Saturday, March 16, 2024

Another Big Brother Mzansi contestant disqualified from MultiChoice's Lottostar-sponsored reality-trash show after Yolanda wanted to 'molest' another contestant.


by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice and M-Net's Lottostar-sponsored reality-trash show Big Brother Mzansi was forced to yet again disqualify and remove another contestant, with Eulanda "Yolanda" Monyai who producers had to remove from the Red Pepper Pictures show.

After multiple warnings and abrupt removals of other contestants, the 32-year old sales consultant and model from Limpopo said she was ready to sexually assault another contestant, saying "I want to molest her".

She also said "I am going to rape Ghost. I'm going to force myself into his bed," in reference to Sabelo "Papa Ghost Ncube, who is TV presenter Andle Ncube's brother.

On social media, M-Net's marketing team placed a card that reads: "MultiChoice has investigated the matter regarding remarks made by a housemate on Big Brother Mzansi, which is currently airing on DStv channel 198".

"We do not condone any acts that threaten the safety of the housemates on the show, and we take Gender Based Violence seriously. Therefore, the housemate who made the threatening remarks (Yolanda) has been disqualified from the game."

MultiChoice's PR agency Duma Collective put out a shockingly bad "MULTICHOICE PRESS STATEMEN" - badly spelt in the subject line already, and bizarrely in All Caps, from junior public relations specialist Petunia Maota - which then wasn't sent to, or received by, all media.

This awful "MULTICHOICE PRESS STATEMEN" that Duma Collective sent out to certain media contained the same wording as on the social media card.

On Friday evening on the Big Brother Mzansi pop-up channel, the producers told Yolanda that "you are disqualified from the Big Brother house" and telling the remaining Big Brother Mzansi contestants yet again that the words they use "should steer clear of minimising acts of sexual violence whether used by a man or woman".

Meanwhile, sponsor LottoStar continues to associate its gambling brand with the low-brow and liquor-soaked DStv content that has seen multiple controversies so far this season.

In January Red Pepper Pictures, MultiChoice and M-Net were forced to dump Lindokuhle Nsele known as Bravo B who was disqualified and evicted after just a week of the show, while Tshepo Tau known as Makhekhe got a first warning following a discussion in which they decided which women in the house they wanted to rape first, since the women were allegedly drunk.

Last month the nasty contestant Liema who spat in other contestants' faces had to be warned over spitting and physical violence.

Big Brother Mzansi is executive produced by Natalie Bleksley and is in its 4th season under the Big Brother Mzansi moniker and the 10th season overall of Big Brother done by M-Net in South Africa according to the Banijay format.


Friday, March 15, 2024

How just 3 SABC shows lost almost 3 million viewers last week.


by Thinus Ferreira

Drastic moves between TV channels and timeslot changes saw just three locally-produced SABC programmes lose close to a combined three million viewers on Monday last week with ad buyers saying the struggling public broadcaster will pay the price when it's forced to cut advertising rates.

Last week Monday was the day the SABC implemented a drastic change: Moving shows on SABC1 later and to SABC2, removing Afrikaans shows from SABC2 and shunting the Afrikaans TV news bulletin that was at 18:30 to the much later timeslot of 20:30 on SABC3 with the channel that has much more limited transmission reach.

The SABC decided to move the youth soap Skeem Saam to a later timeslot on SABC1 at 19:30 where the show itself lost viewers. 

The SABC filled its successful 18:30 timeslot on SABC1 where Skeem Saam used to air, with a rebroadcast in early primetime of old episodes of a series called The Executives

This caused SABC1's 18:30 timeslot to abruptly lose over 2.1 million viewers last week Monday, plummeting to just 1.87 million viewers in the timeslot.

The second season of the Primedia Studios produced Deal or No Deal SA that was on SABC1 got shunted to SABC2 at 18:30 where the show itself lost over 1.5 million viewers last Monday.

