Africa’s Sizably News Company Multi-Choice Group Resource Three South Africa’s Community TV Stations with a Venture of R4.5 Million

By Abdul Rahman Bangura –

Photo Credit: MultiChoice Africa

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS ( NABN ) Freetown, Sierra Leone- Tailoring as part of it elephantine treks – MultiChoice Group’s (MCG’s) proceeded endeavors to empower the local video entertainment industry. MultiChoice will be helping three of South Africa’s community TV stations with a cumulative investment of R4.5 million. Each of the selected stations will use the R1.5 million funding for the innovation of modern content.

Clocking the verge of 2019, MCG named on community TV depositories across the country to accept modern content concepts for consideration. MCG collected several captivating proposals, varying from locally produced reality shows to documentary-series, current affairs programmes and comedy sitcoms. Every proposition was evaluated in duration of novelty and audience plea. The proposals from Bay TV, Soweto TV and Tshwane TV stood out and were authorized for allotment.

“Our relationship with MultiChoice has enabled Bay TV to be the conduit of an Eastern Cape story,” says Bay TV Chairman, Motse Mfuleni. “Without revealing too much, the current investment of R1.5 million will go towards the production of our new reality show entitled ‘Ekhondweni Lobudoda’. We are also confident that this investment will launch our prowess as a content-generating channel.”

Chief Executive Officer of Soweto TV, Thabo Molefe, says the station is delighted to have been selected. “This investment will not only bring new content to the schedule, but it is also an investment in talent and empowers new storytellers.”

Tshwane TV’s Sales and Marketing Director, Collin McKenzie, underscores that this venture will not only boost with content generation but will also participate to the station’s sustainability and growth. “We thank MultiChoice and we pledge to deliver good quality content.”

MCG has a long-term yore of supporting South African community channels, including Gau TV, 1KZN TV and Cape Town TV. The broadcaster recently provided equipment upgrades to the various stations, assisted with camera and production training and provided business training from Henley Business School for their management teams.

“Through our infrastructure, technology and empowerment initiatives, we empower an entertainment supply chain which, in turn, supports local business and communities touched by our business. For community TV stations, this means more local content which will generate economic opportunities for local communities,” clarifies Reggy Moalusi, MultiChoice South Africa’s Executive Head for Corporate Affairs.

MCG’s investment in community TV, and other grass-roots development measures, will go a long way to ensuring the sustainability of the industry and growing the local video entertainment business for those both in front of and behind the camera.

Moalusi went on to say: “We are a leading investor in local content production, and we are seeing day-by-day how our audiences are calling for more local content. For us, it’s about broadening access to African storytelling and creating platforms for local content creators to tell their stories.”

MCG further demonstrated its continued support for local entertainment industries when it announced the establishment of an R80 million fund that will pay full salaries of cast, crew and creatives for the months of March and April, during the challenging times brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Current Outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disease- Coronavirus advisory information, World Health Organization & United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.

Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people.  Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing. Source- WHO

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Coronavirus Q&A, World Health Organization

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Coronavirus condition overview, World Health Organization

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United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov