allegations and have been very slow to respond to the growing avalanche of criticism and calls for parent company Naspers and its chairperson Koos Bekker and CEO Bob van Dijk - not MultiChoice - to launch an independent investigation into the shocking allegations.

On Tuesday Naspers shares tumbled 4% on news that the United States law firm, Pomerantz - specialising in class action securities law suits - has started its own investigation into possible Naspers securities fraud and other unlawful business practices.

Naspers and MultiChoice now facing a possible class action law suit in America as Pomerantz law firm investigates claims on behalf of Naspers investors.

Media conglom Naspers and its pay-TV arm MultiChoice could now be facing a possible class action law suit in America after an America law firm announced that it's starting an investigation on behalf of Naspers investors into Naspers.

It's the latest fallout amidst the widening scandal of allegations of corruption, collusion and undue corporate influence from Naspers' MultiChoice unit to allegedly try and sway and influence South Africa's long-stalled digital migration switch from analogue to digital TV.

Explosive, leaked meeting transcripts between MultiChoice and the South African public broadcaster the SABC, as well as #GuptaLeaks contracts between MultiChoice and the controversial ANN7 D(Stv 405) channel showing massive payments from DStv to the Guptas, have raised multiple serious questions over corporate impropriety.

MultiChoice told the SABC it would pay the broadcaster R100 million for the SABC News channel but but only on the strict must-have contract clause condition that the SABC must support MultiChoice's stance on conditional access (CA) for digital television.

MultiChoice also dramatically upped its payments from R50 million per year to R100 million per year and then R141 million per year, as well as a questionable, additional R25 million payment to the Guptas for the low-rated, bad quality, mistake-filled and often criticised ANN7.

MultiChoice is paying ANN7 more despite its barely there low ratings than eNCA (DStv 403) that has more than 50% of the overall TV news audience share.

It's all created the perception that MultiChoice has paid kickbacks to both the SABC and ANN7 to use its influence to get set-top box (STB) encryption dropped from government-subsidised STBs in the switch to digital terrestrial television (DTT).

MultiChoice and Naspers that have denied the kickbacks allegations and have been very slow to respond to the public perception brand and reputation crisis, have been overly arrogant where it did respond and in instances where executives spoke publicly.

Naspers' CEO Bob van Dijk and chairperson Koos Bekker both bristled with hardly contained anger and irritation in a few media interviews done saying Naspers isn't going to get directly involved in dealings with its MultiChoice subsidiary.

The bad and slow corporate crisis communication combined with the arrogant and caustic attitudes of Koos Bekker and Bob van Dijk have done little to sway public sentiment and to create any sympathy for Naspers and MultiChoice.

After a week, the MultiChoice board finally announced that MultiChoice will launch an internal investigation into itself on the matter.

MultiChoice didn't specify in its announcement, and didn't respond when asked if the outcome of the investigation will be made public.

Now an American law firm, Pomerantz LLP is looking for Naspers investors who want to start a class action law suit against Naspers and in a public statement says "Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Naspers Limited".

"The investigation concerns whether Naspers and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices."

Pomerantz has now created an online page where Naspers investors can join a possible class action suit.

"On December 1, 2017, Naspers reported that its wholly-owned television unit MultiChoice had initiated an investigation into whether improper payments were made to ANN7, a South African news channel owned by the politically-connected Gupta family."

"According to local media, citing leaked emails, MultiChoice substantially increased its annual payment to ANN7 from R50 million to R141 million rand ($10 million) over the past two years."

"On this news, Naspers' American Depositary Receipt price fell $3.05, or 5.58%, to close at $51.60 on December 1, 2017."

"The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation," says the law firm.

Pomerantz says it fights "for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The firm has recovered numerous multi million dollar damages awards on behalf of class members."

The company said Naspers investors can contact the American law firm by reaching out to Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980

South Africa's COPE and EFF political parties join the Democratic Alliance in calling for a boycott of the controversial and divisive 'Guptanews' ANN7 channel on DStv.

On Tuesday in South Africa the COPE political party called for a ban and thorough investigation of the controversial and divisive "Guptanews" ANN7 (DStv 405) TV channel carried by MultiChoice on its DStv satellite pay-TV platform, joining the EFF and Democratic Alliance political parties that previously called for an ANN7 ban.

The EFF and the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party both called for a boycott and ban of the slanted and blooper-filled ANN7 earlier this year, and the EFF again did so on Tuesday.

These parties have now been joined by COPE - representing the majority of South Africa's opposition parties.

