Location scouting underway, casting starting soon, for MultiChoice and M-Net's iconic new Shaka drama series.

Location scouting has started and casting will begin soon to find an "iconic" place and actors to film M-Net's South African "Game of Thrones" version as MultiChoice mounts a blue-chip production effort in its own retelling of the story of the Zulu king Shaka that will be broadcast as a new drama series on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161).

Besides broadcasting Shaka in South Africa and across Sub-Saharan Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, M-Net has plans to sell what it wants to be a prestige series to the world, showcasing to global broadcasters the production quality, capacity and talent that exists in South Africa.

With Shaka M-Net wants to eventually lure more international co-productions made in South Africa and across the continent and make global content buyers aware of the raft of local content available for international broadcasters

Produced by Bomb Productions, M-Net in May 2018 announced that it has commissioned a 12-episode drama series order to tell the story of King Shaka kaSenzangakhona. The black historical drama series will explore the precolonial South African kingdoms that influenced and gave rise to Shaka Zulu.

South Africans and viewers worldwide are familiar with the 10-episode, 1986-series Shaka Zulu from the SABC and Harmony Gold USA that was directed by William C. Faure, starring the iconic, late Henry Cele in the adult Shaka role and based on Joshua Sinclair's 1985-novel of the same name.

"To tell the story of Shaka in this moment is a huge responsibility and a great honour," says Jacob Ntshangase, one of the writers.

The new Shaka will also be filmed across South Africa, with Bomb Productions now scouring the country in search of iconic locations while pre-production has started before filming later this year to recreate the world in which Shaka lived and reigned.

M-Net and Bomb Productions will also cast several Shaka's seen as a baby, at 7, 12, 18, as well as the man, as well as several other characters who will "age" as well and be portrayed by different actors as life moves on.

The casting process looking for the perfect actors to inhabit Shaka and the other roles will be nationwide.

"We are excited about making an epic and exhilarating drama that is respectful of the real history," says Teboho Mahlatsi, executive producer and co-creator at Bomb Productions.

"Research is key. Telling a story of such complexity does not just happen overnight. We will depict the great kingdoms of the AmaThethwa, the AmaNdwandwe, AmaQwabe, AmaHlubi and AmaZulu amongst others, and on this epic canvas, we will see the heroic rise of Shaka. We are telling an African story about a great African empire."

Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice CEO for general entertainment, says "Starting this journey is history in the making and whilst research and consultation with stakeholders will continue, we are looking forward to unearthing and showcasing the deep pool of talent that lies within South Africa."

"This is a proudly South African series which we intend to take to the world."

Bomb Productions is close to starting the first stage of casting for mostly background extras and will travel across South Africa doing auditions for abashaya indlamu (traditional dancers), izimbongi and izinyosi (praise singers), as well as amaqhawe enduku (stick fighters).

"We are looking for real deep skills - no pretenders," warns Teboho Mahlatsi.

For acting roles, Angus Gibson, Bomb producer says "Previous film experience is not necessary. We are looking to unearth new talent who will perform alongside our great, experienced actors".

However, the search for the actors playing Shaka will be at the heart of the extensive casting process.

"We will be looking for him as a baby, at 7, 12 and 18 years – as well as the man. Then there is Nandi, Mkabayi, Dingiswayo, Zwide, Ntombase and many other riveting characters whom we see at different stages of their lives," says Angus Gibson.

Nkateko Mabaso, M-Net CEO, says "At M-Net we've been telling local stories for over 30 years and this is a continuation of our commitmet to our industry. This is not a colonial telling, this story will be told from our perspective".

DStv subscribers keep increasing although MultiChoice continues to lose top-end DStv Premium customers who no longer see it as offering enough value for money.

MultiChoice has shown another increase in its overall number of DStv subscribers although the African-based pay-TV operator continues to lose top-end DStv Premium subscribers who are abandoning the most expensive tier that no longer offers enough value for money.

The MultiChoice Group on Tuesday published its annual financial results for the year that ended 31 March 2019, showing that while its overall number of DStv subscribers continue to grow, DStv Premium subscribers continue to decline due to stiff competition from international video streaming services, as well as tough economic conditions putting pressure on consumers' discretionary spending habits.

MultiChoice lost another 100 000 DStv Premium subscribers during its reported financial year.

Overall it grew its pay-TV subscriber base by 12% to 15.1 million subscribers in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa combined but its percentage of DStv Premium and DStv Compact subscribers in South Africa decreased by 7%.

