The Tellytrack horse-racing TV channel extends its contract with MultiChoice; will roll-out an on-air rebrand and content revamp on DStv from 4 May.

After getting extremely close to being dumped from MultiChoice's satellite pay-TV service DStv, and then saved, the horse-racing betting channel Tellytrack (DStv 239) is getting another reprieve from being sent to the off-air glue factory, with Tellytrack that will rebrand on 4 May 2019 with a revamped on-air offering.

The on-air rebrand and programming revamp forms part of a contract extension for the Tellytrack channel between MultiChoice and Phumelela Gaming and where Colleen Goodman was appointed as new Tellytrack CEO in late-2018.

MultiChoice and Phumelela Gaming didn't specify the duration or any of the details of the new contract.

MultiChoice says in a statement that "for over 15 years DStv has been the 'race track' of choice for many horse-racing lovers across the country" but omits how adamant and close the pay-TV service has been and came in the past to dumping Tellytrack.

MultiChoice says Tellytrack will "continue to run on DStv channel 239 enabling viewers to experience the 'Sport of Kings' in the comfort of their homes".

From 4 May Tellytrack will start with and carry an improved content offering that will include more lifestyle programming, as well as a new on-air look.

Tellytrack content - both recorded and live coverage - the past 3 years faced criticism ranging from low production values, looking amateurish, a failure to cover events, and horrible and uninformed on-air talent clueless and unprepared to cover race-events.

Tellytrack will now introduce a new hour-long daily Morning Show, that will carry 30 minutes of horseracing content and 30 minutes of other sports.

"Over the years we have seen consistency in the channel's viewership ratings, indicating that the South African television market has an appetite for the sport," says Rob Scott, sports betting executive for Phumelela Gaming, in a prepared statement.

"As such from a business perspective, extending the contract became key, as the partnership continues to provide an extended reach of the sport."

"Our objective is to provide our viewers with variety through the morning show but through our other offerings, become a channel that features predominantly local horseracing," says Rob Scott.

Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's head of content strategy, says "The Tellytrack channel forms part of our platform's strategy to bring great quality and diverse content to South African audiences".

"Through our content we celebrate our diverse audiences' interests, and this can be demonstrated in the number of channel offerings available on our packages. The Tellytrack channel allows us to continue to meet this mandate – of continuously serving our viewers with content that is relevant and excites them."

With whispers of a 2 May launch date and already missing its 'early-2019' launch target, the new TV news channel Newzroom Afrika and MultiChoice are failing to keep their promise of keeping the media informed.

While there's unconfirmed insider buzz that the new Newzroom Afrika TV news channel will now launch on 2 May on DStv - already missing its "in early-2019" launch date it announced in September 2018 with no communication since - rumblings and negative perceptions inside South Africa's media sector are growing about how both Newzroom Afrika and MultiChoice have failed, and are failing, to keep their promise of keeping the media informed about this channel's developments and roll-out.

With whispers of a 2 May launch date and missing its "early-2019" launch target, the new TV news channel Newzroom Afrika and MultiChoice are failing to keep their promise of keeping the media informed about its progress.

According to insiders, Newzroom Afrika - that has already had to postpone initial plans to launch in "early-2019" as was originally announced to the press in September 2018, and that has failed to provide any updates or information to the media - is apparently looking at a launch date of 2 May 2019, unless that has also been postponed.

Even a 2 May launch date of the new TV news channel from Thabile Ngwato's Rapid Innovation and Thokozani Nkosi's Eclipse TV will mean a broken promise from Newzroom Afrika and MultiChoice that have done no market and media perception management since late-2018 for the channel.

A second-quarter launch date for Newzroom Afrika on DStv channel number 405 no longer qualifies as "early-2019".

Newzroom Afrika is set to replace the Gupta's canned ANN7 that morphed into Mzwanele Manyi's Afro Worldview before MultiChoice finally dumped it in August 2018.

TVwithThinus asked MultiChoice in the past week about the rumoured 2 May launch date for Newzroom Afrika with a MultiChoice spokesperson that said the satellite pay-TV service isn't in a position to confirm any dates.

According to MultiChoice insiders, Newzroom Afrika is however launching on 2 May.

According to insiders, DStv Media Sales, MultiChoice's advertising selling arm, has also entered into a commercial partnership with Newzroom Afrika from 24 April, although this has also not been announced and made public or shared with the media.

