Sky to cut 600 jobs as UK broadcaster changes in streaming era

by Daniel Thomas, Ashley Armstrong, Financial Times

Sky is set to cut hundreds of jobs in the United Kingdom as the Comcast-owned broadcaster focuses on improving existing services after a period of product launches to enhance its competitiveness against United States streaming giants. 

About 900 jobs will be affected by the reorganisation, according to people familiar with Sky’s plans, with about 600 roles expected to be cut from the group’s UK operations, based in west London.

The remainder are expected to be redeployed within Sky, they said, although the exact number will depend on the results of a consultation process beginning this week. 

Staff at risk of losing their jobs were being told on Tuesday, with many cuts anticipated to land in the broadcaster’s tech-focused teams.

Sky employs about 23 000 people in the United Kingdom after carrying out a series of sweeping job cuts over the past few years as part of its shift from TV service delivery via satellite dish to access via broadband. 

The broadcaster has cut about 3 000 roles since 2023, with many positions disappearing in traditional parts of the business, such as the engineers who previously installed satellite dishes. 

Under Comcast’s ownership, Sky has expanded its range of products and services, including the rollout of Sky Glass, a smart TV, and Sky Stream, a new set-top box for streaming. Together, these account for more than 90% of new TV subscriptions.

One person close to the group said the product development phase was complete and Sky’s focus was now "more about improving what we already have".

Sky said: "As we look ahead, we are shifting our approach to bring customers the next generation of experience by investing in digital-first service, unbeatable content, and even better performance from our products".

The broadcaster is expected to increase investment in its own content as it battles for viewers against large US streamers, including at its new Sky Studios complex in Elstree. 

Sky will lose the right to exclusively broadcast programmes made by HBO, such as The White Lotus and Game of Thrones, at the end of this year, although it has struck a long-term deal to show the network’s content by offering Warner Bros Discovery’s HBO Max streaming service.

Sky sues Warner Bros. Discovery over withholding 'highly valuable' Harry Potter series, WBD says lawsuit is Sky's 'baseless' attempt to get HBO shows after 2025

by Thinus Ferreira

Comcast's Sky in the United Kingdom is dragging Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to court over the upcoming Harry Potter drama series and is suing WBD for allegedly withholding the option for Sky to become a co-producer on the show and being in breach of a multi-year contract to partner on shows.

In a lawsuit that Sky filed late on Friday in a New York federal court, Sky says that WBD is in breach of a contract, signed in 2019 whereby WBD was supposed to offer Sky at least four TV shows, made for its Max streaming service, which Sky could pick from to co-produce.

Sky says WBD "fell far short of that mark" for the entire duration of the contract, that WBD deliberately didn't offer Harry Potter, and is deliberately keeping Harry Potter for itself for its own potential gain as "the cornerstone of the launch of its Max streaming service in Europe".

Harry Potter which is expected to run for a decade as a TV series is supposed to debut its first season in 2016.

It is still unclear whether Harry Potter will be on M-Net (DStv 101) on MultiChoice's DStv in South Africa but the odds increased tremendously after Harry Potter switched to become an HBO Original in June.

In its statement, Sky says it is taking WBD to court "to safeguard our interests and enforce our rights to partner in the production and distribution of highly valuable content".

"Warner has repeatedly failed to offer Sky the annually required minimum number of contractually qualifying series for its consideration," Sky says.

"Specifically, Warner was obligated to present Sky with at least 4 shows per year across 2021, 2022, and 2023 but undisputedly fell far short of that mark, in certain years offering barely a single qualifying series while also withholding critical, contractually required information necessary for Sky to evaluate any potential options that it did receive."

According to Sky, "This misconduct has deprived Sky of its bargained-for opportunity to co-fund, co-produce, and subsequently exploit exclusively in the UK and European territories all manner of top-end Warner content."

"If all that were not enough, Warner has now even brazenly denied Sky its right to partner on Warner's highly valuable decade-long, tentpole television series adapting J.K. Rowling's iconic Harry Potter novels, set to premiere in 2026 or 2027."

"Instead, Warner has largely disregarded the parties' agreement and sought to keep the Harry Potter content for itself so that Warner can use it as the cornerstone of the launch of its Max streaming service in Europe."

According to Sky's 2019 deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, "For each calendar year from 2021 through 2025, Sky shall be presented with all qualifying HBO Max original series, and not less than 4 in any event, that are one hour slot length in duration per episode, intended to be multi-season, produced by WBTV or HBO Max for premiere on HBO Max, and which are ordered within the applicable year to a first season. Sky shall select a minimum of 2 new series per year".

Sky says "We continue to work constructively with Warner Brothers Discovery and have a separate agreement in place that will ensure Sky customers continue to enjoy HBO shows, including new seasons, such as House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, The White Lotus and Euphoria, along with exciting new releases such as Dune: Prophecy, and many more for years to come".

