Al Jazeera showing a series of fascinating documentary specials during December, from World Health Organisation corruption and the shadow world of the arms trade, to the impact of Asia's population control.

Al Jazeera (DStv 406 / StarSat 257 / Cell C black 503) is broadcasting a series of fascinating documentary specials during December, ranging from one about corruption inside the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the shadow world of international arms trade, to what happened in Crimea after Russia's invasion, and the politics of population control in Asia.


Trust WHO
14 December 21:00
(repeat: 15 Dec 14:00 / 16 Dec 03:00 / 17 Dec 08:00)

The World Health Organisation has a "shared commitment to achieve better health for everyone, everywhere" but is this statement completely true?

Trust WHO follows journalist Lilian Frank as she investigates possible corruption within the organisation, as its leaders and consultants struggle to explain legitimate reasons for their policies when challenged with opposing data.

The World Health organisation relies on private industry funding and as a result it jeopardizes the WHO policies. The result is a lack of transparency. The pharmaceutical, tobacco and nuclear power lobbies are among the major funders and influencers and without funding, the WHO can't function.

Can the WHO be trusted with building a healthier future when their loyalties become questionable?



The Shadow World
21 December 22:00 - Part I
28 December 22:00 - Part II
(repeat: 22 Dec 14:00, 23 Dec 03:00, 24 Dec 08:00, 29 Dec 14:00, 30 Dec 03:00, 31 Dec 08:00)

This documentary reveals how the international trade in weapons - with the complicity of governments and intelligence agencies, weapons manufacturers, dealers and agents - fosters corruption, determines economic and foreign policies, undermines democracy and creates widespread suffering.

The Shadow World unravels a number of the world's largest and most corrupt arms deals through those involved in perpetrating and investigating them.

The film illustrates why this trade accounts for almost 40% of all corruption in global trade and how it operates in a parallel legal universe, in which the national security elite who drive it are seldom prosecuted for their often-illegal actions.

Shadow World posits alternatives through the experience of a peace activist and war correspondent, as well as through the voice of Eduardo Galeano who contributed selections from his stories for the film.

The film reveals the real costs of war, the way the arms trade drives it, how weapons of war are turned against citizens of liberal democracies and how the trade decreases rather than enhances security.



Crimea: Russia's Dirty Secret
23 December 22:00
(repeat: 24 Dec 14:00, 25 Dec 03:00, 26 Dec 08:00)

This film examines the situation in Crimea since Russia's invasion of the region.

The film focuses on how the Crimean Muslim Tatars have been specifically targeted by Russian authorities and how the Russians have not ended their expansion in the area or their control ad intimidation of any groups and individuals who oppose their rule and ambitions.

For decades the Muslim Tatars have been particularly targeted and this legacy is now continuing. Many activists have been abducted and several have been found dead.

In the film viewers will meet some of the families who have been victims of Russian intimidation as well as community leaders who describe how their lives have been devastated since the Russian annexation whole exploring the wider political issues that are now affecting the lives of all people living in Crimea.



The Politics of Population Control
24 December 22:00
(repeat: 25 Dec 14:00, 26 Dec 03:00, 27 Dec 08:00)

Asia is "missing" 170 million women - because parents for decades chose to give birth to boys and aborting daughters causing a massive gender imbalance.

Now millions of men of marriageable age are simply unable to find wives and more than ever before women are being traded like commodities.

In China, mothers who were once expected to abort female foetuses are today desperately advertising their sons at marriage markets.

In India,villagers who refused to give birth to daughters for decades, are now pooling their money to buy a bride at auctions to marry one man but to also "serve" other bachelors in the village.

And with the growing surplus of men, crime rates are rising and threatening the internal stability of these nations. Meanwhile scientists expect other regions like Africa and the Arab world to follow suit as sex determination technology becomes ubiquitous and affordable.

We are facing a humanitarian crisis which some scientists believe may threaten world peace.

TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK: ABN360's CNBC Africa held its 8th All Africa Business Leaders Awards 2018, like a tree falling in the woods - not a word beforehand or anything after, quietly content to trundle along in its own bubble world.

CNBC Africa (DStv 410 / Cell C black 512) on Thursday last week once again held its 8th All Africa Business Leaders Awards 2018 (AABLA) but it was a silent media tree falling in the woods that nobody heard and nobody cared about.

Who won, what happened, and what CNBC Africa and AABLA wanted to possibly communicate, nobody knows since ABN group founder Rakesh Wahi's CNBC Africa couldn't be bothered to reach out to the media either before its awards show, or afterwards with just a basic press release as is customary for TV channels and their award shows.

Why so shoddy? Who knows. CNBC Africa didn't respond when TVwithThinus last Friday asked what's going on with AABLA2018. By Monday and after asking again ... still nothing.

