BREAKING. StarTimes will be taking over TopTV; shareholders vote for StarTimes business plan, shutting out Wananchi and Dynamic TV.

TopTV will be effectively taken over by China's StarTimes already operating pay-TV services in several African countries and giving StarTimes and China with deep pockets its first - and very important - foothold in South Africa, the continent's most sophisticated, developed and lucrative satellite pay-TV market.



TopTV's television content partners threatened finally leave ODM if a deal

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BREAKING. SA's Got Talent back for its 4th season on e.tv and looking for contestants in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town in May.

Just like with Step Up or Step Out 3 there's no press statement or official media announcement from e.tv but SA's Got Talent on e.tv and produced by Rapid Blue is back for a 4th season and now looking for contestants.

The fourth season of SA's Got Talent will start later in the year on e.tv and nationwide auditions is taking place in May when varied acts will have to prove their mettle in

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TopTV must now register as a porn purveyor with the Film and Publication Board (FPB) for its trio of sex channels.

On Digital Media (ODM) which runs the struggling TopTV satellite pay-TV service in South Africa will now have to register as a porn purveyor broadcasting sexually explicit content says South Africa's Film and Publication Board (FPB).

South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) last week announced that ODM's application for

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SHOCKING. Old and ailing Nelson Mandela shown in 'exclusive' SABC footage on television; SABC comes across as highly exploitative.

YouTube/SABC

The SABC and SABC Television News bragged and showed the nation tonight its "exclusive" yet highly tabloidized and shocking visuals of an old, frail and ailing Nelson Mandela, clearly not in good health.

It is raising questions as to why only the SABC - and accompanied by ANC officials - were granted access as the only television and news outlet to film the elderly statesman

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The Originals as a spin-off teen TV drama of The Vampires picked up as its own new series.

The Vampire Diaries seen in South Africa on M-Net Series (DStv 114) is getting its own spin-off entitled The Originals which will become its own stand-alone drama series about vampires in New Orleans.


The spin-off of The Originals will revolve around the characters of Elijah (Daniel Gillies), (Klaus) Joseph Morgan and (Rebekah) Claire Holt.



"As soon as we saw last night's episode of The

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Dynamic TV makes a bid for On Digital Media (ODM) and its TopTV pay-TV service, with Dynamic TV backed by a loan from MultiChoice.

MultiChoice which operates the DStv satellite pay-TV platform, is giving R500 million in financial backing in the form of a possible loan to Dynamic TV, the new consortium of MSG Afrika and Falk Trading, which launched a last-minute bid to bail-out MultiChoice's pay-TV rival in South Africa, the struggling On Digital Media (ODM) running the TopTV pay-TV platform hovering on the brink of

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New SABC interim board of 5 people already one member down as possible conflict of interest swirls around dr Iraj Abedian.

The new interim SABC board of 5 members are already down to just 4 members, since possible conflict of interest exists around the appointment of the well-respected economist dr Iraj Abedian.

Dr Iraj Abedian has not attended any SABC board meetings as part of the new SABC interim board since the new interim board took over due to a possible conflict of interest.

The exact nature of what the

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BREAKING. New rival bid from a South African consortium for struggling ODM's TopTV; will now compete with China's StarTimes.

There is a new last-minute bidder for a stake in struggling On Digital Media's (ODM) TopTV satellite pay-TV business with a South African consortium comprised of Given Mkhari's MSG Afrika and Malose Kekana's Falk Trading who have entered a business proposal which will now rival China's StarTimes.



ODM is currently in business rescue since the end of October 2012 and the cash-strapped and

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REACTION. TopTV porn channels approval leads to widespread and mixed reactions after Icasa says ODM can start a separate porn bouquet.

A former TopTV subscriber showed how he crushed his TopTV decoder in this file photo from December 2011 when news first surfaced about TopTV's first attempt to start porn TV channels in South Africa. Reaction is once again widespread over TopTV's porn plans now given the go-ahead by the country's broadcasting regulator.


Reaction is widespread and mixed after South Africa's broadcasting

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BREAKING. Gavin Wratten and M-Net bringing Africa's Next Top Model to Cape Town; filming starts in August with 8 African models.

Africa's Next Top Model, an African version of Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model will start filming in Cape Town from August for M-Net and with Gavin Wratten as co-executive producer who is also the man behind the reality show Idols on the pay-TV broadcaster.

CBS Studios International sold the rights to America's Next Top Model and the show which will be named Africa's Next Top Model.

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RENEWED. Beauty and the Beast, Hart of Dixie both renewed for a second and a third season respectively.

Beauty and the Beast currently shown in South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) and Hart of Dixie seen on M-Net Series (DStv 114) have both been renewed in America for a second and a third season respectively.

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NO Freedom Day for me as a journalist in South Africa as The Secrecy Bill is set to become law and curtail my right to bring you the news.

It's called Freedom Day in South Africa today - but I as a journalist and editor trying to cover news, and real news, and to bring you the truth as I see it, the facts, and the stories which matter and influence the industry I write about, don't have the same freedom to report freely anymore.

The draconian ANC led government in South Africa ironically passed the Secrecy Bill two days ago in

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RENEWED. Revolution, Chicago Fire, Grimm, Parenthood and Law & Order: SVU all renewed for further seasons and 22 episodes.

The American drama series Revolution (M-Net Series), Chicago Fire (M-Net), Parenthood (M-Net), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SABC3) and Grimm (M-Net Series) have all been renewed for further seasons and all for 22 more episodes.

Missing is the new Hannibal (Sony Entertainment Television) which started this week in South Africa on DStv which started okay-ish and has now gone soft.

Also

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Chester Missing rips Iman Rappeti 'those earrings! It's like you've got your own satellite!', Jeremy Maggs and TopTV on NewsNight.

