MultiChoice Studios to distribute more local African content internationally, Showmax's The Wife to dubbed in French for Canal+ distribution.

by Thinus Ferreira 

MultiChoice Studios, the content sales and distribution arm of the MultiChoice Group, will be distributing a new and wider selection of African continent from the pay-TV operator to the rest of the world in 2022, including dubbing Showmax's isiZulu telenovela The Wife into French for Canal+ distribution.

MultiChoice produces films and series in South Africa as well as across the rest of sub-Saharan Africa through its M-Net Original and Showmax Original banners for its various linear M-Net packaged channels on its DStv pay-TV service, as well as its Showmax video streaming service.

Established in 2013, MultiChoice Studios now offers roughly 65 000 hours of content in a range of different formats and genres.

"The MultiChoice Group is the largest producer of original television content on the continent and our extensive catalogue features titles that appeal to a wide range of audiences," says Mauro Black, MultiChoice Studios director of content sales and distribution.

"All of our co-produced and commissioned titles are in high demand and in 2021 we saw incredible growth in that demand."

"We licensed 7 times more series and movies than we did during the previous year, placing us firmly on the world stage as a leading television content provider."

The Wife, produced by Stained Glass TV for Showmax and filmed in isiZulu, will now be dubbed into French for distribution to intercontinental and international markets through Canal+ that has steadily increased its shareholding in MultiChoice.

"The licensing of The Wife also highlights a developing trend among many buyers, who are requesting bundled packages that contain both evergreen dramas and new releases," says Mauro Black.

"This is testament to the quality of the productions on offer and also to the fact that they meet all technical requirements for dubbing into other languages."

Additional titles in MultiChoice's catalogue of series include the romantic comedy-drama, Entangled, and the drama series Lioness, Reyka, and The Republic.

"As a leading and credible source of the African narrative, MultiChoice is not only showcasing and advancing filmmaking in Africa, it is also showcasing African talent on the global stage." 

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 12 October 2020.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:  

■ "Too complex to break up" is the new excuse-slogan for "too big to fail".

The so-called "blue wave" is coming if America's Democratic Party wins the upcoming American election with the country's new wave of politicians who plan to break up the market dominance of Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon.

■ How Fox News (StarSat 261) creates its news narratives to play out like daily, serialised dramas.

Tells stories in a surprisingly similar way to a show like Lost or Stranger Things on Netflix; draws viewers deeper into a created reality that it spins for the watcher.

■ More penises are appearing on TV and in film and full frontal male nudity increases - but why are nearly all of them prosthetic?

In the obsession with size, big penis mystique must preserve the power of the phallus through prosthetic.

■ How The Crown on Netflix recreated Princess Diana's iconic wedding dress.

■ Massive ongoing court battle between the disgraced and famously matricless former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng and the South Africa's Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

■ The second season of The Boys ends with a shocking masturbation scene that was originally cut from the first season.

■ MultiChoice Studios now wants to sell its South African and African content to broadcasters across the Middle East.

■ Channing Dungey dumps Netflix after less than 2 years in shocking departure, is she heading to Warner Bros TV?

■ Because of NBCUniversal downsizing and cost-cutting rivals E! and Access Hollywood are now forced to share studio space.

Awkwardness as both E! and Access Hollywood look down on each other. The E! people think they're the "cool hip crowd" and Access is outdated and old, while Access thinks they're on broadcast television and E! is small and irrelevant. 

■ Viewership for embattled Ellen DeGeneres Show keeps falling after scandal. 

■ Nominations have opened for a vacancy on the SABC board and the application process closes on 15 October 2020.

■ TV's wave of "un-renewals": Scripted shows getting cancelled because of Covid after they become too expensive and difficult to produce because of the global pandemic.

■ CBS updates its iconic eye logo as CBS Television Studios rebrands to CBS Studios to identify CBS programming in end-title card.

■ YouTube more representative of Britain than television.

Sky announces plan to create its own Sky Studios Elstree complex with 14 sound stages to open by 2022, will create 2 000 jobs.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Sky pay-TV operator in the United Kingdom on Tuesday announced that it's creating its own Sky Studios Elstree as a Hollywood-type film and TV studio that will create 2 000 jobs and that should open its lot doors by 2022.

Sky Studios Elstree northwest of London and besides the existing Elstree Studios will encompass 14 sound stages and will become the European production base for Sky and NBCUniversal.