MultiChoice continues to refuse to break out and make any concrete Showmax subscriber numbers available in its financial results. Showmax as its subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, together with its DStv Now service fall under MultiChoice's Connected Video division.

"The South African business delivered subscriber growth of 8% year-on-year or 500 000 subscribers and generated revenues of R33.7 billion, up 3% (4% organic) from the prior year," The MultiChoice Group said.

"The DStv Premium segment remained under pressure as consumers were impacted by rising fuel and other costs and we competed for share of wallet."

MultiChoice said that online services like Showmax and DStv Now performed well and that online subscribers doubled year-over-year thanks to "good uptake".

Because of the ongoing loss of DStv Premium subscribers - MultiChoice's most valuable customers - the ARPU from South African pay-TV customers was once again down. ARPU stands for "average revenue per user".

What the drop in the overall percentage of DStv Premium subscriber numbers in South Africa means, is that MultiChoice is making less average revenue per subscriber.

MultiChoice's "ARPU for South Africa declined from R335 to R322 due to the ongoing change in subscriber mix towards the mass market," the pay-TV operator said that was spin-off from Naspers and listed separately on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) at the end of February.

DStv Premium subscribers declined from 22% in the previous financial year to 20% at the end of March 2019. The mid-tier subscribers - DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact - also showed a marginal decline going from 40% of all overall subscribers to 38% by the end of March 2019.

The low-end subscriber segment - DStv Family, DStv Access and DStv Easyview subscribers - grew from 37% to 42%.

The MultiChoice Group added another 1.6 million pay-TV subscribers across Africa during the financial year and now has a total of 15.1 million pay-TV customers, of which 7.4 million are in South Africa, and 7.7 million are in the rest of Africa outside of Africa.

This is the first time that the "rest of Africa" has more pay-TV subscribers on a combined basis than pay-TV subscribers in just South Africa.

The MultiChoice Group generated R50.1 billion in revenue, an increase of 6%. The pay-TV operator also upped its investment in local content production, and added 4 600 hours of local content to its library to nearly 50 000 hours.

"The spend on local general entertainment content as a percentage of total general entertainment content increased from 38% to 40% in line with the strategy to reach a target of 45%," The MultiChoice Group said.

Twenty new local drama series were produced, while Uganda as part of the "rest of Africa" became the 7th country to launch a TV channel (Pearl Magic) focused on locally-produced content.

Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice CEO, in a statement says "Our growth is exceptionally pleasing, especially in the current economic climate, and a clear indication that our strategy is working. We continue to believe in the growing appetite for video entertainment across the African continent".

In the next financial year MultiChoice said that it plans to "continue its focus on scaling its video entertainment services across the continent, mainly in the middle and mass markets".

Also interesting to note is that The MultiChoice Group will be changing the metric whereby its measuring subscribers for the first time, from the 2019/2020 financial year.

Previously MultiChoice derived the number from active subscribers on the measuring day.

Going forward The MultiChoice Group will report its subscribers numbers as including any customer who had "an active primary/principal subscription within the 90 day period on or before reporting date. This provides a better reflection of the activity of our base," MultiChoice says.



MultiChoice Africa
In the rest of Africa outside of South Africa, MultiChoice Africa grew MultiChoice's subscriber base by 17% year-on-year with 1.1 million subscribers by the end of March 2019.

The pay-TV subscriber growth of both DStv and GOtv subscribers across Africa translated into revenue growth of 13% R14.8 billion while trading losses reduced 19% or R0.9 billion.

MultiChoice Africa's ARPU from pay-TV subscribers fell slightly and stabilised at R159, compared to R160 in the previous financial year. There were currency depreciation in the Angolan kwanza (60%), Zambian kwacha (17%) and the Ghanaian cedi (11%).

MultiChoice also solidified its position in the Angolan market, converted the Angolan operation from an agency to a subsidiary. Business remain tough in Angola and Zimbabwe, where cash balances and trade receivables of R298 million held in Angola and Zimbabwe remain exposed to weakening currencies, reduced 80% compared to the previous year's balance.

Liquidity constraints in Angola however improved, leaving a closing cash position of R168 million.

MultiChoice says the MultiChoice Africa region still represents a "huge market opportunity" with many households not yet part of pay-TV - about 19 million households - and that MultiChoice is focused on "driving scale to return to profitability".