WBD in a statement says WBD's licensing agreements with Sky will all expire at the end of 2015 and that Sky's lawsuit is " a baseless attempt by Sky and Comcast to try and gain leverage in its negotiations for our programming beyond that date".

"We know HBO branded shows are critical to Sky, as evidenced by their desire for over a year to find a way to renew our agreements, and this lawsuit makes it clear that Sky is deeply concerned about the viability of its business were it to lose our award-winning content."

"WBD will vigorously defend itself from this unfounded lawsuit as we move forward undeterred with plans to launch Max, including the new HBO Harry Potter series, in the UK and other European markets in 2026."

ALSO READ: Harry Potter series to debut in 2026.

ALSO READ: No Penguin but Harry Potter and Green Lanterns series will now be seen on M-Net in South Africa after Warner Bros. Discovery switches them to HBO Originals.

Showmax 2.0: How MultiChoice will relaunch its streamer to battle Netflix with English Premier League, more global content and thousands of Comcast engineers.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice plans to have a big launch for what it calls "Showmax 2.0" - the new version of its video streaming service - with the pay-TV operator saying that the Comcast-NBCUniversal-Peacock partnership will not just increase Showmax's international content offering but also boost its projected subscriber numbers by up to three times it would have been by 2032.

MultiChoice plans to unveil its relaunched and retooled second version of Showmax by the end of March 2024 in its big quest to take on Netflix.

MultiChoice and Comcast plan to jointly battle Netflix as the leading video streamer in South Africa and across the African continent by adding premium English Premier League (EPL) content, more international shows, foreign movies and more global content - while making use of Comcast's army of thousands of engineers who will work to improve the capabilities and user experience of the video streaming service that will have a Peacock underbuilt.

Throwing down the gauntlet, for the first time for a streaming service in Africa will carry English Premier League (EPL) content when the wrapping is taken off the improved and shinier "Showmax 2.0" streamer in a year's time.

During the pay-TV operator's first Capital Markets Day which was held virtually, MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela said that "linear TV still represents an attractive growth opportunity - especially in the rest of Africa".

He said that MultiChoice will continue to grow its traditional DStv linear pay-TV business by bringing subscribers localised and sports content but that the company is stepping up its "ambitions in streaming".

In March MultiChoice announced that it's joining with Comcast - its NBCUniversal division running its Peacock streamer, as well as Sky in the United Kingdom - to redevelop and relaunch its Showmax streamer.

While Peacock is much smaller than global video streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+; MultiChoice - together with Comcast, NBCUniversal and Sky - wants to frontload and reload Showmax to take on the global streaming players who have encroached on its turf.

With MultiChoice's turbo-boosted Showmax, the plan is for Showmax 2.0 to gobble up whatever subscribers are available in South Africa and across Africa before the Netflixes of the world are "fully deployed" on the continent - in MultiChoice and Comcast's words.

"We needed a technology solution that matched our ambitions and could help us to scale as fast as the market grows," Calvo Mawela said.

Netflix, Showmax and Disney+

There is a huge opportunity for subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) in Africa," Yolisa Phahle, Showmax and connected video CEO at MultiChoice, said during Wednesday's event.

Showmax wants to use regionalised local productions across various African countries to drive subscriber growth and increase scale, as it fights to increase its growth curve which has ebbed somewhat and is lower than Netflix which is in first place in sub-Saharan Africa.

Yolisa Phahle shared a chart showing subscriber growth of the major over-the-top (OTT) streaming services in sub-Saharan Africa between December 2020 and December 2022 - but without any numbers or scale.

According to the chart, Netflix is number one in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with Showmax in second place and with a slower growth curve - with Disney+ that suddenly jumped into third place with a sharp growth spike since its launch in South Africa. 

At the bottom of the pile are other players like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, VIU and iRoko.

It should be noted that MultiChoice declines to make specific Showmax subscriber numbers available and only provides percentages not attached to scale. Although they're Showmax's biggest two rivals, MultiChoice now also carries both Netflix and Disney+ on its DStv Explora Ultra decoder as OTT services.

Speaking about what MultiChoice is observing in the fast-changing operational setup of American streaming services, Yolisa Phahle said Hollywood studios are having a rethink and scaling back their massive financial investments after a few years of huge content investment to try and fuel subscriber growth and to scale up streaming services.

"What we're seeing is that several streaming providers, Disney for example and more recently Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO seem to be recalibrating their strategy to speed up profitability. Some of the other issues impacting the industry are the need to continually improve the tech and the platform experience," she said.

"Demanding live sport on SVOD is actually becoming the norm. This is something we've been focusing our Showmax Pro offering on. Also, ad-supported offerings are gaining traction, especially under younger viewers."

"The good news in all of this is that Africa is seen as the final frontier of SVOD growth globally," Yolisa Phahle said.