"We'll be sharing further details about the channel in the coming weeks," said Thabile Ngwato in the MultiChoice press release that was issued on 28 August 2018.

That was 8 months ago.

Since then Newzroom Afrika hasn't shared any further details and failed to keep the media that is and would be covering it, in the loop.

In March 2019 Newzroom Afrika started a recruitment process looking for reporters, producers, editors and people to fill various other positions.

There's been no guidance or media advisories from MultiChoice or Newzroom Afrika to the press in order for the media to prepare in advance for Newzroom Afrika's launch, or to plan editorial coverage and to slot in possible coverage into their news diaries.

Multiple media insiders, journalists and editors responsible for covering Newzroom Afrika - and who have been sharing their personal thoughts in off-the-record conversations the past few weeks - are saying that Newzroom Afrika and MultiChoice have already started damaging the Newzroom Afrika brand perception and credibility.

They say that by staying silent by choice, Newzroom Afrika, by not being more transparent and forthcoming about what it's doing and busy with in the lead-up to its on-air launch, plays more into "secrecy" than "news provider" which is what it presumably wants its image to be.

The media didn't get further guidance since August 2018 on Newzroom Afrika's moving launch date goalposts and have been kept in the dark about what exactly has been happening and what progress has been made the past 8 months.

With no word about whether there would be another official press briefing, or an official media launch event for the press, some have pointed to the shambolic and disorganised launch of ANN7 that never knew, nor engaged with the media it should have, and launched with an extremely damaging reputation and media perception that it never recovered from.

The media was negative about ANN7 - something that is caused itself through inaction - and never recovered from its damaged reputation.

ANN7 as the Newzroom Afrika predecessor never bothered to reach out to the media covering it with publicity beforehand to establish proper media relations.

It's launch event was a huge and embarrassing mess both in terms of the function as well as on-air where its blooper-fest led to a cringe-worthy meltdown on ANN7's launch night that went viral, with the behind-the-scenes drama that the former editor Rajesh Sundaram describes in embarrassing detail in his book, Indentured.

"One of the worst things they can possibly do is that the first next communication we get since the announcement that Newzroom Afrika won the bid is just suddenly some press release that Newzroom Afrika is going to start tomorrow or today," said a veteran media worker insider last week.

"That is probably exactly what is going to happen," said another.

"ANN7 just launched and had no clue about proper media engagement and got no help from MultiChoice. Their danger now is that Newzroom Afrika could follow the same road," said the first insider.

"You wonder what MultiChoice learnt, if anything, from the launch of ANN7. Now it's all new people everywhere and it looks like it's just going to be the same all over again," said a third person working in media.

"The media will only suddenly get information about the programming and on-air talent on the day they launch and then be asked 'do you want to do interviews?' which is far too late. And even that if we're lucky."

SABC board was split on whether to fire Chris Maroleng as COO as 4 members wanted the axed executive to get a final warning letter - reports.

The new quorate again SABC board was apparently split about whether to fire the now-axed Chris Maroleng as chief operating officer (COO) according to Sunday newspaper reports, with 4 SABC board members who wanted him to stay on and get a final warning letter.

It comes after Chris Maroleng was fired on Monday by the SABC.

Chris Maroleng's tenure as SABC COO lasted just over a year since he was appointed in January 2018 as chief operating officer to replace the fired Hlaudi Motsoeneng who was SABC COO before him.

Earlier this month Chris Maroleng was found guilty on 3 out of 4 charges, including gross negligence and breaching fiduciary duty, following a disciplinary inquiry against him that was started in late-2018.

The SABC also investigated the protection by Chris Maroleng of Marchi Mahlalela, the SABC's former acting SABC Sport boss, who resigned from the SABC following her own disciplinary hearing.

Chris Maroleng used his SABC COO position to try and help Marchi Mahlalela getting hired at the South African Rugby Union (Saru) and going as far as allegedly writing a letter in his official capacity as SABC COO to confirm that Marchi Mahlalela was innocent of any wrongdoing.

Another charge involved appointing Carmen Schneider, a human resources staffer to Chris Maroleng's office to manage his turnaround management programme that he started and called "Sparkle".

The SABC said that Chris Maroleng ignored HR advice and gave Carmen Schneider an allowance of R15 000 to be the Sparkle project leader despite an agreement with the SABC HR boss, Jonathan Thekiso, that there would not be any changes to Schneider's terms of employment, contract and salary.

