Steve Harvey working with Endemol USA to develop and produce a new talk show.

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/18/2011 11:00:00 AM

Steve Harvey is throwing his name into the 2012 syndication mix, working with Endemol USA to develop and produce a new talk show aimed to launch next fall.

Endemol, which Wednesday announced it was launching a scripted division, has been talking to Harvey about doing a show for at least two years, said David Goldberg, chairman of Endemol North America. NBCUniversal Television Distribution, with whom Endemol did business with the Howie Mandel-starrer Deal or No Deal, will distribute the show to TV stations.

"We go after things that we think make good television and then figure out where they are going to be," says Goldberg. "It isn't like we've been going out and taking tons of meetings so we could go out and get into syndication. We saw Steve Harvey as a huge talent, and thought that was a logical way to get into this business."

Harvey recently has made a splash in daytime television, starring on Family Feud, which is distributed by Debmar-Mercury and produced by FremantleMedia North America. Harvey took over as the show's host from John O'Hurley last fall and since then the show has grown steadily in the ratings. Feud now regularly turns in a third-place performance among game shows, behind CBS Television Distribution's long-running Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!. Feud grew 55% last season among daytime's key women 25-54 audience, making Feud syndication's fastest growing program.

Harvey also hosts the country's top-rated nationally syndicated morning radio show, Steve Harvey Morning Show, and has written two best-selling books. One of those books, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, is slated to be released as an adapted feature film in 2012.

"This is one of my unconquered ventures. It's something I always wanted to give a shot at," said Harvey. "I always felt that it would fit into my forte. I've gained a lot of experiences over the years sitting on a lot of talk shows. My radio show has gone on at the national level for about seven years. With all of that experience and the success of the book and Family Feud, I think now is the right time."

The show will highlight Harvey's popular brand of comedy as he talks to real people about their relationships.

"I think it's an interesting angle to have a guy in daytime television who's actually built his platform around not only being funny but also being empowering and insightful for women," says Harvey. "I hope to offer women an interesting take on a lot of different things from the male perspective, and I also want to be empowering to people and give them great information. It's a triple threat combination."

"Most daytime talk shows today that have a comedic undertone are celebrity driven. This show will have a comedic sensibility with Steve as a host who will actually deal with, comment on and discuss topics and issues that people bring to the show. It will always aim to be comedic, as well as poignant and inspiring," says Goldberg.

The pilot, which is slated to be shot soon, will be executive produced by Harvey, his longtime business partner Rushion McDonald and an in-house team at Endemol. While a studio has not yet been selected, the show will be shot on the East Coast. Harvey tapes both his radio show and Feud from Atlanta.

Can 'The Voice' actually boot 'American Idol' off its pedestal?

August 16, 2011, 10:13am ANNIE S. ALEJO

Real life singing idols playing coaches: (clockwise from top left) Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Blake Edwards and Cee Lo Green mentor contestants on 'The Voice'

MANILA, Philippines – For those with dreams of making it big in the mainstream, they’d do everything, it seems, including sing for their supper! And audiences are still quite taken with valiant efforts especially when it comes with a good voice and great personality. Why else would singing talent competitions like “American Idol” exist? And how else would another one survive?

Showing for the first time in Asia on AXN in a two-hour premiere on Aug. 21, the new talent show “The Voice” will be aired every Sunday night at 8 p.m. But while it already premiered in the US back in April—to mixed reviews, actually, with bloggers praising the show on various social networking sites but with critics left underwhelmed—the show promises to wow fans of singing competitions with its new take on the genre.

Trumping the fact that in this show, “the contestants are judged solely on their singing talents,” the concept is a little less straightforward than those of other similar competitions and seems to be aimed at giving contestants an even playing field. In “The Voice,” the contestants will go through what is called the “blind audition” process, wherein they will sing to judges—referred to as coaches, by the way—who are seated with their backs towards them, presumably so they are not influenced by the physical attributes of these contestants.

Seated in 180-degree swiveling chairs, the coaches—Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and country star Blake Shelton—only hear the contestants; when they like what they hear, they hurry up and press a giant red button. Their chair swivels and they will finally see the contestant whose voice has blown them away. If none of the judges turn, the contestant is booted out. If one turns, he or she immediately becomes the coach for the contestant.

The fun begins when more than one coach turns. In this case, the power shifts and it is now the coaches that have to plead their case to the contestants and ask them to join his or her team. The audition process goes on until the four coaches each have his or her eight team members.