Boost: Three times more Showmax subscribers

MultiChoice says NBCUniversal's scaleable Peacock streaming platform will "deliver significant benefits to Showmax".

"We'll have access to their best-in-class tech," said Yolisa Phahle. 

Because of the combined Comcast-MultiChoice partnership, MultiChoice has revised its Showmax subscriber projections and now expects the subscriber numbers of Showmax 2.0 to be three times more by 2032 than if it continued Showmax alone. 

Andrea Zappia who is exiting this month as Sky's executive vice president and CEO for new markets and business, said that Showmax 2.0 will be "launching at the right time" since "the global players are not fully deployed yet into the continent".

Yolisa Phahle said "streaming will take off. There's no going back. It's is the future and we will ride into the future with the right partner".

"In Comcast we found an incredible platform," she said, noting that "they have an engineering team of thousands who will continually be working to improve the capability of the platform to make it a wonderful place for the consumer to find our great content."

Boost in international content, EPL on Showmax

About Showmax's limited international content library, MultiChoice said the partnership with Comcast, NBCUniversal and Sky will boost the library of Showmax 2.0's global shows.

"Up until this point we were spending most of our time and effort really promoting the incredible local content because that is what brings us subscribers," Yolisa Phahle said.

"The research we've been doing over the last 12 months with Comcast has also shown that audiences want fantastic international programming. Now, with this guarantee of this content, we will be relaunching Showmax and marketing movies, marketing international series. We've also got great kids programming coming through."

"All of the questions about why are we not talking more about international content will be addressed and not only will we have NBCUniversal programming but HBO, Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony ... In fact, if you think about it, we will have international content first and exclusively on Showmax from 80% of the world's biggest international producers. It's going to be an incredible line-up: local, sports, and international content," Yolisa Phahle said.

English Premier League (EPL) content will be placed for the first time on Showmax 2.0 as well, she revealed.

"There will be a big launch," Yolisa Phahle said. "We're aiming that Showmax 2.0 is out there before the end of March 2024. But right now we are producing content, we are acquiring content, we are thinking about the packaging and the pricing."

"Sub-Saharan Africa is at the beginning of its streaming journey. It's a vast market and we are here with a strategy which is well differentiated from our competitors."

MultiChoice to relaunch its Showmax video streamer with different content and new pricing after partnering with NBCUniversal's Peacock technology and UK's Sky.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice will relaunch its Showmax video streaming service in Africa, including a possible name change, after partnering up with Comcast's NBCUniversal running the Peacock streamer and Sky in the United Kingdom.

Facing increasing competition after the influx of global streamers like Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video and others in South Africa and across the African territory, MultiChoice now plans to relaunch its Showmax service powered by NBCUniversal's Peacock technology, as a new service, with the content and pricing which is yet to be announced.

MultiChoice is selling a 30% stake in Showmax to NBCUniversal, keeping 70% through Earth UK Holdings Limited (EarthCo), a new UK-registered company which will now be trading as "Showmax". 

EarthCo's senior leadership team will be based in its Dubai branch where MultiChoice has an office, and the UK, with so-called operational teams in South Africa and Nigeria. In Nigeria, NBCUniversal will hold an indirect 23.7% stake in the local Showmax subsidiary.

MultiChoice will now funnel content from NBCUniversal and Sky into Showmax. MultiChoice recently added the Universal+ service to DStv, raising questions over whether Universal+ will continue as a stand-alone content hub after the new Showmax deal.

MultiChoice says it will now use NBCUniversal's Peacock technology for Showmax to bring African pay-TV audiences "the best of local and international programming".

Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice CEO, in a prepared statement, says "We launched Showmax as the first African streaming service in 2015 and are extremely proud of its success to date".

"This agreement represents a great opportunity for our Showmax team to scale even greater heights by working with a leading global player in Comcast and its subsidiaries".

"The new business venture deepens an already strong relationship and builds on the Sky Glass technology partnership that we announced in September last year. We believe we are extremely well positioned to create a winning platform going forward."

Dana Strong, Sky CEO, in the statement says "This new collaboration in streaming and content with MultiChoice, NBCUniversal, and Sky takes our partnership to the next level in one of the world's most vibrant, fastest growing markets".

"Last year, we announced MultiChoice as a customer of the Sky Glass platform and now we are excited to help innovate its Showmax streaming service."

Matt Strauss, NBCUniversal chairman of direct-to-consumer & international, in the statement says "This partnership is an incredible opportunity to further scale the global presence of Peacock's world-class streaming technology, as well as to introduce millions of new customers to extensive premium content from NBCUniversal and Sky’s stellar entertainment brands".

HBO Max releases a second trailer for House of the Dragon prequel series coming to M-Net in August.

by Thinus Ferreira

HBO Max has released a second official trailer of House of the Dragon, the dragon-filled prequel drama series set 200 years before Game of Thrones, which will be broadcast in August on M-Net (DStv 101) as an Express from the US release.