Tick, tick tick on the TV screen. Yes, CNBC Africa is on the air, so presumably there are people there.

CNBC Africa also long ago stopped issuing any information to the press or to MultiChoice's DStv press portal for media used by journalists and newsrooms, creating the impression that the ABN360 channel doesn't care about press or getting press exposure, trundling along in its own world without caring to know or doing better.

CNBC Africa's 8th All Africa Business Leaders Awards 2018 in Sandton once again tried to honour industry and business leaders across the Africa continent - as usual with award shows in East, West and Southern Africa, culminating in the All Africa Finale of the 8th All Africa Business Leaders Awards 2018 that took place last week.

Unlike something like MultiChoice and Mzansi Magic's (DStv 161) 2018 DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards that took place two weeks ago for the second time and that was PR and publicity perfect in the same American way that the Oscars and Emmys do things, CNBC Africa couldn't even be bothered to issue a basic press release afterwards with just the winners' names in the various categories.

CNBC Africa and the 8th All Africa Business Leaders Awards 2018 stand in stark contrast with something something like the DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards that has a red carpet, invites press beforehand to cover it, invites media to attend, and beforehand did an excellent nominees announcement press event and issued press releases and images.

Even afterwards media were sent red carpet images, awards show images, a press release and even video clips to use.

While TVwithThinus was invited to the 2018 DStv Mzansi Viewers Choice Awards but couldn't attend (had to go to a wedding), it was possible to cover the awards show perfectly, since the Mzansi Magic channel's PR and publicity was absolutely excellent and of international standard - supplying media and the press with everything they could possibly want or need, from information to images, and extremely quickly.

CNBC Africa and AABLA2018 on the other hand did absolutely nothing and couldn't be bothered.

The weird thing is that the All Africa Business Leaders Awards is CNBC Africa's "most prestigious" in-house awards show. While the business channel covers other award shows and conferences too, this is supposed to be the one it makes most effort and fuss about - but it doesn't.

Why is CNBC Africa's publicity service so bad and non-existent? Does CNBC Africa and AABLA think there's no or not enough interest from the press and therefore don't bother?

Do people maybe not know who the media are, or how to do basic public relations as a TV channel, or how to communicate when doing an award show, or what the PR requirements are around an award show or a televised event show?

Did viewers know to tune in? Did anyone even know it would be a live broadcast? CNBC Africa's lack of basic communication with the media is stunningly bad.

It's very disappointing that CNBC Africa and the All Africa Business Leaders Awards would go to all the trouble of doing an award show but fail to communicate about it outside of its own bubble and don't seem to care to involve the broader media in its event or the news it might generate.

CNBC Africa's AABLA might say it's "All Africa Business" but in the end for the 8th edition in 2018 it was actually more a case of all for nothing.

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.

Trevor Noah doing The Daily Show from South Africa for a special Tuesday night episode on Comedy Central, entitled Trevor Noah: Self-Deportation Edition.

The comedian Trevor Noah is doing a special episode of The Daily Show from South Africa that will be broadcast on Comedy Central (DStv 122) worldwide on Tuesday night at 22:00, entitled The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: Self-Deportation Edition.

Trevor Noah that visited Johannesburg over the weekend to host Sunday's Mandela 100: Global Citizen Festival 2018 at the FNB Stadium in Soweto decided to do an episode from South Africa instead of taking leave.

Last month before America's so-called "midterm" elections he took the show, usually recorded in its studio in New York, on the road to record four "undesked" shows in front on a studio audience in Miami where he also got the keys to the city from Miami's mayor.

In Tuesday's "self-deportation edition", the first new episode of the week with The Daily Show going out on Comedy Central Tuesdays to Fridays, Trevor Noah will show the world a bit about his life before The Daily Show and give viewers a look at his hometown of Johannesburg.

In the episode he will also visit some of his old haunts, and will explore Nelson Mandela's legacy on South Africa, after which he will head back to New York to resume doing The Daily Show from there.

New communication minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams at war with SABC board over firing of workers, demands an end to broadcaster's massive retrenchment plan.

South Africa's new minister of communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is reportedly at war with the latest SABC board over its massive retrenchment plan that will see up to a third of full-time SABC workers and half of all freelancers getting fired, according to the City Press newspaper.

Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is at loggerheads with the SABC board and earlier this week said it is the South African government's interest to make sure that nobody loses their jobs at the SABC.

"We pride ourselves in being a caring government. We have a responsibility to reduce unemployment. We have a responsibility to grow the economy," Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said.

2019 will be an election year in South Africa and joblessless remain a big issue in South Africa where millions of people remain unemployed.

Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is however supposed to look out for the best interest of the beleaguered South African public broadcaster on the brink of financial collapse, where the wage bill has spiraled out of control leaving no money to acquire new content or to pay producers and other service providers.

