BIG BROTHER AMPLIFIED: KAREN AND WENDALL WIN USD200 000 EACH!

After outlasting 24 other Housemates over 91 days, the duo of Karen and Wendall scooped the two USD200 000 prizes on M-Net’s Big Brother Amplified last night (31 July) in a spectacular show screened on DStv Channel 198. They were given the big news by presenter IK at the end of a glittering 2-hour Finale worthy of the Amplified name.

In a show which saw drama, tears, laughter and joy – along with rocking performances from Nigerian stars Wizkid and Mo’Cheddah, Tanzania’s CPWAA, South Africans Speedy & Professor and Fally Ipupa (DRC) – it was the Nigerian and the Zimbabwean who prevailed to pick up the spoils on the continent’s biggest reality show.

IK and Big Brother drew the tension out until the last possible second of the two-hour Finale, leaving Karen and Wendall delighted at the Amplified outcome. Earlier in the show, Vina and Hanni had been evicted before IK took viewers back into the House and asked the remaining 5 Housemates – Sharon O, Wendall, Karen, Luclay and Lomwe to join him on stage. One-by-one he sent Sharon O, Lomwe and Luclay to join the ranks of the evicted Housemates before dropping the explosive Amplified twist on the remaining duo.

IK had surprised the Housemates at the start of the Finale by joining them in the House for a quick Q&A to set the tone for the evening, before taking viewers on a journey through the 91-day rollercoaster that was Big Brother Amplified. Love-ins, fights, Heads, Tails, ups and downs – it was truly an epic season. Vimbai, Kim and Millicent had a chance to have their say after being evicted last week, within touching distance of the two mammoth cash prizes.  Vimbai said she had become more open-minded and less inclined to judge people, after her time in the House. Kim said she hadn’t changed – just improved, having left the House a stronger, more confident and more certain person. Millicent said she had discovered that she was a giving person: “No matter how much the pressure, I never stopped giving,” she said.

Vina was the first to leave the House this week and collapsed in a heap on the stage when she saw her family waiting to greet her in the audience. Before the Housemates had a chance to draw breath, IK returned with more eviction news, sending Hanni through the Big Brother doors for the final time. He then returned to the House for a third time, asking the remaining 5 Housemates to stand and leave the House en masse.

Once they had joined IK on stage and the pandemonium in the studio had settled down, he got to talk to each of them briefly before getting back to business. One by one, he broke the news to Sharon O, Lomwe and then Luclay that they had been evicted, leaving Wendall and Karen locked in an embrace – not knowing that both of them had won the Amplified game.

IK then summoned them to the edge of the stage. “In the past, it’s always boiled down to one Housemate, one moment – this is that moment,” he told them gravely. “Karen… Wendall… both of you have won USD200 000 each! Both of you are winners!” he told them, before leaving them to celebrate with friends and family.

The winners of the final set of viewer prizes were Dumisani Ndlovu (South Africa) and Eko Samson (Uganda) who won a Samsung Camera each, Anita Okafor (Nigeria) won a Samsung Camcorder, Albertina Spanyoni (South Africa) won a Samsung Laptop and Humphrey Serong (South Africa) won a Samsung Galaxy S.

HOW AFRICA VOTED:
The Housemates who received the least country votes were Evicted. The Housemates who received the most country votes were named the two Big Brother Amplified winners.
Vina received zero country votes and was evicted first.
Hanni, Lomwe and Sharon O received one country vote each and were also evicted, as was Luclay who received 2 country votes.Karen, with six country votes and Wendall with four country votes have won the Amplified season

Karen: 6 country votes - Nigeria, Angola, Rest of Africa, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania
Wendall: 4 country votes - Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya
Luclay: 2 country votes - South Africa, Botswana
Lomwe: 1 country vote – Malawi
Sharon O: 1 country vote – Uganda
Hanni: 1 country vote – Ethiopia
Vina: 0 Country Votes.


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MultiChoice introduces SuperSport Select Channel.

MultiChoice has announced that subscribers across Africa to DStv Access, Family and Compact bouquets are now set to enjoy selected live sports with effect from 1 August 2011.

The introduction of a new channel from SuperSport called SuperSport Select means that it's subscribers are set to have access to selected 24 hours live international sports from around the world such as the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, French Football and Europa league matches,Athletics and boxing events. – SuperSport Select will also air contain repeat broadcasts of matches from the African leagues in countries including Zambia, Kenya and Nigeria.

President of MultiChoice Africa, Collins Khumalo said “The new channel is a direct response to the viewing requests of many of our DStv subscribers who wish to watch the most competitive sporting events in the world at an affordable price”.

“The introduction of a new sports channel, at no additional cost to subscribers, is the company’s gift to its subscribers for their loyalty, and the new channel will launch ahead of the new soccer season for the benefit of all its subscribers” said Khumalo.

