by Thinus FerreiraM-Net has commissioned a new drama series Ha Molefi for Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) as a father-and-son story which will debut on the channel on Monday 17 June at 20:00 as the two grapple with grief after the loss of a wife and mother.Ha Molefi is headlined by TJ Mokhuane, portraying the gay teenager Thabang Molefi from Pimville, Soweto who has lost his mother Mam' Linda.He ..read more

by Thinus FerreiraSimilar to its lacking and inadequate PR communication a year ago for two new shows (one of which already tanked and got cancelled) e.tv once again seemed to have failed with a haphazard PR communication strategy for its new show Isiphetho that started on Monday night.With e.tv once again not properly communicating with media before, and in the lead-up to, a local ..read more

by Thinus FerreiraMultiChoice wishes the WildEarth channel well in its future endeavours away from DStv but says it's disappointed that WildEarth tried to publicly force it to pay for the channel, while WildEarth has decided to yank the channel from MultiChoice's pay-TV service at the end of this month.WildEarth which was added to DStv with the understanding that the channel won't be paid for ..read more

by BloombergCanal+ will try to circumvent South Africa's foreign media ownership regulations in its takeover attempt of MultiChoice through a stock exchange double-listing of the new entity in both South Africa as well as in Europe.Canal+ formally made an upped offer of R35 billion for MultiChoice as it tries a buyout of the powerful pan-African pay-TV operator. Canal+ values ..read more

by BloombergVivendi SE's Canal+ made an all-cash formal offer for the MultiChoice Group, valuing the South African pay-TV operator's shares at $2.9 billion (R35 billion) as the French firm moves ahead with its plans to boost its presence on the continent.Canal+ will offer to buy shares at 125 rand apiece, MultiChoice and Canal+ announced in a filing on Monday. The bid will now be considered ..read more

by Thinus FerreiraFrom Monday, Rorisang Thandekiso will be the host of Wheel of Fortune SA and will help contestants spin the wheel and choose letters in the hope of guessing right to get a phrase and various prizes.The South African version of Wheel of Fortune is filmed at Atlantic Studios in Cape Town and is produced by Homebrew Films and Primedia Studios for SABC3 according to the format ..read more

by Thinus FerreiraMultiChoice has promoted and appointed Kemi Omotosho as its latest MultiChoice regional director for Southern Africa.The Southern Africa regional director role has been a revolving door of appointments and fast exits over the past half a decade with numerous MultiChoice executives slotted into the role and then existing in rapid succession over the past few years.Kemi Omotosho ..read more

by Thinus FerreiraIn a groundbreaking deal, South Africa's public broadcaster has acquired a raft of premium BBC content from BBC Studios that will play out as a 2-hour primetime block on weeknights on SABC3 from May in the SABC's attempt to try and revive the ratings and fortunes of the ailing TV channel.From May the South African public broadcaster is joining with Britain's public broadcaster ..read more

by Thinus FerreiraThe SABC has picked up a further raft of game show format titles through Primedia Studios like Raid the Cage, and Wheel of Fortune, while it's partnering with Netflix on a Winnie Madikizela-Mandela documentary series and is adding a 2-hour block of premium BBC content for SABC3 primetime in a deal with BBC Studios.The SABC said viewers will see its three TV channels going ..read more

by Thinus FerreiraMultiChoice 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 ..read more