The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.
This week’s BIG move: Media24 launches SNL24.com to unlock the middle market
Media24 is unlocking the South African middle market with the launch of SNL24.com, the new home for consumers of Media24’s sought after soccer, news and lifestyle content.
“SNL24.com is an umbrella site aimed at the rapidly growing middle market sample group made up predominantly from supergroups 3 and 4. It’s a first for South Africa and Africa,” said Minette Ferreira, general manager: news & lifestyle divisions at Media24.
SNL24.com includes three heavyweight titles: Soccer Laduma, KICKOFF and Daily Sun. It brings together a complementary collective of brands aimed at the middle and upper middle markets. SNL24.com targets a potential digital audience of 3.7 million and combined with the established print audiences of 2.1 million within this collective, offers a comprehensive, integrated, and multi-platform communication opportunity for brands.
Media24’s latest product consolidates a highly sought-after advertising audience and allows for deep brand collaboration. Register here,
SNL24.com went live on 11 September with redesigned versions of Soccer Laduma, KICKOFF and Daily Sun, featuring the best stories from all three brands on the SNL24.com home page. Browsers can navigate each brand’s site individually or together within the SNL24 ecosystem. A multiplatform registration drive encourages readers to sign up to comment on stories, view traffic updates and weather reports, save stories and subscribe to newsletters.
“Media24 is perfectly positioned to develop this exciting new initiative,” said Ferreira. “Influential and trusted brands with existing audiences, innovative tech and the support of the group will ensure its success.”
People moves
Tribeca injects new blood into content team with two appointments
Tribeca Public Relations (Tribeca) has recently welcomed two new members to its content team, Zweli Mokgata as head of content and Yolisa Mkele as a content account manager.
The two seasoned journalists join experienced content strategist Sumaya Ismail, to drive the agency’s content development growth ambitions, including the delivery of traditional writing services as well as specialised, digitally-enabled projects in an evolving media landscape.
Zweli, who returns to Tribeca after working in the agency between 2016 and 2019, brings a depth of financial journalism experience, having written for leading business publications like Business Day, Financial Mail and Business Times, as well as years of agency exposure. Yolisa has almost 10 years as a wordsmith, most of that time being spent writing for the Sunday Times as a lifestyle journalist, along with several online publications and agency time.
“As Tribeca embarks on a new wave of growth, we are excited to bring in new energy of diverse writing backgrounds and styles,” said managing director, Nicky James. “With the strong journalistic backgrounds that Zweli and Yolisa bring, we are looking to offer more than just a writing service to our clients, but an insightful news advisory and media analysis function, elevating their brands through content that audiences will find compelling.”
Renowned business Guru Nzinga Qunta joins HOT 102.7FM line-up
Johannesburg’s newest commercial radio station HOT 102.7FM has bolstered its on-air team with the appointment of experienced journalist Nzinga Qunta as the station’s new business anchor and host of HOT Business.
Qunta has been in broadcasting for 15 years, including stints at TV station ANN7 and talk radio station Power 98.7, while more recently she anchored the SABC TV News flagship business news show, OnPoint.
“I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to attract a business anchor of the quality of Nzinga to HOT 102.7FM,” said Lloyd Madurai, managing director of HOT 102.7FM. “As a music station playing the best ‘Old Skool’ and R&B, the music remains our priority, but it’s equally important that we produce news, business and sports content of an incredibly high standard, ensuring our listeners remain with us and never need to change the dial. Appointments such as Nzinga’s support that.”
Qunta is also an experienced and in-demand event host and moderator with a focus on business, entrepreneurship and innovation, and has enjoyed a 2022 that has included a number of highlights – most notably, the opportunity to facilitate discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“I just love the HOT 102.7FM approach to news, sport and business, which is unique, fresh and complements the station’s style,” said Qunta. “I can’t wait to put my own stamp on HOT Business and bring the HOT 102.7FM listeners a different take on a business radio show.”
Popular Algoa FM presenter to go solo
Algoa FM Drive Show co-host Roch-Lè Bloem is going solo to host the week-day morning show from nine till 12. She has been hosting The Drive with Roland Gaspar for the past four years.
“I’m looking forward to being a part of the conversation each morning. There will obviously be lots of music, fun and the ‘Roch Spice’ but I’d like to bring more than just chit chat to the show,” she says.
