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Nollywood the movie – How the money makes it happen

Next week Italian-American filmmaker Franco Sacchi’s This is Nollywood is being shown at the Abuja International Film Festival before coming to the Raindance Film Festival in London in October. Sacchi’s film uses the making of Bond Emeruwa’s film Checkpoint as the core of a look at Nollywood’s actors and producers. Russell Southwood spoke to Franco Sacchi about the money behind the movies, the origins of Nollywood and the desire to raise production standards.

In this issue

Content

Tunisia: New Private Koran-Focused Radio Station Launched

South Africa: TV ad Throws Out Challenge to All Citizens

Big Brother Gets Uncut – what the late night version shows

Senegal: Democracy in Dakar – Doc pic goes below surface of 2007 presidential election

Broadcast

South Africa: Four New Pay-TV Players to Take On Multichoice

Zimbabwe: Radio Listeners', Television Licence Fees Go Up

Nigeria: Regulator NBC Shuts Down FM Stations in Jigawa

Zimbabwe: Gtv's Arrival in Zimbabwe Imminent

Distribution

South Africa: Multichoice Defends Pay-TV Domain with content lock-up deals

Angola: Cunene - TPA's Channel-2 Inaugurated in Ondjiva City

Investment

South Africa: Sentech Pull-Out From Pay-TV Race a Puzzle

More

Regulation & policy

Technology & convergence

Events

People

Opportunities

Top story

Nollywood the movie – How the money makes it happen

Next week Italian-American filmmaker Franco Sacchi’s This is Nollywood is being shown at the Abuja International Film Festival before coming to the Raindance Film Festival in London in October. Sacchi’s film uses the making of Bond Emeruwa’s film Checkpoint as the core of a look at Nollywood’s actors and producers. Russell Southwood spoke to Franco Sacchi about the money behind the movies, the origins of Nollywood and the desire to raise production standards.

The tale that claims to be the founding story of Nollywood sounds both apocryphal and very Nigerian. A distributor of blank VHS tapes had a container load of them and they were selling very slowly. He decided to spend US$2,000 to make a movie on one of them: Living in Bondage was created and it has sold over 1 million copies.

Nowadays the money to finance Nollywood films comes either from local business people or the diaspora. Historically, films have had budgets of $5-10,000 but more recently some film makers have been pushing that up to US$20,000. As Sacchi told us:”The film we follow in the documentary – Emeruwa’s Checkpoint – had a budget of N6 million (US$46,000). Films have been made that cost much more than that but they don’t seem to sell well”.

The films are generally shot using DV cameras and cut using digital, non-linear editing. As a result, films are made in an incredibly short period of time, usually 7-10 days. A system of “stars” has developed and as emerges in the documentary, many of these stars are making up to three movies at any one time. To outside eyes, it may seem held together with paste and string but an economic ecology involving producers, directors, crew and actors has developed.

Nollywood films are little bit like the old Hollywood B movies. They tell stories of crimes gone bad and passions with disastrous consequences:”Nollywood film makers have stories to tell and they have no fear.” The films are made at feature length (90 minutes) or sometimes in two volumes of 2 hours each.

Whilst much of Africa is used to seeing Nollywood movies on TV, very little revenue is actually generated from these sales:”Producers sell to TV for visibility. The real sales come from sales of DCDs and videos.” A successful production will sell 30-50,000 copies and there is a highly organised distribution system that had its origins in the selling of pirate versions European and American films. In the large cities like Lagos there are large official film markets and even video shops in up-market shopping malls on Victoria Island will have a full wall of Nollywood. But it’s not just in the cities for even the smallest villages will have a video shop.

The films are made for immediate consumption because as with its older brother Bollywood, piracy is an enormous problem. No sooner is a film out and on sale before it becomes pirated and some part of the revenues begin to drift away from the official distributors. The films are either produced on video or DCDs. The latter are more basic and rugged than DVDs but play on almost any DVD player. Picture quality is comparable to that seen on VHS tapes.

When Sacchi was making the film two years ago, films were selling for as little as N12. However, if this proved too expensive, then people can rent or view movies in a “video parlour”. The latter is rather a grand term for a set of people sitting round a television in a room. These exist even in the villages. It is little wonder that Nollywood has been so successful at this price as what it competes with is priced at a completely different level. On a trip to Abuja last week, we saw pirated American DVDs selling for N300 and a visit to the cinema in a shopping mall to see The Simpsons cost N1500. With cinema seats costing this price in these kinds of markets, it is little wonder that traditional cinema is not growing.

The continent’s francophone film-makers are extremely sniffy about the Nollywood upstart. Whereas they make beautifully filmed and scripted movies that are critically acclaimed, they are rarely seen widely by African audiences. By contrast with Nollywood, it’s a case of “never mind the quality, feel the width”. As Sacchi puts it:”These films are part of a wave that is about belief in the future rather than artistic films. But they will make artistic films in the future. Nollywood is a grassroots movement. Francophone films are culturally important but their makers are not a grassroots movement. One of these days one of these film makers will come out with something brilliant. They have given Nigerians a way to look at themselves differently.”

Sacchi has discussed running training for the film-makers seen in the documentary:”We’re going back to see if we can establish some kind of training. They feel they need training at this stage and need to improve the film language. They are starving for new equipment and ideas.”