The new trailer follows after the first teaser trailer for House of the Dragon which was released in October 2021, with the new prequel series which is based on author George R.R. Martin's book, Fire & Blood.

The new series, filmed in the United Kingdom, stars Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, the younger brother of Princess Rhanyra; alongside Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen; Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King; Olivia Cooke as Lady Alicent Hightower, and Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the king's first child and heir.

Also in the show are Fabien Frankel as knight Ser Criston Cole; Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon also known as "The Sea Snake"; Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, and Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria.

The August launch date means that the big-budget fantasy series will be competing for attention with the first season of Amazon Prime Video's new fantasy drama series  The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power which will be releasing weekly episodes from 2 September. 

Although M-Net hasn't yet confirmed a specific starting date it will be taking House of the Dragon as an Express from the US title for MultiChoice DStv subscribers, similar to what Britain's Sky satellite pay-TV service will be doing for its pay-TV subscribers in the UK.

America's Comcast unveils its new XClass TV set enabling seamless video streaming.

by Thinus Ferreira

Following the unveiling of Sky's new Sky Glass TV set in the United Kingdom earlier this month, Comcast in America on Tuesday afternoon unveiled its new XClass TV set from Hisense that is 4K capable and that will enable seamless streaming for pay-TV consumers eliminating the need for a decoder or set-top box.

There's not yet been any indications that the MultiChoice Group in South Africa plans any similar integrated TV set for its DStv service in Africa that seems to lag behind international industry trends.

MultiChoice announced that it's launching a DStv Streama decoder in August 2020 but over a year later MultiChoice's DStv Streama became so-called "vapourware" with the company offering no explanation for not launching it.

Comcast announced that the XClass TV, priced at $298 (R4339) for a 43inch model and with a sticker price of $348 (R5068) for a 50-inch 4K Ultra HD model will come with a year's free subscription to NBCUniversal's Peacock Premium subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service.

The XClass TV sets will go on sale from this week in the United States.

The Hisense XClass TV sets include support for Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 and can enable the pass-through of Dolby Atmos from compatible content sources when the TV is connected to a compatible audio device.

Similar to Sky Glass that bundles a whole collection of streaming services, the XClass TV aggregates content from Hulu With Live TV, YouTube TV and America's Dish Network's Sling TV.

XClass TV users also get access to video streamers like Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, WarnerMedia's HBO Max, Hulu, YouTube, Comcast's Xumo, ViacomCBS's Pluto, Fox's Tubi and Amazon's IMDb TV.

"We're thrilled to bring our award-winning entertainment experience to smart TVs nationwide and for the first-time, offer consumers inside and outside our service areas a simple way to navigate their live and on-demand content, whether streaming or cable," says Sam Schwartz, Comcast's chief business development officer, in a press release.

David Gold, president of Hisense USA, in the statement says that "As a rapidly growing brand in the Untied States, Hisense is committed not only to quality products but also to providing an array of options for our customers".

"We're excited to partner with Comcast to bring the first XClass TVs to market in the United States."

Key features of the XClass TV operating system include simple search and discovery that gets consumers quickly to the content they want to watch, regardless of what app or service it resides in with just a click or a voice command, Comcast says.

The XClass TV also has gives users the functionality to create a personalised playlist with the "My List" feature, enabling consumers to save and quickly access shows or movies from across apps and services from the home screen or through a button on the remote.

The XClass TV has a curated interface that combines automated suggestions with editorial recommendations to help consumers discover programming from across streaming apps and services.

Comcast says that the XClass TV set gives "convenient and seamless access to recently viewed apps, services, content, HDMI inputs, and over the air TV channels on the first row of the home screen to help consumers get back to their favourite entertainment faster".

The XClass TV has built-in voice technology that allows consumers to discover content quickly with a simple voice command, working in and out of apps to get content wherever the viewer is in a viewing experience.

"Comcast's global voice platform supports more than 40 million commands daily in 5 different languages across North America and Europe," the company says.

ALSO READ: Sky's new Sky Glass raises the pay-TV ceiling with an integrated new smart TV that seamlessly aggregates content everywhere to 'reimagine' the biggest screen in the home.

M-Net hasn't acquired HBO's Game of Thrones spinoff series House of the Dragon.

by Thinus Ferreira

M-Net (DStv 101) hasn't acquired the spinoff fantasy drama series House of the Dragon like Sky in the United Kingdom did.

Earlier this month the Sky pay-TV service in the United Kingdom announced that it had secured the Game of Thrones spinoff, House of the Dragon, that will start on HBO's video streaming service in America in 2022.

M-Net in response to a media query from TVwithThinus said on Monday that "M-Net has not acquired House of the Dragon but will keep you posted should anything change".

