October 2024 On History Channel Across Africa | Channel Premieres Including American Godfathers: The Five Families | Returning Shows Including History's Greatest Escapes With Morgan Freeman | More

CRIME MONTH

 

This month, the HISTORY Channel Africa dives into crimes from the past with capti vati ng details 

surrounding crimes that made South African headlines, to stories on mafia exploits and daring prison escapes. Great African Crimes with Mandy Wiener uncovers gripping true crime stories that have captivated the nation. Then, discover the secrets of infamous mobsters and their rise to power in two new series and follow heart-pounding accounts of inmates who defied the odds to break free. 

Brand New & Exclusive

AMERICAN GODFATHERS: THE FIVE FAMILIES 

14 October

Mondays 19h25

American Godfathers: The Five Families is a three-part documentary series that explores the creation, rise and fall of New York City’s five mafia families who over a fifty-plus-year period had a hand in every facet of organised crime in America from bootlegging and drug trafficking to extortion and gambling. The series which traces the extensive history of the mafia, beginning with its ties to Sicily, is based upon Selwyn Raab’s New York Times best-seller “Five Families: The Rise, Decline and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires.”

Repeat: Next Day 11h45

Brand New & Exclusive

HISTORY’S GREAT ESCAPES WITH MORGAN FREEMAN S2 

15 October

Tuesdays 19h25

Hosted by Morgan Freeman, star of The Shawshank Redemption, this series profi les history’s greatest escape masterminds and their plans, from inspirati on to executi on through to the thrilling manhunts that followed. In the new season of History’s Greatest Escapes with Morgan Freeman famous escapes at Devil’s Island, during the Vietnam War, and at Sobibor Death Camp during WWII, as well as other prison locati ons, are recreated to place

Freeman at the site of the acti on. The series creates an up close-and-personal view of what the prisoners are faced with in executing their break outs along with interviews from some of the prisoners themselves, their families, their cell mates and the guards and prison employees involved in each case.

Repeat: Next Day 11h45

Brand New & Exclusive

GREAT PRISON ESCAPES WITH BILLY HAYES 

15 October

Tuesdays 20h15

Billy Hayes’ legendary escape from a Turkish prison was the basis for the Oscar-winning movie Midnight Express. Now, with his unique first-hand experience Billy takes us into the world of great prison escapes. Through enactments, we’ll experience audacious jail and prison breaks in dramatic form. We’ll meet the prisoners and hear intriguing interviews with the survivors, witnesses, historians, and law

enforcement of each event. The series will probe the effect of each escape and the marks left on the cultures and legal systems of the world, the implications, and the death or glory that sometimes occurs when desperate men and women risk it all, for freedom.

Repeat: Next Day 12h35

Brand New & Exclusive

THE MAFIA AND BRITAIN

16 October

Wednesdays 19h25

Goodfellas, Gomorrah, the Godfather trilogy - for most of us the ‘mafia’ is no more than a fantasy world in movies and series. For years it’s been assumed that Britain has no connection with the mafia, but the truth is far more sinister… incredibly mafia bosses, capo’s and hitmen have lived all over the UK – from caravan parks to shoe shops and newsagents. Britain is an estuary where the river of illegal money, drugs and mafi a meets the ocean

of legiti mate money and commerce. In this series, Ross Kemp will make an epic and extraordinary journey ‘up river’, travelling its length and breadth to locate the source (in the foothills of the Sicilian mountains). In doing so he will be travelling across multi ple nati ons and back in time to reveal the intricate path where history meets globalisation in the world of the mafioso.

Repeat: Next Day 11h45

Brand New & Exclusive

GREAT AFRICAN CRIMES WITH MANDY WIENER

22 October

Tuesday 21h05

Dive into the gripping world of Great African Crimes

with host Mandy Wiener. Join us as we unravel the

chilling tales of deceit, betrayal, and intrigue. From

the notorious case of Daisy de Melker, whose story

echoes with dark secrets and unanswered questi ons, to the daring Krugersdorp bank robbery that shocked the nation, and the brazen shooting of the legendary racehorse Sea Cottage, witness the crime narratives that have gripped South Africa’s collective imagination.

Repeat: Next Day 13h25

Brand New 

FIELD OF VAMPIRES 

30 October

Wednesdays 20h15

A terrifying discovery. A skeleton buried with a sickle across her neck and a giant padlock on her toe – double protection against her rising from the dead. Whoever buried her was petrifi ed of her returning from the grave. All the evidence suggests she was buried by people who believed she was a vampire. But this is just the start of the mystery. She is wearing a silk cap. A gold headdress. A sign of high status. Inside her mouth is green. Is it a sign of poisoning, or att empted cure? Then they discover…she is not alone. More deviant burials are dug up, men, women and children buried as vampires. Archaeologists have now discovered there are 100

bodies buried beneath the surface. Using cutti ng edge DNA and forensic techniques, combined with the latest facial reconstruction, Field of Vampires brings them back to life.