What also sets “The Voice” apart from other singing competition reality shows is the level of genuine involvement the coaches have with their team members, sharing invaluable input and experience to help their team members realize their potential. In a press conference in Los Angeles, Aguilera pointed out, “There is no good and bad. This isn’t about tearing people down. I want to bring these people up. The Voice really does stand for what it says.”

This fresh approach may have been branded as a gimmick, if a complicated one at that, in the beginning, but the numbers proved the show’s detractors wrong—for the first season, at least.

Reportedly, this is the only show on a major US broadcast network that has seen its rating rise 10% for its second episode, coming from a high of 11.8 million viewers for its premiere. Furthermore, the show proved a hit among the younger 18-34 demographic. And with iTunes purchase counting as votes for the contestants, you can bet the show is at least making some serious cash on the side.

With a mix of contestants with ages ranging from 16 to 42, the musical styles are truly varied. But while it seems that the coaches are attracted to contestants singing in their own genre and vice versa, the excitement builds when all the coaches try to recruit the same contestant, like they all did for a country singer, who, not surprisingly, picked Shelton as his coach. In another instance, other woman who seemed to be a shoe-in for Aguilera’s team opted to go with Green instead.

Other surprises in the premiere episode was the first-ever married couple who auditioned with a duet; and there’s the return of controversial former “American Idol” season two semi-finalist, Frenchie Davis, who was disqualified from “AI” for “a decision I made in the past”—posing for some topless photos when she was 19 years old.

Another highlighted contestant was this young girl who wanted to prove that she doesn’t rely on her good looks—apparently, her YouTube video got one million views in three days in Europe—to get ahead. Taking the “blind auditions” as a chance to prove that her talent outweighs her pretty face, the young lady even cried as she chose Green as mentor over Shelton and Levine.

With just as much drama but a lot more work to be done for the contestants, “The Voice” has had a promising start. It might take a while before the show’s momentum puts it up to par with the long-running “AI” show, but they have definitely stirred the pot. While we would have wanted to see the “blind auditions” really maximized in the show, perhaps “The Voice” might actually revitalize the TV genre that has become quite tedious to watch already.

Adam Levine Accuses 'American Idol' of Homophobia

By MATTHEW PERPETUA AUGUST 16, 2011 1:45 PM ET

Adam Levine
Photo by Rob Kim/FilmMagic

The Voice judge and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine has fired shots at American Idol, claiming that the massively popular show has gone out of its way to obscure the sexuality of its contestants. "What's always pissed me off about Idol is wanting to mask that, for that to go unspoken," Levine told Out. "You can't be publicly gay? At this point? On a singing competition? Give me a break. You can't hide basic components of these people's lives."

"The fact that The Voice didn't have any qualms about being completely open about it is a great thing," he says. Though he's proud of his show's massive success, he admits that Idol is a "cultural institution." "On The Voice, we just care about a different list of things," he says. "It's for a different type of person, I guess."

Law & Order to start filming in Cape Town !

The Cape Film Commission (CFC) has announced that a major television series, Law & Order Cape Town, will start filming in Cape Town in the coming year. It will be shot on location and will follow the same theme as its American and British counterparts.

CFC CEO Denis Lillie recently met with producers from Africa HD James Makawa (CEO) and Kenny Christmas (COO), who are putting together the series.

“Africa HD has secured the format rights to a South African franchise of Law and Order. They intend to start filming the first 12 part series in May of 2012. The series will be entirely based in Cape Town and will feature a South African cast. In addition, the majority of the crew will be sourced locally. To facilitate this, the producers have partnered with local production company DO Productions. The Cape Film Commission has promised to give them hands-on assistance with securing locations, permits and any other aspects to do with filming that they will require,” said Lillie.

According to the CFC the series will feature Cape Town street scenes and therefore presents a rare opportunity to showcase the City to watchers around the world: “With its wide audience base, this show will tap directly into the homes of potential tourists. In addition to tourism revenue, each of the twelve episodes will generate around R3m for the local economy, and create much needed jobs in the film industry. The road closures and minor inconveniences associated with the shoot will be offset multiple times by the gains that the region will incur,” he emphasised.

There is also the prospect of spin-off business from this new venture. Africa HD is planning a new global satellite and cable channel which will be dedicated to African content in high definition.

The Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town, which both fund the Cape Film Commission and view the sector as an important catalyst for economic growth, have given their full support to the project.

Western Cape Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde, said: “This is a major coup for our region which will create jobs for the local film industry, and give a much needed boost to the region’s economy. We wish the producers all the best, and commit to partner with the CFC in giving them full support with anything that they may need.”

