The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: Big win for DStv subscribers as MultiChoice Group and The Walt Disney Company Africa bring Disney+ to subscribers
The MultiChoice Group has announced that it will bring Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, Disney+, to DStv subscribers in South Africa.
Disney+ will launch in South Africa on 18 May 2022 and will be available to DStv subscribers via the Explora Ultra decoder on the same day.
Disney+ is the dedicated streaming home for some of the world’s most loved stories alongside an ever-growing collection of exclusive originals, including feature-length films, documentaries, live-action and animated series, and short-form content.
Christine Service, Senior Vice President and General Manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa, said: “This is yet another proud milestone in our partnership with the MultiChoice Group. We are delighted to be collaborating to bring South African DStv subscribers access to Disney+’s incredible catalogue of films, series and exclusive content.”
MultiChoice is continuously innovating to enhance the viewing experience for its customers in order to bring them the best in local and international content.
“In line with our business objective of adding value and enhancing our ecosystem, we are focused on making sure that all our customers can enjoy their favourite shows and movies anywhere, anytime, on our world-class platforms,” said Calvo Mawela, Group CEO of MultiChoice. “The digital world has brought with it fundamental shifts and our customers are looking for convenient access to a portfolio of entertainment options. MultiChoice’s partnership with Disney+ leads with an expanded choice of content, ease and convenience of subscription and payment, with the DStv Explora Ultra as an enabler.”
People moves
SABC congratulates Noxolo Grootbroom on her honorary doctorate from Nelson Mandela University
The South African Broadcasting Corporation has congratulated legendary television news broadcaster Noxolo Grootboom, who was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the Nelson Mandela University.
According to the university, “The honorary doctorate is awarded in recognition of her invaluable work and contribution to journalism, media and communication, as well as her upliftment of the linguistic heritage of South Africa”.
Deidre Uren, Acting Group Executive: News and Current Affairs, stated, “This is yet another accolade which celebrates her contribution and role in delivering news to the South African public, through the isiXhosa news on SABC 1. In her 37 years at the public broadcaster, Ms. Grootboom was known for her work ethic, commitment to her job, as well as the development and use of isiXhosa as a language within the context of news story telling”.
Ms. Grootboom has left a legacy within the SABC’s newsroom in terms of the people she mentored and inspired and the high standard she set in delivering news.
Business moves
A+E Networks Africa closing Lifetime Africa channel
A+E Networks Africa is closing its Lifetime Africa channel, on both linear and non-linear platforms, on 31 May 2022. This follows the closure of Lifetime in Great Britain, Ireland and Malta and will coincide with the shutdown of the channel in Poland.
Lifetime Africa has entertained audiences with international hit shows like the Little Women franchise, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, Surviving R. Kelly, and Lifetime original movies. We are proud to have brought audiences local shows such as Married At First Sight, Love At Second Swipe and Four Weddings South Africa. We have been delighted to have worked with local celebrities like AKA and Pabi Moloi.
A+E Networks Africa’s History channel is still available on DStv 186 and Crime + Investigation Play will remain active in the region.
NFTs to revolutionise the way creatives can create an income in the digital world
Non-fungible tokens – or NFTs – could help South African creatives better control the rights to their intellectual property, give them access to a broader market and improve their earnings.
This is according to John Singh, non-executive director of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) and chair of the IITPSA Blockchain Special Interest Group.
Singh explains that NFTs use cryptocurrency blockchains to log and authenticate ownership of digital content ranging from music and videos to art and photographs.
“NFTs are revolutionising the way people do business and exchange goods and value,” he says. “NFTs may be very hyped and sometimes hard to get your head around right now, but at ground level, it’s a normal social concept where communities create value amongst each other.Hundreds of thousands of struggling artists trying to get a break can now use NFT platforms to exchange and sell their art and make a living.”
While NFTs may not seem tangible, Singh notes that the digital world is an increasingly important one. “With internet and social media acceleration, you see exponential growth in crypto adoption, which is growing at double digits every year. Along with huge adoption, we see new software and innovation coming out of it at a very quick pace.”
Singh says NFTs offer opportunities for South Africans to invest and earn money. “It has become easier to generate an income in areas like art and music on these platforms, because the middlemen aren’t there. You do have to have good work and be able to market yourself, however.”
ShopFully and Tiendeo join forces to create a leading international player in Drive To Store
ShopFully and Tiendeo, two of Europe’s most innovative technology companies in the Drive to Store sector, have announced a transaction that has created a new, leading international player to further reinvent local shopping.
Tiendeo, a Spanish company based in Barcelona and one of the leading European Drive to Store players, is joining ShopFully.
This acquisition aligns with European tech company ShopFully’s strategy to scale up its platform and accelerate its global expansion.
This transaction creates a combined group that is present in 12 countries, has a network of 45 million active users and partners with over 400 of the world’s best-known brands and major retailers.
ShopFully and Tiendeo, two of Europe’s most innovative technology companies in the Drive to Store sector, have today announced a transaction that has created a new, leading international player to further reinvent local shopping.
Making moves
Black Wolf Youth Agency helps to create job opportunities for SA youth
As South Africa recovers from the devastating effects of the pandemic, corruption and more, Statistics South Africa has reported that 35 in 100 South Africans are unemployed while youth unemployment sits at a staggering 66.5%. This is why marketing technology firm Black Wolf Group has dedicated the last four years to youth development and training with their Black Wolf Youth Agency, a non-profit division within the company.