Repeat: Next Day 12h35

Brand New

UFO ENCOUNTERS UK

5 October

Saturdays 19h25

Never before broadcast UFO and alien stories are told directly by the people who experienced them. We are taken through the events as they unfolded

while UFO experts and ‘debunkers’ offer their opinions as to what they may have seen or experienced. From individuals with corroborating stories, people with photographic evidence of their encounters and hypnotic regression to unlock lost

memories of missing time, this series will explore convincing accounts of one of the world’s biggest questions… are we alone?

Repeat: Sundays 18h40

THE ORIGINAL BLACK PANTHERS: 761ST TANK BATTALION

20 October

Sunday 20h15

Executive produced by and featuring Morgan

Freeman, this powerful documentary reveals the

true story behind the first Black tank unit to serve

in combat during World War II. The documentary

explores in depth the major battles the unit faced

both overseas and back home in the United States.

Repeat: Saturday 21h05

ALIEN CORRIDORS 

26 October

Saturdays 20h15

Are we being watched? This isn’t about the existence of UFOs. It’s about why they frequent certain routes. And if they do…what could that mean? Whether it’s an inexplicable flash or something strange hovering amidst the stars, every sighting makes us believe we’ve spotted them…But what if we’ve got it wrong? What if they’ve been watching us all along? Over the years dedicated UFO watchers have been keeping track of sightings and creating a worldwide grid of where our possible galatic neighbours have landed or skimmed the planet. When you take a look at these records – patt erns emerge; too obvious to dismiss. What could they want with certain areas?

Repeat: Sundays 20h15

Brand New & Exclusive

TRIUMPH: JESSE OWENS AND THE BERLIN OLYMPICS

27 October

Sunday 20h15

Narrated by award-winning actor Don Cheadle,

this documentary explores the dramatic tale of

Jesse Owens’ athletic dedication, perseverance

and triumph over Hitler’s Aryan supremacy agenda. The documentary features archival footage, animation and first-hand interviews from family members, journalists, historians, and reputable athletes including former track and field athlete Carl Lewis.

Repeat: Saturday 21h05

eMedia Investments Acquires Broadcasting Rights To New Italian Drama "Viola" For eExtra

Viola Vitale, a gorgeous and magnetic woman who has always worked in the field of fashion journalism, moves from Paris back to Palermo, armed only with optimism and trust, to search for the father she never knew.

There, Violet starts working for an online publisher, covering the crime beat, collaborating with Inspector Francesco Demir. He’s charismatic and seductive, with top investigative talent, but little faith in humanity…in that, the polar opposite of Violet. Highly intuitive on the job, Demir is also impulsive and given to bending the rules.

The pair work side-by-side on homicide cases, she as a reporter, he as a cop. Hugely difficult at first, given the clash of opposites, in time they learn to collaborate successfully. In part because Violet can count on her special gift: synesthesia.

Synesthesia is not merely a figure of speech, but also the actual spontaneous and uncontrollable blending of multiple senses – sight and hearing, for example. In Violet’s case, she associates emotions with colors. When she looks at a person, she sees a color they give off, allowing her to read their deepest, possibly hidden, feelings: fear, joy, pain…

Violet develops the ability to grasp the true mindsets of people she encounters. Behind her synesthesia, however, she guards a bigger secret, to do with her real reason for returning to Palermo.

According to insiders, eMedia Investments is looking to allocate the drama on eExtra in the coming months so we can only assume that it will most likely air by Saturday or Sunday as Viola consists of 26 episodes divided between two seasons. Another scenario would be having the show take up a weekday timeslot either where Pad Na Die Hart or Jeyran resides.

Compared to most other shows curated for eExtra's Kuiertyd, Viola was filmed in Italy so it joins the rankings of Jeyran and Sommerdahl Moorde as one of the few non-Turkish shows on the channel. Although Can Yaman (Droomvelore) is one of the lead actors and joining him is lead actress Francesca Chillemi.

Could 1Max Be The Next Channel To Exit DStv And Could It Be Replaced With Another TV Channel?

Canal+ is currently finalizing a new structure after obtaining a 45% stake of MultiChoice making them one of company's largest shareholders. After their initial bid of R29 billion was turned down earlier in the year the French broadcaster had up it's bid to R32 billion with an interim board deeming it "fair and reasonable".

Following their visit to Cape Town, they were interviewed by several journalists regarding the transaction and several things were brought up first there are no plans to fold DStv under the Canal+ trademark considering how strong they are. However, DStv and Showmax may not compliment one another for very long as they deem it as competition.

Aside from NBCUniversal's stake in the streamer, Showmax has been buying up content that isn't viewable on DStv much less 1Max same goes for DStv as there's thing with Zee Zonke and TLNovelas. Look at Disney+, SABC+ and even eVOD their existence is based on their linear portfolio and vice versa at some point this was what Showmax was with DStv but growing competition led them to scale back.