The Afrikaans TV news bulletin was moved to SABC3 where this bulletin lost almost 75% of its viewers on Monday. The move also meant the end of the longtime Afrikaans block on SABC2 following the cancellation of the long-running 7de Laan which wasn't replaced with a new show despite promises from the SABC to do so.

On Monday evening, Skeem Saam produced by Peu Communications, which reached a high of 4.04 million viewers on SABC1 in February in its 18:30 timeslot last month plunged to 3.2 million viewers in its 19:30 timeslot up against Scandal! on e.tv.

While Skeem Saam with its 3.2 million viewers won the 19:30 timeslot over e.tv's Scandal!, Skeem Saam as a show itself lost around 840 000 viewers between 20 February and last Monday's timeslot change.

According to ratings data from the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA), Deal or No Deal SA which had a high of 1.92 million viewers on SABC1 last month on 19 February, lost a whopping 1.5 million viewers last Monday when it only managed to get 414 556 viewers on SABC2 in the 18:30 timeslot. 

It means Primedia Studios and the SABC lost a whopping 78.4% of the specific show audience that used to watch Deal or No Deal SA on SABC1 and didn't tune in for it last Monday on SABC2. Primedia Studios and the SABC share revenue from the show and will now earn less money from it on SABC2 than what it made on SABC1.

The Afrikaans TV news bulletin that reached a high of 621 215 viewers on SABC2 in February on SABC2 as one of the channel's most-watched shows, plunged to just 163 663 viewers on SABC3 last Monday night according to BRCSA viewership data.

It means that this TV news bulletin shed a massive 457 552 viewers and almost three-quarters (73.6%) of its dedicated audience which evaporated in the channel switch from SABC2 to the much smaller SABC3.

Combined, just these three TV programmes - Skeem Saam, Deal or no Deal SA and the Afrikaans TV news - lost 2.8 million SABC viewers that used to watch these three specific shows in February and on last Monday no longer did so.

Timeslot-wise the SABC gained 1.3 million viewers on SABC1 at 19:30 last Monday but lost 2.1 million viewers on SABC1 at 18:30.

Advertisers follow audiences and audiences follow - or unfollow - shows.

Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC spokesperson, in response to a media query, says "The SABC would like to reiterate that the video entertainment division continuously engages on various strategies to improve the content offering and which may result in programming shifts, involving moving shows to other channels".

"The shifts are informed by detailed insights including consideration of the SABC financial sustainability. In line with our mandate, the delivery of the Afrikaans content remains a key deliverable for the SABC and will not be compromised."

"In terms of the performance of the network, the SABC's goal is to have optimal performance and experience audience growth. The change has only been in effect for a week, and we need to review at least a month to see how the changes affect the schedule."

The SABC said that at 18:30 where The Executives is running in early primetime as a rebroadcast instead of original content "the drama is currently performing at 1.4 million viewers on average".

"Skeem Saam at 19:30 has increased the slot and has achieved an average of 3.2 million viewers with the launch. SABC1 has maintained its viewership. Deal or No Deal SA on SABC2 replaced die Nuus at 18:30 and is currently performing at 400 000 on average, which means that the slot has maintained as die Nuus on SABC2 performed around the same average."

"On SABC3 at 20:30, previously occupied by a variety of content (Unfiltered, Conflict Zone, Global 3000, Focus on Europe and AFCON – SA vs Nigeria) performed at an average of 200 000 viewers is currently performing at an average of 140 000 viewers."


'SABC will lose ad money'
The SABC which is already in a financial struggle will definitely start to lose millions of rand in potential ad revenue from advertisers due to the latest show, channel and timeslot changes, a highly-experienced ad placement executive told TVwithThinus.  

The person who doesn't want to be named since they place TV commercials and buy ads across broadcasters including SABC inventory and doesn't want to damage relationships with the broadcaster, says if the SABC loses audience and ratings, it undoubtedly loses ad income.

"Ads are bought on a cost-per-point (CPP) basis. For example, let's say you pay R100 for a show with a 20 rating. That's R5 per ratings and your CPP is R5."