City Councillor for Economic Development, Alderman Belinda Walker, said the City would do its part to assist the Cape Film Commission and the Producers to ensure that the permitting process runs as smoothly as possible.

Tourism, Events and Marketing Councillor, Alderman Grant Pascoe, added: “The City of Cape Town is fully behind this project, and we will ensure that the producers experience Cape Town as the film friendly city that it is. The decision to film this series here in Cape Town will strengthen Cape Town’s brand both as a tourist- and film destination.”

Lachlan Murdoch's Network Ten to Begin Layoffs

11:41 AM 8/16/2011 by Pip Bulbeck

Peter Mathew/Fairfax Images/Getty Images
Lachlan Murdoch (center), pictured with father Rupert and brother James.
Staff members face pink slips as the company finds $18 million in savings.

SYDNEY -- 180 Ten Network Holdings employees -- 12% of the broadcaster’s workforce -- are facing pink slips, following a six-month strategic review initiated by interim CEO Lachlan Murdoch, it was announced on Monday.

The review, which identified cost savings of up to AUS$18 million ($19 million), means the network will keep costs at the same level as the 2010/11 fiscal year but will book AUS$48.3 million in non-recurring charges to implement the savings .

As a result Ten, the third-ranked commercial broadcaster, said that its full year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization will be about $179 million, with TV earnings at $160 million. TNH will release its financial results for the year ending Aug. 31 on Oct. 20.

Ten’s television division has had a mixed year to date: while the third season of Masterchef in total was down slightly on the previous two seasons – still delivering Ten over 1.4 million viewers across five weeknights -- the audience for the shows finale 10 days ago was down over 30% on the record ratings of 2010.

But its been the failure of big ticket home renovation show, The Renovators, produced byMasterchef creators Shine Australia to build audiences on a level comparable to Masterchefthat has the network now being forced to offer "make goods" to advertisers.

The detail of Ten's cost cutting, made after the close of trading yesterday, comes just two days before Murdoch and Ten’s chief programming officer David Mott, host Ten’s annual upfront presentation for advertisers and media, at which it will outline its 2012 programming line-up.

Murdoch said Monday that cost savings of $19 million will allow for $50 million to be re-invested in programming content for the coming year across the network’s three channels: Ten, One and Eleven. Ten has output deals with 20th Century Fox and CBS Paramount.

The one-off non-recurring charges cover staff redundancy costs for both the Television and Out-of-Home divisions, and program write-offs.

They also include court ordered costs to the Seven Network and the legal costs for incoming CEO James Warburton for the action Seven took when it was announced that Warburton, then sales director at Seven, would join Ten.

Ten said that its expects to show TV revenue growth of 2% on fiscal 2010 and total cost growth of 9% on the previous financial year, when it reports its full financial year results to August 31.

In the ratings year to date Ten’s all people network share is 22%, breaking down into shares of 16.8% for its primary channel, 3.4% for youth channel Eleven and 2% for male skewed channel One.

Commercial TV revenues figures released by Free TV Australia last week showed that Ten’s share of the $1.9 billion of Australian TV revenues in the first half of the calendar year grew to 28.85%, up from the previous half’s share of 27.5%.

Elisabeth Murdoch makes $214 million on Shine sale

August 16, 2011 | 6:23 pm

Rupert Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth Murdoch collected $214 million from the sale of her British TV production company, Shine Group, to her father's media company earlier this year.

In April, News Corp. paid $675 million to buy Elisabeth Murdoch's 10-year-old company Shine, which produces such TV programs as "The Biggest Loser" and "MasterChef." Of that amount, approximately $480 million was earmarked for Shine's equity partners, News Corp. said in its annual report filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Until now, it was unclear exactly how much Elisabeth Murdoch made on the sale.

Elisabeth Murdoch was the majority shareholder, owning 53% of Shine, a company that she steadily built by acquiring small TV production companies in various countries. In 2008 she bought U.S.-based Reveille, which produces "The Office" for NBC.

Sony Pictures Entertainment owned a 20% interest in Shine.

News Corp. said $135 million of the purchase price went to retire Shine's debt and pay other liabilities. Another $60 million, part of the $480 million attributed to equity, has been set aside in escrow to "satisfy any indemnification obligations," the company said. Elisabeth Murdoch, the document said, "is entitled to her proportionate share of amounts that are released from escrow," meaning she will likely receive more than the initial $214-million payment.