“After the pandemic and with all the challenges we have faced, I feel like it’s time to change the narrative. It’s time to shine, to conquer, and to walk and live in our power.”
Bloem replaces radio all-rounder Mio Khondleka, who has been appointed programme manager at Algoa FM following the departure of Baydu Adams who decided to follow family and business interests in Cape Town.
“It is a great opportunity to leading a wonderful team, what we call our champs. These are exciting times,” he said.
Khondleka, who rejoined Algoa FM nine years ago together with his wife Queenie, was first appointed Algoa FM programme manager in 2012.
PHD appoints first EMEA CEO
PHD Worldwide has appointed its first EMEA CEO and chief client officer.
Toby Hack has been promoted from CEO of global business to EMEA CEO. He will manage PHD’s European client hub and be based in London, reporting to Guy Marks, Omnicom Media Group (OMG) EMEA CEO and Philippa Brown, worldwide CEO at PHD.
Hack first joined OMG agency as managing director of PHD Australia in 2010.
Netflix announces 54 beneficiaries of its Creative Equity Scholarship Fund in Southern Africa
Netflix has announced the Southern African recipients of its scholarship initiatives in Southern Africa. The scholarship includes the Netflix Creative Equity Scholarship Fund (CESF) and the BLM Postgraduate Scholarship Programme which were both established in the past year to provide financial support to African creatives to access quality tertiary education in film and TV-focused disciplines..
The Netflix Creative Equity Scholarship Fund celebrated the inaugural cohort of 54 beneficiaries from five countries (South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Zambia) studying across four provinces in South Africa in the Western Cape, the Easter Cape, Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal, at a ceremony held at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).
SAMRO urges members to vote for more women and youth onto its Board.
Management of the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) is calling for board nominations. It wants members to take a firm stance in advocating and ultimately voting for more women and youth to serve on the organisation’s board of directors.
With only one of the 11 SAMRO board members being a woman, and hardly any in the younger generation, SAMRO is calling on members to make an effort in remedying the situation.
Based on SAMRO’s Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI), members get an opportunity annually to rotate a third of the board members by voting in new composers and publishers as directors who oversee the activities of management with a particular focus on governance and strategy.
With the call for board nominations closing on 04 November 2022, Nicholas Maweni, said: “Members are being presented with an opportunity to change the make-up of the Board at the upcoming Annual General Meeting and by voting, they get to become the change they want to see.”
Business moves
WWE & Multichoice expand & extend media rights partnership in Sub-Saharan Africa
WWEand MultiChoice have announced a major broadcast partnership that will see streaming service Showmax become the new home of WWE Network in Africa.
The partnership incorporates all WWE Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, as well as WWE Network’s vast library of original and archived programming available to stream on-demand.
Additionally, SuperSport, the sport broadcasting subsidiary of video entertainment platform MultiChoice, will continue to broadcast live weekly episodes of Raw, SmackDown and NXTas well as all of WWE’s Premium Live Eventsin a multi-year extension.
The weekly programming will continue to be broadcast 52 weeks a year, captivating fans with a unique combination of edge-of-your-seat action, unpredictable drama and world-class athleticism. SuperSport recently launched a brand-new localized WWE content series called JAMBO WWE, and the expanded WWE and MultiChoice partnership will see additional partnership initiatives leveraging WWE IP announced during the term.
“Showmax Pro is the market leader and a perfect home for WWE content,” said Matt Drew, WWE senior vice president, international. “By delivering our premium live events including WrestleMania, we believe this partnership will expand our audience and deliver even more to WWE fans throughout the region.”
Barry Dubovsky, Chief Operating Officer at MultiChoice Connected Video, added: “Adding WWE to the Showmax platform is an exciting development that we know our entertainment and sport-loving African subscribers are going to enjoy, making WWE even more accessible and affordable.”
M&C Saatchi Abel launches free publication to tackle South Africa’s growing wisdom gap
Brought to you by M&C Saatchi Abel, INTUITION, a Force-for-Good initiative and free publication developed with South Africa’s young entrepreneurial business set in mind, is full of practical and empowering wisdoms from some of our country’s greatest business success stories to form an inspiring handbook for tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and business leaders. INTUITION is the first of its kind effort aimed at inspiring South Africans to take practical steps to better themselves.
