NBCUniversal International moves Lee Raftery to newly-created position as managing director for the Africa, Europe and Middle East region.

NBCUniversal has moved Lee Raftery to the newly-created position of managing director for the Africa, Europe and Middle East (EMEA) region, excluding the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.

Lee Raftery has been the chief marketing and content officer and managing director for the United Kingdom and emerging markets at NBCUniversal International, and will, in addition to his new position, continue as NBCUniversal International's chief marketing officer as well.

Lee Raftery's executive change, effective from 1 July, is part of internal executive changes following the acquisition of the pay-TV company Comcast in the United States of the Sky pay-TV company in the United Kingdom in late-2018.

NBCUniversal International supplies various TV channel feeds into Africa and South Africa, carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service ranging from E! and Universal TV to Studio Universal and Telemundo Africa; and with channels like E! also carried on China's StarTimes outside of South Africa.

Sky's channels include Sky News on DStv, which is also in a joint channels venture with Disney for the A+E channels like History, Crime+Investigation and Lifetime also seen on DStv in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa, with some of its Sky Sports content carried on SuperSport.

Lee Raftery, based in London, reports to Kevin MacLellan, NBCUniversal's chairman of its global distribution and international division.

NBCUniversal's EMEA business and its pay-TV channels operations like Universal TV and E! will move to Sky's Osterley campus in London to work better with Sky's existing channels business.

"In his newly created role, Lee Raftery will lead the consolidation of a realigned EMEA networks' business into a single operation incorporating pay-TV channels across Europe, Middle East and Africa, excluding Sky territories United Kingdom, Germany and Italy," says NBCUniversal International in a statement.

"He will be supported by an integrated management team across three locations - London, Paris and Madrid - with a focus on building an integrated EMEA networks group."

"Moving on from a structure that featured three regional European groups, this newly combined EMEA networks' group will be significant in size and scale, comprising 17 channels feeds across NBCU's portfolio of seven brands."

"Combining our EMEA networks will maximize the growth potential of our channels and brands for years ahead," says Lee Raftery.

"The power of these great platforms, expertly overseen by a talented team across multiple locations, will continue to deliver the best quality, value and entertainment for our audiences."

Kevin MacLellan says ""I am delighted that Lee will be able to deploy his exemplary skills to the leadership of our EMEA business. With our newly aligned EMEA networks business, we are strongly positioned in a rapidly evolving pay-TV landscape to optimise our expertise, efficiencies and opportunities for future growth."

NBCUniversal International Networks celebrating E!'s 15th anniversary in South Africa and Africa with a celebration party and the first-ever E! Africa Pop Culture Awards.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124) is turning 15 years old in South Africa and Africa and NBCUniversal International Networks will be celebrating this milestone with a special 15th anniversary celebration party on 11 April in Johannesburg, as well as a special E! Africa Pop Culture Awards.

In the lead-up to the event, NBCUniversal says E! Africa will be recognising some of the most iconic and influential people in the region through the E! Africa Pop Culture Awards.

E! Entertainment is celebrating 15 years if having a presence in South Africa and on television in Africa since it launched back in 2004 on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

On 11 April - at a celebratory event that will be hosted by Kat Sinivasan and include his How Do I Look? SA co-host Roxy Burger, Bonang Matheba, Minnie Dlamini, D'Banj and others - E! plans to party with some of the biggest names in the African continent's pop culture sphere.

"For the last 15 years E! has proudly delivered African viewers unrivalled access to Hollywood and the evening's celebrations will bring this to life with local E! stars, African celebrities, a red carpet, glamour, high fashion, entertainment and music acts," says E!.

Meanwhile the E! Africa Pop Culture Awards will acknowledge the best in business, in categories including music, fashion, film, TV, social media, philanthropy and an Ultimate Pop Culture Icon.

"Since 2004, E! has delivered the best of American reality television to Africa, including the ever-popular series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Total Bellas, Very Cavallari, LadyGang, #Dating No Filter, Botched and Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry," says the entertainment channel.

