Paramount Africa refuses to explain anything as BET Africa's cash-crashed Queendom from Clive Morris Productions restarts filming after shutdown and payment failure scandal.

by Thinus Ferreira

Paramount Africa's cash-crashed telenovela Queendom on BET Africa which was forced to shutter at the end of May has lurched back into filming while Paramount executives and producers refuse to come clean about the behind-the-scenes upheaval that left the telenovela's cast and crew unpaid for months.

Paramount Africa was forced to switch to repeats of Queendom from 22 July, just four months after its debut on BET Africa (DStv 129)  after Clive Morris Productions ran out of money to film and even to pay cast and crew.

New episodes of Queendom will now start on 23 September with no explanation from Paramount Africa or Clive Morris Productions where the money came from to restart the embattled production that saw cast and crew forced to sell possessions to buy food while a crew member couldn't pay for a parent's funeral after a funeral policy lapsed due to non-payment.

Paramount Africa and BET Africa boss Monde Twala are remaining silent on the unpaid crew and cast production scandal of Clive Morris Productions' Queendom.

Monde Twala, Paramount Africa senior vice president and general manager and BET International lead, didn't respond to an interview request made a week ago through Paramount's South African PR firm Total Exposure. 

A media query with questions to Paramount Africa, also made last Wednesday through Total Exposure has also been ignored.

Clarity was sought from Paramount Africa on when filming for Queendom restarted and until when filming will continue, where the bridge financing now came from, who sourced the financing, how many more episodes will be produced, as well as how many of the former and original cast and crew have been able to return and who are no longer available.

Natalie Mdladla, Paramount senior director of communications, likewise ignored a media query in August seeking answers on why Paramount Africa allowed filming to start on a production before the money to make a show for BET Africa was 100% secured. 

She was also asked who at Paramount authorised pre-production and principal photography to start, and why Paramount again worked with CMP after the same cash issue caused a shutdown of ISONO.

According to Paramount Africa "Queendom makes a regal return on 23 September at 18:30 with a royal showdown as Prince Andile finally confronts his brother King Banzi about the throne". 

The show that has been airing reruns in the timeslot will resume with four new episodes weekly from 23 September from Mondays to Thursdays.

Linda Mtoba in the role of Ntando is one of the cast returning to the show, noting in a press statement that she is "thrilled that Queendom is returning to screens this September, taking the drama and intrigue to a whole new level, and I can't wait for fans to see how these powerful storylines unfold."

Other crew and actors have quit and left like Sindi Dlathu and Themba Ndaba who signed up for e.tv's Isipetho produced by Black Brain Pictures, while Queendom cast and crew have still not been paid in full the overdue money they're owed. 

In the statement, Monde Twala, who was seen hosting a cocktail party for producers last week at the MIP Africa 2024 TV market in Cape Town, only notes that "Local content is an important pillar for our audiences and we are committed to meeting this demand with impactful storytelling that resonates on a global scale".

Cascade failure explained

After the Queendom implosion, MultiChoice has also taken away Empini – done for its Showmax video streaming service by Clive Morris Productions – where crew members also went unpaid and reassigned it to Crystal Pics and Nomusa Mzima to complete the 52-episode series.

Queendom started out as a co-production, with BET responsible for half of the investment, which was fulfilled by BET Africa and Clive Morris Productions responsible for the other 50%.

According to CMP, a backer pulled out that would have paid its 50% towards the production costs, but it's unclear why pre-production and filming started before the funding was fully paid over.

Insiders told TVwithThinus that the trifecta of MultiChoice, Paramount Africa and Clive Morris Productions (CMP) should all share the blame for what happened to Queendom and the dire and shocking financial situation it plunged the show's committed cast and crew into.

According to them, the Queendom cascade implosion happened like this: MultiChoice placed tremendous pressure on Paramount Africa to maintain a contractual local content quota for BET Africa whereby Paramount must produce and air a number of local hours per year on the channel.

Paramount Africa, under pressure to adhere to its local content contract with MultiChoice or face stiff penalities, went ahead to strip local hours of Queendom which it allowed CMP to start producing, even though CMP didn't have all the money for the production in the bank.