The SABC's top executives and the SABC board plan to fire up to 981 full-time staffers and 1 200 of the 2 400 freelancer workers as job cuts are crucial if the broadcaster is to survive and avoid utter collapse.

City Press on Sunday reported that the SABC board has refused to allow Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams to "negotiate a bailout with Tito Mboweni, the minister of finance, before going ahead with the job cuts".

Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams wants the R3 billion government bailout that the SABC applied for months ago and that will come from taxpayers who will once again guarantee a government-backed loan to the struggling broadcaster.

"She is trying to set the SABC board up to be dissolved and she is using the retrenchments to do it. It is political, it is about asserting control and, of course, it is also because of the elections," a source told City Press.

Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams reportedly wrote a scathing letter to the SABC board this week demanding an end to the broadcaster's retrenchment plan after an aggressive Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams had a heated meeting with the SABC board and executive management on Thursday.

The SABC in a statement says "The board is busy developing a comprehensive response to the issues raised" by Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams after her tense meeting.

MultiChoice reveals it will only broadcast 25 minutes on DStv of Beyoncé and Jay-Z at the Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival 2018 on Sunday and not their whole performance.

MultiChoice has revealed that it will only be broadcasting 25 minutes on its DStv satellite pay-TV service of the on-stage appearance of Beyoncé and Jay-Z today that will form part of the Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival 2018 from the FNB Stadium and not their whole performance.

The event is set to be broadcast by MultiChoice's DStv, YouTube, Twitter, the SABC's SABC1 and Viacom International Media Networks Africa's (VIMN Africa) TV channels, MTV (DStv 130) and MTV Base (DStv 323).

MultiChoice has the responsibility to film and produce the event and to provide the live broadcast to the South African public broadcaster, as well as other international broadcast partners.

The South African comedian Trevor Noah will co-host the Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival with a string of international bold type names ranging from Naomi Campbell, Dave Chappelle, Sir Bob Geldof, Gayle King, Tyler Perry and Forest Whitaker, set to appear, and with Oprah Winfrey who will do a keynote address about Nelson Mandela and his legacy.

South African stars like Bonang Matheba, Nomzamo Mbatha are also part of the appearance list.

Stars like Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Cassper Nyovest, D'banj, Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Femi Kuti, Kasey Musgraves, Pharrell Williams, Chris Martin, Sho Madjozi, Tiwa Savage, Usher and Wizkid are set to perform, but MultiChoice revealed that it will only broadcast 25 minutes of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, not not their whole performance.

On Twitter MultiChoice warned DStv subscribers, saying "we will be airing the entire concert but only 25 minutes of the Beyonce and Jay-Z performance" because "the full performance of Beyoncé and Jay-Z is exclusive to those who have earned their tickets to be inside the stadium on the day".

Hi, we will be airing the entire concert but only 25 minutes of the Beyonce and Jay-Z performance. ~TC

— DStv (@DStv) November 30, 2018

the full performance of Beyoncé and Jay-Z is exclusive to those who have earned their tickets to be inside the stadium on the day. ~TC

— DStv (@DStv) November 30, 2018

A production staffer involved with the Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival died on Saturday after the rigger plunged to his death, although the concert will go ahead despite the tragedy and loss of life.

The as yet unidentified man die on Saturday at the FNB Stadium doing rigging work for one of the production partners involved.

Production staffer involved with Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival 2018 dies after rigger plunges to his death on Saturday at FNB Stadium in Soweto.

A production staffer involved with the Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival 2018 set for Sunday at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, South Africa has died after plunging to his death, although the concert will go ahead despite the tragedy and loss of life.

Siyabonga Ngodze died on Saturday at the FNB Stadium doing rigging work for one of the production partners involved with the Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival 2018 that saw an influx of international speakers, dignitaries, visitors and performers who will make on-stage appearances on Sunday.

The event is set to be broadcast by MultiChoice's DStv, YouTube, Twitter, the SABC's SABC1 and Viacom International Media Networks Africa's (VIMN Africa) TV channels, MTV (DStv 130) and MTV Base (DStv 323).

"This afternoon in Johannesburg, a rigger working on behalf of a production partner for the Global Citizen Festival, suffered fatal injuries arising from a fall at the site," said Andrew Kirk, Global director of public relations for Global Citizen, late on Saturday in a statement.

Global Citizen said that it had been advised that the man who died was an experienced rigger and was wearing all appropriate safety gear and equipment.

Global Citizen said that the circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated in partnership with all of the relevant local and government authorities.

"Global Citizen extends our deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased and all of his colleagues and friends."

'Netflix threat' remains overblown as MultiChoice adds another 400 000 pay-TV subscribers - although DStv Premium subs continue to shrink.

The much-hyped "Netflix threat" remains overblown with MultiChoice that added 400 000 further DStv and GOtv subscribers as well as Showmax users to its pay-TV business in South Africa and Africa compared to a year before, although the share of DStv Premium subscribers continue to shrink as consumers don't see MultiChoice's top tier as offering enough value for money anymore.

Naspers released its interim results for the 6 months to 30 September 2018 on Friday afternoon and added another impressive 400 000 pay-TV households across Africa.

That brings the total to 13.9 million pay-TV subscribers, of which 7.2 million are in South Africa that remains MultiChoice's biggest market, and a combined 6.69 million in the rest of Africa.

Naspers said that its "value strategy", one aimed at "growing the subscriber base and reducing costs" lead to $15 million in cost savings.

MultiChoice's pay-TV growth was strong in the middle-income and mass-market segments where it added 285 000 pay-TV subscribers in South Africa during the first half of the 2019 financial year.

While the DStv Premium base continues to grow, it's not growing as fast as the mid-market tiers, and as a result continues to represent a smaller and smaller portion of overall subscribers.

While MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela earlier this year blamed DStv Premium drop-off on Netflix South Africa's aggressive expansion, Naspers on Friday said that the pressure leading to DStv Premium subscriber churn is due to consumers coming "under some disposable income pressure" and not because of competition from video streaming competitors like Netflix.

What the drop in the overall percentage of DStv Premium subscriber numbers means is that MultiChoice is making less average revenue per subscriber - or a decrease in the ARPU (average revenue per user) - from $27 (R347) a year ago to $25 (R335) currently) as consumers opt for DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact instead of DStv Premium.

(The ARPU as DStv subscription fee revenue includes the PVR Access fee and DStv BoxOffice incomre, but excludes Showmax subscription fees.)

That is a drop of 3%.

At MultiChoice South Africa "the focus of the South African business remains retaining premium subscribers while driving subscriber growth in the mid- and mass-market tiers" Naspers said.

"Subscriber retention is underpinned by rising PVR penetration uptake of connected video services, and roll-out of additional services, for instance Joox Music launched in October 2018)."

PVR use by DStv subscribers ticked up slightly, from 20.1% during the same period a year ago, to 20.3%.

Naspers says "The Fifa World Cup provided a significant opportunity to drive growth on the back
of significant investment in content and subscriber acquisition, mainly through set-top box subsidies".

"Customers added by this promotion will contribute to second-half revenues and profitability, driving year-on-year improvements."


Sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa
Naspers says that in sub-Saharan Africa, outside South Africa, subscriber growth accelerated and the business generated 9% (16%) growth in revenues to $524 million.

Naspers says "this improvement would have been stronger but for the Fifa World Cup promotional drive" and that results were also affected by "the 42% devaluation of the Angolan kwanza since January 2018".

"The limited availability of foreign currency in the Angolan and Zimbabwean economies continues to affect liquidity."

FOX, National Geographic and Cosmos producers investigating Neil DeGrasse Tyson over sexual misconduct allegations.

FOX, National Geographic and the producers of the Cosmos series of which he is the presenter are investigating astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Two women on Thursday claimed that Neil deGrasse Tyson made inappropriate sexual advances.

"We have only just become aware of the recent allegations regarding Neil deGrasse Tyson. We take these matters very seriously and we are reviewing the recent reports," says FOX and National Geographic in a statement.

The producers of Cosmos in a statement says "The credo at the heart of Cosmos is to follow the evidence wherever it leads".

"The producers of Cosmos can do no less in this situation. We are committed to a thorough investigation of this matter and to act accordingly as soon as it is concluded."

The second season of the revived Cosmos is supposed to be broadcast from 3 March 2019 on National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220 / Cell C black 261).

Katelyn Allers, a Bucknell University physics and astronomy professor, is accusing Neill deGrasse Tyson of groping her at a 2009 meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Ashley Watson, a former assistant of Neil deGrasse Tyson, said he tried to persuade her to have sex with him and made inappropriate comments and as a result quit her job.


UPDATE SUNDAY 2 December 07:30:

Neil deGrasse Tyson in a statement on Facebook says "I've recently been publicly accused of sexual misconduct".

"These accusations have received a fair amount of press in the past 48 hours, unaccompanied by my reactions. In many cases, it's not the media's fault. I declined comment on the grounds that serious accusations should not be adjudicated in the press. But clearly I cannot continue to stay silent."

Neil deGrasse Tyson says he welcomes an independent investigation "which FOX/National Geographic (the networks on which Cosmos and StarTalk air) announced that they will conduct".

"I'm the accused, so why believe anything I say? Why believe me at all?"

"Accusations can damage a reputation and a marriage. Sometimes irreversibly. I see myself as loving husband and as a public servant – a scientist and educator who serves at the will of the public. I am grateful for the support I've received from those who continue to respect and value me and my work."