Nollywood is an interesting contrast to the more conventional film industry found in South Africa that turns out a relatively small number of films with much larger budgets. Perhaps it needed Nigerian ingenuity and complete self-belief to take the business model and turn it on its head. And Nollywood probably has more teach Africa as the future of movie making outside of Hollywood is more likely to favour Nigerian film-makers. They have capacity to make a film like Hong Kong produced gangster trilogy Infernal Affairs that was turned into the Hollywood movie The Departed. If they can tighten up their skills, perhaps anything is possible on a low budget. For as Spike Lee once rather acidly quipped:”What’s a US$50 million budget movie? A US$10 million budget movie once everyone got through stealing.”

Content

Tunisia: New Private Koran-Focused Radio Station Launched

The first day in Ramadan was marked by the launch of Tunisia 's third privately -owned Radio Station, dubbed the "Zeitouna Radio Station for the Holy Koran". Taking its name from that of the olive tree in Arabic, the new Tunisian radio station which focuses on the Koran and its teachings, went on the air early on Thursday.

The news of its forthcoming airing, had been announced on Wednesday evening by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, during a public address to the Tunisian people on the advent of the month of Ramadan. The radio which broadcasts its programs around the clock on FM from Carthage , will cover more than 90% of the Tunisian territory.

In a statement made in Tunis , the project's initiator, Mohamed Sakhr Materi, said that "the aim is for Tunisia to remain a beacon in the Islamic-Arab world, and a symbol of the dialogue and fruitful interaction between cultures and civilizations".

The new radio station will focus almost exclusively on the Koran and the remaining programs will focus on the life and teachings of the Prophet. The recitation of the Koran, as well as the psalms will be carried out by young Tunisians. Kamel Omrane, the radio station's new director and a university professor, said that the radio's initiator, has made sure that the radio is equipped with the latest cutting edge technology, guaranteeing the project with the best conditions of success.

(Tunisia Online (Tunis), 13 September 2007)

South Africa: TV ad Throws Out Challenge to All Citizens

FNB's new 2010 TV ad is intended to position the bank as the 2010 FIFA World Cup sponsor that holds nation-building at its heart - without shying away from addressing the issues that confront South Africa.

Explains the FNB 2010 Team, "'What kind of country do we want SA to be in 2010 ...and beyond?' That's the silent, billion dollar question in everyone's heads as the countdown... continues. With the '1000 days to kick-off' milestone looming there is much that has been, is being, and needs to be done to ready SA to stage the greatest show on earth.

"But what are we doing about making sure that the one-month football extravaganza is the ultimate football experience for us all, visitors and citizens of SA alike? And, apart from improved infrastructure, what will be the social legacy beyond 2010?"

(Biz-Community (Cape Town), 8 September 2007)

Big Brother Gets Uncut – what the late night version shows

For those that no longer find any steam in watching the shower hour viewing segment of Big Brother Africa 2, the uncut show - airing Friday nights at about 11.30p.m.- has loads of vapour, writes the Monitor’s Moses Serugo.

It could be the reason some viewers have given the reality show the "Big Brothel" coinage. The Uncut show serves up among other things close shots of the housemates' crotches during shower hour, all delivered in slow motion. And yes, Richard is quite endowed "down there" and he really hates holding his family jewels (he has christened them gudi gudi) in underwear.

It is only on the uncut show that you will see Maureen cupping and caressing her breasts as if looking for a cancer lump. True she likes walking about topless and only the uncut show can prove this. Maureen also has no qualms about giving Tatiana something close to a bikini wax. Tatiana's wild side comes out fully on this show; pole dancing, the raunchy dance she did with Jeff, the works.

The Uncut show is also where the night vision cameras reveal all those naughty things the housemates are up to when the lights go out. Whatever activity was going on in Max's pants while he was asleep, only he can explain. Or was it Lerato's hand trying to jumpstart Max's manhood while the Zambian slept?

I know the moralists are itching to shoot down the show but DStv has pre-empted them with an 18-age restriction and a warning that the show contains scenes with nudity and strong language. A request is made to viewers to activate the parental control facility on their decoders if they want to restrict viewing.

UBC showed off some muscle at last weekend's goat races, airing the societal do live where other stations settled for shooting and doing post-event screenings. The audio was for the most part poor and viewers had little else to do than try and lip-read what Vogue host Sophia Matovu was saying. UBC probably also wanted to show off that as host broadcaster, it is more than ready for Chogm. The national broadcaster has acquired a new OB van, a younger sibling to its 32-year-old senior, purchased when Uganda hosted the OAU summit in 1975.

WBS TV launched its last quarter programming a month earlier than it should have. It includes a new live interactive game show called The Mint, which comes months after the station pioneered the interactive live game show genre that its competitors have now Xeroxed. The Mint, airing Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday at 5p.m. promises to hand out Shs90,000 as its lowest winning and up to Shs8m per show. About Shs40m will be handed out every quarter.

The show is a partnership between MTech Communications, a mobile telecommunication company and Ludus/ETV, the creators of some of the biggest participatory game shows in the United Kingdom. MTech is leveraging on WBS TV's sizeable viewing audience to air the show in Uganda. The company already runs similar shows in Nigeria and Ghana. Calls (and SMS) cost Shs1,000 and after they are registered in a computer system, a number is randomly picked and the viewer called back to answer the question.

(source: The Monitor)

Senegal: Democracy in Dakar – Doc pic goes below surface of 2007 presidential election

The documentary project, "Democracy in Dakar" highlights the impact hip hop artists have had on the democratic process in Senegal, shedding light on the politics of one of francophone Africa's more stable democracies and showing the contradictions that lie just below the surface, writes AllAfrica.com’s Msia Kibona Clark. The project is an online multi-media documentary that consists of eight mini-documentary video shorts broadcast through the African Underground website.