You're reading it here first. 

The famous puppet Chester Missing ripped into Iman Rappetti and Jeremy Maggs as the co-anchors of NewsNight on the eNCA (DStv 403) on Friday night when they interviewed the enfant terrible plasticine puppet and his always-around friend Conrad Koch.

Chester Missing is currently on tour in South Africa with Conrad Koch.

The delightfully abrasive and outspoken

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BACK TOGETHER. NewsNight's Iman Rappetti and Jeremy Maggs simply shine as primetime news' power couple on South African television.

They're back together. And they remain unequivocally brilliant: Iman Rappetti and Jeremy Maggs as the co-anchoring, duotelly-terrific pair of NewsNight, the flagship daily newscast on the eNCA (DStv 403).

After an absence due to an eNCA-sponsored fellowship to Duke University in North Carolina, USA and with Jeremy Maggs who suddenly also haphazardly disappeared and was off some nights, both

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BREAKING. Andrew Levy the new sports anchor on e.tv's Sunrise - confirmed today although I knew for 2 weeks already.

Another story I've been working for at least 2 weeks with no responses (e.tv tells me the email in Hyde Park  has mysteriously not been working) - with suddenly a press release (after I got no answers) announcing what insider sources told me weeks ago: Andrew Levy will be the new Sunrise sports anchor on e.tv's breakfast show.

Insider sources told me weeks ago that Andrew Levy has been

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Come Dine with Me South Africa on BBC Entertainment on DStv renewed for a 3rd season now visiting Port Elizabeth as well.

Yesterday I got word that there will be a third season of Come Dine with Me South Africa with sources which told me that a contract has been signed for a third series of the ITV Studios format show with a South African flavour - now today comes the official announcement that it is indeed the case.

Rapid Blue will once again be producing (which interestingly last month send me an invite to

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SABC pays news head Phil Molefe R2,2 million to stay home for a year after being suspended; suspended CFO paid R1,5 million.

Exactly a year after he was placed on "special leave" in April 2012 by the SABC pending a disciplinary hearing which constantly got postponed, the SABC's head of news and current affairs Phil Molefe got R2,2 million to stay at home.

Meanwhile the SABC payed its suspended chief financial officer Gugu Duda R1,5 million as well.

The minister of communications, Dina Pule, told parliament's

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BREAKING. Minister of communications, Dina Pule, suddenly blames e.tv and SABC for the hold-up of South Africa's switch to digital TV.

After ongoing multiple delays for more than a decade, little if any leadership from the department of communications which is support to lead and coordinate the process, South Africa's minister of communications, the embattled and scandal-ridden Dina Pule is suddenly accusing e.tv and the SABC for holding up South Africa's long-delayed switch-over to digital terrestrial television (DTT), a

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BREAKING. The colour purple (it's called 'Blackberry') comes to the Universal Channel as the channel refreshes its whole look.

The Universal Channel (DStv 117), the number one international entertainment channel in South Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform is changing its look, logo and slogan from 3 May with a brand-new beautiful purple circular logo design and the new pay-off line "100% Characters".

The Universal Channel run by Universal Networks International (UNI) which also runs the

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BREAKING. SABC blames pay-TV growth in South Africa for failure to meet performance targets and to reach viewership levels.

The SABC's CEO Lulama Mokhobo blames the growth in pay-TV in South Africa for the beleaguered South African public broadcaster ongoing failure to deliver on most of its targets, with the SABC once again set to fail miserably to meet the majority of its set targets, falling short of maintaining its set average TV audience and losing upper income viewers.

The past four years has been dismal

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BREAKING. Porn coming to South African television as TopTV's porn bouquet application is approved by South Africa's TV regulator.

South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has given the struggling South African pay-TV operator On Digital Media (ODM) currently in business rescue and on the verge of liquidation permission to start its separate porn bouquet of sex channels which will be broadcast in what is known as the "watershed" time period between 20:00

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BREAKING. 'Illegal' matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng shows up at SABC meeting at parliament; is asked to leave since he has 'no mandate'.

The matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng - removed as acting chief operating officer (COO) of the SABC by the SABC board although he never left and remained - stunningly turned up at parliament on Tuesday for the SABC's meeting with parliament's oversight body where the "illegal" Hlaudi Motsoeneng was told that he must leave because he "has no mandate to be there".




The SABC made no official

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Nonhle Thema's TV tell-all on Vuzu following the 1 000th episode of V Entertainment will likely not be that revealing.

Nonhle Thema is set for a supposed exclusive TV-tell all - the only problem is that it won't really be a tell-all.

The most important question that would-be viewers (who will have to sit down for this) would want to know, can't be asked, and won't be answered in the TV special.

Following this coming Wednesday's 1 000th episode of the weekday entertainment news magazine show V Entertainment on

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Plan underway for new TV show on Mzansi Magic to reunite Bob Mabena and Melanie Son for music programme playing Studio Mix videos.

An attempt is being made to reunite Bob Mabena and Melanie Bala (then Melanie Son) as co-presenters of a new music show on South African television which will play classic music video hits.

Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) could see Bob Mabena and Melanie Bala reunite as the presenters of a music show years after they were the faces of the iconic SABC1 music programme Studio Mix.

In a twist, the music

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Eco Fashion on Fashion One starting its 2nd season on 22 April; will include South African designers creating eco-friendly products.

Eco Fashion, the eco-friendly docu-series looking at environmentally aware fashion designers and and fashion creation, will start its second season on Fashion One (TopTV 179) on 22 April at 20:30 (South African time) and will include a look at South African designers as well.

Viewers will see indigenous fabrics, grass reed mats, cloth scraps and hand made beads made from dirt and even

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