"E! has developed exclusive local productions from The Search: E! Host South Africa to How Do I Look? South Africa. E!'s Live from the Red Carpet signature events keep fans connected to all their favourite stars during awards season and E! News airs nightly with breaking entertainment news and pop culture coverage."

How Do You break the How Do I Look South Africa set? You won't believe what a participant did in the new second season - and that the producers decided to leave in for viewers.

How Do You break the set of How Do I Look? SA? Well, you won't believe what a participant did in the second season of the fashion makeover show in a funny gone-wrong moment that the producers decided to leave in the episode, and that the two presenters call their favourite moment of the season.

The second season of How Do I Look? South Africa starts tonight on E! Entertainment (DStv 124) at 20:00 - produced by Black and White Productions and filmed at Sasani Studios. Six of the 12-episode season will be broadcast this year, and another 6 in early-2019.

Both Roxy Burger and Kat Sinivasan return as presenters, with a set change as well as other improvements to the localised version of the NBCUniversal International Formats show that makes the pretty good first local season now even better.

Kat Sinivasan is given more screen time and more to do, participants are profiled better before the makeover, the massive white walls have been toned down and pastelised, the runway-room is more intimate with amber raindrop lights, the curtain-pull reveal has been replaced by a sliding door revealing a mirror, and especially panning shots and editing in general are tighter and better.

Speaking about their favourite moment of the upcoming second season, Kat Sinivasan says "It's our favourite moment. Everybody's going to love it when they see it."

Roxy Burger explains. "So we had an absolute superfan of How Do I Look?. She watched the international versions, she watched How Do I Look? SA the first season, she nominated a friend to be in the show, she was so incredibly excited, and all that she wanted to do, was to take clothes and put them up the vacuum tube that sucks all the old clothes into fashion heaven".

"So I pulled her over and said come on over. So she she walks up so confidently to the suction tube and she takes that handle and she pulled it so hard that she broke it. And we've kept it in the show!"

"She's hysterical and mortified and she's such a fan of the show. And she just goes: 'I broke the set.' She's literally almost in tears and it's a hilarious moment. So that was incredibly funny."

More personalised
About other changes in the second season of How Do I Look? SA, Roxy Burger says "It has more of a local South African flare and flavour".

"We delve deeper this time into the journeys that each of our participants go on. We scratch deeper below the layers and get a bit more intimate and each of them come from really different walks of life and I've personally learnt so much on this season."

"This season we've also focused on supporting local creatives: from photographers to artisans to designers."

"There an episode this season where all connections are completely local - custom-made local pieces done for a particular woman in that episode. And it's really important for us to shine a light on the talent that we have in this country, because there are exceptional talent here."

"I think the moments where I get to reveal each participant and they get to see themselves for the first time is also something new in the second season - it's a really special moment. So I've felt quite honoured and privileged to take them through that moment and to share that moment," says Roxy Burger.

"The set is amazing - our loft apartment - is really cool. The set is very different from the first season."

"And then also the makeup room: The 'props' were makeup and hairstyling equipment so it was amazing. We pretty much used everything and the director would literally shout in my ear because I would stare at all the lipsticks and he would say 'Don't touch the props.' It was great and a very functional set."

"Also this season I'm not pregnant," laughs Roxy Burger.

"Literally in the first season on a Tuesday I would try something on and by Thursday it would not fit. And these poor stylists just looked at me. They were so exasperated. My belly was growing at a rate of zero to a hundred. So the second season of How Do I Look? SA is fantastic. I could drink Red Bull. I could have coffee and I wasn't growing by the second."

Kat Sinivasan says "I have gone to the homes of each and every single one of our participants this season. Going to their houses and speaking to the accomplices I've got a real sense of why the're fashion stunted. Roxy on the other hand goes through the entire makeover process with all the ladies - their style insecurities."

"Every time they feel like they don't want to do something, she brings them back to the table. She has also managed to mold herself to every single lady because every episode of the second season of How Do I Look? SA has been created for that specific individual as a journey. And seeing Roxy going through this journey with each of the ladies is absolutely incredible."