The purchase of Shine by News Corp. quickly became controversial, triggering shareholder lawsuits. In one, a New York bank representing several investment funds alleged that Rupert Murdoch operates News Corp. as a "family candy store" to pursue pet projects and reward his children and other family members. That suit, filed in a Delaware court, contends that Shine was worth far less than the $675 million that News Corp. paid.

When News Corp. announced in March that it was buying Shine, Rupert Murdoch said that Elisabeth Murdoch, 42, would be joining him and her two brothers -- Lachlan and James -- on the News Corp. board.

However, earlier this month, following the filing of the shareholder lawsuits and a phone-hacking scandal that has roiled the company and the British political establishment, News Corp. said that Elisabeth Murdoch had decided to delay her appointment to the board.

The Great British Bake Off is MasterChef without the melodrama

Mel and Sue present the jovial Great British Bake Off on BBC2 (Picture: BBC)

TV review: The Great British Bake Off saw contestants battle over cupcakes and battenbergs in TV's gentlest competition.

The Great British Bake Off returned for a second series tonight and you could practically hear the nation's WI members foaming at the mouth as the opening titles rolled.

With its competitive cooking and foodie judges, the programme is easily compared to other BBC series in the same vein. It's a sort of gentle, cupcake version of MasterChef. MasterCake, if you will.

But with the always jovial Mel and Sue presenting and some quaint background information accompanying each type of cake (want to know more about the battenberg, anyone?), it is infinitely more pleasant to watch than MasterChef.

There was no melodramatic music and there were no histrionic sob stories - frankly the sight of one poor chap's cakes tumbling onto the floor as he finished the icing was enough to make most viewers' hearts skip a beat.

Mostly, the programme was a quaint little offering, as everyone from grandmothers to rugby coaches stood in the Cath Kidson-esque Bake Off kitchenettes with their aprons on. The most unlikely baker of all, 19-year-old south London rude-boy Jason, was a particular highlight of tonight's show.

The whole thing just served to prove TV shows have become so quintessentially British that we're surely just a step away from MasterGrumble and The Great British Tea Drink Off.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/reviews/872536-the-great-british-bake-off-is-masterchef-without-the-melodrama#ixzz1VNQ8grzG

Ten unveils new shows

SUE YEAP, The West Australian August 17, 2011, 5:30 pm


It has been a ratings flop compared to MasterChef Australia and rival The Block but Ten is sticking with its costly reality series The Renovators.

Chief programming officer David Mott told advertisers and media buyers at the Ten 2012 program launch in Sydney last night the show's format needed some renovating but it would definitely return for a second season next year.

MasterChef Australia will be back, as will The Biggest Loser, which will next season be searching for singles wanting to lose weight.

The Queensland-shot Steven Spielberg sci-fi family drama Terra Nova will air on Ten this year as will Homeland, a US psychological drama starring Claire Danes and former Criminal Minds lead Mandy Patinkin.

Still to come this year are Australian shows Rush, Recruits: Paramedics and Good News World, from the makers of Good News Week.

Australian dramas to air in 2012 include Bikie Wars – Brothers in Arms, a TV adaptation of the coming of age book and film Puberty Blues and Underground – The Julian Assange Story, focussing on Assange's early years in the underground hacker movement.

Next year Ten is poaching hit British variety show The Graham Norton Show from the ABC. New US imports will include Zooey Deschanel’s 20-something comedy New Girl and Bones spin-off The Finder.

Returning programs include The Good Wife, Modern Family, Glee, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Bondi Vet, Bondi Rescue, The Circle and Offspring.

A spokewoman said it was too early to say whether there would be new seasons of Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation and Junior MasterChef in 2012 when the current seasons were only just on air or soon to air.Network stars at the launch at Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay included Bondi Vet's Dr Chris Brown, new Young Talent Time host Rob Mills, original Young Talent Time host and creator Johnny Young, Wilfred star and co-creator Jason Gann and Ten's newly anointed 2012 Breakfast show co-host Dr Andrew Rochford.



Damon Wayans Jr., Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Hannah SimoneA spokewoman said it was too early to say whether there would be new seasons of Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation and Junior MasterChef in 2012 when the current seasons were only just on air or soon to air.

Reality TV giant Endemol to make push into scripted fare in U.S.

The television production company best known for reality and game shows including "Big Brother" and "Wipeout" is making a big push into scripted programming in the United States.

Endemol USA, a unit of Dutch-based Endemol Group, plans to focus primarily on developing dramas for cable networks. The company has already had some success in that arena, successfully selling the series "Hell on Wheels" to AMC, the cable channel whose other shows include "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad."