"The moment you start losing viewers - instead of 20, you suddenly have a 10 rating - half of the viewers. Instead of paying R5, you're effectively asked to now pay R10 per rating," the person explains.

"When the SABC loses viewers, they don't change the ad rates - they keep it the same, meaning the SABC becomes less competitive and starts to lose money since the advertiser decides to rather place the ad or buy the ad space elsewhere."

"What they then have to do the next month is to adjust the ad rate. We as advertisers still just want to pay R5 per rating. In order to try and remain competitive, the SABC is then forced to also cut the ad rate in half if they want me to keep advertising with them."

"The result is that now I'm only paying R50 for fewer viewers, instead of R100 like before, which means that the SABC gets less ad  revenue from the advertiser."

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

MultiChoice and M-Net shutter DStv's 1Magic and ME channels.


by Thinus Ferreira  
  
As part of M-Net's linear pay-TV channels portfolio consolidation, MultiChoice is shutting down both the 1Magic and ME channels at the end of this month, with DStv subscribers losing another two TV channels at the same time as DStv's price hike for 2024 kicks in from April.

The axing of M-Net's linear 1Magic and ME channels was originally planned to take place just before the relaunch of MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax last month but was pushed out by two months.

The loss of the 1Magic and ME channels is the latest in a string of eight TV channels that will have gone dark on MultiChoice's DStv over just the first three months of this year while South African pay-TV subscribers are expected to pay more for the traditional satellite pay-TV service.

Gone for Dstv subscribers since the beginning of 2024 are the Deutsche Welle, Emmanuel TV, B4U Movies, 1Free State TV, NWTV and People's Weather TV channels.

MultiChoice in response to a media query from TVwithThinus confirmed that the two TV channels are getting axed and says the "M-Net universe is streamlining towards a better and simpler viewing experience".

"From 31 March 2024, M-Net will streamline its channel offering to provide a more seamless entertainment experience for DStv customers. While we will be bidding farewell to 1Magic and ME Channels, we're confident that these changes will pave the way for an array of fresh, engaging content across our other channels, making for a more robust and streamlined offering."

"M-Net is committed to giving customers only the best in entertainment and endeavours to continuously improve our customers' viewing experience."

1Magic (DStv 103) which launched in January 2018 is shutting down after five years and was available to DStv Premium and DStv Compact subscribers.

When M-Net launched 1Magic out of the shuttered VUZU AMP channel in early 2018, M-Net claimed that 1Magic would be "introducing a bigger, exclusive content slate that what we currently have on VUZU AMP". That promise however went unfulfilled over the past half a decade that the channel was in existence.

At the time M-Net said that it had "identified a need to invest in more local entertainment for our viewers, in the premium segment". 

The plan was for 1Magic to be a localised version of the M-Net channel to attract and retain DStv Premium subscribers through premium local productions but most of the content, including The River, only really found an audience when it got screened on Mzansi Magic.

ME that is shutting down two years and three months after it launched in November 2021 was available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact and DStv Family subscribers and was created out of the shuttered and fused together M-Net City and VUZU TV channels. 

ME offered lower-tiered DStv subscribers a way to see first-run M-Net content, especially American series, later, as part of the windowing-down approach followed by the traditional pay-TV model.


SABC3 set for 260 episodes of cooking competition show Ready Steady Cook SA with Moshe Ndiki through Primedia Studios and produced by Rose and Oaks Media.


by Thinus Ferreira

The South African public broadcaster has picked up yet another international format competition show through Primedia Studios with SABC3 that will air 260 episodes of Ready Steady Cook South Africa on SABC3 with presenter Moshe Ndiki.

Ready Steady Cook, a format held by Banijay that's been running for years on the BBC, will be produced by Rose and Oaks Media, also responsible for The Masked Singer SA which has already been renewed for a second season on SABC3.

Besides The Masked Singer SA, Primedia Studios already does a regular and celebrity version of Deal or No Deal SA for SABC1 and SABC2, with the upcoming 5th season of MasterChef SA which will be on SACB3 from September.