Clive Morris Productions, which wanted to retain a stake in the ownership of Queendom, started filming the series despite not having its share of co-funding in the bank account, after which a funder suddenly decided to no longer invest in the show.

This derailed and collapsed production of Queendom when Clive Morris Productions, after filming had already started, failed to get the money required when the investor no longer wanted to pay.

In mid-April – by which time Paramount Africa was well aware that CMP had funding issues, that Queendom was struggling and that the cast and crew were not getting the paid – Paramount Africa and BET went ahead to launch Queendom with a splashy media event at Kings Kraal in Bryanston, Johannesburg for some media. 

Behind-the-scenes however, the Queendom cast and crew who were putting up a brave face, were already angry and distraught over the impossible production conditions, delayed payments, as well as Clive Morris Productions' ongoing promises that they would get paid.

"Typically shows like telenovelas and soaps are commissioned by TV channels and financed 100% by the channel. Queendom wasn't," a producer on the show explained.

"Clive Morris Productions entered into a deal where an onus was on them to raise a significant portion of the production costs, which are far too onerous for most producers. Very few production companies, if any, would be able to raise that capital for a show of this size like Queendom."

"I had never heard of such an arrangement in the context of a telenovela. They exist for films or a very short miniseries. Prior to any minute of any footage being filmed all the money should have been in the bank. That wasn't the case, hence we find ourselves in the position we're in."

ALSO READ: Paramount Africa's Queendom on BET shut down with cast and crew unpaid by Clive Morris Productions as MultiChoice's Showmax also gives Empini to another producer.

ALSO READ: Paramount Africa silent over unpaid Queendom crew and cast and why BET signed off for filming to start on Clive Morris Production show that didn't have production money fully in the bank.

South Africa streamers roll-out: What the new Showmax means for Max, Paramount+ and Peacock.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice's revamped Showmax streamer will start its roll-out today, 23 January, in app stores as a new app that will carry the content from Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) - but that doesn't mean that the Paramount+ video streaming services won't launch in South Africa as a stand-alone, although it's now extremely unlikely that NBCUniversal's Peacock and WBD's Max will.

MultiChoice has retooled its Showmax streamer in partnership with Sky in the United Kingdom and Comcast's NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service which will make its official debut in app stores on 23 January.

Using NBCUniversal's Peacock subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) architecture to build a new Showmax after nine years to more effectively take on primarily global streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ on the African continent, the likelihood is now drastically dimming that NBCUniversal will launch Peacock as a stand-alone streamer in South Africa or across sub-Saharan Africa.

The same goes for Max (formerly HBO Max) from Warner Bros. Discovery.

Here is why:

1. Peacock

With Comcast's NBCUniversal and Sky content already baked into the new Showmax, it's becoming ever-unlikely that Peacock as a late-market entrant will unfurl its streaming plumage in South Africa since its content is now funnelled through Showmax.

In a sense, the new Showmax literally is Peacock, just with a different name and colours.

2. Max

 The likelihood that Max will launch as its own video streamer in South Africa is now also extremely dim. WBD hasn't made Max available in the United Kingdom - a very comparable market to South Africa - precisely because of Sky. 

And remember that MultiChoice operates a lot like Sky. Because of existing agreements with Sky's traditional pay-TV business, WBD is giving its content like Discovery channels shows and HBO content to Sky for its pay-TV channels like Sky Atlantic and for on-demand viewing and streaming.

Since WBD has similar deals with MultiChoice and M-Net in South Africa, that Discovery and HBO content from America will continue to be seen on linear TV like M-Net (DStv 101), on-demand on DStv Catch Up, and on streaming through the new Showmax.

There is a decreasing need now for WBD to launch Max - and take onboard the cost involved - in South Africa when it can reside as an "HBO" tile within the new Showmax carousel.  

Paramount+

3. But what about Paramount's Paramount+ which is also a late-market entrant?

Paramount is launching Paramount+ around the world as a so-called "hard bundle" as a streaming service it is making available in partnership with traditional pay-TV operators as it adds Paramount+ to conventional pay-TV packages. Indeed Paramount+ is available in the United Kingdom already, although Paramount also license content and pay-TV channels to Sky.

In South Africa - and indeed across sub-Saharan Africa - Paramount and Paramount Africa have been running traditional pay-TV channels on MultiChoice's DStv for years. 