COPE's call for a shutdown of ANN7 and a thorough investigation into the controversial TV channel from Infinity Media Networks owned by Oakbay Investments, comes a day after Oakbay announced that ANN7 and The New Age newspaper are being "sold" through a vendor loan for R450 million to the former ANC spin tsar Mzwanele "Jimmy" Manyi.

Jimmy Manyi is a Gupta acolyte and a frequent on-air "analyst" on the "fake news" channel that stews in biased news through slanted, rhetorical questions put to one-sided panelists and where the Bell-Pottinger PR invented catchphrase of "white monopoly capital" to deflect from South African state capture is employed daily, and often.

COPE wants a thorough investigation of the R450 million deal between the Guptas' Oakbay and Jimmy Manyi's Lodidox pop-up shelf company, and is calling for a recall of ANN7's broadcasting license as a TV channel on MultiChoice's platform.

COPE calls the Oakbay-Manyi transaction to suddenly "buy" ANN7 and The New Age in a debt sale deal just days before the Bank of Baroda closes their bank accounts "extremely suspicious", saying that the "transaction is clouded in secrecy, giving rise to more questions than answers".

COPE wants to know who and how the deal was financed, what process was followed, and if South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) approved the sudden sale of ANN7.

In June the Democratic Alliance (DA) called for a boycott of ANN7 saying South Africans can't "allow the Guptas' propaganda to bring the credibility of our media into question".

"Hardworking and dedicated journalist and staff at both Gupta media houses are being abused by the corrupted political agendas of the ANC and the Guptas. The DA stands in solidarity with these journalists and staff who report with integrity, but are under enormous political pressure."

"It is time to stop giving The New Age and ANN7 the time of day, and see them for what they are: The Guptas’ own Closed Circuit Television. It is time to stop all funding of ANN7 and The New Age, to put a stop to the Guptas propaganda campaign."

The EFF political party reiterated its call for a boycott of ANN7, in a statement saying "There is nothing 'media transformation' about this deal; to call it this is like thinking the apartheid's creating of Bantustans was a progressive liberation move for black people".

"Like Bantustan leaders, Jimmy Manyi is a stooge representing the entrenchment of Gupta corruption in our country."

"We know that The New Age has been a sole beneficiary of many corrupt deals in state institutions like South African Airways (SAA) and the SABC, as well as in many state departments."

"This means The New Age should be returning all the money it made through illegal and questionable deals like that with the SABC Morning Live Business Breakfast briefings".

"We are not blind to the fact that Jimmy Manyi will continue the business of fake news and reporting that characterises the Gupta media empire. This is because Jimmy Manyi himself has been central to false propaganda and the defence of Zupta corruption that is killing many state institutions."

"He is the cheerleader of kleptocracy and a mascot of the Zupta corruption."

An online petition that was started on 30 March this year and calling for MultiChoice to remove ANN7 from DStv has so far attracted 12 578 signatures from angry DStv subscribers, making it the 3rd most signed online petition at Petitions24.com worldwide for 2017 so far.

MultiChoice has not yet responded to the petition.

As calls grow for removal of Guptas' ANN7 TV channel that DStv subscribers say they don't want to pay for, MultiChoice says it has no editorial control over channels' content.

As calls grow for the removal of the TV channel ANN7 (DStv 405) from DStv by thousands of subscribers saying they don't want to be forced to pay for the "Gupta news" channel, MultiChoice in an open letter says that the pay-TV operator doesn't have editorial control over what the Gupta channel shows.

While an an online petition that was started in April  has now grown to over 12 500 signatures and comments asking for ANN7 to be removed from MultiChoice's satellite pay-TV platform DStv - and keeps growing - several other voices have publicly called for MultiChoice to remove ANN7.

A growing number of South Africans - from ordinary DStv subscribers to high-profile names - feels that ANN7 from Infinity Media Networks is sowing divisiveness in South African society and fueling racial tension through slanted commentary, so-called "expert" panelists and its biased coverage of political events.

In a published open letter - that interestingly has some mistakes - Nolo Letele, MultiChoice South Africa's chairperson, makes the claim that MultiChoice "do not have editorial control over the content third-party providers place on their channels, nor do we endorse any particular points of view".

Nolo Letele references some of the TV news channels carried on MultiChoice, making the mistake of saying "CCTV" that changed to CGTN at the end of last year already, "CNN" that's actually CNN International (CNN is America's domestic feed) and even "Russia Today" - a channel that officially changed its name to RT ages ago.

Let wrong DStv channel names in a corporate open letter that should have been checked better before being sent to the media not be used to cast aspersions.

But lets consider this:

MultiChoice's constantly performs content analyses and performance evaluations on basically all of the channels carried on DStv. Under-performing and non-performing third-party channels on DStv are continually told when their content isn't working and what should be changed.