Sky, the parent firm of Sky News (DStv 402), said that the hope is that Sky Studios Elstree would also be used by other broadcasters and producers and will result in £3 billion being spent on TV and film productions in its first 5 years.

MultiChoice in South Afica has created the MultiChoice Studios name but doesn't have a huge studio lot called MultiChoice Studios.

Sky in a statement said that "development is expected to open in 2022 and will be able to facilitate the production of several films and TV shows simultaneously, with each of the 14 sound stages covering over 20 000 square feet".

"Once complete, the site will include production offices, a set construction workshop, a screening cinema and state-of-the-art post-production and digital facilities. Sky is also committed to supporting the next generation of young and diverse creative talent and will use Sky Studios Elstree to build on its existing work."

Sky said that "the creation of Sky Studios Elstree will provide a new home for Britain's flourishing creative sector and much needed space for Europe’s brightest talent. It will provide significant capacity for Sky Studios to produce more original content in-house, while continuing to work with independent production companies across Europe".

"The new studio space will also play host to major film productions from Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Working Title, and television series from NBCUniversal Content Studios. It will also have capacity to host productions from third-party producers." 

Jeremy Darroch, Sky group CEO, says "Sky Studios Elstree will play a pivotal role in bringing the wealth of United Kingdom and European talent and creativity to the world."

"We know our customers love our award-winning Sky Originals like Chernobyl and our investment in Sky Studios Elstree will enable us to bring more unique stories to more viewers. We are proud to be working with our colleagues at NBCUniversal and Comcast".

Britain's Sky pay-TV operator creates Sky Studios, will double its investment in original series over the next 5 years in its fightback against video streamers.

Britain's Sky pay-TV operator in a statement on Wednesday announced that it is creating Sky Studios and that it will be doubling its spending on original series over the next 5 years as part of its fightback to retain viewers as video streaming services keep growing.

Where Sky goes, M-Net and MultiChoice in South Africa over the past 15 years have often followed, so whether the creation of Sky Studios might lead to MultiChoice and M-Net establishing something like the M-Net Studios or MultiChoice Studios, remains to be seen.

Sky, through Sky Studios as an in-house production unit, wants to become the leading TV production force in the United Kingdom and across Europe and undet the Sky Studios plan, Sky's investment in original TV series will more than double from the current level over the next 5 years.

Gary Davey, Sky in the United Kingdom's managing director of content, will head up Sky Studios.
"This exciting new venture is perfectly timed to meet the growing content demands of our customers," says Gary Davey in a statement.

 "We look forward to working with the whole creative community, from individual creators to the big independent producers to produce more of the original content our customers love."

Sky says that Sky Studios will produce and develop original content across all genres, with a focus on drama and comedy. "With the emphasis firmly on quality, Sky Studios plans to double the amount of originals currently produced by Sky. It will work in close collaboration with local Sky leadership teams."

"Sky's increasing success with original productions, coupled with the ability to partner with NBC and Universal, puts Sky in a strong position to extend its leadership in this increasingly global, profitable, and strategically important area.

Sky Studios will create content for the TV channels carried on the Sky pay-TV service.

Now being owned by America's Comcast, it will also create content for NBCUniversal like the NBC's broadcast and pay-TV channels in the United States, as well as for Universal Pictures, and NBCUniversal International Networks and the TV channels that it supplies to pay-TV operators in Africa, like MultiChoice running the DStv service.

"This is a transformational development for us," says Jeremy Darroch, Sky CEO, in a statement.

"Sky Studios will drive our vision to be the leading force in European content development and production. Our ambition is to make Sky Studios famous for quality content and a place where Europe's top creatives will want to do their best work."

"Being part of Comcast enables us to increase our investment and to maximise the advantage and leverage of the Sky Group and our partners, NBCUniversal. This is a clear signal of Comcast’s belief in our commitment to producing the best original content in Europe."

Jude Law fantasy drama series
Production will begin in July on Sky Studios' first international project, a 6-episode drama called The Third Day, a co-production with HBO and starring Jude Law.

Set on a mysterious island off the coast of Britain, The Third Day will tell the story of Sam who encounters the island's secretive inhabitants and their strange rituals.

Fantasy and reality began to blur for Sam, triggering past traumas, and bringing him into conflict with the islanders.

The Third Day will be filmed in the United Kingdom and broadcast in 2020.