Transmission for SuperSport Select,DStv Channel 220 starts from 5am WAT on the 1st of August 2011.


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DStv South Africa BoxOffice FAQs.

About DStv’s Video-on-Demand offering

1. Will BoxOffice compete with DVD stores?
DVD stores are in the business of distributing physical DVDs to their customers, which is a different user experience. However, Box office titles are available in the same time-frame as the DVD stores

2. Is DStv launching BoxOffice as a result of competitors recently entering the VOD market?
No. DStv on Demand launched last year and Box office is an evolution of such a service. It fits in with our business objective of driving innovation and evolving our business across multiple devices.
About the BoxOffice service

3. What is BoxOffice?
BoxOffice is brought to you by DStv and is a satellite-based video-on-demand (VOD) service, which offers DStv Premium subscribers more entertainment choice by giving them the opportunity to rent Hollywood blockbusters on their PVR decoders, from the comfort of their own home.

4. Who can access this service?
Initially available to DStv Premium subscribers with a PVR decoder, and later on PCs.

5. Why is BoxOffice not available to all DStv subscribers?
Although the 1st phase of the BoxOffice roll out is limited to DStv Premium subscribers with PVRs only, later phases will make the service available to a wider range of consumers.

6. Why are HD movies charged at the same rental rate as SD movies?
For the current offering, we wanted to keep the pricing as simple as possible.

7. How many movies are available on BoxOffice at any given time?
There will be a choice of up to 15 movies at any one time. New titles will be updated regularly as they are released by Studios.

8. Why are there only 15 movies available at any one time?
Due to storage limitations on the PVRs, a maximum of 15 movies can be available at any one time.

9. What type of movies can I choose from?
Approximately 150 blockbuster movies from most of the major Hollywood studios will be available on BoxOffice during the course of a year.

10. How do I access BoxOffice on the PVR?
You need to have a valid DStv Premium and PVR subscriptionPush the green button on your PVR remote and follow the steps on screen
- SMS your smartcard number to 37569 to register for BoxOffice
- A BoxOffice account is automatically opened for you
- Rental of movies happens via SMS, so you can link up to 4 mobile numbers to your BoxOffice account
- The current list of movies available to rent will be displayed on the BoxOffice screen on your PVR. Simply select the movie you want to watch and sms the code to 37569.
- A confirmation SMS will be sent within minutes (network dependent) and you will be able to watch the selected movie. Please note, movies cannot be cancelled once a SMS request has been sent.
- Once the transaction is successful, the selected movie will be available to view as many times as you like over a 48-hour period.
- For launch, the first BoxOffice movie is free.

11. What is the price of a movie title on BoxOffice?
The introductory price is R25 per title.

12. Why an introductory price?
This is a new service and we will monitor its progress over time. The more successful the product, the better the chance we have of negotiating more favourable deals with the Studios.

13. How do I pay for my BoxOffice rentals?
There are three payment options available via debit order against your BoxOffice account, pre-loading funds into the BoxOffice Account or via credit card (Visa or MasterCard).

14. How does the BoxOffice account work?
BoxOffice transactions are made from your BoxOffice account, which is separate to your DStv account.
DStv subscribers who pay their monthly DStv account by debit order could also pay their BoxOffice account by debit order. BoxOffice rentals will be added to the monthly billing.
Subscribers can pre-load funds into their BoxOffice account using any one of the different payment options available – these are the same options that you use to pay your normal monthly DStv account. Rentals will be subtracted from this amount, which can be topped up via the DStv website or the mobi site.

15. As I pay my DStv subscription at Checkers , will I also be able to add funds to my BoxOffice account at Checkers?
Currently funds cannot be added to the BoxOffice account at Checkers tills. DStv will be introducing a new payment service in the future, which will cover various paypoints including Checkers.

16. Will BoxOffice repeat movies?
The same movie can be rented multiple times until the movie expires and is removed from the rental line-up. Once a movie has expired it will not be available to rent through BoxOffice again.

17. Are the movies on BoxOffice new movies?
BoxOffice movies are generally released at the same time as they become available for DVD rentals - usually 4 to 6 months after appearing in movie theatres.

18. Why do we have to pay to access BoxOffice movies when this will become available on other DStv channels such as M-Net at a later date?
BoxOffice is an additional DStv service, which allows subscribers to watch movies in an earlier period than when they become available on the regular DStv channels.
We buy the rights for the BoxOffice movies from the Studios, which are in an earlier window to movies on pay television. These two windows each attract a separate rights payment.

19. How long will a movie stay on the rental line-up?
Each movie’s availability will vary depending on consumer popularity and availability of new movie releases from the studios. Some technical aspects of the BoxOffice service

20. Can I turn off my PVR at night?
The PVR requires time to download titles, therefore we recommend that you leave your PVR on or in standby mode when not in use.

21. Will BoxOffice reduce the recording space I have on my PVR?
Similarly to DStv’s On Demand service, BoxOffice does not impact on your PVR recording capacity.