The move echoes the strategy of its parent company, which has increased its scripted programming output by almost 50% in the last three years. Endemol Group produces scripted fare primarily in Holland, Italy, Spain and Australia. It also has a presence in Britain and in Argentina, where it makes telenovelas.

The push to broaden its presence here comes less than two months after the departure of Ynon Kreiz from his position of chairman and chief executive officer of the parent company, which has been going through a financial restructuring of its heavy debt load. Endemol's board appointed Marco Bassetti, the company's group president, and Just Spee, the group chief financial officer, to manage the company.

To oversee its scripted efforts, Endemol named Philippe Maigret, who had been the company's executive vice president in charge of programming acquisitions, chief executive officer of its TV studio unit. He will report to David Goldberg, chairman of Endemol North America. Jeremy Gold, who had helped launch Endemol's scripted efforts as senior vice president, has been named head of creative affairs. Prior to joining Endemol in 2008, Gold had been an executive at Fox.

“Endemol Studios represents a significant step in our ongoing strategy to expand and diversify our activities in North America [while] at the same time helping fuel our global growth," said Goldberg in a statement.

Endemol is owned by Goldman Sachs, Mediacinco and Cyrte.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta filming in Cape Town

5 August, 2011

The popular US reality TV show The Real Housewives of Atlanta has been filming in South Africa as part of a storyline for their upcoming fourth season. by Clayton Morar

The reality TV show and its cast members were spotted by locals in and around Cape Town as well as Port Elizabeth recently.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta castmembers Sheree Whitfield, Phaedra Parks, Kandi Burruss, Nene Leakes and Cynthia Bailey travelled to South Africa amid secrecy and speculation about their overseas trip and where they were filming for the show's fourth season.

Fellow cast member Kim Zolciak didn't make the trip due to giving birth recently.

The trip to SA comes after fellow sister reality TV shows Real Housewives of New York visited Morocco and Real Housewives of New Jersey visited Italy.

It is rumoured that The Real Housewives of Atlanta season finale was filmed in South Africa, after filming for season four commenced in April this year.

On Twitter, Zolciak wished her co-stars well ahead of their African trip.

"@IamSheree @PhaedraParks love you guys! Have fun!!! Xxooo," she said.

No details about their trip to SA could be confirmed due to confidentiality agreements that the producers have implemented with locals.

Attempts to confirm what the stars were up to in SA were mostly unsuccessful.

Spotted at the Waterfront

One V&A Waterfront employee, who didn't want to be named, said she had recognised the girls from the TV show after visiting the US on holiday last year.

"I spotted them when they were at the Louis Vuitton store over the weekend and they seemed to be having a great time. I also had heard that the girls went to have lunch at The Grand Beach Café in Granger Bay, too," she said.

It is also believed that the US reality TV stars also enjoyed a boat cruise around Cape Town before partying at a cocktail event at a plush, private house in Llandudno.

Cape Town singer Chad Saaiman, who was recently shot in an attempted hijacking in Johannesburg, along with SAMA-winner Claire Phillips and Sue Duminy – wife of cricketer JP Duminy - attended the lavish cocktail party.

Cars 2 to become most lucrative film toy franchise ever

By Harry Wallop
9:41PM BST 30 Jul 2011

Cars 2, the animated film about a cheeky racing car, is set to become the most lucrative film toy franchise in history – outstripping even Star Wars and Toy Story.

The film, the latest from Disney's Pixar studios, is predicted to be responsible for more than €200m (£175m) worth of merchandise sales in Europe this year, according to the market research firm NPD. This would make it the first film or television programme to top €200m in merchandise sales in Europe in any year and comes after five years of strong sales of toys tied into the first film. Toy Story last year achieved sales of €172m.

The film's merchandising success has come as a timely boost for high street retailers. Argos, the country's biggest retailer, published its autumn/winter catalogue this weekend and it included 414 Cars-branded items, compared with 78 Toy Story ones and 23 Transformers ones. "We expect Cars 2 to be exceptionally strong," said a spokesman for Argos.

Hamleys, the toy department store in London, has predicted that a £40 Finn McMissile car, with sound effects voiced by Michael Caine, could be its best-selling toy of the year. Laura Olver, the head of buying at Hamleys, said: "The thing about Carsis that it is a great franchise. It is still popular five years after the first film was made. With many films, the toys are very popular when the film first comes out but then drop in popularity very quickly."

Swazi TV launches on DSTV Swaziland

The launch of Swazi TV on the DStv Swaziland bouquet was transmitted live yesterday from the Hospital Hill. The launch coincided with a live transmission on the local channel that now airs on DStv’s Channel 139.