In the series of shorts, the artists featured first reflect on the 2000 elections in Senegal in which Abdulaye Wade took power from then President Abdou Diouf. This was supposed to be the dawn of a new era in Senegal's history, and it was also a time in which many of Senegal's hip hop artists were coming into their own for the first time.

As in other parts of Africa, hip hop in Senegal emerged in the late 1980s and was immediately embraced by the country's youth. The scene in Senegal evolved into one of the largest and most well known in francophone Africa south of the Sahara. The artists often blend local sounds and rap either entirely in Wolof or a blend of French and Wolof.

The project's website suggests that Senegalese hip hop is divided into two categories: a hardcore, more underground rap and mainstream, mbalax rap, which mixes traditional mbalax music with rap. But according to the site, both types have always been very political in content and as rap artists matured many of them also became some of the most vocal commentators on politics in Senegal.

In 2000, many of the artists were supportive of Abdoulaye Wade's campaign, and in the films they express the hope many of them had for the new president. But after the elections, they were also critical of what they perceived to be promises broken by the Wade regime. The increase in poverty and unemployment, as well as the desperation of many Senegalese people trying to illegally immigrate to Europe and the Comoros, was seen by many to be related to his economic policies.

When the project moves its focus forward in time, it covers the lead-up to, and then the aftermath of this year's presidential elections, held on February 25. The days leading up the election are filled with calls for change as the documentary shows us the myriad of parties challenging Abdoulaye Wade. In total 15 candidates ran for office in the hotly-contested vote.

The certainty of change was felt strongly among the rap artists featured in the film. However, Wade captured 56 percent of the vote, the shock of which is vividly portrayed in the footage of the period immediately after the election results were announced.

While there were complaints of fraud, the results have been internationally accepted and the film reflects a conclusion that they were more a testament to the lack of desirable candidates than evidence of support for Wade's regime.

The documentary is the result of a collaboration between Ben Herson, founder and director of the Nomadic Wax record label, and Magee McIlvaine, co-founder and director of the film company Sol Productions.

The Democracy in Dakar project can be found on the African Underground website (http://www.africanunderground.com/) and can be viewed for free.

Broadcast

South Africa: Four New Pay-TV Players to Take On Multichoice

Multichoice, SA's largest subscription-based satellite platform, will see its decade-long exclusive control over the pay-TV market come to an end in the next few months after the announcement yesterday that four new players had been licensed to operate.

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) awarded broadcast licences to Telkom Media, On Digital Media (ODM), e.sat and Walk on Water Television, as well as incumbent MultiChoice, which had been told to apply for a licence to comply with new legislation. The announcement ends MultiChoice's monopoly and opens the market to competition and potentially billions of rands worth of investments in the broadcasting sector.

While there were originally 18 applicants vying for licences, Sentech made a surprise withdrawal of its application on Monday and Icasa said WorldSpace and Multichannel had withdrawn their bids earlier in the process. Sentech, which had applied alongside public broadcaster SABC, said it would release a statement regarding its withdrawal.

The authority did not give reasons yesterday why it had chosen these five players over the other 15 applicants, but said it would have these details available in the next three weeks, following public hearings that are set to take place next month . The specific conditions for the winning bidders' licences still had to be set, said Marcia Socikwa, one of the regulator's councillors. "The hearings, which start on October 1, will set out the terms and conditions for each licence in the country," said Socikwa.

Provided the licence holders did not ask for any extensions, they would probably be able to start broadcasting from December, but ODM, e.sat and Telkom Media are looking at next year. "We would like to be ready within the next 12 to 16 months," said Telkom Media chairman Connie Molusi. ODM CEO Vino Govendar said the company would launch its offering by the second quarter of next year.

E.sat did not give specifics beyond that it would launch next year.

ODM said it was "not surprised" by Icasa's decision, despite general speculation among analysts that the market would be opened up only to MultiChoice and one new player, due to space constraints.

Khulekani Dlamini, of Renaissance Specialist Fund Managers, said he had not expected such a high number, but said it was a positive move and was in line with Icasa's previous statements that it wanted to get as many players into the market as possible. "It's a positive move for competition in SA," Dlamini said.

Analyst Rajay Ambekar agreed the number was high. He said "there was no way the market would handle four satellite subscription companies" and it was notable that those that had been awarded licences, apart from Walk on Water, which he understood was only a single channel offering and not a full subscription offering, all had "very deep pockets".

Telkom Media has committed R7.5bn to developing its product offering over the next 10 years, while ODM has secured, together with its Luxembourg partner SES, R1,2bn to launch its product. E.sat has not disclosed how much it would invest, but through its holding company, Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI), Ambekar believes it would be able to sustain itself for "at least five years".

MultiChoice said it welcomed competition. It has ramped up its local subscription base by 140000 over the past year to 1,4-million subscribers. "It will also stimulate growth of the pay television market and ensure that consumers are provided with choice and more diversity of content" MultiChoice SA CEO Nolo Letele said.

Asked whether content would be an issue, ODM's Govendar said MultiChoice had "already reacted" by introducing its cheaper compact and DStv select products. He said "the fight will be fought over quality, the choice you give your viewers, and the affordability".

(Business Day (Johannesburg), 13 September 2007)

Zimbabwe: Radio Listeners', Television Licence Fees Go Up

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings has increased radio listeners' and television licence fees in a move which now requires rural listeners to pay Z$50,000 while their urban counterparts pay Z$200,000 a year.

Previously, radio and television licences cost Z$20 and Z$650 respectively. Early this year, ZBH suspended fee increases of Z$50,000 and Z$150,000 for radio and television respectively following a public outcry.

Then, the Ministry of Information and Publicity said the increases had been done without following procedures. According to Statutory Instrument 169 of 2007, Broadcasting (Listeners' Licences) (Fees) Notice 2007 published in yesterday's Government Gazette, those with both radio and television sets at home should now pay a combined Z$600,000.

Licences for company televisions is now Z$10 million per annum. The new approved licence fee for a car radio is now Z$1 million, up from Z$550. Companies are now required to pay Z$3 million per year for office radios while they are required to fork out $5 million for their car radios.

The new fees, it is hoped, will help the public broadcaster to improve the quality of its programmes, especially on television. Uneconomic licence fees which the national broadcaster has been charging had largely been blamed for the poor quality of programmes aired. In some countries, licence fees fund the operations of national broadcasters.

(The Herald (Harare), 8 September 2007)

Nigeria: Regulator NBC Shuts Down FM Stations in Jigawa

Eleven community radio stations established by the former governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, have been shut down for allegedly operating illegally without securing broadcast licences since 2004.

The State Commissioner for Information, Youths, Sports and Culture, Alhaji Mukhtari Muhammad Birniwa disclosed this to newsmen Wednesday in Dutse. He said the affected stations were shut down in compliance with directives given by the Commission.

The negative impact of the suspension of transmission in the local FM stations are being felt by the people at the grassroots as it has forced residents in the affected areas to shift patronage to other stations in neighbouring states.

The commissioner stated that in view of the development, government has concluded plans to re-align the management of the community radio stations with a view to streamlining the stations broadcast under the AM Radio Jigawa. According to him, all the stations would now serve as transmission outlets for the AM Jigawa Radio, which will be required to hook up to other programmes of the station. It would be recalled that sometime in 2004, the then governor Turaki, established the community FM stations with the intention of bringing awareness and enlightenment to the rural communities.

(Leadership (Abuja), 14 September 2007)

Zimbabwe: Gtv's Arrival in Zimbabwe Imminent

GTV'S arrival in Zimbabwe is imminent and it has already started advertising in the local media.

The little-known satellite broadcaster has become popular with football lovers after it won rights to screen 80 percent of the English Premiership games per season, including all the high-profile matches involving the traditional giants - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

It will also broadcast all the matches with a bearing on both the championship and relegation with an average of 10 live matches per weekend although they do not have rights over the other popular football competitions like the Uefa Champions League, La Liga and the English FA Cup. Gateway Broadcast Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gateway Communications, is the provider of the GTV satellite Direct To Home television service across sub-Saharan Africa. Gateway Communications is a leading satellite communications company serving African telecoms operators and corporations. GTV was founded by Julian McIntyre, who helped establish Gateway Communications in 2001.

In an advert yesterday, GTV representatives promised Zimbabweans that they would soon be available. "GTV is the official home of the Barclays Premier League. We are currently at advanced stages of making the world's premier sporting festival available to you.

"Look out for the exciting news coming your way soon, and get ready to bring the best of football to your home . . . at the most affordable subscription ever. This came amid reports that GTV services are already available in Harare where an agent is reportedly selling the GTV kit (satellite dish, decoder, remote control and smart card) for US$200 while a further US$35 will be required for a monthly subscription. GTV are currently legally operating in Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda but have grown popular in Africa after clinching television rights to screen 80 percent of the English Premiership matches in African countries outside South Africa and Nigeria.

MultiChoice, who used to beam 380 English Premiership matches a season courtesy of SuperSport in all the African countries they operate, have had their coverage reduced to just 80 matches for countries other than South Africa since the start of the season, a situation that will prevail until May 2010.

(The Herald (Harare), 8 September 2007)

Distribution

South Africa: Multichoice Defends Pay-TV Domain with content lock-up deals

With the long-awaited new pay-TV licences set to be announced on Wednesday next week, the only existing player in the South African market, MultiChoice, appears to be strongly defending its territory ahead of the increased competition.

"What do you expect?" asked analyst at Renaissance Asset Management Khulekani Dlamini in response to talk that the company had tied up content in exclusive deals with at least two major channel providers.

"The fact that MultiChoice was the first into this market is not enough, it was expected that they would do whatever it took to defend their space," he said.

It is thought that the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) brought the pay-TV licensing announcement forward because leaving it any later would give MultiChoice sufficient time to sign up a list of exclusive deals with channel content providers for its satellite broadcasting platform DStv.

But, according to MultiChoice spokesman Jackie Rakitla, "it's been business as usual" at Africa's foremost satellite broadcaster. "There will be some channels that do have exclusive rights and some that don't," he said. The company had not done anything "sinister" in the way it had secured channels.

GM of content Aletta Alberts echoed this, saying that while she could not give exact figures as to how many channels held exclusive rights, "it was high".

Contract terms were between three and five years and were dictated by the channel provider.

Rakitla said that tying channels into a long-term contracts was more difficult than it was made out to be.

"What you have to remember is that these channel providers are always looking for better agreements which give them more exposure."

Icasa has been overseeing the licensing process and the industry authority confirmed on Tuesday it would be issuing new licences to an unknown number of the 16 applicants next week. Originally, 18 applied for licences but two of the applicants, Worldspace and Multichannel, later withdrew their applications.