South Africa’s talent of tomorrow is facing a growing globally competitive knowledge gap that is leaving many people without the skills to effectively step into their roles as future business leaders and entrepreneurs. These are not traditional skills that can be found in a textbook, but rather life lessons – advice, insights, pearls of hard-earned entrepreneurial wisdoms – to form the crucial cornerstone that shapes critical thinking and approaches to future business success. The country is renowned for its ‘can do’ attitude, what is often missing is the ‘how to’.
This was the driving force behind M&C Saatchi Abel’s decision to create INTUITION, a publication made up entirely of relatable human experiences, inspiration, wisdom sharing, and enduring values and thoughts put together from drawing on the experience and learnings of some of South Africa’s leading business successes. From Sherwan Williams of Nando’s South Africa to Kholisa Thomas of Aspire Art, INTUITION features interviews, profiles, deep-dives and forecasts on everything from finance to fashion, energy and entrepreneurialism, creativity, art, sport and social activism.
The publication – the first of what is hoped to be many editions – was brought to life by a team of industry and business co-collaborators with curated content aimed at enabling a future generation of critical thinkers. Filled with real-life lessons and learnings gained from each contributor’s own unique success journeys, it inspires a narrative that the future is not scripted, but rather a destination that can be chosen.
“So many in our country have access to sporadic wisdom sharing, leaving a deficit in generational wisdom skills that can’t be addressed through traditional skills development,” said Mike Abel, executive chairman at M&C Saatchi Group South Africa, “By striving for a shared economy that includes life stories and learnings from successful entrepreneurs, creatives or experts in various fields for those who may be starting out, or considering their future possibilities, we can give our future business leaders a mixture between a study guide, a life skills ‘cheat sheet’ and a masterclass all condensed into one.”
Channel celebrates refreshed look and local content
The Walt Disney Company Africa has announced new short-form local content for Disney Channel (DStv Channel 303), as well as a content slate that is chock-full of new and exciting content from animation to live-action.
Production is underway for the first-ever Disney Africa YouTube series, a complementary extension of Disney Channel’s television offering, that features two local, young presenters Zimi (12) and Mnqobi (10) Ndlela. The series will focus on Disney news, highlights, reviews, trending topics, craft activities and field trips in and around the country. Audiences can expect exclusive behind-the-scenes and interviews, coupled with fun and adventure, which will no doubt please young viewers.
Inspired by Disney Channel’s core values of entertaining, informing, and inspiring children across the globe, My Magic is Me returns to the channel early next year. The initiative aims to strengthen the narrative of self-acceptance and celebration of diversity among young children while celebrating their magic and what makes them uniquely themselves.
“The Walt Disney Company Africa is focused on making our audiences feel even more a part of our channel through our content offerings and both the YouTube series and My Magic is Me are prime examples of that purpose. We are especially thrilled to be bringing a new season of My Magic is Me, simply because it’s the kind of content that gives South African kids from all backgrounds a platform to express themselves and be celebrated for their unique individuality,” said Christine Service, Senior Vice President and Country Manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa. She adds that Disney Channel will continue to entertain kids, while empowering and teaching them as they explore the world around them.
Masterson Communications completes two-year ‘Tamreen’ educational tool kits content project for the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar
The Tamreen Tool Kit project was a collaboration between Cape Town-based Masterson Communications and Qatar digital agency A101, for the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), a semi-government organisation tasked with hosting the 2022 World Cup, under the auspices of the Qatar Ministry of Education.
Working remotely, Masterson Communications compiled more than 35 tool kits over two years in English and Arabic, for use in Qatari schools to promote the Middle East’s first FIFA World Cup. The Tamreen Tool Kits were aligned with the Qatar school curriculum, ages ranged from 8 to 18, and included tool kits aimed at students with cognitive abilities. The project scope covered project management, consultation, strategy, research, copywriting, creating quizzes, copy editing, fact checking, translation and proofreading.
The Tamreen Tool Kits spanned a range of subject matter, including the history of football and the world cup, learning leadership, community, stadium design, tourism and worker welfare.
“Compiling these tool kits was a great opportunity for our team to flex our content and project management capabilities, compile custom tool kits, produce material for an educational project and service a high-level corporate international client,” said Masterson Communications director Miles Masterson.
“The Supreme Council was highly satisfied with Masterson Communications’ work, which was professionally executed, delivered on time and within budget,” said Charles Vincent, managing partner at A101. “We have worked on a number of similar projects with Miles and his team and could not recommend them more highly for these kinds of assignments.”