According to Sunday reports, the decision to fire Chris Maroleng had to be put to a vote after 4 SABC board members didn't want to get rid of him and argued that the right course of action would have been a final warning letter.

Vuyo Mthembu, SABC spokesperson, said "The SABC disputes this gross misrepresentation of what took place at the SABC board meeting".

However, the SABC didn't want to put forth what it the public broadcaster's view took place at the meeting.

"All matters discussed at board meetings are confidential and we will therefore not divulge the details thereof," said Vuyo Mthembu.

"The SABC has a solid and united board that takes decisions in the best interest of the organisation. The SABC remains committed to ensuring sound governance and consequence management, irrespective of person's position within the corporation."

"We are confident the public and all key stakeholders support the SABC in its tough stance on governance and fiduciary failures."

Discovery Inc.'s female-focused Real Time channel added to China's StarTimes pay-TV service in Africa and its StarSat subsidiary in South Africa.

The Real Time (DStv 155 / StarSat 162) TV channel from Discovery Inc. has now finally launched on the satellite pay-TV service of StarTimes in sub-Saharan Africa and StarTimes' StarSat in South Africa on Monday 15 April.

StarSat in South Africa was asked if it had any comment or press release about the addition of the female-focused Real Time as a channel and told TVwithThinus "no comment".

The addition of Real Time to StarTimes in Africa and StarSat in Africa comes 7 and a half months after Real Time was added to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service from September 2018.

StarTimes and StarSat also carry the Discovery Family (DStv 222) since December 2018 when it replaced Discovery Science, as well as the Investigation Discovery (ID) (StarSat 223) channels from Discovery Inc. -both of which are also available on DStv.

"Expanding our portfolio with StarTimes to include the launch of Real Time and Discovery Family means we now offer their customers an enhanced mix of entertaining content for the whole family – from popular lifestyle programming on Real Time, fun edutainment on Discovery Family, to engaging real-life storytelling on ID," says Amanda Turnbull, the vice president & general manager for Discovery for the Africa and Middle East region, in a statement.

Lily Meng, StarTimes' deputy general manager of the media division, in a statement says "At StarTimes we are excited to include more channels on our network from a global brand. We believe these new options will provide our customers with an exciting new mix of content which will allow customers more choice and value".

With Real Time's addition on StarTimes, Discovery has appointed Apricot Africa Consulting to represent the channel in certain territories across East, Central and West Africa, excluding South Africa. 

Apricot Africa territory for Real Time will includes Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Rwanda, St Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.

Discovery Inc. says Apricot Africa Consulting will "expand" on the commercial advertising opportunities available on Real Time in these markets, for instance, spot sale advertising, sponsorships and brand partnerships.

Meanwhile, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN Africa) will continue to represent Real Time in South Africa where it also does the ad sales for Discovery Inc.'s other TV channels - notably those carried on MultiChoice's DStv - and seen in South Africa as well as through sub-Saharan Africa.

Discovery Inc. switched its ad sales strategy to VIMN Africa in 2018, which also saw Discovery abandoning its best-in-class and long-running annual upfront presentation to ad buyers and the media  who are no longer told, shown or know in advance as was done in the past, what programming is coming up on the portfolio of Discovery's channels in the months ahead.

TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. The time is way overdue for a local version, done by MultiChoice and M-Net with contestants from across the continent, of the biggest reality show that remains absent from Africa - The Amazing Race.

With the proliferation of localised versions of international format shows (One Night with my Ex? Really?) across a flurry of South African and African TV channels, a local version of one reality show - probably the biggest of them all - continues to elude viewers, with the time that's way overdue for ... The Amazing Race Africa.

With the 31st season of The Amazing Race that has kicked off in the United States, the competition reality show that is a mad dash across the globe remains evergreen, brilliant - and nerve-wracking television.

The Amazing Race remains utterly fascinating to watch for the collection of contestants whose personal relationships are truly tested as they race from city to city around the world, trying to find clues and Phil Keoghan or face elimination.

With 31 American seasons and countries from Canada, France, Australia, China, Norway, Israel, Norway, and the Philippines that have done their own versions - and even a general South American and a general Asia version that exist - the ongoing question lingers as to why there isn't a South African produced version of The Amazing Race Africa.

We've seen The Bachelor South Africa, Survivor South Africa, The Apprentice South Africa, The Great South African Bake Off, The Voice SA and The Voice Nigeria, Big Brother from Big Brother SA and Africa to Nigeria, and Crystall and The Real Housewives of Johannesburg along with so, so many more.