Officially founded in 2020, Black Wolf Youth Agency is the official strategic partner to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), specifically within the institution’s marketing and work-integrated learning department. The agency operates as an education solutions hub, providing training, mentorship, and placement to university students and graduates from across the country. In collaboration with CPUT, it recently launched its marketing society, which exposes students to industry leaders through online and offline events. The launch of the marketing society took place from 4-8 April and saw more than 170 students receive guidance and insight on their career paths.
“Unemployment has risen steadily over the last few years and the micro and small business sector provides a great foundational incubator for skills training,” said Sven Wolf, MD. “We are not unaware of the many barriers of entry to the workforce, especially in larger corporates, which is why all our programmes support the learning journey with a focus on training and development within the marketing discipline.”
Currently, the youth agency offers programmes in work readiness, where it partners with universities and businesses to provide brand marketing challenges that form part of the curriculum and are assessed for marks; learning management systems in partnership with human resource departments, where youth are taught culturally relevant learning techniques that can be used across scalable online training platforms; and training and mentoring for graduates, who are given opportunities to service real clients. The agency furthermore partners with industry professionals to provide free coding classes for young marketers interested in expanding their 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution) skills.
The agency currently counts PRIMI, Reebok, and TEDxCapeTown as partners in this initiative, and is open to further collaboration with like-minded organisations and brands looking to address the youth unemployment crisis head-on and bridge the gap between skills training and experience.
Introducing The Cav’ Platform Dialogue Forum brings in-depth discussion to the animation industry
The first Cav’ Platform Dialogue Forum is set to take place on Friday 29 April 2022, at a hybrid event at the Radisson Red in Rosebank, Johannesburg, and kicks off the series with a focus on incubators as a model for transformation.
Titled ‘Innovating in the incubator space through hybrid models’, this dialogue considers the current ASA incubator ‘Road to Commercialisation – Broadcast Readiness Incubator’, headed up by ASA’s Isabelle Rorke. This dialogue will explore how the ASA incubator has impacted the candidates and how this model can be expanded for greater transformation through entrepreneurial and general skills development for sustainable job creation. The event will also be live streamed through the Animation SA and Cav’ Platform Facebook groups.
Event details for the first Cav‘ Platform Dialogue Forum in Johannesburg:
Date: 29 April 2022
Venue: Hybrid Event, Radisson Red (Rosebank)
Time: 4 – 7pm
Ticketing info: RSVP to Michelle – events@animationsa.org
The second Dialogue Forum is set to take place during the Durban Film Mart in July and the final Dialogue Forum will take place at the Cape Town International Animation Festival in August.
All three Dialogue Forums form part of the greater conversation ASA continues to have within the animation and gaming industry, seeking greater transformation and more opportunities for South African animation and gaming professionals on home soil.
Lamar, Outfront and Clear Channel confirmed to present at Toronto 2022
The three giants of the US out of home industry – Lamar, Outfront Media and Clear Channel – are presenting at the World Out of Home Organization Global Congress in Toronto. The Congress runs next month from 25-27 May.
Lamar’s CEO Sean Reilly will share their unique culture and history, its role in a rapidly changing media landscape and the differences between the US market, still the world’s biggest, and other international markets.
Outfront Media’s CEO Jeremy Male will present in tandem with Ryan Laul, head of Omnicom’s OmNet principal-based media agency and the former President of Omnicom’s Outdoor Media Group. Male and Laul will discuss the unique role OOH has to play in delivering advertisers’ business investment and productivity goals.
Scott Wells, recently appointed CEO of Clear Channel Worldwide, will discuss the march of digitisation and how a digital approach to all OOH inventory, not just those with digital screens, can help the industry aim higher and capture bigger budgets, with examples from across the consumer lifecycle.
WOO President Tom Goddard says: “Out of Home is unique in that it is a local, national, regional and global medium and we can all learn from the experience of others, especially, as in this case, the leaders of three of the very biggest OOH companies in the world.
“We are very fortunate in securing Sean, Jeremy, Ryan from Omnicom and Scott who will give us a unique insight into the very top echelons of our industry and open our minds to a challenging but exciting and dynamic future.”
CLICK HERE FOR THE CONGRESS PROGRAMME OVERVIEW AND TO REGISTER FOR CONGRESS
Diary
The Arts & Culture Trust announces an open call for the Nyoloha Scholarship Programme, proudly supported by Nedbank, Sun City and Sun International.
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Nyoloha Scholarship Programme (NSP) is a partnership between ACT and Nedbank Arts Affinity. Their goal is to create an opportunity to fund higher education for young South African performers and visual artists.
In 2022 it welcomed Sun City as a new partner and as the host for the Road to Sun City scholarship journey, as well as returning sponsor and partner Sun International, in supporting the national roll-out of the ACT NSP.
The ACT invites school leavers and young people who want to study towards a performing arts degree and pave their way to a sustainable future. The open call goes live on www.act.org.za on 26 April 2022 and will run for four weeks until 22 May 2022, when applications close.
Online applications are open nationwide to grade 11 and grade 12 learners, as well as young people up to 25 years. To qualify, applicants must have achieved a university exemption. The categories are visual arts, singing, dancing and acting. Parental or guardian consent and a registration fee of R100 is required to register for the national auditions. Auditions will be held via Zoom in June 2022.