Analysts have predicted that no more than three competitors could play in the market simultaneously - for the time being - and even this could be too many.

"Aside from MultiChoice entering the market, I don't see there being space for more than one more player, unfortunately," said Dlamini. His money was on Telkom Media being that competitor. "This is really a money game and Telkom Media has deep pockets -- they've already announced that they would place R7,5bn into their offerings in the next five years," he said.

(Business Day (Johannesburg), 7 September 2007)

Angola: Cunene - TPA's Channel-2 Inaugurated in Ondjiva City

The city of Ondjiva, capital of southern Cunene province, has since this Monday morning the Channel-2 of the Public Television of Angola (TPA), a signal that was inaugurated by the provincial governor, Pedro Mutinde, in the light of the expansion of this throughout the national territory

The governor considered the act as a gain of the population and informed that his administration foresees to expand the signal to other regions of the province. The provincial Director of Media in Cunene, José Veyelenge said that the transmission signal reaches 35 kilometres to the outskirts of Ondjiva.

(source: Angola Press Agency)

Investment

South Africa: Sentech Pull-Out From Pay-TV Race a Puzzle

Sentech has yet to say why it withdrew its application for a pay-TV licence at the last minute, after releasing a "temporary" statement last week .

The state-owned broadcast signal distributor that partnered with the SABC in an attempt to obtain a pay-TV licence said only: "The decision to step out the pay-TV arena was a strategic business decision which will have no negative impact on Sentech's current business affairs, or future business affairs." It said it would continue with "business as usual", although the main stakeholders would be meeting next week to release a "more detailed statement to the media".

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) said on Tuesday that it had received the late notice from Sentech on Monday, just two days before the authority was to announce the finalists to the market.

"We were in final deliberations regarding the (pay-TV) decision and so we did not have the time to investigate Sentech's reasons for withdrawing," Icasa councillor Zolisa Masiza said yesterday.

The reasons were not given in Sentech's letter to the authority. But Masiza said Icasa would meet Sentech to find out why it had withdrawn. One concern regarding Sentech was the question of it being a signal carrier as well as a broadcaster.

Masiza said it still had to be established whether the new pay-TV broadcasters whose licence approvals were announced this week -- Telkom Media, MultiChoice, On Digital Media and e.sat -- would be required to set up their own infrastructure and would need an additional licence to do so, or whether they would be entitled to work off the infrastructure provided by other companies such as Sentech and Obicom.

This, Masiza said, would be raised at a meeting with stakeholders on September 25, before the Icasa hearings in October which would further outline the terms surrounding the new licences. Industry commentators speculated that Sentech's withdrawal was because it already knew it would not receive a licence as a result of the confusion surrounding this matter. But one analyst speculated that the decision might have been the result of Sentech not having had sufficient funds to enter the market.

It said earlier this week that it had reduced its losses in this financial year to R21.5m from R76m last year, after receiving a R95m shot in the arm to roll out the government's national move from analogue broadcasting to digital, which is due for completion in November 2011.

Sentech's satellite television offering, Vivid, is beamed into thousands of homes . One analyst said that because these viewers had paid a once-off fee for their decoders and satellite dishes, Vivid was not technically a pay-TV subscription broadcaster, so it was unlikely its viewers would be switched off.

(Business Day (Johannesburg), 14 September 2007)

Botswana: etv invests ‘millions of pulas’ to acquire GBC TV and goes national

Following a multi-million pula deal with South Africa's private television station etv, Gaborone Broadcasting Corporation (GBC TV) is prepared to go national and give viewers quality programming and content.

51 percent shareholder of GBC TV, Mike Klinck revealed prospects of quality programming and broadcasting national, after Sabido (Pty) Ltd a company that owns etv injected millions of Pulas as part of its 49 percent acquisition of GBC TV.

Klinck said the deal, which etv signed this April to acquire 49 percent of GBC TV has given the station an opportunity to grow and become the country's best free to air television in the country. "Not only that, the deals brings etv's inventory of dramas and sport programmes. There will also be training opportunities for GBC staff. As a result of this investment GBC TV is well capitalized to broadcast national," he said.

He said partnering with etv does not mean importing programs from the popular television. "Of course we will benefit from etv movies because theirs are always up-to-date," he pointed out. GBC TV Director explained that in terms of going national, GBC TV has applied for a national license from the Broadcasting Board. He said: "We applied for this license in September 2005, and it was understandable why the Broadcasting Board held it back. It was because we did not have resources to go national. Now that we have adequate resources, we hope in a few months, we will go national. There are enough resources to support expansion. There are exciting times ahead of viewers as GBC TV continue to be the best," he assured.

GBC TV General Manager Paul Beyl said at the moment, they are doing a market research to determine which programs would work for the local viewers. "We will soon be bringing new equipment in the next few weeks and building up our signal. State-of-the-art transmission center and audio-digital mix will be purchased. Other quality equipment will be bought to enhance quality at GBC TV. People will see the difference. We are in the process to have a national license so we broadcast national," he said.

Beyl has amazing 20 years of experience in the television industry. Before coming to GBC TV, he worked for SABC and MNet for about 6 years. He then went into freelance where he worked on television projects in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, the Emirates and Egypt. He worked for TV Africa as an Executive responsible for sport, planning for outside broadcasts and dealing with freelancers. He then worked for etv, where he spent seven months in Lagos, Nigeria working on etv projects. "I have to get GBC TV running. Viewers should be patient, because we have to work on a few operational things. In a few months, they will be happy," he said.