Now we need The Amazing Race Africa.

Looking at the new season of The Amazing Race that has won the Primetime Emmy 10 out of 15 times as best reality show, I'm thinking back to when, years ago, I interviewed the creator, executive producer and director of the show, Bertram van Munster, and even asked him if a local version for South Africa or Africa would ever be possible. He just laughed and said it's a question for broadcasters.

Of course it's much more difficult for Africans and South Africans visa-wise than for Americans to race across the world with camera crews in tow but it is possible with extensive pre-production and planning.

The Amazing Race Africa is a show that will wow and that will be watched not just by DStv subscribers in South Africa but across sub-Saharan Africa if MultiChoice and M-Net are smart about it and cleverly and expertly combine all available resources to pull off the biggest reality show of them all with a version for Africa.

Just imagine The Amazing Race Africa as not a particular African country's show but Africa's show - in the same way that Big Brother Africa first wowed and had contestants from across the continent enclosed in a house but this time even bigger and broader in scope.

It's time for that type of once "wow"-worthy television in Africa to take the next step and the next seemingly "impossible" hurdle.

African television needs to truly transcend borders within Africa and worldwide, to take another progressive production step, to break down the walls and to let African contestants race around the Earth.

Beyond just making a TV show like The Amazing Race Africa that M-Net (DStv 101) can and should slot into primetime in South Africa and all the other African countries were the channel is carried to make it true continental, pan-African must-watch television, there's even more value to be had.

So much buzz, marketing potential and DStv subscriber drive and upsell opportunities could be unlocked through a TV initiative like this.

Imagine M-Net and MultiChoice putting enough money aside for The Amazing Race Africa and then getting a South African production company to do it - as well as roping in expertise internationally from people and places to assist who have done localised versions before or who have helped with the American version.

Imagine MultiChoice and M-Net in South Africa, and MultiChoice Africa in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa announcing that entries are opening for exclusively DStv or DStv Premium subscribers to enter for The Amazing Race Africa. Surely people will not just sign up but enter.

Imagine a continental competition, with contestants who will be chosen from countries like South Africa, but also Namibia, Lesotho, Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria and Uganda - 11 or 12 interesting teams of two people each, selected from countries where DStv subscribers have access to M-Net.

Then imagine them all jetting off from Johannesburg in South Africa on a race around the world, limited to using only the available flights of for instance Emirates or South African Airways (SAA), or something like the Star Alliance or the Oneworld network as an airline sponsor.

Imagine the contestants only racing to and touching down in countries where lengthy pre-approved visa applications and requirements aren't necessary or where embassies or consulates have worked beforehand with the show to smooth out the production issues and logistics of what people must have before entering certain places.

As challenging as it would be for contestants, so hugely challenging something like The Amazing Race Africa or The Amazing Race South Africa would be production and logistics-wise.

It's probably the biggest reason why South Africa and Africa haven't been able to follow places like Canada, Australia and others with a local version.

But it's really time. And M-Net and MultiChoice and their combined resources really are the only TV institutions in Africa and South Africa that would be able to make something like The Amazing Race Africa a television reality.

British fantasy drama series, A Discovery of Witches, acquired by MultiChoice's Showmax; will become available on the streaming service from 1 May.

MultiChoice's subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, Showmax, has acquired the streaming rights from Sky Vision of A Discovery of Witches, produced by Bad Wolf, with the British fantasy drama series that will become available on Showmax in South Africa and Africa from 1 May.

A Discovery of Witches was renewed for a second and a third season in late-2018 and is based on Deborah Harkness' All Souls novel trilogy series.

In the story, a modern-day witch, Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer) who can't control her powers, and a vampire, Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode) work together to solve a mystery.

Diana, a descendant of the Salem witches, is reluctant to use her powers or to be a witch until she discovers (or it actually allows her to find) a magical, hidden book, Ashmole 782, in Oxford's Bodleian Library, filled with magical secrets.

Despite an enduring mistrust between witches and vampires (in a world filled with all kinds of others good and bad magical creatures like daemons), Diana agrees to work with Matthew - a 1 500 year old vampire - to protect the magical book.

Meanwhile a forbidden romance blooms as they come up against various threats lurking just beneath and all around seemingly ordinary society and hiding in plain sight.

A Discovery of Witches has already been sold in 84 territories with the first season that was broadcast on the Sky pay-TV service in the United Kingdom and snapped up by the BBC America channel for the United States.