This can be considered a form of editorial control.

The past year and a half several channels on MultiChoice's DStv from E! Entertainment to TLC Entertainment - even recently kids channels ranging from Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network to Disney XD - have seen content across Africa banned and removed in ramped up censorship in countries ranging from Nigeria to Kenya that has a direct impact on all Africans - even South African DStv subscribers.

Something like this doesn't happen in a vacuum, with complaints from broadcasting regulators that go to MultiChoice in these various African countries.

MultiChoice then quickly contacts third-party channels and tell them to remove the offending content, ranging from I Am Cait to The Loud House.

Last month MultiChoice quickly told African countries when more content were removed that "in tandem with our internal quality control measures, we also ensure all third-party suppliers are adequately briefed on country specific regulatory requirements and provisions".

This can be considered a form of editorial control.

Also consider these examples from the controversial MultiChoice SABC contract for the supply of the SABC News (DStv 404) and SABC Encore (DStv 156) channels by the SABC to DStv.

Keep in mind that MultiChoice's contract with ANN7 very likely carries a similar section:

When a channel under-performs, the contract states that MultiChoice and the SABC: "shall meet and agree on how best to improve the viewership."

"The SABC shall be given the opportunity to implement the changes it deems fit to improve the viewership of of SABC News during a period of 30 days from the date of the meeting referred to above."

Elsewhere the contract states that the SABC "shall ensure that each of the channels retains its current quality and character".

How do you possibly improve viewership if you don't make changes to the content? And doesn't an agreement to adhere to a specific "character" at its very core signify editorial changes?

This can be considered a form of editorial control.

And there's this: When MultiChoice extended the reach of SABC News from just South Africa to the rest of Africa, the SABC dropped all other language TV news bulletins from SABC News and made the channel just English.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said it was done because DStv subscribers in countries outside South Africa won't understand South Africa's languages. Keep in mind that SABC News is supposed to be for South African viewers - one of the SABC's envisioned DTT channels to serve the South African public.

Yet the (bigger and expanded) platform - in this case MultiChoice's DStv - literally had a direct influence on the editorial side of a TV news channel carried on it, in this case the 10 languages dropped from it.

This can be considered a form of editorial control.

In the letter Nolo Letele says that MultiChoice has "a legally binding agreement with ANN7, which we are legally obliged to abide by."

"We are a responsible corporate citizen and where legal grounds arise that require us to terminate a content agreement, we will certainly do so."

"Customers who do not agree with the editorial content of any channel have the ability - quite independently of us - to reach out to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA. I hope this information is useful."

Interestingly Nolo Letele doesn't - and can't - say that customers who do not agree with the editorial content of any channel have the ability to not pay for it.

Despite complaining with the BCCSA over ANN7, DStv subscribers will still have to pay for ANN7 while enriching the Guptas as evidence of state capture and shocking Pell Pottinger PR practices continue to emerge.

Nolo Letele's open letter feels as if MultiChoice is doing what in psychology is termed "learned helplessness".

Imagine a shop carries a product or service, a hundred thousand customers complain, but the shop says "sorry there is nothing we can do about it". It's absurd.

More than a hundreds thousand DStv subscribers already voiced their strong opposition to ANN7 but MultiChoice seems to say it doesn't have the ability or willingness to act and that there's nothing the pay-TV operator can do about it.

In Nolo Letele's words, the ability - in fact the responsibility - is shifted away from MultiChoice and to the DStv subscriber - to the paying customer - to go and complain to a broadcasting complaints body.

And that is disappointing.


Below is the open letter from MultiChoice's Nolo Letele, published in full:


Deon Wiggett takes MultiChoice to task for carrying the ANN7 news channel on its satellite platform (Dethroning DStv from our lounges might slay ANN7, July 21).

He wants us to consider summarily removing the channel from the platform. Perhaps it will be useful to consider the following.

DStv is a platform that relays many local and international news channels representing a wide spectrum of views (SABC News, eNCA, ANN7, Parliamentary Service, Business Day TV, CNN, Sky News, Russia Today, CCTV, Al Jazeera and others).

We do not have editorial control over the content third-party providers place on their channels, nor do we endorse any particular points of view.

At present we have a legally binding agreement with ANN7, which we are legally obliged to abide by.

We are a responsible corporate citizen and where legal grounds arise that require us to terminate a content agreement, we will certainly do so.

Customers who do not agree with the editorial content of any channel have the ability - quite independently of us - to reach out to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa. I hope this information is useful.

Nolo Letele Executive chairman, MultiChoice SA