KELVIN KACHINGWE, Bel Ombre
MULTICHOICE Africa could not have chosen a better location for a showcase than Mauritius – the land of beaches, blue lagoons, dancing waves, seashells and the mini crabs which are quick to hide in their holes.
MultiChoice and Mauritius do have some similarities.
MultiChoice, the leading video entertainment service provider in Sub-Saharan Africa, having launched the first digital satellite service in the 1980s, provides multi-channel, multi-platform digital video entertainment services containing channels from Africa, America, China, India, Asia and Europe.
Mauritius, situated on the Indian Ocean island and first claimed by the Dutch in 1598 but now is considered to be part of Africa, is a harmonious multicultural nation whose immigrants came from Africa, India, the Great Britain, France and China, all bringing their different cultures and traditions when they settled on the island.
It was the perfect place to gather the who’s who of African entertainment and media for the second MultiChoice Africa content showcase extravaganza which was opened in spectacular style at the Outrigger Resort and Spa in Bel Ombre.
Bel Ombre is a venue that prides itself in blending the needs of the most sophisticated traveller with the charm and tradition of an early 17th century Mauritian sugar cane plantation.
Under the hashtag #OnlyTheBest, the showcase was a dynamic five-day content extravaganza, which saw a host of DStv’s biggest channels such as Sony, SuperSport, Zee TV, A+E, Disney, MTV Base, BET, Comedy Central, BBC and M-Net previewing their latest and greatest content, soon to be seen across the video entertainment services provider’s platforms.

For MultiChoice Africa, the content showcase was important.
It is why its chief executive officer Tim Jacobs made a promise to the guests that the video entertainment service provider will do all it can to make only the best content available to its subscribers on any platform, on any device and at any time.
“We believe television is an extremely powerful tool that can educate, entertain and inform. The evolution of this medium has become fast and furious and as a business, we are constantly evolving to stay ahead,” said Mr Jacobs during the official opening of the showcase that was dubbed ‘Night of a Thousand Stars’ event.
“MultiChoice’s business is built around three key pillars: people; content – in the form of great entertainment, news and sport – and the latest cutting-edge technology. Our mission is to ensure that our subscribers do not miss out on any of the stories, events or moments that are shaping our future.”
Having lauded the success of MultiChoice’s GOtv Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) offering, which currently operates in eight countries and has brought low-cost digital television to homes and supporting governments in freeing up vital broadcast spectrum by switching from analogue to digital signal, Mr Jacobs also acknowledged the challenges which the business faces.
“Our growth over the last 20 years has been a result of massive investments we have made in people, content and technology – but as with any business, not all of these investments or changes have hit the spot…. so we have from time to time re-evaluated our position and made changes to our strategies.
“At the end of the day, however, it is really our subscribers we have to thank for staying with us, trusting us to deliver the best television experience and customer service to make their experience world class,” Mr Jacobs said.
MultiChoice, whose parent company Naspers, a proud African company that provides pay-television, internet and print services across the world, was the first subscription television services available outside of the United States when it started its journey over two decades ago.
According to its latest stakeholder report, which was made available at the showcase, overtime, the company has grown exponentially across the continent, positively impacting the television production and creative industries while creating employment and small businesses in the 49 countries in which it operates.
MultiChoice Africa’s digital and DStv service features over 200 video channels in multiple languages and up to 65 audio channels, with a strong focus on-and-investment in local content.
Local content; now that was a hot topic at the roundtable meeting on Saturday morning with majority of media personnel from across Africa complaining that there was too much dominance by Nigeria and South Africa.
An explanation was duly given.
“M-Net’s vision is to create channels for each homogenous target market for Southern and Eastern Africa – be it by language, culture, taste or a combination thereof,” said M-Net regional director for East and Southern Africa and Lusophone countries, Theo Erasmus.
“With that in mind, we are proud to announce that we’re launching a new channel exclusively for Tanzania on October 1, called Maisha Magic Bongo. There’s also a new channel coming in Angola on October 11 on the DStv Premium base called Jango Luxo, and we’ll also be producing a local version of the international smash hit reality show, The Voice, there.”
So, how about Zambia!
“Our channel [Zambezi Magic] is only three months old, so we’re taking baby steps – but we’re also aggressive in our approach,” said Addiel Dzinoreva, the Zambezi Magic channel head.
“In the next month, from October, you’ll be seeing about eight new shows on our schedule. From Zimbabwe, we have a talk show called Tonight With Zororo, from Zambia, a lifestyle magazine entertainment show called Kumwesu, a new Malawian drama series called Choices, and a comedy sketch show from Botswana, Situations,” he said.
“In the near future, we’ll be commissioning movies from the SADC region, too.”
That is some good news for Zambian filmmakers and viewers.

In fact, the other good news is that MultiChoice realises its role on the continent.
“As pioneers in pay TV on the African continent, we have played an important role in making information and entertainment easily accessible. And as an African business, our investments have brought both social and economic benefits to the communities in which we operate – through access to information, job opportunities, partnerships, corporate social investment programmes and training,” Mr Jacobs said.
“We operate through a network of local partners, franchises and agents across the continent. This enables us to be sensitive to local conditions while ensuring that we work closely with governments and stakeholders in order to comply with the requirements of each of the countries in which we operate.”
So, there you have it, Zambia has been catered for.