Koo Govender quits M-Net; pay-TV broadcaster's director of corporate marketing and communications to become CEO of VWV agency.

Koo Govender has quit M-Net where she has been the director of corporate marketing and communications at the pay-TV broadcaster; she will become the first female CEO of the VWV agency from next month.

There's been no official announcement to the press from M-Net yet about Koo Govender's departure, nor who will be replacing her.

BREAKING. M-Net hoping to take subscribers and the TV industry on ''A Magical Journey'' for its 25th birthday celebrations.

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I can exclusively reveal that M-Net is planning a big birthday party for October when the pay broadcaster turns 25 years old and has massive plans for how it wants to enchant viewers and the TV industry by taking everyone on a ''A Magical Journey''.

''M-Net is indeed making big plans for our birthday in October,'' says Koo Govender, M-Net's director of corporate and marketing communications when I asked about what M-Net is planning for its 25th anniversary and what M-Net is hoping to bring viewers this year and especially in October. ''We have big things lined-up,'' she says.

''We planning something big for viewers, as well as an on-air campaign.'' Regarding the theme that will encapsulate M-Net's 25th anniversary celebrations, I managed to squeeze out of the always wonderful Koo Govender three precious magical words: ''A Magical Journey''.

''We are working on a concept right now. I don't really want to tell you,'' she said, but relented. ''Okay. I'll tell you. We're basically working around 'A Magical Journey'. We are looking at not just doing something special with programming, but doing things inside programming,'' she says. ''It's very exciting. We are talking to all of the Hollywood studios. We can't do anything until there is agreement from their side, but we're thinking of specific 'wow' stuff for viewers. We want them to do very specific things, very specifically for us, for the South African TV market. We are going to try and do phenomenal stuff with an inside programming. People really need to watch M-Net this year,'' says Koo Govender.

What I can tell is that M-Net actually has four events planned for the year - lets call them ''birthday parties'' - that will include and be for ad agencies, the media, and regulatory bodies. I did ask whether the M-Net logo might change for the birthday and whether iconic M-Net moments of the past 25 years will be shown again. Nobody wanted to say anything.

BREAKING. Major shake-up and wholesale changes are looming for M-Net's Vuka! Awards in 2011.

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I can be first to reveal that a massive shake-up, involving major changes and a wholesale overhaul is looming of M-Net's Vuka! Awards, the pay broadcaster's annual event celebrating and honouring the best of South African public service TV commercials.

From 2011 the Vuka! Awards will undergo a radical transformation and the just held 2010 Vuka! Awards will be the last one that took place in the award ceremony's present guise. For the past several months M-Net has been relooking the Vuka! Awards and will retool it from 2011 with significant changes in scope, voting, viewer interaction and execution, expanding the Vuka! Awards with a very strong social media aspect.

''Over the recent months, we've undertaken a comprehensive review of the Vuka! Awards, examining all the key dimensions of its scope and its objectives, its achievements, continued relevance, purpose and vision,'' says Koo Govender, director of corporate marketing and communications, adding that ''consequently this will be the last Vuka! Awards in its current format.''

''2011 will see a new and improved, and holistic and exciting Vuka! Awards,'' says Koo Govender. ''It will have a bigger focus on training and development, it will have a greater societal involvement and more viewer involvement and interest. We anticipate that it will move far beyond the traditional media platforms, and fully embrace the digital media.''

ALSO READ: M-Net launching a new bursary fund in 2011 to help students attend film schools.

BREAKING. M-Net launching a new bursary fund in 2011 to help students attend South African advertising, film schools.

Pay broadcaster M-Net is launching a brand-new bursary fund that it will run in 2011 for the first time, and which will financially support South African students within the broader media industry.

Koo Govender, M-Net's director of corporate marketing and communications let slip at the 2010 Vuka! Awards about the new bursary fund that will kick off in 2011 and will benefit the South African media industry.

''The one thing I can reveal is that M-Net is launching a bursary fund for previously disadvantaged students to study at excellent advertising, communications and film schools in South Africa,'' Koo Govender said. ''This is M-Net's contribution to the transformation of the media industry and to encourage students to enter the Vuka! Awards next year.''