The prequel series will chronicle the fall of the House of Targaryen when dragons still roamed Westeros in bigger numbers before their virtual extinction during the time of Game of Thrones and the family politics and drama - basically a family civil war - that became known as the legendary "Dance of the Dragons".

It remains to be seen whether some other channel, M-Net at a later date, Showmax, or some other video streamer would pick up House of the Dragon in the month's ahead.

House of the Dragon is specifically made for HBO Max, that WarnerMedia plans to still roll out globally, similar to Disney+ (coming to South Africa around June 2022 to South Africa), ViacomCBS' Paramount+, and Discovery Inc.'s Discovery+.

Neither Christina Sulebakk, general manager for HBO Max for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, nor Priya Dogra, president of WarnerMedia International, has so far announced any specific launch date yet for HBO Max in sub-Saharan Africa.

ALSO READ: After Sky in Britain acquires HBO's House of the Dragon there is still silence from Africa's M-Net.

After Sky in Britain acquires HBO's House of the Dragon there is still silence from Africa's M-Net.

by Thinus Ferreira

After the Sky pay-TV service in the United Kingdom secured the Game of Thrones spinoff, House of the Dragon, that will start on HBO's video streaming service in America in 2022, Africa's M-Net is remaining silent about its acquisition plans for the fantasy drama series.

HBO Max released the first teaser trailer for House of the Dragon last week. 

That was followed by Sky announcing that it has secured House of the Dragon for its pay-TV viewers in the United Kingdom, where the series will debut on the Sky Atlantic channel in 2022.

Last week TVwithThinus asked M-Net whether it has done the same and also managed to secure the series for MultiChoice's DStv subscribers in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa, in the way that Sky did.

M-Net acknowledged the media query but by a week later didn't provide an answer about House of the Dragon by the time of publication of this report, with the pay-TV broadcaster saying that it would respond "as soon as we have a response".

The prequel series will chronicle the fall of the House of Targaryen when dragons still roamed Westeros in bigger numbers before their virtual extinction during the time of Game of Thrones and the family politics and drama - basically a family civil war - that became known as the legendary "Dance of the Dragons".

It's not yet clear whether MultiChoice's M-Net or Showmax in South Africa might be able to acquire House of the Dragon like it did Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon is specifically made for HBO Max, that WarnerMedia plans to still roll out globally, similar to Disney+ (coming to South Africa around June 2022 to South Africa), ViacomCBS' Paramount+, and Discovery Inc.'s Discovery+.

Neither Christina Sulebakk, general manager for HBO Max for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, nor Priya Dogra, president of WarnerMedia International, has so far announced any specific launch date yet for HBO Max in sub-Saharan Africa.

That means that similar to Disney+ series like The Mandalorian, South African viewers won't be able to watch House of the Dragon legally even if they want to pay, unless WarnerMedia or HBO does a licensing agreement with M-Net or Showmax.

Johannes Larcher, WarnerMedia's head of HBO Max International, said that HBO Max plans to be available in 190 countries by 2026.

ALSO READ: WarnerMedia shows the first teaser footage of its Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon coming to HBO Max in 2022.

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 30 October 2020.

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

■ Andisa Ndlovu leaves eNCA (DStv 403)
... while Zoe Brown pops back up at SABC3's Expresso.

■ Outsurance edits SABC3 Expresso presenter Katlego Maboe out of its TV commercials after his cheating.

- Katlego Maboe's "wife abuse storm" story also news across Southern Africa.

■ Season 2 of Star Wars: The Mandalorian starts on Disney+ that is NOT available on South Africa or Africa - a favourite character makes a cameo!

- Star Wars: The Mandalorian: Disney's biggest blockbuster of 2020 returns with a new mission.

- Who is Cobb Vanth?

- A Star Wars lore cheat sheet for season 2.

- Star Wars: The Mandalorian season 2 makes Disney+ the lead streamer.

- But perhaps again the most pirated TV show of 2020  as it was in 2019?

Disney refused to preview or make screeners of the second season available to TV critics.

■ Star Wars: The Mandalorian reviews: 

- "A smorgasbord of action and Easter eggs"

- "A fun return"

- "Creators have started to think bigger"

- The best episode yet? Season 2 premiere was amazing"

- Season 2 kicks off in the best way"

■ CNN International (DStv 401) contributor lied on CNN.

■ Fox News (StarSat 261) Tucker Carlson claims; proof lost in the mail.

■ What happens to Fox News (StarSat 261) if Donald Trump loses the 2020 American election? Rupert Murdoch is prepared.

■ Angry South African artists in potential hostage situation demand answers from the country's incompetent Gauteng Arts and Culture department over Covid-19 relief funds.

■ As expected, Netflix hikes prices in America.

■ Amazon Prime Video: The consumer doesn't own the series and films they buy to watch.

■ How will Disney's experiment making its big-screen Mulan available on its Disney+ streamer affect the VOD business?