There is an ad and sponsorship revenue-sharing deal between Primedia Studios and the SABC for the acquisition and schedule placement of these shows that Primedia Studios does the legwork for and production companies then film for the public broadcaster

In Ready Steady Cook, two teams - a Red Tomato and a Green Pepper - compete in a Red Kitchen and a Green Kitchen, together with a South African chef on each side and paired with enthusiastic home cooks, as they are challenged creatively with a mystery bag of ingredients in a 20-minute cook-off.

Ready Steady Cook will start on SABC3 on 18 March at 19:00 and feature well-known chefs like Wandile Mabaso, Neo Nontso, Fehmida Osman-Latib, Kamini Pather, Kelly Njokweni, Liziwe Matloha, Lorna Maseko, Lufuno Sinthumule, Mmule Setati and Nthi Ramaboa.

Like Deal or No Deal SA and The Masked Singer SA, Ready Steady Cook will saturate the schedule of the other two SABC channels with weekday repeats on SABC1 at 15:30 and weekday repeats on SABC2 at 17:30, with a Saturday omnibus at 08:00.

"Our new local version of Ready Steady Cook is like a paella or a 'potjie' of everything that makes for good television," says Anele Mdoda, co-owner of Rose and Oaks Media.

"While the dramatic battle between Team Red Tomato and Team Green Pepper is packed with suspense, it's also sprinkled with star power and non-stop fun. Simultaneously, the show addresses a nagging question many viewers grapple with every day: What's for dinner tonight?"

She says the production is "thrilled to have Moshe as the on-screen coordinator of all the magic and madness cooked up by the two competing teams on Ready Steady Cook South Africa".

"From his call centre days creating content that made the entire country laugh from their bellies to his food trucks that spoke directly to our bellies, Moshe is the perfect balance of sugar, salt, flavour and heat - funny enough, everything you need to make a stellar dish."

In the show the chefs will be tasked to create three dishes with the food items brought along by their Team Red Tomato or Team Green Pepper partner within 20 minutes. Once the time has run out, the studio audience votes to determine the episode's winning team.
 
What makes 
Ready Steady Cook South Africa more entertaining is that the two home cooks are somehow related.

They're either family members, friends, or business partners from the same profession or even share a hobby. During the cook-off, the audience learns more about their lives through their interaction with Moshe and the chefs.

Ready Steady Cook South Africa is now looking for contestants who can send a WhatsApp to the producers on 068 675 2542.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Randburg water woes: MultiChoice City building operational with water but non-essential staff working from home with car wash and gym closed.


by Thinus Ferreira

With Johannesburg's water supply woes stretching into a second week and hitting the Randburg area especially hard where pay-TV operator MultiChoice as well as M-Net and SuperSport are headquartered, I'm told the buildings remain operational although non-essential staff are working remotely with some in-building staff perks like the car wash and gum shuttered.

Johannesburg's crippled and imploding water supply system broke down completely this past weekend a week ago, leaving reservoirs across the city empty and with homes and businesses without water in taps for days and counting.

By Sunday at least seven reservoirs across Johannesburg remain empty after a week - with more than 300 000 people in homes and businesses without running water - including large parts of Randburg and surrounding areas.

MultiChoice City, the pan-African pay-TV operator's main building in Bram Fischer Drive, is located inside the water-depleted area in Randburg, with the original MultiChoice building and annexed M-Net and SuperSport complex across the road, also affected. 

TVwithThinus has been told that MultiChoice told non-essential staff to work from home - which they are since last week and will continue to this week - for both the MultiChoice City as well as adjacent buildings.

The MultiChoice City building has some sustainable building features, like using grey water collection from the gym reused for toilet and urinal flushing.

The remaining MultiChoice, M-Net and SuperSport staff working within the buildings are fine, with water reserves continuously being delivered to the offices - both drinking water and grey water. 