"What's really incredible is that it's a format show but we're able to morph it into it's own thing to give it its own South African flavour. For me this season was special for me in this I get to go to all their houses to help viewers get to know more about each participant."

"By the time they walk into the studio, we understand their lives. So this time around it's more personalised and we get to see their duality in every single episode," says Kat Sinivasan.


ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS: The media launch event and press screening of the second season of E!'s How Do I Look? SA.
ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS: The new Sasani Studios set of the second season of E!'s How Do I Look? South Africa.
ALSO READ: Roxy Burger answers 9 questions about beauty, baby and E!'s How Do I Look? SA's new second season.

Lee Raftery replaces Colin McLeod at NBCUniversal International Networks; job expanded to look after NBCUIN's channels in Africa.

NBCUniversal International Networks (NBCUIN) has named Lee Raftery as the replacement for the long-serving Colin McLeod who left earlier this year, as the new executive who will be looking after NBCUniversal International Network's TV channels available across Africa.

NBCUniversal International 's chief marketing officer Lee Raftery will now be in charge of leading strategy and performance for NBCUIN channels in emerging markets that include Africa and South Africa where its channels like Universal Channel, Studio Universal, E! Entertainment and Telemundo are carried on MultiChoice's DStv pay-TV platform across the continent.

Lee Raftery, besides being appointed as managing director, UK and emerging markets, is also adding responsibility for content to his ongoing oversight of marketing. He is also named chief marketing and content officer at NBCUIN to oversee marketing and programming strategy across the whole of NBCUniversal International Networks' group.

Lee Raftery will report jointly to Satpal Brainch, the managing director for the EMEA region, NBCUniversal International distribution & networks and Kevin MacLellan, the chairman, global distribution & international.

"Lee has done an exemplary job of building an incredibly distinctive marketing and creative culture across the company.  He has proved himself to be a strong and decisive leader and I have every confidence that he will apply his considerable skills to lead the strategic vision within the UK/EM Networks group," says Kevin MacLellan in a statement.

"I am excited to take on this unique role, which blends my marketing and creative passion with a new leadership challenge in the UK and emerging markets networks team," says Lee Raftery in the statement. "Together with this talented group, we have an exciting opportunity to build further on our outstanding portfolio of brands and content".


Update Monday 17 July 2017 17:00: 
This story was updated from the original version first published, to:

(1) change the spelling in the second mention of Kevin MacLellan from the incorrect Kevin "MacLennan";
(2) and removing the word "becoming" after "also" in the sentence "Lee Raftery is also chief marketing and content officer at NBCUIN".
(3) remove the word "partial" from the headline, and the first sentence. Other reports still state that Lee Raftery is in part replacing Colin McLeod.

New drama series, The Librarians coming to Universal Channel in SA days after America, as Universal Networks International enters the race.

I did not expect this. At all: Universal Networks International (UNI) will be bringing the thrilling, premium and brand-new TV drama The Librarians in high definition (HD) to Universal Channel (DStv 117) from December only a day after the new series starts and as episodes become available.

With this drastic and unexpected programming upshift, Universal Networks International is entering the race of TV channels, TV channel suppliers, distributors and content distributors dramatically improving their international pipeline funneling and strategic content push to South Africa and the rest of Africa to close the gap and radically narrow the broadcasting window lag pay-TV subscribers experienced.

South African pay-TV broadcaster M-Net is in the vanguard with a record-breaking number of foreign content playing out extremely close to international broadcasting dates, followed by Fox International Channels Africa (FIC Africa) running FOX.

Sony Entertainment Television (SET) on DStv and Viacom International Media Networks' BET on On Digital Media's (ODM) StarSat have stepped it up by trying hard and bringing several foreign TV properties relatively quickly to South African viewers.

Discovery International Networks (DNI) is still lagging however - although it is trying, and consistently brings several once-off factual news related documentaries to the Discovery channels.

Likewise BBC Worldwide running channels like BBC Entertainment is now lagging behind the others insofar as the roll-out of content and broadcast windows are concerned. Individual episodes of the bulk of programming are still months old and now looks stale in comparison to what other content and channel distributors are suddenly doing with their TV channels in South Africa.

