Why Some Consumers Haven't Lost Hope On SABC And MultiChoice Just Yet?

Through my years of online journalism, you do tend to come across criticism some of these are just troll comments while others come from a good place. This is something that SABC and MultiChoice has been battling with since their inception to the South African market.

As some may have already heard on several occasions, SABC is in financial turmoil relying on bailouts and sponsors to keep them afloat. With their money crisis, it has led to implement several cuts across SABC 1-3 with the government looking to change its funding model which could as well take several years to get into action.

For sometime, SABC has been trying to make an extra buck through MultiChoice by making them collect TV licenses or a household levy. This is because they offer the most watched channels in South Africa (including DStv) and MultiChoice opposes the deal as the broadcaster makes R500 million in advertising with just 4 channels.

MultiChoice is already going through a similar hurdle with its consumer base on DStv and are hoping to get a fresh start with Showmax and the Canal+ deal. Following its split from Vivendi, Canal+ and MultiChoice are hoping to complete this transaction in the beginning of a new financial year April 2025 to help them take on Netflix.

Although Netflix has over 200 million subscribers globally, MultiChoice has 19 million subscribers through DStv and Netflix doesn't have much consumers in Africa which reports estimating these consumers reside in 2 million households by 2023. 

With Canal+ having 8 million subscribers in Francophone Africa with MultiChoice's existing figures it ensures that they are ahead of the competition in Africa.

While some consumers may feel SABC and MultiChoice's services should be rendered redundant these are companies that are helping shape up the local industry and come with history. The unemployment rate is edging close to 50% with 80% of these individuals being youth and their demise will only worsen the problem.

SABC News, eNCA and Newzroom Afrika will be nothing without the funds coming from MultiChoice and although Netflix has been investing locally they're not expected to bulk up to such capacity. In the end, Netflix was only able to garner relevance for its content produced in other countries even with Africa on the map not much would change.

How MultiChoice Is Tackling LGBTQ Following Same Sex Ban In Namibia?

Not long ago, a new bill has been making rounds in Namibia which prohibit same sex relationships basically LGBTQ after discussions were underway to legalize such as in South Africa. But unlike Namibia, some countries within Africa primarily Cameroon and Uganda had tightened restrictions to a point where legal action can be persewed.

This actions affected several channels on DStv particularly Telemundo in 2023 where Nurses was unexpectedly yanked from the channel leaving only reruns. According to Telemundo, it was due to a change in legislation although not mentioning Uganda and Cameroon led to the temporary suspension of Nurses.

Since last year, MultiChoice has been working closely with channel providers with localized feeds to TLC and Disney Channel launching in Southern African countries. These feeds resided in the Western and Eastern parts of Africa and with their inception has led Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur and The Owl House to get exempted.

In previous years, MultiChoice had excluded such content from the Western and Eastern parts of Africa with Southern Africa being conjoined due to transponders. With these endeavours now making waves in more African countries, it has led to confusion amongst DStv consumers particularly in Southern Africa.

Some DStv consumers are wondering why Disney Channel suddenly appears on channel 315 and what's mind boggling is that Marvel's Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur was announced as a new show for this channel despite it only being offered on channel 303.

Aside from TLC and Disney Channel, MultiChoice had been distributing localized feeds for M-Net, Nickelodeon, BBC Lifestyle and E! Entertainment. We can only assume that more of these feeds will likely integrate to Southern Africa with some exceptions like Zee World and SuperSport.

Harry Potter, Wizards Of Baking: Spellbinding Confectionary Creations Come To Life This February On Cartoon Network Africa

Cartoon Network viewers and legions of Harry Potter fans are going to have an extra special holiday season this year with the premiere of the brand-new series, Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking, on Monday, 3 February at 18:15 CAT on Cartoon Network Africa. Capitalising on the enduring love for Harry Potter – a global phenomenon that continues to captivate people of all ages around the world – the ground-breaking series blends legendary storytelling and fantastical edible creations in a never-before-seen competition that will have audiences at the edge of their seats.

James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) bring their exceptional charm and behind-the-scenes anecdotes as hosts of this most magical series, joined by esteemed culinary judges Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef. Across the six-episode season, they will also be joined by special guests Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), who will help in evaluating the competitors’ showpieces and also share their own film stories.