I'm told the building is quieter than usual but that there have been no issues with using either the restroom or kitchen facilities within the building.

Some staff perks like the car wash at the MultiChoice City premises and the use of the gym within the building have been suspended.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

New e.tv telenovela Isiphetho set in catering industry will start in April.


by Thinus Ferreira

In April e.tv will start a new local telenovela Isiphetho in the channel's 18:30 timeslot.

The red letter channel didn't make any announcement when Isiphetho was commissioned from Black Brain Pictures a few months ago but on Monday night on television in a late-night announcement said Isiphetho will start sometime during April.

Isiphetho The Destiny is set within South Africa's catering industry and will star Gugu Gumede, Mbalenhle Mavimbela, Thulani Mtshweni, Christpen Nyathi, Peter Mashigo, Thabiso Rammusi, Tsolofelo Maseko, Linda Sokhulu, Treasure Tshabalala and others.

Thapelo Ramatsui, e.tv publicist, on Monday told media to watch e.tv at 21:28 for the Isiphetho announcement. 

Nothing was shared afterwards and days later by Wednesday afternoon e.tv hadn't issued any press release or sent the media any information about Isiphetho.

E! News promotes Keltie Knight to co-host.


by Thinus Ferreira

E! News on E! (DStv 124) has promoted Keltie Knight to co-presenter of the programme two years after joining as chief correspondent.

Keltie Knight will now be co-host of E! News alongside Justin Sylvester, with the show that has John Pascarella and John Redmann as executive producers.

"Keltie is a seasoned entertainment journalist and a pop culture expert with strong relationships within the community," says Tracie Wilson, executive vice president of syndication studios, E! News and NBCUniversal, in a statement.

"As this storied franchise continues to evolve, Justin and Keltie are a dynamic duo who will bring passion and enthusiasm as they deliver the latest breaking entertainment news to our audience."

Keltie Knight says "After over a decade of covering the entertainment beat and interviewing actors, musicians and artists I admire, I'm deeply honoured to take on this new role and host the show alongside my dear friend and best in the business talent, Justin Sylvester".

"I've always considered E! News to be the most trusted source for pop-culture news, and it's truly a dream come true to be a part of this legacy."

Keltie Knight previously served as E! News chief correspondent covering Hollywood events and red carpets for the nightly entertainment news show.

No Star Trek, no Elsbeth: The underwhelming and stale titles list of the Paramount+ tile on MultiChoice's Showmax in South Africa.


by Thinus Ferreira

There's little that's new or even noteworthy to watch on the Paramount+ tile that Paramount Global and MultiChoice added to its Showmax video streaming service, with a list of titles that MultiChoice provided that also differs significantly from what's actually available.

Paramount Global stalled for several years with launching Paramount+ as a video streaming app in South Africa and was slow out of the blocks to get its streamer up and running to compete on the African continent with the likes of Showmax, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, as well as smaller players like SABC+, VIU, eMedia's eVOD and BritBox.

Comcast and NBCUniversal's Peacock that also didn't launch in South Africa, went into partnership with MultiChoice to redevelop and relaunch its Showmax as essentially a new streaming service unveiled last month, which is powered by Peacock technology, with NBC and Peacock content now funnelled through Showmax.

That has now left both Paramount+ and Warner Bros. Discovery's Max as the two remaining streamers not available as stand-alones in South Africa, left out in the cold in the country's overheated video streaming race.

As studios and streamers are aggressively reigning in content spending in their attempts to become profitable with Paramount also looking for a buyer and retrenching staff globally, it no longer looks like either Paramount+ or Max will launch as stand-alone streamers in South Africa.

Last month MultiChoice and Paramount suddenly announced that Paramount+ will now be a "destination hub" on Showmax, instead of a stand-alone streaming service. 

It means that Paramount+ appears as a tile on the studios carousel right at the bottom of the relaunched Showmax where subscribers can choose content according to studio.