The event, which has been deemed a milestone and a historic event that will greatly benefit the Swazi nation, was attended by  Minister of Tourism Macford Sibandze, former Minister of Economic Planning Reverend Absalom Muntu Dlamini and  STVA Board member, Abner Tembe. Others present included Director of Information in the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology Martin Dlamini, the PS Nathaniel Mahluza, Multichoice Swaziland CEO Phumi Drummond, Director of the Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Service (SBIS) Percy Simelane and Multichoice Africa’s Christina Nel among others. To make the event memorable, there were performances by local artist Nomalungelo Dladla and Umkhokheli LaZwide.

Speaking on behalf of Minister of ICT Nelisiwe Shongwe, Minister Sibandze  said he was pleased to be part of this historic milestone in the history of the national broadcaster. “Today, the station realises a dream that it has had over the years, to finally attain 100% television coverage. This dream has taken years to come true due to the mountainous terrain in our beautiful kingdom. What we are witnessing today was born from the womb of hard work, dedication and a visionary personnel,” he further said.

Convened
He highlighted that in 2006, during a meeting convened by the South African Broadcasting Association (SABA), Multichoice Africa made a commitment to Swazi TV, to fulfill its dream of being transmitted on satellite. “At the time, other African countries like Botswana, Namibia, Kenya and Zambia were already on the DStv platform. Today, we are grateful to witness this dream. We believe this partnership will benefit Multichoice Africa, DStv Swaziland, Swazi TV and the Swazi nation who have been deprived of a full Swazi TV signal since 1978 when this broadcaster came to life,” he added.

Sibandze used the Russian theatre practitioner Constantine Stanslavisk in driving the point home that ‘Preparation is a master plan’. “Satellite broadcasting will enhance the future prospect for Swazi TV to be able to present her own story in the region and the continent in the future,” he said

Multichoice Africa’s Christina Nel officially welcomed Swazi TV to the DStv family.
She highlighted that the realisation of the new Swazi TV satellite-delivered service has been made possible through a partnership between the ministry of information, communication and technology, the Swaziland Television Authority (STVA) and Multichoice Swaziland.

“Multichoice Africa has, in some countries where there is a significant subscriber base, agreements with public broadcasters to carry the national television channel. This includes the NBC in Namibia and ZTV in Zimbabwe. These broadcasts are only enabled for DStv subscribers in each of the respective countries and are not available to DStv subscribers in the rest of Africa.

Therefore, in the case of Swazi TV, the channel will only be available to DStv subscribers residing in Swaziland. This is because the programme rights on these channels are specific to that country only,” she explained. She further said this was a great partnership that would see both businesses grow in leaps and bounds.

Sports getting the reality TV treatment

by Raju Mudhar

Clicking through the Toronto International Film Festival’s recently announced slate of premieres for 2011, I chuckled when I saw the upcoming Brad Pitt-starring adaptation of Moneyballdescribed as a “compelling work of sports realism.”

Obviously one of the big gets for the festival — more for the heartthrob actor’s red-carpet presence than any other reason — the film looks to be the year’s potential sports-based blockbuster and gives us a chance to take a look at how TV and movies are depicting sports right now.

What’s clear is that these packaged sports broadcast entities are very hot at the moment.

Moneyball, based on the bestselling book by Michael Lewis on the Oakland A’s, is part of the trend of non-fiction books getting fictionalized treatments. This summer’s must-read tell-all about ESPN, Those Guys Have All the Fun, is also getting a Hollywood stylization.

Anyone else find that weird, considering there are more than 30 years of potential archival footage for a documentary?

Sports are the ultimate reality television, and these decisions prove that by adding some sugar — big-name stars and directors, and never letting the facts get in the way of a good story — the goal is a crossover flick that can trick non-sports fans onto the bandwagon and into a theatre alongside the jersey-wearing faithful.

I’m the wrong guy to ask about these sorts of adaptations, because I personally still feel burned that Hollywood managed to turn Lewis’s The Blind Side, a perfect football fan’s book (that I loved) about the evolution of the left tackle into a Sandra Bullock chick flick. Both of these based-on books are also sports nerd delicacies, but the results look to be candy-coated adaptations of their cores.

I’m baffled by the production questions — how do you turn 700-plus pages of These Guys into a palatable movie? — but I was not surprised to learn that Moneyball started out as a near-documentary that almost died in development until it was resurrected in its new cinematic interpretation. You can tell the studio heads fear a film falling into the “too sporty” niche category.

