MultiChoice Botswana Acting Managing Director, Lorato Mwape, last week launched its annual content showcase jam-packed with exciting content announcements. This year’s showcase had notable local flair as the event not only revealed hot new international DStv content but also gave a much-needed closer look into Botswana’s own, NOW! TV (DStv Ch 290).
The event featured updates from across the MultiChoice Group covering exciting additions to its already unrivalled entertainment and sports content offering as well as insights into how the company is innovating to deliver a world class customer experience. “This Content Showcase is a celebration of our past, our present and our future as Africa’s most loved storyteller. COVID-19 has presented us with many challenges in terms of the way we do things. However, we are very excited that this year, we get to have our Annual Showcase right here in Botswana as it allows us to incorporate local elements that are critical to our commitment towards promoting local content,” said Mwape.
“As a business we use the slogan #ReMoTeng to show our pride in being an entity by Batswana for Batswana. This encapsulates many aspects of our business from our workforce, to our contributions to the local creative industry through the MultiChoice Talent Factory initiative and of course our footprint. We are so pleased to be able to share all of this with local media.”
New productions, movies
Aligning with MCG’s mission to invest in local content as Africa’s most loved storyteller, M-Net has raised the bar yet again recently by adding more local scripted series to its line-up.
This includes a variety of new shows, including, Trackers, MCG’s first international co-production based on the book by South Africa author, Deon Meyer; Still Breathing; Legacy and Inconceivable.
New international channels and shows
A number of new international channels are coming to DStv including TLNovelas, the renowned English-dubbed Mexican telenovela channel; Timeless Drama Channel, big-budget series from Turkish producers in Istanbul and Anatolia; tvN, the best in Korean dramas dubbed into English; Kix, Asian action movies and cutting-edge reality shows, featuring the biggest Asian action icons and classic Kung Fu movies; ZooMoo, animal-themed shows for kids combining live animation, puppetry and a real-time app; and WildEarth, the only 24/7 channel that delivers authentic live and interactive safari experiences worldwide.
M-Net will continue to bring Hollywood’s latest series to Africa, first, beginning in September with the highly rated Mrs America with its A-list cast. Other hot new international shows on M-Net’s horizon include Legacy; The Good Lord Brid; The Undoing; The Equalizer; Lioness; The Bachelorette SA and Love Island South Africa.
The world’s best sport
MultiChoice Botswana announced a number of exclusive global football broadcasts coming this summer. Among these are the action-packed Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Serie A and LaLiga, on SuperSport. DStv is now officially the home of American sports in Africa, with two new channels – ESPN 1 and 2 – joining the existing ESPN channel offering.
Chasing the Sun, a SuperSport documentary produced in collaboration with the Springboks, and tells the rousing tale of their path to redemption and World Cup glory in 2019, debuts on DStv in September. The six-part documentary series premieres on M-Net on Sunday, 27 September 2020, concluding six weeks later on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Springbok World Cup win. The documentary will also air on Catch Up, kykNET, SuperSport and Showmax.
Growing local content
There were exciting testimonials from the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy’s Class of 2019 Botswana cohort, Lorato Orapeleng and Masego Mohwasa. The two ladies who returned to Botswana earlier this year due to the temporary closure of the Academy in Lusaka as a result of COVID-19, shared their experiences stressing the importance of branding local identity when creating local productions. “Many film industries tell stories that are authentic to the people and the audiences they represent. We as Batswana need to ensure that we identify our own unique brand when we tell our stories. This is how we will distinguish ourselves and capture audiences in the same way that Nollywood and Bollywood have captured their audiences,” said Mohwasa.
Masego and Lorato are due to return to Zambia in 2021 to complete their MultiChoice Talent Factory film productions. They are currently working on individual productions which they plan to pitch to DStv channels upon completion.
Speaking on behalf of NOW! TV, Channel Head, Gao Kwalate, shared the successes and challenges the government-funded channel has faced since its inception whilst also highlighting the positive impact that being on the DStv platform has had on the channel. “Since 2019 we launched on DStv, we have been able to have our local content reach more audiences in Botswana which is critical for the growth and improvement of our creative industry. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with MultiChoice Botswana and the MultiChoice Talent Factory to create localized learning experiences for the creative industry so that we can see our industry grow to a standard relevant to the rest of the region.”
Customer-focused innovation
MultiChoice Botswana also announced it will continue investing in digital technology to improve its customer service and the overall customer experience. Self-service apps like MyDStv enable customers to manage notifications settings for their payment history, change their subscription package, update their contact details and fix decoder errors using their mobile devices. New decoder functionality called Enhanced Decoder Notification (EDN) has also been introduced. EDN aims to address core subscriber communication issues, providing viewers with access to important subscription information, including rewards notifications, payable subscription amounts, and methods to avoid late payment and disconnection.
Everyday value
“Operating during this pandemic has created challenges for consumers and businesses alike, but we remain committed to providing our customers with the value that they have grown accustomed to over the years,” concluded Thembi Legwaila, Corporate Affairs Manager. “Our Realeboga Scheme has become more relevant now than ever, as it allows those who may have experienced unforeseen changes to their spending habits to still qualify for this loyalty reward whilst enjoying the entertainment that has kept us all going during this difficult time.”