In November 2022 Paramount Global and Paramount Global Africa launched a website where it told South African viewers that Paramount+ would be "coming soon" and asked people to register their interest with an email address and a promise that they would be kept up to date and informed when Paramount+ will launch. It never happened and Paramount never sent out any updates or notifications.

Also in November 2022 Paramount Global Africa told media it would keep them informed about news regarding Paramount+ launching in South Africa. That also never happened.

Last week TVwithThinus asked MultiChoice for a list of what the content under the Paramount+ tile on Showmax would be, similar to the list that Disney+ issued when it launched in South Africa. 

MultiChoice provided a list that it said it received from Paramount. 

The majority of the list was so-called "library titles" - meaning old shows, like NCIS: Hawaii, FBI, Moesha and Survivor

Besides Halo that is included, no Star Trek or other sought-after Paramount+ content are included under the Paramount+ tile for South Africa. The list also included the new Elsbeth drama series as a spinoff from The Good Fight.

TVwithThinus then looked at the Paramount+ tile and saw that very few of the titles on the supplied list from Paramount that MultiChoice provided, actually appears on Showmax - with no NCIS, no FBI and no Elsbeth

Here is the list of content at launch on the Paramount+ tile on Showmax when a subscriber clicks on the tile:

1883
1923 
80 for Brady
A.P. Bio
Alieu the Dreamer
Anchorman The Legend Continues
Avatar the Last Airbender (animation)
Baby Sharks' Big Show
Babylon
Baywatch (film)
Big Nate
Billions
Black Tax
Blaze
Bubble Guppies
BumbleBee
Butterbeans Cafe
Chocolate City
Daddy's Home
Daddy's Home 2
Downsizing
Dreamland
Fifi and the Flowertots
Fire County
The First Noelle
Forrest Gump
G.I. Joe
Halo
Henry Danger
The Infernal Machine
Jack Reacher (film)
Jerry & Marge Go Large
Knight Squad
Lawmen Bass Reeves
Locked In
Margaux
Mean Girls
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning
Mission: Impossible Fallout
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation
Mission: Impossible 2
Mission: Impossible 3
Paw Patrol
Paws of Fury
Perfectly Single
Pulse
A Quiet Place
Redeemed
Roary
Rocketman
Rumble
Secret Headquarters
Shutter Island
Significant Other
Smile
Sonic 2
Spongebob Squarepants
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Casagrandes
The Christmas Doctor
The Equalizer
The Lost City
The Loud House (animation)
The Patrick Star Show
The Spongebob Movie
The Spongebob Squarepants Movie
The Tiny Chef Show
The War with Grandpa
Top Gun
Top Gun: Maverick
Transformers
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Transformers: The Last Knight
Tulsa King
Young Dylan
Umakoti Wethu
Victorious
XXX: The Return of Xander Cage
Yellowjackets
Yellowstone
Zoolander 2

Clover's Cardova produced AFP Tropika Island of Treasure back for 11th season on SABC3 to be filmed in Zanzibar.


by Thinus Ferreira

The advertiser-funded production (AFP) Tropika Island of Treasure will return for an 11th season to SABC3, again produced by Cardova productions, with the Clover-branded competition reality show that will film the upcoming season in Zanzibar.

The South African celebrities who will be paired with people who enter are Hungani Ndlovu (actor), Karl Kugelmann (model), Omuhle Gela (actor), Bobby van Jaarsveld (singer), Chad Jones (TikTok influencer), Nqobile Khwezi (model), and Ndavi Nokeri (model). 

Zanele Potelwa will be the host of this season of Tropika Island of Treasure which will air around September on SABC3 for 13 episodes.

Last month the Zebra Square PR company that communicates on behalf of Tropika Island of Treasure held a  pre-season announcement lunch at Gigi Restaurant in WaterFall Corner in Johannesburg to which only some media were invited to and the rest not told about.

Media who were included and attended the pre-season announcement lunch were told Zanele Potelwa will be the presenter for the new season, that the 11th season will be taking place in Zanzibar, as well as who the celebrity participants for this season will be.