That’s easy to chalk up to the ongoing reality-TV-ification of sports content, seen in fluffy series based upon people like Terrell Owens and horrible series like Basketball Wives, as well as the current fascination with in-season instant docu-series or specials. HBO aired Derek Jeter 3Kthis past week and Rogers Sportsnet aired the Roberto Alomar doc special, The Journey to Cooperstown, after Sunday’s game honouring the player.

One of the few casualties of the NFL lockout is this year’s iteration of Hard Knocks, which is the American Idol of sports reality shows. HBO’s pre-season reality show would have been celebrating its 10th season, but the post-lockout time crunch meant that no team would allow the cameras in — which is too bad, because the vigorous pace would have made absolutely great television.

For those feeling starved for behind-the-scenes looks, this Thursday at 10:30 p.m. on TSN (after the Montreal-Toronto game), the second episode of The Extra Yard: Inside the 2011 Toronto Argonauts airs, and I’m hoping there’s a little more drama than in the first episode. There was a fun moment about players toasting cookies, but the first episode focused a little too much on coach Jim Barker, and had a horrendous musical montage over players getting cut.

The thing that irks me is that these are authorized productions — and so far, they feel like it. I tend to wonder what we are missing out on because of the permissions needed to get access. The Argos have already praised the production for its respectful look. But as a viewer, I’m hoping the team’s rough start will add another dimension to the drama — although, it is funny to call it drama, considering we know how things have turned out on the field.

We are living in what’s been called the golden age of documentary, so it’s fitting that ESPN recently announced seven new upcoming documentaries coming this fall. They’re a continuation of its excellent 30 for 30 series, although they will not be produced under that name.

Of the upcoming ESPN productions, three — Catching Hell, about Steve Bartman, the infamous Cubs fan who is blamed for costing them a trip to the World Series, The Real Rocky, about Chuck Wepner, who inspired Sylvester Stallone, and The Dotted Line, Morgan Spurlock’s look at two agents — appear to be ones not to miss, though with the overall quality of ESPN’s productions, I’m hoping to be surprised by the others.

I love docs that shine a light on sports I don’t know about, which makes Senna sound perfect for me. Dave Feschuk waxed eloquently about it in these pages on Sunday. The film, which opens here on Aug. 12, tells the story of F1 legend Ayrton Senna and, incredibly, includes footage of the artful driver’s final lap.

There remains a lack of Canadian sports documentaries out there, but an interesting one that has production ties here, and also recently received funding from Hot Docs, is Buzkashi!

Set in Tajikistan, the film is about a sport that is a precursor to polo, where hundreds of horse-riding players using a goat carcass as the equivalent of the ball. No, really. The online teaser clip shows the focus is on four regional champions, and the on-field action looks insane.

It just goes to show that, with most sports, no matter how it is packaged, unvarnished reality tends to trump fiction any day.

SA digital TV set-top box factory opened

Staff Writer August 3, 2011



Altech opens factory for the manufacturing of digital television set-top boxes in Durban

Africa’s first facility with the capacity to manufacture more than three million television set-top boxes per annum was opened in Durban by Minister of Communications Roy Padayachie in August 2011.

Altech UEC consolidated six buildings on two sites into a single, 13 500 square meter factory at Mount Edgecombe.

With demand for digital set-top boxes (STBs) in South Africa expected to reach more than nine million as the country migrates to DTT, with a further 30 million required for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, Altech CEO Craig Venter said the new factory would drive growth and job creation in line with President Zuma’s economic development targets.

“Our investment in this facility is in direct support of government policy. Not only are we employing people in the factory, but services such as packaging, delivery and installation will create tens of thousands of small business opportunities in the years to come,” said Venter.

“In the process, people will acquire new skills, equipping them for the next wave of ICT innovation and development. The cycle of advancement and wealth creation is potentially endless.”


Rajesh Ramkawal, Minister of Communications Roy Padayachie and Altech CEO Craig Venter

Venter said crucial to South Africa’s Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy was the creation of millions of new jobs country-wide by advancing the local electronics manufacturing sector. “Digital migration creates an opportunity to build a globally competitive export sector that is an objective of the Industrial Policy Action Plan.”

“The economic spin-offs are destined to be huge – from technical support to retailing – while the increased demand for broadcast content, especially regional-based programming, will create more jobs for local content producers and their supply chains,” said Venter.

Venter added that there was a need to resuscitate local research and development and while a South African silicon valley might be far-fetched, poverty could only be eradicated by economic growth which depended on competitiveness.