ALSO READ: Major shake-up and changes looming for M-Net's Vuka! Awards in 2011.

M-Net, Ogilvy and Shy the Sun create two new brilliantly beautiful ''Believe the magic'' TV commercials.

screengrabs: Darrin Hofmeyr

Beautiful TV commercials are rare and M-Net, Ogilvy Johannesburg and production company Shy the Sun just produced two beautiful one minute ads for the pay broadcaster's new ''Believe in Magic . . . M-Net'' marketing campaign.

The two ads - one featuring a firefly, the other a ladybug with both going on ''enchanted'' journeys through fantasy environments that's part animation, part live action - will be broadcast on M-Net from this month. In the two ads I've watched, the firefly goes on a journey and finds the moon when his electrical light blub goes out and a ladybug journeys in a bubble through a forest to rise out above the clouds.

''We're incredibly excited to be the first to bring this groundbreaking piece of work to South African viewers,'' says Koo Govender, M-Net's corporate marketing director in a press statement. ''Visually these spots break the mould completely and we're proud to have worked with Ogilvy on this campaign that will truly create a magical experience for our viewers.''

''Ad campaigns of this kind are rare globally and we're thrilled to have worked with M-Net to bring something so unique to South Africa,'' says Robyn Bergmann, the creative group head at Ogilvy Johannesburg in the same statement. ''Work like this demonstrates that our country can compete with the best in the world.''

M-Net is again looking for public service adverts for the M-Net Vuka! Awards 2010.

M-Net is again looking for filmmakers who want to enter ''public service announcements'' (commercials not selling a product or service but highlighting a social causes or charities) in this year's M-Net Vuka! Awards for 2010.

''Last year's entries for the M-Net Vuka! Awards were of an incredibly high standard,'' says Koo Govender, corporate and marketing communications director at M-Net.

Entries for this year's M-Net Vuka Awards close on 1 October. All the details regarding submissions can be found at http://vuka.mnet.co.za/ or phone 011 804 2552 or send email to vuka@thebomb.co.za. The top 30% of best ''public service announcements will be broadcast on the various M-Net TV channels on DStv and in cinemas nationwide.

BREAKING. M-Net starts a new VUKA! Awards category.

You're reading it here first. M-Net who took over the VUKA! Awards earlier this year, has unveiled a new category that will also help the winner of that category to enter a VERY PRESTIGIOUS international competition for aspiring filmmakers.

Earlier this morning M-Net unveiled a brand-new Contenders category for the VUKA! Awards for filmmakers between 20 and 28. The winner of the Contenders category will get automatic entry to the super prestigious Cannes Young Lions competition in June 2010 (M-Net throws in flights, accomodation and spending money).


The pay channel took over the VUKA! Awards earlier this year after MultiChoice started it a decade ago in 1999.

M-Net also established a brand-new M-Net VUKA! Hall of Fame for previous winners that was unveiled at this morning's announcement. It's a permanent wall with a display of tapestries and a video loop of their work. ''It gives deserved recognition to our past and future winners for the excellent work they do,'' said Koo Govender, M-Net's director for corporate and marketing communications.

This year's VUKA! Awards takes place on 25 November at a glam function in Johannesburg. The top 30% of entries will have their work broadcast on the M-Net channels, DStv and cinemas countrywide.

Cape Town Carnival gets it's own M-Net channel

The Cape Town Carnival taking place next year will get LIVE TV coverage on M-Net with a special TV channel that will be created to cover everything surrounding it.

The dedicated M-Net channel will be shown on DStv and the parade will be broadcast live in its entirety.

Besides the live coverage of the Cape Town Carnival's parade through the streets of Cape Town on 20 March (MY BIRTHDAY!), M-Net will also package and record several interviews and inserts that will be broadcast from 18 March right up until the live coverage on 20 March.

''M-Net is really looking forward to bringing the magic of the Cape Town Carnival to viewers across the country on DStv,'' says Koo Govender, M-Net corporate marketing and communications director. ''It's going to be a huge event and we are excited to be able to share it with the whole of South Africa.''