Nigeria (34%), Kenya (11%), and Zambia (10%) - interestingly also representing the biggest hubs in West, East and Southern Africa (excluding South Africa) remain the biggest revenue drivers for the MultiChoice Africa business.

The rest of Africa combined are responsible for 45% of the revenue earned from the "rest of Africa".

M-Net's Shaka TV series - first key art look
MultiChoice's presentation for its financial year results surprisingly includes the first look at M-Net's upcoming local drama series, Shaka, with the first reveal of key art treatment.

M-Net hasn't yet shared anything with the press about Shaka - if that's to be the new title (or a working title) beyond the original Shaka-Ilembe that was announced as the title in May 2018.

The new Shaka key art includes the new "An M-Net Original" marking that M-Net is now adding to all of its locally-produced TV series to distinguish itself from other productions.

Shaka is produced by Bomb Productions and will start on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) in the 2019/2020 financial year.

Shaka/Shaka-Ilembe that has been created by M-Net specifically with an eye on global distribution.

The drama series with an initial 12-episode order will revolve around the powers that influenced and shaped Shaka Zulu - the drama unfolding from the time of his conception, his bravery as a young man, the early attempts to kill him and the subsequent years of exile with his mother.

The drama series will also introduce the chiefdoms of the AmaThethwa, the AmaNdwandwe, AmaQwabe, AmaHlubi and others, which will give rise to Shaka Zulu as ruler.

The stylized "Shaka" on the key art also includes a spear pointing from left to right, and also makes use of an amber palette hue, similar to what was used for the 1986 Shaka Zulu TV series from Harmony Gold USA and the SABC that starred the late Henry Cele.

M-Net's Shaka key art comes with the tag line: "A Hero's Journey - From Outcast to King".


ALSO READ: MultiChoice does little to stop the drop of DStv Premium subscribers other than have the call centre phone them after they had already cancelled; top-end segment still 'a long way off' from being 'unable to wash itself' and being unprofitable.
ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. MultiChoice CEO, Calvo Mawela, has started spouting some inane gibberish about millennials not wanting or able to watch 90 minutes of something. Get a child - and get a grip.
ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. Higher prices are not killing DStv Premium - MultiChoice's lack of showing DStv subscribers why it's worth it, constantly diluting it, and failure to add value is what's damaging it.
ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. If you want to see some really hilarious sh*t look no further than MultiChoice's surreal no-numbers presentation in its financial results comparing Showmax and DStv Now with rival Netflix.
ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. MultiChoice lies and says in its financial report presentation it 'enhanced content discovery' - in reality the pay-TV operator did the exact opposite during the year and made it more difficult and worse.

Netflix to finally commission some original series from Africa in 2019.

Netflix says it will finally commission some original series from Africa in 2019, with the global video streaming service confirming that it is looking at opportunities in Africa.

Erik Barmack, Netflix vice-president of international originals, at last week's Content London conference, said Netflix is continuing to expand it original slate of series made across Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Variety reported about Netflix's Africa ambitions on Friday.

"There's going to come a time when half of the top 10 of most-watched shows on Netflix in a given year are going to come from outside of the United States," Erik Barmack said.

Meanwhile South African producers and production companies in Africa's most developed TV market have expressed ongoing frustration about not being able to reach out to Netflix to pitch TV and film projects for possible consideration, saying they don't know who to contact, who to talk to, or how to reach Netflix.

In October 2017 Netflix told TVwithThinus that it has "a pretty strong content team that is travelling to every country to talk to local producers" and is "talking to South African producers".

When Netflix was asked how South African and African producers can get in contact with Netflix, the service said it doesn't give out details and that it makes contact with producers. It's not clear how Netflix will know of producers or reach them that its not aware of.

Meanwhile the MultiChoice Group, planning to list on the JSE during the first half of 2019, continues to ramp up content spend and the production of local originals to buffer the growing so-called "Netflix threat".

It's local streaming service Showmax will invest in more local series like the Girl from St Agnes, while M-Net is pumping money into shows hunting for an African version of Game of Thrones.

M-Net is doing an international co-production, the crime thriller series Reyka with Fremantle distributing internationally, while M-Net commissioned Shaka-Ilembe from Bomb Productions that will explore the precolonial South African kingdoms that influenced and gave rise to Shaka Zulu.

The M-Net (DStv 101) channel's 2019 slate will have a new 7th season of Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets, a first season of The Bachelor South Africa, and a third season of The Voice SA, while Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) will have a 15th season of Idols.