The competition kicks off with a super-sized episode in which nine teams of pastry chefs and cake artists are tasked to craft massive, spellbinding edible showpieces inspired by moments and themes from the Harry Potter saga. Each week, the culinary artists will design eye-popping creations not only to tantalise the taste buds but also to offer surprising and enchanting visual elements. Fans of Harry Potter will recognise many iconically familiar places, as the series was produced at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, including amidst the backdrop of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, on some of the original sets where Harry Potter's journey was brought to life on screen. Contenders will have the unprecedented opportunity to present their creations in famed locations such as Platform 9¾, The Great Hall, Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Diagon Alley, The Forbidden Forest and more.

A group of lucky fans will have the opportunity to taste some of the competitors’ handiwork, and then, in the finale, the team that wins the competition will be awarded the first-ever Wizards of Baking Cup and will have the opportunity to appear in a new Harry Potter cookbook.

Harry Potter fans can follow #WizardsOfBaking on social to chat with fellow fans and watch tons of videos from behind the scenes in the wizarding world. Plus, hear from the Phelps brothers as they return to Hogwarts, meet all the special guests stopping by and get to know the teams competing in this magical baking extravaganza. Fans can also get Harry Potter-inspired recipes, like Sorting Hat Cupcakes and Invisibility Cloak Pumpkin Pie. 

Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking is produced by Warner Horizon and theoldschool for Food Network. Warner Horizon’s Bridgette Theriault and Dan Sacks serve as executive producers with theoldschool’s Robin Ashbrook and Yasmin Shackleton. 

Don’t miss the spellbinding magic of Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking when it premieres on Food Network on Monday, 3 February at 18:15 CAT. Tune in to see which team claims the first-ever Wizards of Baking Cup and takes home the ultimate prize!

Could StudioCanal Africa Also Be On The Pipeline For MultiChoice Suitor Canal+?

StudioCanal serves as the production arm for the French broadcaster offering original films and series in US, UK, France and several parts of Europe and Africa. It is home to franchises like Paddington and Bridget Jones and also has co-produced films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Free Willy.

With its parent company Canal+ looking to complete it's acquisition of MultiChoice plans are underway to stretch StudioCanal's expertise through this transaction as seen with M-Net's Spinners. Last year, production began in Cape Town on a new film titled Huntington starring American actor Glen Powell.

They plan to utilize MultiChoice's resources to build on intellectual properties (IPs) to better combat against Netflix that too has curated local content such as Blood And Water. Prior to MultiChoice's inclusion, Canal+ already owned ROK Studios (Nigeria) and Zacu Entertainment (Rwanda) with Marodi TV (Congolese) likely to join the ranks.

Should this transaction with MultiChoice progress we can only imagine that StudioCanal Africa would be formed from all this. It would consist of MultiChoice/M-Net Studios, Zacu Entertainment, Marodi TV, ROK Studios and any future investment Canal+ plans to pursuit in Africa.

Right now, ROK Studios and likely Zacu Entertainment are part of StudioCanal's global operations but we have seen them launch regional versions in the UK and Australia. It would only make sense to have one situated in Africa considering that MultiChoice would make them a giant in the region.

At the moment, Canal+ had been distributing Africa Magic Epic and select content from M-Net onto their platforms in french overseas. With their stake in MultiChoice, we can only imagine that they'll seek to unite these markets and give their French endeavours more scale as seen in parts of Africa with Africa Magic and Zambezi Magic.

MultiChoice Zambia Dumps Camnet TV From The DStv And GOtv Platform

MultiChoice Zambia is set to claim it's first victim by the end of January as a channel termination noticed has been sent to various consumers watching Camnet TV on channel 274. 

Camnet TV was launched back in 2017 alongside Prime TV on the platform and served as Christian based channel and was one of the few local channels on the platform with such genre. The channel was founded by Mrs. Pastor Victoria Chiluba who is married to the former president of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba.

Although the channel didn't have much controversy the founder embroiled in a scandal where she sought help from Hakainde Hichilema (Zambia's current president) in an attempt to save Camnet TV. And this was what prompted Camnet TV to lose credibility and also have a controversial history.

MultiChoice Zambia in a statement has attributed low viewership and possibly other strategic considerations regarding channel content and profitability. Camnet TV would basically be the third religious station to have gone off air on the platform and the second within this month.

A year ago, Emmanuel TV decided to exit various platforms across Africa after the channel's founder T.B. Joshua was involved in a sex trafficking/cult scandal. Prior to this, the founder was embroiled in numerous other scandals with one notable figure deeming him "the son of a devil".

Before that was ITV Networks, this was the only Islamic channel to have been distributed by MultiChoice in South Africa and also the only non-troublesome channel on the list. If anything, the channel's demise was part of an ongoing review between companies attempt to enhance viewer's offering.