With Canal+ eyeing a takeover on MultiChoice one has to sort of wonder whether the DStv threat could be minimised to a point where some restructure could await 1Max. The French broadcaster is currently trying to navigate the limitations of a foreign company within a local market so it's likely they may never own Mzansi Magic and KykNet and could opt to launch a rivalled offering.

1Max could be that channel in which Canal+ puts all their resources and connect to the SA market as they already cater to these audiences. Other than that, when M-Net decided to close both Me and 1Magic despite this being supplemented by 1Max it's availability had been restricted with the content filtered to favour South Africa. 

Canal+ also manages to maintain a stake in VIU which is eyeing 40% with the option to increase it with 51% and they had been commissioning content such as uBettina Wethu so whose to say this channel wouldn't serve as an open window to those pursuits. I think the question is how the content will be allocated on other packages do these fall under Mzansi Wethu or will this require another TV channel like Magic Showcase.

Canal+ Is Looking For Another BEE Partner To Finalize Acquisition Of MultiChoice

Canal+ is currently finalizing a new structure after obtaining a 45% stake of MultiChoice making them one of company's largest shareholders. After their initial bid of R29 billion was turned down earlier in the year the French broadcaster had up it's bid to R32 billion with an interim board deeming it "fair and reasonable".

Canal+ intends to keep MultiChoice listed in the JSE meaning they're not attempting a complete takeover and it was reported earlier in the year that Patrice Moshepe is also in the running to help finalize this acquisition. According to Africa Intelligence, the French broadcaster is looking for another business partner to finalize this acquisition.

This does lead some to wonder how much of a stake Patrice Moshepe is willing to invest in MultiChoice if some were to guess probably around 15%-30% based on the company's financial performance they are put in a position where they can declare bankruptcy and Canal+ is the only thing giving those shares value.

Canal+ is trying to comply with local legislation by capping their rights to DStv and Showmax at 20% and with the help of Patrice Moshepe they have indirect influence over the daily operations of those services. If Patrice Moshepe is investing a small stake he probably sees the same thing former shareholders Public sees in MultiChoice - a decline in value.

For years on end, several shareholders at MultiChoice were throwing away their shares looking to take their money elsewhere and most of these shares likely went under French hands. Their remaining partners Allan Gray and The Vanguard Group have a combined total of 7% with former partner Public Investment Corporation sitting at 11%.

One can only assume that when the acquisition is complete, Canal+ will look at cutting back at some of these ventures as MultiChoice is sitting with 10 and these include DStv, GOtv, Showmax, SuperSport and M-Net. So if they were looking to close/divest in something then it would have to be either Namola, Irdeto, BetKing.

Why Impact Wrestling (Now TNA Impact!) Failed On Openview?

After losing rights to WWE a few years ago, eMedia Investments opted to rather put their focus in their remaining lineup which ranged from international movies and series to local content. By 2021, they made a strategic move by supplementing this with Impact Wrestling (now TNA) after SuperSport opted to discontinue carriage of the wrestling promotion from their platforms.

The news of TNA's inclusion on e.tv wasn't met with the best responses from wrestling and sporting fans with some making comparisons to rival WWE. This showed as TNA failed to chart in e.tv's top 20 watched shows likely due to the poor scheduling choices another being competition from both SABC 1 and SuperSport weirdly enough only of the two offered wrestling on the same day as TNA.

If there's another thing, eMedia Investments handled poorly when it comes to TNA was how they'd distribute this content while WWE's flagship shows and PPVs were all allocated on e.tv with eExtra serving as a catch-up platform. With TNA, most of its catalogue was burnt off to Openview while the flagship show was in an on/off relationship on e.tv before moving to Openview exclusively.

If anyone had to guess it's possible that TNA's viewership was rather low on e.tv and they were changing its timeslot consistently in the hopes to attract more viewers but that proved to be challenging. When they decided 4pm would be its permanent timeslot it's likely the viewership continued to plummet that it led to them burning what little was left.

StarTimes eventually snatched those rights from eMedia Investments for their consumers in the African market (including South Africa) which would give TNA's extensive lineup of content more exposure compared to when it was on Openview. 

Now the problems pertaining to TNA have nothing to do with the wrestling promotion as it is one of those top 10 wrestling promotions in the world but rather eMedia Investments. WWE had been gone for so long and viewers who couldn't afford to get DStv were forced to move on and TNA was viewed as the enemy to e.tv's extensive history with WWE.

Viewers weren't accustomed to change and ignoring it was the only way they knew this problem would fade away and eMedia Investments wasn't sports oriented like the SABC so you could say that also played a factor. Again these consumers weren't accustomed to alternative methods this is what happened when Bleach was switched for Yu-Gi-Oh on SABC 2.

Before Naruto and Bleach, SABC once held to Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh but this part of their lineup was discarded for a decade with one being picked up by e.tv so when this format was revived it received very little notice from fans. Dragon Ball was able to rank in the top 10 watched shows on SABC 2 yet Yu-Gi-Oh an old placement long forgotten by fans couldn't even chart in the top 20.