■ South Africans are tired of "doing the right thing" when it comes to paying their SABC TV Licence fees and won't stand for being taxed more to fund the SABC simply by watching MultiChoice's DStv or Netflix SA.

- There are a lot of challenges around the SABC and department of communications' idea to have private companies like MultiChoice and Netflix collect and pay SABC TV Licence fees on behalf of their customers.

■ The Masked Singer is getting a spinoff: The Masked Dancer.

■ NBCUniversal is apparently done with creating content and shows for a specific pay-TV channel.

What will happen to American-produced linear pay-TV channels like E!, Universal TV, Studio Universal and others carried on platforms like DStv in Africa?

■ See and hear Gillian Anderson and her stunning transformation into Margaret Thatcher in the trailer for the 4th season of The Crown on Netflix.

■ Sky gives carpentry show The Chop on Sky History channel the chop after Nazi scandal.

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 29 July 2020.

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

Netflix breaks HBO's record for the most Emmy nominations ever.
HBO's Watchmen earned 26 nominations - the most of any show - and the Television Academy gave newcomers Disney+ and Apple TV + their first nominations.
- Emmy 2020 snubs and surprises: Baby Yoda breaks through.
- TV critics on whether television should be celebrating itself when the Covid-19 pandemic rages on.


■ "Kosher Netflix" launches in Israel.
No dancing to be seen as religious Jewish subscribers can press the "Skip" button to protect their modesty and flick past "problematic" scenes in the new video streaming service, Tov.

■ What is the optimum number of seasons for a TV sitcom before it jumps the shark?
Season 7, episode 3.

■ Television cinematography takes a Quantum Leap.

■ Pay-as-you-go for solar-powered pay-TV in Africa.

■ Convicted paedophile worked on the set of New Zealand children's show.

■ Britain's Sky pay-TV operator embraces the possibilities of showcasing Art on television.

■ How 2020 pressed Fast Forward on the video streaming wars.
- And the early winners and losers: The "What's gone right", What's gone wrong" and the "Verdict".


■ Major League Baseball (MLB) shown on ESPN might get cancelled this season because of Covid-19.
- Slimmed-down baseball on TV has broadcast workers worried about job cuts.
- Major League Baseball pulls the rug out from Amazon Prime Video with shortened season.


■ Apple's Apple TV+ video streaming service is off to a very slow start and isn't generating revenue.


■ "Shame on Big Brother Naija."
Is Edafe Ufoma Holy on drugs or something? In a c-r-a-z-y and hilarious rant over MultiChoice and M-Net's latest 5th season of Big Brother Nigeria, "Ebuka, the presenter got penis erection while interviewing that lady with massive breasts", and "The most handsome of all the male contestants is a yellow skin guy but with little manhood".


■ DStv now charging the same for less, says a subscriber, while DStv Customer Service says "We do not have replacement channels".
"We are left with 20-year old repeats and channels which give us films with excessive violence".

■ If Facebook and social media is the new cigarettes, then this is what we must learn fro the 1970's.

■ Hollywood's lost summer.


■ Adewunmi Ogunsanya, MultiChoice Nigeria chairperson recovers after Covid-19.
Unadulterated joy blossoms in the bosoms of relatives, friends and associates of the successful, beefy lawyer who had coronavirus with the news about Erujeje's healing that has sent his people rejoicing and felicitating with him.

■ Australia's version of Farmer Wants a Wife wants to bring back "wholesome reality TV".

■ Nigeria finally adds sign language to national news briefings on TV.
- While South Africa's SABC puts out a new tender looking for sign language service providers for 3 years.

■ The future of video streaming services is ongoing subscriber churn.
Viewers will subscribe and unsubscribe as new content comes and goes that they might be interested in.

■ SABC chief financial officer Yolande van Biljon says the South African public broadcaster wants to get to a place where it doesn't have to ask for government bailouts again.

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.

NBCUniversal announces plans to also start its own video streaming service, will launch it in early-2020.

NBCUniversal is joining the competition to launch and have a video streaming service and plans to launch its own in early-2020, run and overseen by NBCUniversal's longtime pay-TV boss, Bonnie Hammer.

In America CBS now has a streaming service, CBS All Access, there is DC Universe, and Disney plans to launch its streaming service Disney+ in 2019, as does WarnerMedia.

Meanwhile there are Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, the BBC is working on improving its iPlayer, and South African and African viewers are also familiar with options like Showmax and Acorn TV that just launched, while the rest of sub-Saharan Africa has Econet's struggling Kwesé iflix.

Along with NBCUniversal'sstreaming service plan, Jeff Snell is being promoted and put in charge of oversight of NBCEntertainment, International and Telemundo as well.

NBCUniversal's not-yet-named video streaming service will be launched in 2020 and not just in the United States for Comcast pay-TV subscribers but will also be available to pay-TV operator Sky in the United Kingdom as well as other parts of Europe where Sky has a presence - reaching a combined 52 million subscribers.