Following the quick roll-out of the second Sharknado movie as a once-off telefeature on Studio Universal and the reality show Escape Club on E! Entertainment (DStv 124) (both other UNI channels) almost instantaneously with its international dates, The Librarians marks a significant start and shift for Univeral Networks International.

UNI will now bring South African pay-TV subscribers a new, hot fantasy TV show just like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Falling Skies, Under the Dome, Da Vinci's Demons and other series just like M-Net and FOX are doing in increasing numbers. 

UNI says The Librarians, with Noah Wyle from FOX' Falling Skies (and who remains in that show) and Rebecca Romijn, will premiere in South Africa and "over 100 countries" "within 24 hours of the United States debut on TNT in December".

The Librarians from Electric Entertainment plays like a TV show of Indiana Jones and Relic Hunter, and is a TV series based on the made-for-TV movie series Noah Wyle starred in before he did Falling Skies. 

It has now been redeveloped into a TV series and Noah Wyle is one of the executive producers.

In The Librarians there's an ancient organisation hidden beneath the Metropolitan Public Library in New York dedicated to protecting an unknown world from the secret,magical reality hidden all around. The

"The Librarians is a captivating addition to Universal Channel's programming for our markets, and we are delighted it will be airing within just 24 hours of the United States premiere," says Colin McLeod, the managing director for emerging markets for Universal Networks International.

"We are thrilled to bring this action-adventure drama to our viewers, giving our audience instant access to the brand new and exciting series".

Kevin MacLellan replacing Jeff Shell as the new chairperson of NBCUniversal International in London.

Kevin MacLellan is the new chairperson of NBCUniversal International, following Jeff Shell's appointment as chairperson of Universal's Filmed Entertainment Group.

Kevin MacLellan, based in London as Jeff Shell was before him, and will lead the day-to-day operations and the international expansion opportunities in divisions outside of North America.

Kevin MacLellan was previously the president of International Television and before that he was president of Comcast International Media Group and Comcast Entertainment Studios where he was responsible for Comcast's international television and new media properties such as the E! Entertainment and Style channels.

"Over 12 years with Comcast, Kevin MacLellan has proven himself to be a dynamic and talented executive," says Steve Burke, NBCUniversal president Steve Burke.

"With his extensive international experience, I am confident Kevin's strategic leadership will take NBCUniversal International into its next phase of growth," says Steve Burke.

"NBCUniversal and Comcast's unique combination of content and distribution assets present many significant opportunities to grow our international business across multiple markets and media platforms in a dynamically evolving landscape," says Kevin MacLellan.

NBCUniversal International takes over control of KidsCo with 51% share following behind-the-scenes shake-up at the kids channel.

NBCUniversal International (NBCUI) is taking over control of the kids channel KidsCo (DStv 308 / TopTV 255) as Cookie Jar is disinvesting its stake - although it will continue to produce programming for the channel through a multi-year licensing agreement.

In the deal, widely expected since KidsCo co-founder Paul Robinson left at the end of last year, NBCUI gets a controlling stake in KidsCo, with Corus Entertainment increasing its stake to 43,8%. Paul Robinson will retain a 3,3% stake in the channel.

"We see a very bright future for children's television internationally and believe our highly valued partnership with Corus well positions KidsCo to compete strongly in this market," said NBCU president of international television Kevin MacLellan in a statement which was issued to today, but not to South Africa.

Hendrik McDermott will now head KidsCo who has been the interim managing director since November 2011 and Paul Robinson's exit last year. "Hendrik willprovide clear operational leadership and will be focused on implementing innovative strategic and technical opportunities to grow the content and distribution base of the company," said Kevin MacLellan.

"KidsCo has become synonymous with quality, family-friendly entertainment," said Doug Murphy, the president of Corus Television, in the statement. "Corus is excited to deepen our partnership with NBCUniversal to help grow the KidsCo business and build on its already strong international reputation as a diverse and dependable entertainment destination."