Paramount has also made sought-after Paramount+ content like Halo available on Showmax, and indeed will continue to, like the second season of Halo, launching on 8 February, which will be available on the new Showmax.

At MultiChoice's media briefing for the new Showmax at its MultiChoice City headquarters in Randburg last Monday, Katherine Liu, executive vice president and COO of Paramount international markets, said "MultiChoice and Paramount have had a long and successful partnership for over 15 years and we have a long track record of working together to bring African audiences the best of our award-winning and globally beloved content".

"As a result, Paramount content is already available on Showmax but we are super excited to partner with you in this new launch and to participate in the streaming-for-Africa revolution."

"Africa is one of the most exciting and diverse places on Earth. You have some of the youngest and most engaging entertainment audiences anywhere and in Showmax we are confident that we have a partner that understands Africa and that can speak to the heart of local audiences in East, West, Southern and Central Africa."

"We can't wait to bring the best of Hollywood content and content from all around the world to Showmax customers, wherever you happen to be - whether it's at home or on the go."

Natalie Mdladla, Paramount Africa spokesperson, in a media query was asked for an update on Paramount+ launching in South Africa, and if Paramount+ would still launch as a stand-alone streamer if Showmax already carries Paramount content, but she didn't respond.

MultiChoice: Not the end of adding stand-alone streamers 

Besides its own Showmax and nowits new Showmax, MultiChoice already carries streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ on its decoders which will also be included on products like DStv Glass (a bespoke TV set with a decoder built-in) which is likely to launch towards the end of the year.

During the new Showmax media briefing, I asked MultiChoice whether the launch of the new Showmax - with WBD and its HBO content, and Paramount with its Paramount+ content - means that MultiChoice won't be adding further streamers as apps like Max and Paramount+ separately, and will now just funnel all their content through Showmax.

"No, that's not necessarily the case," Marc Jury, MultiChoice SA CEO and interim Showmax CEO said.

"This goes to the beauty of what we've got between DStv and Showmax and having them all under one family."

"There's a big plan internally of how we hunt as a pack where DStv is more on the aggregation side and I think you'll see a lot of that play out over the course of the next 12 months - I don't want to give away too much in terms of the announcements that will come there."

"So to answer your question, no."

Paramount's Nickelodeon splats back with latest on-air rebrand and flips to high-definition on DStv.

by Thinus Ferreira

It took several days and multiple media queries without any responses from any of Paramount Africa's PR companies trying to get something but on Friday afternoon Paramount finally sent a press release to confirm the on-air rebrand of its Nickelodeon (DStv 305) TV channel that also became a HD TV channel on 1 November on MultiChoice's DStv.

Days ago, before the November rebrand and HD flip came into effect, TVwithThinus made media queries to two of Paramount Africa's PR agencies used in South Africa, asking and asking again, without any help.

On Friday afternoon, Natalie Mdladla, senior director of communications at Paramount Africa, sent a press release about the Nickelodeon rebrand which happened a few days ago.

According to Paramount Africa, the updated brand identity is a throwback to the channel's "irreverent history".

"It includes a reimagined Splat logo, but with a modern feel for today's kids and families. The rebrand is live on Nickelodeon and will be launching on Nick Jnr from November and on NickToons in 2024," the company says in the statement.

According to Paramount Africa, "The new brand identity positions the brand Nickelodeon and its re-imagined splat as the ultimate portal to fun - a gateway to surprising experiences Nick kids of all ages will love. This new take on the brand's classic look and feel demonstrates for kids just what can happen when you enter the splat with Nickelodeon".

Nickelodeon also moved from a standard definition to a high definition (HD) channel on MultiChoice's TV channel line-up.

"For us at Nickelodeon, the reimagined splat logo brings our mission of making the world a more playful place come to life," says Dillon Khan, vice president for Nickelodeon in Africa, in a prepared quote in the press release.

"We hope that kids and their families across the continent will enter the portal of fun and enjoy the new and exciting content we have in store." 

Nickelodeon is known for its slime as well as iconic programming and characters ranging from SpongeBob SquarePants, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and PAW Patrol to Blue's Clues, Baby Shark, Dora the Explorer, The Loud House and Monster High.