(source: The Voice)

More

Regulation & policy

Somalia: Police Forces Arrested & Terrified 14 Journalists, 5 Staffers of Shabelle Media Network

The National Union of Somali Journalists is powerfully denouncing the police's forced entry of the building of Shabelle Media Network, in which the police forces of the Somalia's Transitional Federal Government briefly arrested and terrified 14 journalists and 5 support staff, including the management of the Popular Radio.

This attack happened Saturday morning (15 September 2007) when the station's personnel were in their daily staff meeting. The police force accused the employees of the Radio of throwing a grenade to the police. According to Shabelle Management, the journalists and the supporting staff were released after nearly two hours and thirty minutes in detention and in awful condition.

"This police violence is completely intolerable, and we condemn this attack in strongest manner" said Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists. "It is unreasonable to suspect that journalists threw grenade to police force and it is clear indication of police brutality that severely threatens freedom of the media". "Leadership of Transitional Federal Government should take action to end such brutalities".

(National Union of Somali Journalists (Mogadishu), 15 September 2007)

Rwanda: Govt Officials Warn Journalists

Top government officials on Sunday accused Rwanda's independent press of undermining the government and threatened to force journalists to reveal their sources, according to local journalists.

During a four-hour state television broadcast on September 9 in the capital, Kigali, Interior Minister Sheikh Musa Fazil Harerimana said the government would hold reporters responsible for using leaked documents.

"If a journalist writes a story quoting a letter smuggled to him, he is equally liable to punishment," Mr Harerimana said. "He has to tell us who gave him the letter before his case is dropped." The programme featured a panel of government ministers and representatives from the security forces.

According to Rwanda's 2002 press law, the right to access or publish government documents "may be limited" when it comes to certain topics, including national security, but the scope is subject to appeal. The provision was intended to prevent the disclosure of sensitive strategic military information and government deliberations, according to Rwandan legal expert Francois Rwangampuhwe.

However, some media practitioners described the move as an attempt to bully the press. "We condemn this kind of blatant attempt to bully the press," said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director. "The government needs to recognise that the press cannot play its watchdog role without the use of confidential sources and documents."

The comment was related to a July story in a leading independent weekly, Umuseso, which cited documents related to a pay scandal involving Rwandan peacekeeping soldiers returning from the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur, Umuseso Deputy Managing Editor Furaha Mugasha said.

Finance Minister James Musoni, who has been the target of several critical articles by independent newspapers, accused the papers of collusion with "negative forces".

(The Monitor (Kampala), 13 September 2007)

Technology & convergence

Africa: Text Messaging Delivers News

Print newspapers must re-strategise if they wish to keep up with new information and communication technologies (ICTs) since their emergence is enabling citizens to access news long before media houses publish their newspapers.

Tanzanian blogger Ndesanjo Macha said this while delivering a talk on 'From Rock Painting to Mental Acrobatics' during the Digital Citizen Indaba (DCI) on Blogging held during the Highway Africa conference in Grahamstown, South Africa.

According to Macha who also doubles as editor for Global Voices, the future is with mobile phones, which, he added, are already in the hands of many citizens.

"Everyone is becoming a journalist today. With a mobile phone in your hand, you can record news events and text the same to your friends and newsrooms; or even better still download the same to a blog", said Ndesanjo.

"In June this year, a member of parliament in Tanzania passed away, at night there was a lot of mobile reporting, we were all reporters and by the time media houses picked the story, it was no news at all," said Ndesanjo.

He said bloggers are fully in charge of the social media and in the process share stories with citizens.

"The activity is a form of social and citizen media, bloggers find it difficult to keep to themselves information [because] they are storytellers and share stories as wide as possible," said Ndesanjo.

He stressed that blogs have become 'community spaces' where people in the diaspora can communicate with those at home. Nowadays, blogging is seen as a quirky activity that has been heralded for revolutionizing journalism.

Bloggers have taught mainstream reporters a lesson or two. Blogging played a pivotal role, for example, in the downfall of Trent Lott as Senate majority leader in 2002. The mainstream media might have missed Lott's remarks at Senator Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party, but outrage in the ever-growing "blogosphere" fanned the flames until newspapers and cable news took up the story.

Today the popular online service Blogger, which allows you to create a modest Weblog for free, has reportedly over a million users.

Bloggers have been compared to 19th-century pamphleteers and to the 17th-century British diarist Samuel Pepys. Though criticized by mainstream news columnists like the Boston Globe's Alex Beam, bloggers have gotten their revenge by picking their critics apart online. It is generally agreed that the godfather of present day blogging, is the Internet gossiper Matt Drudge, whose role in the Clinton- Lewinsky saga resembles the role of today's bloggers in Lott's demise.

(Highway Africa News Agency (Grahamstown), 13 September 2007)

Uganda: UTL's New Technology to Broadcast TV, Mail

Uganda Telecom's mobile phone subscribers will be able to watch television and read office mail from their cellphones once its 3G network is rolled out this year.

Uganda Telecom's (UTL) managing director Abdulabaset Elazzabi said the deployment of the first 3G network in November 2007, will enable UTL to enhance its network coverage in terms of capacity and service quality to Ugandans around the country.

3G refers to 'third generation' wireless communications technology. It delivers multimedia products across mobile communication devices to subscribers. 3G aims to deliver much higher data rates of up to 2 megabits per second over wide geographical areas.

"Uganda Telecom customers will be able to send and receive corporate emails so that they can stay in touch with office, watch television on their mobile phones wherever they may be, make video calls, send multimedia messaging, and carry out e-banking," said Elazzabi.

The announcement was made during a ceremony to sign a US$20 million contract between UTL and Alcatel-Lucent in Kampala. The contract will facilitate the expansion of its GSM/EDGE mobile network and the deployment of the first UMTS/HSPA network in Uganda.

Besides delivering multimedia services to subscribers, 3G will also enable affluent clients to monitor security at their homes courtesy of their home CCTV cameras, using 3G/EDGE mobile phones. It will also enhance the downloading of music and streaming of video from the internet.

Elazzabi said under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent would supply wireless network management system solutions and engineering tools: "Alcatel will also be responsible for network design and complete network integration and maintenance services." The deal is also expected to optimise the operator's transmission of voice and data traffic from the base stations to the core network.

Alcatel-Lucent's president for Europe said the new technology would enable UTL to offer world-class services to their customers and leaders attending the Commonwealth Summit in November in Kampala. The summit is expected to attract about 3000 foreign guests including ministers, politicians, businessmen, and around 1000 journalists - a group that will need to be able to communicate with their offices in various countries.

UTL's competitors MTN Uganda, which has the largest number of subscribers, is also upgrading its network coverage at US$50 million. This is aimed at increasing its capacity to handle heavy traffic and increase speed of data transmission. MTN subscribers are able to send picture messages and surf the internet using GPRS technology on compatible phones.

Celetel Uganda, the third operator recently rolled out One Office, an internet to PC product that can provide multimedia services at regional rates. Uganda's mobile subscription reached over 3 million in June this year.

(Biz-Community (Cape Town), 4 September 2007)

Events

Events

• 4th Abuja International Film Festival (25-28 September 2007)

The festival is a four- (4) day event with workshops and panel discussion featuring local and international filmmakers. Abuja has over the course of the last one-year demonstrated positive moves towards stimulating the film industry in this city and in this region. The festival has an expanded programme of panel discussions and workshops, an ambit of screening venues, the enriching presence of filmmakers, and of course a fantastic array of films which all contribute towards ensuring that the Abuja International film festival is a Cinematic celebration to remember.

Contact: Fidelis Duker
Phone: +23418110170
Email: info@nffo.org
Web Address: http://www.nffo.org

• Africa Broadcasting and Media Congress 2007

29 October - 2 November 2007 - Johannesburg, South Africa

The Africa Broadcasting and Media Congress is committed to improving technology, service and ROI in this rapidly evolving African market. Bringing together leading companies with senior decision makers and helping to drive African broadcasting and media into the 21st century and beyond.

By popular demand the Africa Media and Broadcasting Congress 2007 is proud to add an extra IPTV masterclass to the event. This separately bookable day will provide you with some essential insight into IPTV as well as its potential for the African continent.

For more information please visit www.terrapinn.com/2007/mediaza or contact Evashnee Pillay, Marketing Manager on +27 11 516 4016 or at evashnee.pillay@terrapinn.co.za

• IPTV World Forum Middle East&Africa

· 5-6 November 2007, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai

· The conference will focus on delivering multi-platform television over IP.

· For further information visit http://www.iptv-mea.com/

§ Internet Governance Forum (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – November 2007

§ Digital Consumer Lifestyle Expo (Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, SA) – 18th-20th April 2008

§ New Media Awards (@ Highway Africa Media conference) – 11th September, Rhodes University, Grahamstown

People

People

South Africa: Selection Process Tipped to Pick Qunta

Opposition parties have expressed concern that President Thabo Mbeki will likely use his power to appoint lawyer Christine Qunta as chairman of the SABC's next board after she made it onto the final shortlist of 12 names recommended by the National Assembly's communications committee.

The National Assembly will debate and approve the list tomorrow after which it will be sent for presidential endorsement.

Qunta, who was deputy chairman in the outgoing board, has been widely tipped to take over from Eddie Funde, who withdrew his nomination shortly before he was due to be interviewed at the end of last month.

Her short-listing was apparently vehemently opposed by the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions.

Parliament's communications portfolio committee yesterday approved the shortlist of 12 names from a list of 37 (drawn from 143 nominations) after an extensive period of interviews with each candidate.

Six current members of the SABC board, including Qunta, have been selected again, despite accusations that the board has been ineffective in maintaining the political independence and integrity of the public broadcaster. The others are Alison Gilwald, Andile Mbeki, Fadila Lagadien, Khanyisile Mkhonza and Ashwin Trikamjee.

The other six recommended by the communications committee are Nadia Bulbulia, Desmond Golding, advertising executive Peter Vundla, Bheki Khumalo, Gloria Serobe, and Pansy Tlakula of the Independent Electoral Commission.

Democratic Alliance (DA) communications spokeswoman Dene Smuts and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) communications spokeswoman Suzanne Vos said the hand of Mbeki supporters on the committee was clear in the choice of some candidates.

"This is a politically-partisan, pro-Mbeki board," Vos said.

Smuts opposed the selection of "Mbeki-supporting" Qunta on the grounds of her controversial views on freedom of expression and her interests in the Comforters Healing Gift company which promoted medicinal cures for HIV/AIDS.

Vos said that as head of the board's human resources committee Qunta had overseen 80 resignations during her tenure.