With the cancelled Shadowhunters on Netflix ending soon with its final episodes, the 8-episode first season of A Discovery of Witches is a great new show for viewers who love series like Teen Wolf, Vampire Diaries and True Blood.

The NFVF belatedly hands a win to the Someone to Blame documentary as the 13th Saftas Best Documentary Short prize; says it will try to improve its vetting and submission processes.

South Africa's embattled National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) on Thursday evening belatedly awarded Someone to Blame - The Ahmed Timol Inquest and producer Enver Michael Samuel's EMS Productions a Golden Horn trophy for 2019's 13th South African Film and Television Awards, with the organisation trying to fix the shambles, saying that it will try to improve its vetting and submission processes.

The NFVF's highly embarrassing and shambolic 13th Saftas once again had many problems, including the abrupt dumping of the Best Documentary Short category that wasn't awarded on the night in March 2019 - with no prior notification to the media or South Africa's film and TV industry.

The NFVF, Saftas organisers and its Instinctif PR agency paid to liaise and communicate to the media, took days to respond about the category's unexplained absence from the 13th Saftas.

In February the NFVF announced the three nominees in the Best Documentary short category as "Follow the Guns" from Combined Artistic Productions producing Carte Blanche on M-Net (DStv 101) and that broadcast it on Carte Blanche, Someone to Blame - the Ahmed Timol Inquest from EMS Productions CC that was seen on SABC3, and Scenes from a Dry City from SaltPeter Productions CC.

Then a content ownership fight started with the NFVF, funded by the department of arts and culture - without alerting the public - decided to withdraw the category from the 13th Saftas after it failed to do proper vetting of content entered into its Saftas competition.

Last week the NFVF said that M-Net's Carte Blanche entry in the Best Documentary Short category for the 13th Saftas has now been disqualified and removed and that the NFVF will now choose a winner from the remaining two nominees.

On Wednesday, giving the media only a day's notice, the NFVF's Instinctif PR agency invited the media to a belated prize-giving dinner at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton for the 13th Saftas in Johannesburg where Someone to Blame - the Ahmed Timol Inquest from EMS Productions CC was announced as the winner.

Makhosazana Khanyile, the new NFVF CEO, said that the NFVF will try to improve its vetting processes and submission criteria for the Saftas.

It's not clear why the NFVF, Saftas organisers, and the Saftas overall judging chairpersons, the producer Firdoze Bulbulia and actress and playwright Thembi Mtshali-Jones haven't been doing proper vetting of Saftas entries.

Meanwhile scandals like what happened with this year's Best Documentary Short category, continue to negatively impact the already-low credibility of the amateur-looking South African Film and Television Awards.

For the 13th Saftas producers and production companies once again kept to their boycott of the awards with more joining, with things like the botched Best Documentary Short process lending credence to upset producers who say that the organising, standards, and judging processes are simply not up to scratch.

"We are committed to relooking our processes, including our vetting and submission criteria to ensure that local filmmakers are provided with firm protection of their intellectual property right rights," said Makhosazana Khanyile.

Makhosazana Khanyile said the NFVF is "glad to have awarded this award to a very deserving winner" and that "Someone to Blame is an exceptional documentary, telling the important story of one of South Africa's liberation heroes".

Letoya Makhene, allegedly tired of being 'micromanaged', out of SABC1's Generations as the latest actor to leave since the weekday local TV soap's 2014 relaunch.

Letoya Makhene is out of SABC1's Generations - The Legacy weekday soap as the latest actor to since the shutdown, and rejigged start-up in 2014 of the relaunched soap.

Letoya Makhene played the character of Tshidi Phakade that will exit the Morula Pictures produced soap during June 2019.

"I have loved every moment on Generations: The Legacy. This is such a bitter-sweet moment for me as I have come to love playing Tshidi Phakade. I will miss my colleagues and the friends I have made on the show. This is not goodbye, it's just, 'see you later'," says Letoya Makhene in a statement.

No reason for the actress' exit was provided by Morula Pictures.

According to sources, Letoya Makhene became tired of allegedly being "micromanaged and treated as an amateur so she decided to quit".

"Letoya Makhene is one of the most talented actresses I have worked with. She is highly professional and dedicated to her craft. We will miss her wit and sense of purpose," says Mfundi Vundla, Generations The Legacy executive producer, in a statement.