NBCUniversal's streaming service will be ad-supported but a commercial-free version will be available for a fee, while viewers who are not pay-TV subscribers will be able to buy a separate subscription to the service.

"NBCUniversal has some of the world's most valuable intellectual property and top talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Many of the most-watched shows on today's popular streaming platforms come from NBCUniversal," says Steve Burke, NBCUniversal CEO, in a statement announcing plans for the new service.

"Our new service will be different than those presently in the market and it will be built on the company's strengths, with NBCUniversal's great content and the technology expertise, broad scale and the wide distribution of Comcast Cable and Sky."

"People are watching premium content more than ever, but they want more flexibility and value. NBCUniversal is perfectly positioned to offer a variety of choices, due to our deep relationships with advertisers and distribution partners, as well as our data-targeting capabilities."

"Advertising continues to be a major part of the entertainment ecosystem and we believe that a streaming service, with limited and personalized ads, will provide a great consumer experience."

Comcast pulls the rug out from under 21st Century Fox for Sky with the higher bid for the British pay-TV operator.

The American pay-TV operator Comcast has pulled the rug out from under Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox to take over Sky by putting in the higher bid in a so-called blind auction on Saturday in the heated competition between the two for the British pay-TV operator Sky, the United Kingdom's Takeover Panel said on Saturday.

Comcast is now offering £17.28 per share for Sky ($40 billion), compared to Fox’s bid of £15.67 per share - 10% more - meaning that Comcast's bid values Sky at £29.7-billion.

Comcast's higher bid for Sky in the take-over race that it entered in February, makes it very likely that Comcast will become the new owner of Sky in the American pay-TV operator's global expansion, pending shareholder approval.

It's also a massive blow and setback for the Murdock family with Rupert Murdock who has tried to get control of all of Sky for close to the past decade.

Sky that has 31 000 employees and around 23 million subscribers in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

Sky has a very strong pay-TV offering tied into distribution and content deals with American TV brands like HBO and Showtime, a ramped up production slate of premium local series it sells internationally, licensing agreements for a collection of the best premium sports rights like the English Premier League (EPL) for another 3 years, and a tie-in agreement with the global streaming giant Netflix.

Interestingly South Africa's MultiChoice - that will be spun-off in the first half of 2019 from parent Naspers - has been closely emulating Sky's operations and services offering the past decade across Africa through its DStv, M-Net and SuperSport brands.

While Comcast that owns NBCUniversal has a large NBCUniversal International Networks office in Central London, Comcast has promised to keep Sky's corporate headquarters at its Osterley campus in West-London.

"This is a great day for Comcast," says Brian Roberts, Comcast CEO in a statement.

"Sky is a wonderful company with a great platform, tremendous brand, and accomplished management team. This acquisition will allow us to quickly, efficiently and meaningfully increase our customer base and expand internationally. We couldn't be more excited by the opportunities in front of us."

Jeremy Darroch, Sky group executive in a statement says "This is the beginning of the next exciting chapter for Sky".

"Brian and his team have built a great business and we are looking forward to bringing our two companies together for the benefit of our customers and colleagues. As part of a broader Comcast we believe we will be able to continue to grow and strengthen our position as Europe’s leading direct to consumer media company."

"Today’s outcome is down to the hard work of tens of thousands of people who have built and developed this business together over the last 30 years. Sky has never stood still, and with Comcast our momentum will only increase."

Martin Gilbert, chairperson of the independent committee of Sky, says "We consider the Comcast offer to be an excellent outcome for Sky shareholders, and we are recommending it as it represents materially superior value."

"We are focused on drawing this process to a successful and swift close and therefore urge shareholders to accept the recommended Comcast offer."

"On behalf of the independent committee of Sky, I wish to congratulate everyone at Sky on creating such a successful company that has attracted strategic interest from one of the world’s greatest media companies."

21st Century Fox in a statement only says "Sky is a remarkable story and we are proud to have played such a significant role in building the incredible value reflected today in Comcast’s offer".

As Sky in Britain teams up with Netflix from November, how long until MultiChoice strikes a deal with Netflix SA to be made available to DStv subscribers?

As pay-TV operator Sky in the United Kingdom announced that it will be teaming up with Netflix from November for its new subscription package, it raises questions as to when Naspers' MultiChoice's might reach out and team up for a deal to make Netflix South Africa's offering available on DStv.

MultiChoice and M-Net over the past decade have closely mirrored Sky's service, innovations and self-packaged Sky channels plan for South Africa and Africa, raising the possibility that similar to what Sky in the UK and Comcast in the United States are now doing by linking up with Netflix, the global streaming giant's service could maybe be added for South African DStv subscribers as well.

Sky announced that Netflix is coming to its Sky Q and new subscription package "Ultimate On Demand" from November.