The ANC controversially did not propose ANC national executive committee member and former speaker of the national assembly Frene Ginwala.

The ANC and DA agreed on eight of the names, with the IFP approving seven of these and abstaining on the eighth, namely former presidential spokesman Bheki Khumalo.

(Business Day (Johannesburg), 12 September 2007)

South Africa: Chris Cramer for New Pan-African News Channel

Chris Cramer, former head of international channels for CNN, will take a leading role in the launch of the multimedia, all-news pan-African channel, A24, it was announced yesterday, Tuesday, 11 September 2007.

A24, due to be launched next year, will encourage intra-African dialogue by presenting relevant stories, told by African journalists, going beyond the norm of disease, poverty, and corruption.

A24 will explore investment, development, and trade, among other subjects - areas frequently ignored by the world's media. A24's programming aims to create economic opportunity and promote freedom and transparency among African nations by painting a new, exciting, picture of the continent.

Cramer, a respected global media executive who promoted coverage of Africa across CNN's programmes and channels, will become non-executive chairman of A24's Editorial Advisory Board once the channel gets start-up funding.

Comments Salim Amin, the channel's chairman and founder, "I am delighted that Chris had agreed to become part of Africa's most exciting media project," says Amin, 37. "Putting his experience with the BBC and, more recently CNN, to use for the African continent will help make A24 the African broadcast news leader. He has always been a strong advocate of African journalism and A24 will turn many of our mutual aspirations into reality."

Says Cramer, who retired from CNN earlier this year after 11 years running its international services, and who now has his own global media consultancy, "This is a bold and exciting venture and I'm happy to give it my support. What the continent needs is to have its own voice and A24, as conceived, will deliver that."

Cramer was principal sponsor of the CNN African Journalist Award and did much to promote African journalism during his BBC and CNN career.

A24's aim, over a period of time, is to open 46 two-person bureaux across Africa and in London and Washington DC. A24 will operate a multimedia platform to make it accessible to Africans through a range of distribution methods.

Streamed highlights of A24 content will be available on the Internet and video and audio podcasts will be created. The service will also tap into the growing mobile phone market in Africa. It is expected that in the next three years an additional 150 million people will have mobile phones on the continent.

Daniel Rivkin, A24's MD and co-founder, welcomes Cramer's input in the development of the channel. "Chris is a master of content. As we move towards launch, he will give the channel a clear sense of editorial direction."

Amin adds, "A24 will make a difference because it will create a new kind of voice - truly African, beyond local politics and prejudices, offering up-to-date information that will be accessible as part of the mainstream media."

(Biz-Community (Cape Town), 12 September 2007)

South Africa: Local Drama Star Makes Emmy Semi-Finals

Brenda Ngxoli, star of SABC1 drama series Home Affairs, has been selected as a semi-finalist in the Best Actress award for the International Emmy Awards 2008, it was announced end of last week.

In addition, Home Affairs was selected as a semi-finalist for Best Drama Series by a jury of leading international media experts from the Middle East, North America, Asia and Europe.

The final round of judging for an International Emmy Award nomination will take place at international television fair, Mipcom, in early October 2007, with the finals to be held in New York in November.

Produced by Penguin Films, Home Affairs is about a diverse group of South African women whose lives are linked together by the force of synchronicity as each undertakes a journey of self-discovery and reflection. It is a story about women, told primarily by women, with a talented creative team featuring women in key creative positions - producer, directors, writers, director of photography, production designers and cast.

"The success of Home Affairs, I think, is that it tells stories which reflect the diversity of millions of women in our country with pathos, complexity and humour, confronting head-long the challenges they face," says creative director and Penguin Films producer Roberta Durrant.

"That is has achieved international recognition is a big plus for the prestige and the acknowledgement of our television industry as being on par with the best in the world."

Brenda Ngxoli plays the role of Vuyo in Home Affairs (the second series was also nominated for an International Emmy Awards last year), alongside other stars including Nthathi Moshesh, Lerato Moloisane and Therese Benade.

(Biz-Community (Cape Town), 11 September 2007)

Jobs & Opportunities

BOTSWANA TELECOMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY
PRIVATE BAG 00495 GABORONE BOTSWANA
TEL: +2673957755
FAX: +2673957976 e-mail: info@bta.org.bw
website: www.bta.org.bw

BTA PUBLIC TENDER

PUBLIC NOTICE – INVITATION TO TENDER

1.Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) invites qualified companies with established reputation to tender for the provision of consultancy services for the development of a regulatory licensing framework for both television and sound broadcasting services in Botswana.

2. The main objective of the study is to develop a licensing framework and appropriate regulations for both sound and television delivered either through satellite, cable or terrestrial networks.

3.Interested companies may purchase the tender documents for a non-refundable fee of P1100.00 (VAT inclusive) as from 13th September 2007. Payment shall be made in the form of cash or a bank guaranteed cheque issued by a bank in Botswana and payable to Botswana Telecommunications Authority.

4.Tender documents may be purchased at:
Botswana Telecommunications Authority Offices
206/207 Independence Avenue,
Private Bag 00495
Gaborone, Botswana.

Tel: (+267) 3957 755
Fax: (+267) 3957 976

E-mail: info@bta.org.bw

5.The Tender will close on the 30th November 2007 or such later date and time as BTA may advise.

6.For more information, please contact Mrs Boipuso Kobedi, Senior Manager Broadcasting Regulation at: Tel +267 395 7755 or email address Kobedi@bta.org.bw

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