To view the tool kits go to www.tamreen.qa/en/
Making moves
SuperSport invites viewers into DStv’s greatest stadium in sport
SuperSport and DStv are gearing up for the most ambitious FIFA World Cup of them all. With just under three weeks to go, sweeping broadcast plans were announced today for the 22nd tournament, taking place in Qatar from 20 November. The multi-platform offering will encompass all 64 matches and include 4K broadcasts, customised language options, an array of supplementary programming, various catch-up options, top guests and analysts and streaming choices. SuperSport has undertaken recces to Qatar in anticipation of the year’s most anticipated sporting event and will have an embedded crew reporting from the heart of the action for the duration of the event.
“Given the convenient kick-off times and the big-name teams, we are anticipating a massive television event,” said Marc Jury, chief executive of SuperSport. “This is far and away the biggest FIFA World Cup we are planning with a wealth of content supplemented by great guests and different viewing options. The entire viewing experience will set new standards for broadcast excellence.” Unveiling plans today, MultiChoice executives detailed several elements that would contribute to making the 2023 World Cup a first-class viewing experience.
SuperSport will have an array of acclaimed presenters and analysts to break down the action and set the scene for what is to come.Live match anchors will be the well-established trio of Julia Stuart, Thomas Mlambo and Mozez Praiz, while former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke and Carol Tshabalala will work the microphone directly from Qatar.SuperSport will draw from its esteemed roster of local talent for live match analysis, namely Bongani Khumalo, Stanton Fredericks, Kalusha Bwalya, Phumudzo Manenzhe, Teko Modise and Amanda Dlamini.International guests include an array of former African and European stars: Jay Okocha, Asamoah Gyan, Gaizka Mendieta, Owen Hargreaves, Michael Owen and Jaap Stam.With vernacular commentary options available for the World Cup, there will be exopert analysis from Zama Masondo (isiZulu), Veli Khumalo (isiZulu), Phumlani Miya (isiZulu), Reggie Ndlovu (isiZulu), Baba Mthethwa (Sesotho), Arnold Rankoko (Sesotho), Maphale Moloi (Sesotho) and Tshepo Maimane (Setswana).
In what is expected to be a digitally-led World cup, SuperSport will be partnering with a number of global social platforms as well as FIFA’s team to take fans inside the tournament like never before. Coverage will extend from the dressing room all the way to behind-the-scenes of SuperSport’s Randburg studio operation. There will be interactive debates on Twitter, live spots on TikTok as well as full match coverage on all the major social networks.
Jacaranda FM & Panda Create A #SafeSpace For Men’s Mental Wellness Drive
This Men’s Health Month Jacaranda FM has partnered with Panda, a tech-based platform that aims to give everyone access to resources that provide mental health support.
Eighty percent of South Africans who need mental health support are unable to access it easily, according to Cassey Chambers of the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG). The statistics are even more alarming when it come to South African men. According to World Health Organisation, South Africa has the second highest rate of suicide in the world, just a fraction behind Russia.
Of the 13 774 suicides reported in South Africa in 2019, 10 861 were men, while 2 913 were women. These figures highlight South Africa’s urgent need for intervention and resources to support everyone, but especially men.
“Jacaranda FM speaks to around 1,5 million listeners weekly, of those listeners, 50% are male. We wanted to develop a campaign that could create immediate impact for our male community and after much consideration, we asked Panda to partner with us,” said Deirdre King, managing director of Jacaranda FM.
#SafeSpace aims to break the stigma attached to asking for help or support by empowering men with the tools offered in the Panda app.
The Panda app is available on the Apple and Android app stores. Search for ‘Join Panda’ to download the app, click here to register for free, or visit www.JacarandaFM.com for more information.
SACO’s economic reset on the cultural and creative sector
In partnership with the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture, the conference is intended to bring together local and international thinkers, academics, and key industry stakeholders, including funders (current and potential), cultural practitioners, and artists to share experiences and insights about what and how the industry can rebuild, consolidate and innovate in order to grow and support sustainable livelihoods for the cultural practitioners and the South African creative sector.
The South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) announced an exciting international line-up of speakers for the upcoming 4th SACO International Conference. Headlining the speaker line-ups are the world-renowned critical theorist and social scientist, the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, and Professor Homi K. Bhabha who will deliver the keynote speech. Under the theme “Creative economy reset: Structuring the creative and cultural industries for a sustainable and inclusive future”.