As part of a new seamless package, Sky subscribers will be able to get all of Sky's original productions, American series like HBO’s Game of Thrones and Showtime’s Billions, alongside Netflix’s original dramas, films, comedies and documentaries, like The Crown, Stranger Things, The Kissing Booth, Making a Murderer and Queer Eye.

Sky in a statement says "this integration means it'll be easier than ever to find what you love and discover hidden gems".

"We want Sky Q to be the number one destination for TV fans. Partnering with Netflix means we will have all the best TV in one great value pack, making it even easier for you to watch all of your favourite shows," says Stephen van Rooyen, Sky UK CEO.

Chris Whiteley, Netflix UK director for business development, says "Innovation is at the core of Netflix. We are delighted to partner with Sky to offer fans a new and exciting way to access the best of entertainment from around the world."

Payment for the new Netflix pack will be added to customers' monthly Sky bills, making it easier than ever to sign up and removing the need for separate payments for each service.

South African pay-TV customers are now wondering when this innovation might be given to them, with MultiChoice that currently only bundles Naspers' subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) Showmax for free to DStv Premium subscribers. 

DStv Premium subscribers as a percentage of MultiChoice's overall subscriber base keeps falling as people no longer see DStv Premium as offering enough value to make the monthly price worthwhile.

According to MultiChoice the free Showmax offer will expire on 31 March 2019 after which DStv subscribers will have to cancel it or pay an additional fee. Showmax, together with DStv Now, is currently being run under the Connected Video unit.

In May 2018 TVwithThinus asked Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice South Africa CEO why the pay-TV operator is not giving DStv subscribers access to Netflix in the way Showmax is made available, and in the way Britain and America's leading pay-TV services are now doing.

Calvo Mawela said MultiChoice is currently treating Netflix South Africa as "pure competition", and that although it hasn't yet engaged with Netflix over a possible partnership, that it is studying what's happening and is open to possible opportunities.

"We are following and making observations around what's happening in the rest of the world in terms of traditional pay-TV operators and how they engage with Netflix," Calvo Mawela said.

"We also recognise the kind of partnership they've done with Sky and as a business we are open to anything that will make commercial sense to us."

"However, we have not gone and engaged with Netflix at this stage. All we are saying at this present moment is we are competing with Netflix, hence we launched Showmax for us to capture that market."

"Once we get a full understanding of how the Netflix partnership works in the rest of the world with traditional pay-TV, we will be able to make a call as to whether it's good for us to partner or whether it's not good for us to partner."

"At the moment we treat Netflix as pure competition," said Calvo Mawela. "And we are trying to build Showmax to be able to compete with Netflix."

Naspers is set to spin-off MultiChoice in the first half of 2019 as its own MultiChoice Group company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

While streaming services like Showmax, Netflix SA and Amazon Prime Video are growing fast in South Africa it's from a very small base.

While MultiChoice had 13.5 million DStv and GOtv subscribers by the end of March 2018, latest research from New York's Pivotal Research Group projects that Netflix will have just 500 000 subscribers by 2020 in South Africa and across the rest of Africa combined.

Walt Disney agrees to buy Sky News and to keep it running under that name for at least 15 years so that 21st Century Fox can acquire the rest of the British pay-TV operator Sky.

The Walt Disney Company has agreed to buy Sky News (DStv 402) and to keep the British TV news channel funded for at least 15 years to tot tune of over $2 billion during that period, so that 21st Century Fox can possibly acquire the rest of the British pay-TV operator Sky that it doesn't own yet.

21st Century Fox already owns 39% of Sky, but can't get the rest if the loss-making Sky News isn't offloaded to prevent Fox from owning too much news outlets in the United Kingdom.

Britain's culture secretary Matt Hancock on Tuesday revealed that Walt Disney in principle had undertaken to buy Sky News. Now the British government has to decide whether it will clear 21st Century Fox' application to buy Sky.

Disney has undertook to maintain Sky News as the Sky News brand for at least 15 years if it scoops it up an increase in the total money Disney would plough into Sky News of at least £100 million ($132 million) per year, with operating costs protected in real terms", as well as a commitment from Disney to protect the editorial independence of Sky News.

Matt Hancock said he "In my view, these revised undertakings meet the criteria that I set out to the House on 5 June and will help to ensure that Sky News remains financially viable over the long-term; is able to operate as a major United Kingdom based news provider; and is able to take its editorial decisions independently, free from any potential outside influence."

21st Century in a statement on Tuesday said it "welcomes today's announcement by the secretary that he intends to accept the final undertakings proposed by 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company with a view to clearing 21st Century Fox's proposed acquisition of the remaining shares in Sky on media plurality grounds. The undertakings are now subject to a 15-day public consultation".

Sky in a statement on Tuesday said "the independent directors of Sky are mindful of their fiduciary duties and remain focused on maximizing value for Sky shareholders. A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate."