BBC Studios achieves standout growth in Africa for its linear channel business, reach on DStv up by 14%, on SABC3 up 24% in 2024

by Thinus Ferreira

BBC Studios says it has achieved record-breaking performance for its linear channel business, with standout growth in Africa, alongside remarkable results across the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.

In Africa, BBC Studios' linear portfolio on MultiChoice's DStv - including the BBC Lifestyle, BBC Brit, BBC UKTV, BBC Earth, and BBC News TV channels - expanded its reach by +14% in 2024.

According to BBC Studios, this growth marks the highest-ever performance for CBeebies and BBC UKTV, while BBC Lifestyle achieved its best results since 2017. 

Additionally, BBC Primetime, a bespoke two-hour content block on SABC3, has increased its reach by 24% compared to the same period last year.

According to BBC Studios, in the Netherlands, BBC First - BBC Studios' premium drama channel in the Netherlands - saw 2024 topping 2023 as its biggest year since launching in 2015. The channel has delivered a 2.3% 4+ market share to date in 2024, up +16% from last year.

In Poland, BBC Studios' channel portfolio of BBC Earth, BBC Brit, BBC First, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies is also on track to deliver its highest share in 2024 (0.82%, 4+) since the portfolio launched in 2015.

Here BBC Earth and BBC First delivered the highest annual share ever in 2024.

In the Nordics, BBC Nordic - BBC Studios' multi-genre linear channel available in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland - has ranked as the biggest international channel in its competitive set in Norway in October and November. 

In November, the channel delivered the highest share since launch (1.2%, 4+), and the channel has seen a +53% increase in share in 2024 compared to 2023, when it launched.

Arran Tindall, chief commercial officer, EVP, EMEA Key Markets, in a statement, says "2024 has been a record year for our channels business in EMEA".

"We have seen incredible numbers across our whole channel portfolio in the Netherlands, Poland, Africa and the Nordics, and I am extremely proud of the growth we have seen this year."

"This success is a testament to BBC Studios' extensive breadth of high-quality content and the careful curation by our teams to deliver engaging schedules that resonate with local tastes and audiences in each of our markets."

TV REVIEW. Food Network's Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking is a magnificent magical delight

by Thinus Ferreira

9¾ TVs

Is there still something like television for everyone? Something that any combination of people, any combination of ages, any family members and any person can plop down for, switch on, watch, and instantly will love and watch to the end? Yes. And Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking on the Food Network is it. 

And it's perfect.

The very idea and conceptualisation of Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking on the Food Network (DStv 175) is genius. So is its television production. How did nobody think of this years ago?

In a muggle world so divided, so hurried, so angst-filled, so full of stress and in-fighting and people scattering to their own screens, the cake-make show is a delightful, utterly magical, extremely unifying TV watching experience perfect for any combination of family members to watch together, or just a magical treat for yourself. 

Within the hallowed halls of Hogwarts (the "real" one at Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios that was never struck after the films were completed and is a studio tour experience by day), Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking is Netflix's Is It Cake? on a flour and icing sugar high.

With the beloved Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef as judges, keep the remote control close: You will want to press pause and also press the rewind-and-play buttons as you stare, and stare again, at what's possible when muggles are able to create magic.

In Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking that transports you to another world - literally - nothing is ugly, as a piece of television that truly transfigurates the viewing experience. Watch just an episode - any episode - and you cannot but go away and be left inspired.

Extremely talented cake makers and pastry artists (of course one will even have an architecture background!) craft the stuff of dreams. 

Here, for an hour, the only challenge is really just themselves to conjure up cakes that truly defy belief but really exist, as if by magic, within a real world bound by things like time, gravity and the stickiness (or not!) of chocolate viscosity. Will it hold?

The Food Network's latest series is a spellbinding culinary TV adventure for any age and any person who just needs that moment of escapism, that moment of getting filled up again, and to literally see that there are still many people aspiring to achieve, be better, and to make beautiful things in a fractured world.

Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking will obviously captivate fans of the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling, but baking enthusiasts alike, as well as ordinary viewers who might care not for cake baking or the Potterverse.

While this enchanting competition series brings together the magical realm of Harry Potter and the art of baking, resulting in a truly unique and captivating viewing experience, its viewing impact and ability to surprise, stretches much wider than Potter or cake dough.

The attention to detail from both a production design perspective to the detail the creators bring to their cakes are superlatively impressive. 

If you dream of making things - anything - this show and the people in it will inspire you to dream bigger and be better at what you can or want to do.

As an immersive experience, colourful and well edited, the 6-episode Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking crafts and presents an enchanting environment that perfectly captures the whimsical spirit of the Harry Potter world.

The contestants, all skilled bakers and Harry Potter fans, bring their A+ game to the competition.

Throughout the episodes they face challenges that test their baking skills, creativity, and knowledge of the wizarding world. They don't bake - they overwhelm you with head-shaking, jaw-dropping, visually stunning impossibilities.

Of course Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking is an owl-delivered love letter to the Harry Potter franchise, with clever references and nods to the beloved books and films. 

At the same time, it's a celebration of the art of baking, with creative challenges and mouth-watering creations that will inspire viewers to get baking. 

It's also a love letter to the better part of what television is capable of and the better part of humanity: Of upliftment, of inspiration, of TV that brings joy. 

Watch Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking and be inspired by seeing people who don't just have big dreams but practically work to turn their magical aspirations into reality.

Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking is on The Food Network (DStv 175) on Wednesdays at 17:00, from 4 December 2024

MultiChoice: SuperSport isn't going to let streamers steal DStv sports rights

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice is fiercely protective of its exclusive local and international sports rights that it pays millions for to bring to DStv and Showmax subscribers and has sown up these rights for several years into the future, with SuperSport that isn't going to let streamers steal it.

Internationally global video streaming services with deep chequebooks are starting to carve out and gobble up sports rights that used to be on linear television in many countries, from basketball and football to cricket and rugby. 

Streamers are also trying to break into live-streaming sports events of their own.

Netflix for instance last month attempted a Mike Tyson and Jake Paul boxing match in Las Vegas that however ended up crashing for millions of users - including South Africans - who tried to watch it, after it suffered production problems and froze due to buffering issues.

While MultiChoice is cognisant that rivals like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are encroaching on its sports rights turf, the pay-TV provider - which is the target of an aggressive buyout from France's Vivendi SE's Canal+ - says it has sown up several of the most valuable local and international sports rights for several years into the future.

MultiChoice also doesn't think that Netflix Africa and Amazon Prime Video have the appetite to acquire sports rights of African sports, and rights for sub-Saharan Africa, for the foreseeable future.

"On all of our critical rights we typically sign multi-year contracts," Tim Jacobs, MultiChoice chief financial officer (CFO), told me in an interview.

"Because of the high risk that we've had over the last couple of years of some of these big, international streaming services that can afford and have massive balance sheets - Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ - these are guys who can write out a big cheque and compete with us."

"Because of that, we've been very tactical about when we renegotiate these contracts and the duration of the contracts."

"We've managed to secure most of our big sports rights and we've managed to secure them for multiple years," he says.

"In that journey, we have also been able - on some of the really big rights, for example, some of our big football rights - we've actually been around the contract renegotiations been able to renegotiate lower prices," Tim Jacobs explains.

"In the past where there's been a lot of international hype around the leagues, what we've seen more recently, is that as these leagues have introduced some competition in some of the markets - for example, the English Premier League (EPL) - the two big competitors there are Sky on the one and BT on the other side."

"They bid up the cost of those league rights to the point where the guys couldn't monetise it and as a consequence, they all started pulling back. You see this in many instances in other countries in the world, where in France, Canal+ walked away from the French league and it made no sense being the dominant broadcaster there."

"They took a view of 'at a certain price point we can't monetise it'. In our markets what we've been able to do, is to go back and renegotiate with some of these big leagues and say to them 'guys, look at what's happening in Africa, look at the currency pressure, look at the pressure on consumers, we can't afford to pay you these exorbitant amounts".

"We've actually been able to negotiate slightly lower amounts."

Tim Jacobs says MultiChoice thinks it is unlikely in the foreseeable future that streamers like Netflix South Africa and Amazon Prime Video will pick up and show big sports that subscribers are used to accessing and seeing on DStv.

"That doesn't mean that we're not at risk of one of the big players coming in and outbidding us. But we've also got to be realistic about the probability of that happening."

"Amazon Prime Video has stopped doing all development of all general entertainment content in Africa. They're only supplying international content to the African market. Why? Because they're not getting any volume for it."

"Netflix has pulled out of all their Africa productions - that's a recent announcement. They're not producing anymore."

"Now if you don't have enough subscribers to justify local general entertainment offerings, chances are also that buying sports rights means that you're also not going to monetise that."

"We're not saying that it's impossible but it's one area of our business that we are very, very focused on and making sure that where possible we do secure those rights."

M-Net grabs Suits L.A. spinoff for 2025

by Thinus Ferreira

M-Net has snagged NBC's Suits spinoff, Suits: L.A. that will start in America and on DStv for South African viewers in 2025, with Gabriel Macht who will reprise his role as Harvey Spencer in a 3-episode arc.

One person who definitely won't be in the new spinoff since she's now married to royalty is Meghan Markle, with Markle and husband Prince Harry producing various TV projects for Netflix.

M-Net (DStv 101) confirmed to me that it will have the highly anticipated Suits: L.A. in early-2025 which was picked up straight to series at NBC in the United States.

Set in Los Angeles just like L.A. Law, Suits: L.A. will star Stephen Amell as Ted Black, alongside Josh McDermitt, Lex Scott Davis, Bryan Greenberg and Troy Winbush.

The only officially released summary of Suits: L.A. so far reads: "Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor from New York, has reinvented himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles".

"His firm is at a crisis point and to survive he must embrace a role he held in contempt his entire career. Ted is surrounded by a stellar group of characters who test their loyalties to both Ted and each other while they can’t help but mix their personal and professional lives."

Suits ran for nine seasons which were all on M-Net and made stars of Patrick J. Adams, Meghan Markle as well as Gabriel Macht who visited South Africa a decade ago in 2015 to do a press tour and film a DStv TV commercial for MultiChoice and M-Net.

As a library series, Suits was picked up by Netflix globally where a lot more viewers discovered it, and is now also available for local viewing on Netflix South Africa.

Aaron Korsh created Suits and is back as creator and showrunner of the Suits: L.A. spinoff. 

Suits: L.A. is actually Korsh's second spinoff, after the single-season Pearson that was also on M-Net, and starred Gina Torres, who played Jessica Pearson, who moved from New York City to Chicago.

Suits: L.A. will debut on 23 February 2025 in the United States. 

Besides M-Net having secured it, M-Net isn't saying yet whether it will be an Express from the US title with episodes showing close to the American airdates once it starts.

ALSO READ: Suits spinoff Suits: LA with Stephen Amell given a series order

South Africa's annual summer cruise season keeps expanding from Durban and Gqeberha to Cape Town

by Thinus Ferreira

South Arica's annual summer cruise season continues to grow as the MSC Musica has arrived in Durban for its Mozambique rotation, Nelson Mandela Bay will wave to 45 ships, while Cape Town will see 85 cruise ships dock that also just won best cruise terminal in Africa.

More than 85 cruise ships will dock in Cape Town harbour this summer cruise season, including 15 new vessels like the recent Mein Schiff 6.

The Cape Town Cruise Terminal also won as Africa's Best cruise terminal for 2024 at the World Cruise Awards in Madeira, Portugal.

Wesgro, the tourism agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, says the terminal award "solidifies the region's reputation as a premier global cruise destination". 

This is however not just true of Cape Town, but of South Africa, with the Durban and Gqeberha ports equally showing rapid summer cruise season expansion.

According to Wesgro's Western Cape Cruise Liner Industry 2023-24 Season Report, the cruise industry contributed R1.32 billion to the Western Cape economy during the 2023-24 cruise season. That's up from R1.2 billion the previous season.

Cruise passengers, vessels and crew generated R1.5 billion in expenditure which supported 1 965 jobs across various sectors like retail, hospitality and tourism.

"The 2023-24 season has reinforced Cape Town and the Western Cape's standing as a premier destination for international cruise lines," says Wrenelle Stander, Wesgro CEO.

"Despite a small dip in ship calls, the economic impact has been more substantial than ever. The R1.32 billion injection into the Western Cape economy demonstrates not only the sector's resilience but also its ability to provide consistent value to businesses and communities across the province," she says.

In Nelson Mandela Bay the influx of 45 cruise ships this season is projected to bring as many as 50 000 visitors ashore as Gqeberha is playing catch-up with Durban and Cape Town to become a premier cruise liner destination.

The 45 docked liners are an increase from the 37 in the 2022-2023 season, which was more than the 33 in the 2021-2022 season.

At a municipality-hosted workshop for tourism in Gqeberha, Babalwa Lobishe, Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, said that the plan is to try and double this year's passenger cruise ship docks from 45 to 90 for the 2025-2026 season.

"This can be done through collaboration, integrated, complementary strategic planning and development of South Africa's cruise tourism product," she noted.

Meanwhile in Durban, nearly 243 000 international tourists arrived last season on cruise liners, according to the Transnet National Ports Authority.

According to Nkumbuzi Ben-Mazwi, Port of Durban acting manager, the port is committed to further strengthening its reputation as a world-class cruise destination.

"We are focused on enhancing service quality and driving sustainable tourism growth, ultimately benefiting the local economy and community."

It's here where the MSC Euribia made a quick visit last month and where the MSC Musica arrived and is currently busy with her Durban-Mozambique rotation before the ship will move to Cape Town for its second rotation in a month's time.

The MSC Musica's local season includes the usual annual itineraries to the Portuguese Island off Mozambique's coast, the remote Pomene in Mozambique and the islands of Mauritius, Madagascar and Réunion. 

In early 2025, MSC Musica will reposition to Cape Town for a rotation of cruises to Namibia's Lüderitz and Walvis Bay. 

"The cruise industry is immensely important to the economy of South Africa," says Ross Volk, MSC Cruises South Africa managing director.

"Cruise tourism is a force multiplier - you are bringing so many people to one location and in a concentrated fashion. If we just look at the Euribia, if we have 6 300 passengers in one day at the Port of Durban, it's a force multiplier in terms of an economic boost."

"Cruise tourism brings an injection of billions of rands into the South African economy," he says.

"Our commitment to South Africa is unwavering and goes beyond providing great experiences and excellent service to our guests. It is also about our ongoing investments in Durban, the local economies and the country's tourism industry."

About the MSC Musica, Volk says "it is a great ship for the South African traveller, with plenty of bars and lounges, ample deck space and endless entertainment for everyone to enjoy. We are excited to welcome new and regular cruisers alike, onboard throughout the summer."

Looking to the end of next year, the MSC Opera will replace the MSC Musica for South Africa's 2025/2026 cruise season from next November. 

One thing South African cruisers are currently without is the MSC Yacht Club which was newly introduced at the end of last year.

The MSC Musica doesn't have the MSC Yacht Club - a private ship-within-a-ship hospitality and cabin set-up. South African cruise passengers experienced that for the first time locally last year with the MSC Splendida.

Ross Volk last year said the MSC Yacht Club and island upgrades were not an experiment and that the Yacht Club offering will be back in future. 

Unfortunately, the MSC Opera doesn't have the MSC Yacht Club either which means South Africans who wanted to pay for the upgraded experience are not able to do so this season locally, and also not for the upcoming local season.

HBO's Harry Potter producers working through 32 000 audition videos, series to show unexplored parts of Hogwarts

by Thinus Ferreira

HBO's new 10-year Harry Potter drama series will start filming around June 2025 at the Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the East of England with the producers currently working through 1 000 audition videos per day out of 32 000 that were submitted for casting.

On Thursday in London, HBO executives and the series showrunner and director gave an update to the media on the Harry Potter show that will very likely be on M-Net (DStv 101) and MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax after it was reclassified a few months ago as an HBO Original and said that over 32 000 kids auditioned for the lead roles.

The Harry Potter series is expected to debut in 2026 and will very likely be an Express from the US title on MultiChoice's M-Net (DStv 101) channel on DStv.

According to showrunner Francesca Gardiner, producers are watching through almost 1 000 audition videos per day and haven't made any final casting choices yet.

According to Francesca Gardiner, the show will go according to the characters' ages as mentioned within the books, meaning that Professor Severus Snape will be 31 and Harry Potter's deceased parents James and Lily Potter will appear as 21-year-olds.

The series will make use of the existing sets at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden where the Food Network (DStv 175) recently filmed its Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking food competition series, and which has been used for studio tours since the production of the Harry Potter film series ended.

Director and executive producer Mark Mylod said that the Harry Potter series will use the existing infrastructure and architecture and "won't mess" with The Great Hall at Hogwarts but will expand upon the architecture of Hogwarts and other well-known places within the Harry Potter universe.

New as-yet-unseen areas of the Hogwarts school will be shown and explored within the show.

About casting Mark Mylod said "We haven't made any final choices but we're workshopping with a shortlist in January and there are some crackers".

Paramount Africa's Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. kids channels now available to DStv Compact subscribers

by Thinus Ferreira

From today MultiChoice and Paramount Africa are making the kids pay-TV channels of Nickelodeon (DStv 305) and Nick Jr. (DStv 307) permanently accessible to DStv Compact subscribers in South Africa.

Until now these Paramount Africa channels were only for DStv Premium and DStv Compact Plus subscribers.

"As we mark SpongeBob SquarePants' 25th anniversary, we're thrilled that Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. content is now accessible to even more families, solidifying our mission to provide inclusive, world-class entertainment," says Monde Twala, senior vice president and general manager at Paramount Africa, in a statement.

Melusi Sibisi, MultiChoice Group acting head of third-party channels and partnerships, says "This move underscores our commitment to ensuring that more families across South Africa have access to premium kids' entertainment".

Paramount continues with Nickelodeon's Nick in Your Language initiative, offering local language episodes of shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, DORA, Rubble & Crew, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and PAW Patrol in local languages. 

These dubbed shows are on Nicktoons (DStv 308) on weekday mornings between 7:30 to 9:00 and during the afternoons between 15:00 and 16:00.

Nickelodeon December 2024 highlights

SpongeBob SquarePants Christmas Special - 21 December | Saturday 12:30

The Loud House Christmas Special - 21 December | Saturday 14:10

Young Dylan Christmas Special - 21 December | Saturday 18:30

The Patrick Star Show 2 – 13 December at 15:00

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from 23 December, weekdays 19:45

Nick Jr. December 2024 highlights

Rubble & Crew (new episodes) from 02 December, weekdays at 17:30

DORA (new episodes) from 09 December, weekdays at 18:00

Nick Jr's Holiday Stunt Premiere episodes: Paw Patrol, Rubble & Crew, Hamsters of Hamsterdale, The Adventures of Paddington, The Tiny Chef Show from 21 December at 12:00

January 2025

Transformers: EarthSpark S3 (new season) on 11 January at 11:00 on Nickelodeon

Baby Shark's Big Movie! 5 January at 12:20 on Nick Jr.

Baby Shark's Big Show S3 (new season), weekdays at 16:30 on Nick Jr., starts 6 January

MultiChoice opens applications for 2025 bursaries for tertiary studies

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice has opened the application process for its 2025 MultiChoice Bursary Programme for students, who can apply, until29 January 2025, for financial aid in various tertiary study fields.

For the 2025 academic year, MultiChoice is offering 230 bursaries to undergraduate and postgraduate students pursuing studies in critical and scarce skill fields.

These include disciplines within the STEM focus areas, as well as media and entertainment scholarships, within fields such as actuarial science; electrical, electronic & information engineering; information technology (AI & robotics); data and information science, digital media technology; as well as film and television marketing.

Bursary money is also available for the fields of sound engineering, filmmaking, as well as accounting and finance.

The eligibility requirements for the bursary money are that students must be South African citizens.

Students must be registered or intend to register at a South African institution for a field aligned with MultiChoice's focus areas, achieve a minimum of 75% (matric) or 65% (current university students), and be a first-time undergraduate and postgraduate student (Honours and Masters) at South African institutions of higher learning.

MultiChoice says applicants will be considered based on academic performance and financial need, as per the MultiChoice external bursary policy.

The bursary covers one academic year only and does not apply to historical debt. Applications will be evaluated based on both financial need and academic merit.

MultiChoice has partnered with Skills 123 for bursary administration, alongside Student Village.

The programme is open to South African students registered at higher learning institutions and covers all levels of study up to NQF 9. The application deadline is 29 January 2025 and applications can be done at https://multichoice.bursary.sv.co.za/ .

M-Net will do 'devious things' and make housemates 'as uncomfortable as possible' in 2025's Big Brother Mzansi Umlilo with new host Afrika Mdutyulwa

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice and M-Net will do another season of reality show Big Brother Mzansi that will start on 12 January 2025 and run until 23 March, with M-Net which says it will do "devious things" and make the contestants extremely uncomfortable.

On Thursday afternoon MultiChoice and M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel held an official media launch event at its MultiChoice City headquarters in Randburg, Johannesburg for a certain group of media and influencers which it didn't bother to tell broader media would be happening.

To those who attended and sat in MultiChoice City's cinema venue, Shirley Adonisi, M-Net director of local entertainment channels, said "We're really going to make the housemates uncomfortable".

"We're experimenting with things never done before. We're determined to make them as uncomfortable as possible. We’re really pushing the envelope. We'll test their intolerance to see how much they can take without breaking any legal rules. The team has come up with devious things."

The upcoming Big Brother Mzansi season is produced and conceptualised with the theme of "Umlilo" meaning "fire" in isiZulu.

Big Brother Mzansi "Umlilo" is the fifth season of the show under this moniker but the 11th season overall of Big Brother done by M-Net in South Africa according to the Banijay format.

The upcoming Big Brother Mzansi season will once again be produced by Red Pepper Pictures.

Besides strands on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) and MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax, Big Brother Mzansi will also again run as a 24-hour linear TV channel on DStv channel 198 until the finale on 23 March 2025.

Lawrence Maleka has been replaced by Afrika Mdutyulwa, known as Smash Afrika, as the host for the fifth season. 

It's not known what he said at MultiChoice and M-Net's media launch event on Thursday and Mzansi Magic didn't share comments or a transcript or include any quotes in a press release.

In a press release quote, Christinah Mazibuko, the M-Net group of channels' head of marketing and publicity, says "We're incredibly excited to bring Big Brother Mzansi back for the fifth season".

"This season is about pushing boundaries, and with the Umlilo theme, we're sure to give our viewers a hot, unmissable experience. Working with Smash Afrika as the host takes the energy to a whole new level, and we can't wait to see how his charisma sparks more fires in the house. It's going to be an unforgettable ride."

Previous seasons of Big Brother Mzansi, including the last, have all filled with controversy with housemates evicted previously and during the last season for shocking behaviour and utterances, causing brand damage to M-Net, Mzansi Magic and sponsor LottoStar associated with it.

M-Net then contracted these people and are currently paying them to be Mzansi Magic brand ambassadors.

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. Yet another Big Brother Mzansi. Yet another big M-Net and MultiChoice media fail