M-Net adds another black historical drama series, Shaka-Ilembe, from Bomb Productions that will explore the precolonial South African kingdoms that influenced and gave rise to Shaka Zulu.

M-Net has added another black historical drama series, Shaka-Ilembe, produced by Bomb Productions, that will explore the precolonial Southern African kingdoms and characters that had an influence on Shaka Zulu.

The producers of the 12-episode first season of Shaka-Ilembe already has three seasons mapped out should the production go further, and follows after the umpteenth rebroadcast of the classic 1986 Harmony Gold USA series Shaka Zulu with the late Henry Cele that scored over 2 million Sunday night viewers for SABC1 in mid-2017.

Shaka-Ilembe that has been created by M-Net specifically with an eye on global distribution, will be broadcast on M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) for MultiChoice's DStv subscribers, and comes amidst a big global and African interest in Disney and Marvel's film Black Panther that depicted the mythical Wakanda kingdom and had moviegoers enthralled.

Shaka-Ilembe will revolve around the powers that influenced and shaped Shaka Zulu - the drama unfolding from the time of his conception, his bravery as a young man, the early attempts to kill him and the subsequent years of exile with his mother.

The drama series will also introduce the chiefdoms of the AmaThethwa, the AmaNdwandwe, AmaQwabe, AmaHlubi and others, which will give rise to Shaka Zulu as ruler.

Shaka-Ilembe follows M-Net's February announcement of two new commissioned drama series, the detective drama Trackers based on Deon Meyer's crime novel, and House of Phalo, described as a "Xhosa Game of Thrones" currently in production in the Eastern Cape province as a retelling of the modern Xhosa and the rise of King Phalo.

Trackers is produced by Three River Fiction and SCENE23, while House of Phalo is produced by by Mfundi Vundla's Morula Pictures. Bomb Productions previously created drama series like Yizo-Yizo and Zone 14 for the SABC's SABC1 channel, Jacob's Cross for M-Net and Isibaya for Mzansi Magic.

Bomb Productions describes Shaka-Ilembe also as an African Game of Thrones, saying "the epic series" will tell the story of precolonial kingdoms and the "heroes and villains who shaped and influenced one of Africa's greatest kings - Shaka kaSenzangakhona".

"We have seen how global audiences are ready to enjoy universal stories from multiple geographies. Now it is time for the incredible tradition of African storytelling to travel beyond our continent," said Yolisa Phahle, CEO of general entertainment for MultiChoice.

It echoes her speech in Dubai two weeks ago at MultiChoice's 5th Digital Dialogue Conference, saying MultiChoice and M-Net are "looking forward to investing even more in telling local stories, documenting our history and providing a platform for Africans to share African stories".

"The success of companies like Iroko TV, artists like Davido, actresses like Lupita N'yongo and the movie Black Panther are confirmation that the world is ready to consume African stories, celebrate African culture and embrace African languages."

She promised that this year MultiChoice and M-Net will start production on a number of epic African stories.

In the Thursday announcement, Yolisa Phahle said "we are committed to building a film and industry that will deliver benefits to our industry and are increasing our investment in local productions".

Teboho Mahlatsi, Shaka-Ilembe executive producer who will be working with Angus Gibson on the series, says that "with ambitions of making a series as epic and vast as Game of Thrones, we want to tell the story of the Nguni peoples who migrated to below the Pongola river and ruled over this verdant land."

"With three action-packed seasons mapped out, we hope to breathe life into the kings and queens, warriors and witches, spies, slavers, marauders and traders who lived, loved and fought for this land".

"This is a legacy project and has deep meaning to the team who have been telling stories of everyday South African heroes and heroines for the past 21 years. This is not a colonial telling of a great African empire, this story will finally be told from our perspective".

Teboho Mahlatsi, says "scale will not be compromised - whether that be in battles with 20 000 warriors, the visualisation of a kingdom or the capturing of an elephant".

M-Net says the team behind Shaka-Ilembe is vast, including historians, traditional leaders, oral custodians, royal advisors and filmmakers working through the many versions of source materials and stories to ensure authenticity.

Some of the names attached and helping out are the playwright Mpumulelo Grootboom, Catherine Swart, Nhlanhla Mtaka, Jacob Ntshangase, Hlonipa Mokoena, Benedict Carton and Thishiwe Ziqubu.

"We are at a pivotal time in history, a time where South Africa is reclaiming its own story, where history has been re-examined," said Jacob Ntshangase. "To tell the story of Shaka is a huge honour, and a huge responsibility".