“In a world where everybody has access to the same technological tools, competitiveness depends on how the technology is applied to harness information and create new knowledge. People and countries who can meet these demands are the ones who succeed,” said Venter.

Venter appealed to government to provide an enabling environment to encourage entrepreneurship with a focus on ICT innovation, as this was the only way to resuscitate local research and development. Venter said the migration to DTT was taking place within the bigger context of growth in the ICT industry in general.


Altech CEO Craig Venter and Minister of Communications Roy Padayachie at the opening of the Altech UEC manufacturing facility

“The building of the factory is not only to gear up for the anticipated demand for locally produced STBs, but also as part of a wider strategy to enable Altech UEC to extend its manufacturing capabilities and remain a world class digital media manufacturing operation,” said Altech UEC CEO, Peter Balchin.

“Aligned to this is the fact that Altech UEC is in the process of evolving into a multi-media global business as the industry matures and converges between broadcast and broadband media delivery.”

Top 6 ways MTV changed television

It's been 30 years since "Video Killed the Radio Star" launched a network that defined a generation... or twoThe 30-year-old Music Television network made rap mainstream and, for better or worse, created reality TV with "The Real World." Photo: Jan Butchofsky/CORBIS

Best Opinion: Telegraph, Wash. Post, CNN...

On Aug. 1, 1981, MTV launched with a symbolic broadcast of the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." Three decades later, the network, which turns 30 today, has evolved so completely that it's almost unrecognizable, but, although it's no longer predominantly in the business of airing videos, MTV remains agame-changing network. From Madonna to Snooki, here are the six ways MTV changed television:

1. It put music videos on the map
There would be no convoluted Lady Gaga clips to dissect and certainly no Rebecca "Friday" Black had MTV not given music videos their "popular and accessible position," says Daisy Bowie-Sell at Britain's Telegraph. The network redefined the job description of a musician and created stars, giving acts like Madonna, Duran Duran, and Midnight Oil what may have been their first national exposure, says Phil Gianficaro at Philly Burbs. Music videos and, by extension, the network became intrinsically tied to an entire generation. "We all wanted our MTV because having it and watching it was like wearing a badge of coolness," says Jen Chaney at The Washington Post.

2. The VMAs made awards shows controversial
No awards show lends itself better to a "Best Moments" countdown than MTV's Video Music Awards. "The world gasped" when Madonna writhed on stage in a wedding dress 27 years ago for her performance of "Like a Virgin," says Megan Choi at CNN, and has never stopped being shocked by the awards show — did 2010 have a bigger music story than Kanye West's stage-bombing of Taylor Swift? The VMAs have been, and will continue to be, watercooler TV viewing — even if the network has long stopped regularly airing music videos.

3. MTV helped make rap mainstream
MTV may have been "a little slow to catch on to hip-hop," says Chaney, but its hit show Yo! MTV Raps played a big part in introducing the genre to a wider audience. By mainstreaming rap's biggest hits, says Rich Juzwiak atTV Guide, the show may have saved the genre from becoming a splintered niche and paved the way for today's hip-hop-infused pop scene, in which "genre lines are looser than ever."

4. It created reality TV...
In 1992, MTV aired a docuseries that examined what happened when seven strangers lived in a house together and "got real." The Real World — which in its 25 seasons has spotlighted the HIV/AIDS epidemic, race relations, alcoholism, domestic abuse, and the gay rights movement — "pioneered reality TV," says Bowie-Sell, a genre that has infiltrated nearly every corner of TV.

5. … and then changed the face of it
MTV launched the reality TV phenomenon and then continued to shape its evolution. With The Osbournes and The Hills, reality TV became as much about storytelling as it was about documentary television. In fact, The Hills even "honestly tackled" its "dishonesty" by "brilliantly" panning back to reveal stagehands taking down its set during the show's series finale,says Daniel J. Flynn at The American Spectator. The series paved the way for hits like Jersey Shore — a series that redefined the level of fame (and salary) reality stars could enjoy. With new shows like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, the network proves its decades-long ability to "pervade American culture with its programming"

6. It proved that a network can — and maybe should — grow up with its viewers
Sure, MTV may no longer play music videos, but that's because its audience now demands something different — of the Snooki variety, says Chaney. When MTV launched, critics lamented its "celebration of style over substance" when it comes to music. Thirty years later, the network is still inspiring "hand-wringing," but now it's lambasted for rewarding the "vapid behavior" of its reality stars despite their lack of talent. Unwaveringly focused on "youth culture," MTV has, for 30 years, been "preaching to the same choir; it’s just [that] the members of said choir eventually grew up and got replaced by new ones.