Port Elizabeth's Bay TV community station officially unveils its upgraded studio and control room facilities with the help of MultiChoice.

Port Elizabeth's Bay TV (DStv 260) officially unveiled its upgraded green-screen studio and adjacent control room facilities that are part of a R2 million upgrade investment in the community TV station by the MultiChoice Group.

The studio, servers, cameras and control room investment will help Bay TV as a community TV channel to improve its production values and on-air playout quality with the station that serves viewers in the Nelson Mandela Bay area in the Eastern Cape but can be watched nationally in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service as well.

The upgraded Bay TV facilities include digital mobile news-gathering DMNG Pro 180 – RA (3G/4G) with a downlink server and uplink; 8 professional studio cameras; as well as a digital screen panel for alternate backdrops.

In 2014, MultiChoice donated a state-of-the-art final control centre (FCC) to Bay TV and in 2018 MultiChoice installed a studio and control room, making it possible for Bay TV to produce their own talk shows, news and other local content.

Bay TV now broadcasts for 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

On Thursday evening Bay TV and MultiChoice held an official inauguration and handover ceremony under a big white marquee tent in front of the Bay TV offices in Port Elizabeth to celebrate the station's technical infrastructure revamp.

"The biggest asset we have is the ability for skills development in television and we are able to use a platform such as this to develop our people to tell our own stories - because without talent you are not going to be able to do that," said Motse Mfuleni, Bay TV chairperson, who spoke at the event.

Motse Mfuleni said ongoing investment into Bay TV as well as other community TV stations across South Africa is important to help independent community television channels in the country to find and grow local talent in their own communities.

"We have seen talent that we have developed and grown, feed the broader media community - whether it be at technical level, camera crews, engineers and presenters. Our passion is about creating a platform for out talent to profile their work without having to go through what can be arduous and restrictive commissioning processes."

Bay TV is one of 6 South African community TV stations that MultiChoice is supporting, providing equipment, training opportunities, as well as content. The other channels are Tshwane TV, Gau TV, 1KZN TV, Soweto TV and Cape Town TV (CTV).

In 2018 CTV in a submission to South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), revealed the massive extent to which community TV stations in South Africa are dependent for their financial survival on the money and support they are receiving from MultiChoice without which they would essentially shut down.

"Carriage on national pay-TV platforms is essential to the survival of the community TV channels in the current broadcasting environment," CTV told the broadcasting regulator last year.

Joe Heshu, MultiChoice's group executive for corporate affairs in a statement about the Bay TV investment and upgrades, says "For us it's about broadening access to African story-telling and creating platforms for local content creators to tell their stories, and in so doing, creating a talent pipeline that can feed all of South African and indeed take our stories to the world".

Joe Heshu says "Through our investments in infrastructure, technology and empowerment initiatives, we are proud to empower an entertainment supply chain which in turn supports local business and communities. In turn, and for stations like Bay TV, this means more local content for local communities".

"We continue to play a significant role in communities touched by our business operations by adding economic value, creating enterprise and employment opportunities, providing training opportunities and technical support, which ultimately grows and empowers the video entertainment sector."

Beyond the physical infrastructure and technical equipment upgrades at community TV stations, MultiChoice also has an ongoing partnership with community TV stations for the provision of content – specifically for the MultiChoice Diski and SuperSport Rugby Challenge events.

The Diski Challenge, done in partnership with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) gives young people opportunities to gain and improve broadcasting skills through the production of football content.

The various community TV channels receive full content distribution rights from MultiChoice for all content generated for the Diski and Rugby challenge, including all live matches, non-live match and all highlights packages. 

In addition, the community TV channels also have the right to generate their own content from related events on and off the field.

"Sharing these broadcast rights not only ensures the community channels become involved in the delivery of high-quality, live sports content to their audiences but also positions the channels to gain stronger market presence, which will improve their ability to commercialise the content over time," says Joe Heshu.

"We also provide technical support and equipment to the channels to ensure that they can receive and make use of the content rights so that they can improve the quality of their overall broadcast delivery."

ALSO READ: IN IMAGES. 29 photos of the Bay TV community TV station's official inauguration ceremony of its upgraded studio and control room in Port Elizabeth done with the help of MultiChoice.
ALSO READ: MultiChoice on why it helps community TV stations in South Africa like Bay TV in Port Elizabeth: 'We want a video entertainment sector that has many players who serve and understand the nuances of communities'.