22. Why is the confirmation code made up of such a long number?
The 18-digit confirmation code is designed to offer additional subscriber security, it refers to your specific smartcard number and contains details of the rental, such as date and time.

23. Can I watch BoxOffice movies when there is no signal?
If the BoxOffice movie has already been rented and the menu displays a view now status, the movie can be viewed regardless of available signal.

24. Does this mean I can’t watch the movie unless the ‘view now’ status is displayed?
That is correct, view now indicates that the movie is available for you to view. Other status that will be displayed is rent now, to indicate that a movie is available for rent.

25. How do I instil control over what my children watch when I’m not around?
The parental pin that is active on your DStv decoder will also apply to BoxOffice, this allows you to set access limits according to PG ratings. You will also be able to block BoxOffice rentals with a pin number.

26. Is there a difference between the HD PVR and SD PVR?
Although BoxOffice launches on 22 July 2011, the BoxOffice titles will progressively download to build the playlist on the SD PVR. BoxOffice movies will only start to become available after the software has downloaded.On the HD PVRs, the titles will be available from 22 July 2011.

27. What could be the wrong if I don’t have titles or a different number of titles?
There are four factors that can impact the download of BoxOffice titles:
- User recordings scheduled which conflicts with times of BoxOffice downloads
- Marginal installation which results in poor break-up / pixilation of content. The PVR will discard the content immediately
- Bad weather ie rain storms etc
- Power failures including switching off or unplugging the PVR

28. Where do I find more information about BoxOffice?
 visit - www.dstv.com/BoxOffice


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DStv launches BoxOffice in South Africa.

DStv today announced the launch of BoxOffice, a Video-on-Demand service for South Africa. This service gives subscribers the opportunity to rent the latest Hollywood blockbusters from the comfort of their home.

According to Imtiaz Patel, Group CEO of MultiChoice South Africa, “The BoxOffice service is a result of our continuous drive for innovation. The future of DStv relies on us offering simplicity and convenience to our subscribers in a changing world. Last year we introduced DStv On Demand and BoxOffice is the next step in the DStv product evolution.”

The BoxOffice service will be rolled out in several phases. The first phase is today’s launch of a satellite-based value added offering to DStv Premium subscribers via their PVRs. The next phase of the BoxOffice roll-out will be an online offering, available to all South African broadband users by the end of this year.

Using the service is easy: Press the green button on your PVR remote and follow the steps on your television screen. BoxOffice movies are readily available for viewing, as they are pre-loaded onto your PVR decoder.

Payment is done through monthly debit order, by pre-loading funds into your account or by credit card. Once a movie is rented, it can be viewed multiple times within a 48-hour period. For launch, the first BoxOffice movie will be free.

A maximum of 15 movies will be available at any one time, with new movies added as they are released for the BoxOffice service by Studios. The number of movies is limited due to storage constraints on the current PVRs. Approximately 150 blockbuster movies from most of the major Hollywood studios will be released on the BoxOffice service during the course of a year. Studios generally release VOD movies in a similar timeframe as they become available for home DVD rentals.

John Kotsaftis, CEO of DStv Online; “BoxOffice positions DStv as a front-runner in the VOD market in South Africa. This service aligns South Africa with global developments in on-demand video. Offering a VOD service via satellite initially, allows us to make it widely and instantly available to our subscribers, regardless of constraints in broadband availability in South Africa.”

This service will be launched to DStv Premium subscribers with PVRs from Friday, 22 July 2011, at an introductory price of R25 per title.

For more information on DStv BoxOffice visit www.dstv.com/boxoffice



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Multichoice launches GOtv DTT service in Zambia.

MULTICHOICE  in partnership with Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) has introduced a new pay-television which will allow Zambians to join the digital revolution and enjoy 19 television channels.

The new service called GOtv service is part of Zambia’s goal to migrate from analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).

GOtv will offer both local and international channels for Africa at K35,000 per month and a decoder with three months subscription for K455,000.

The service was launched in Lusaka on 2nd July 2011.

MultiChoice Zambia public relations officer Marlon Kananda said the newly introduced television service will contribute to Government’s commitment of migrating to digital from analogue.

DTT refers to the broadcasting of terrestrial television in a digital format and most African countries are in the process of planning and implementing the digital television which has enhanced pictures and quality sound.

“GOtv will deliver digital television to everyone and will enable them experience the digital television revolution in their homes. It supports the Zambian government’s commitment to migrating from analogue to digital by 2015,” he said.

Mr Kananda said the service has 19 channels which will enable subscribers have access to news, children’s programming, documentaries series and movies, among others.

“Subscribers will benefit from the increased number of channels, as well as improved pictures and sound quality which is synonymous with digital television,” he said.

He said the company will soon introduce the service to other countries around the world and build a strong backbone to ensure GOtv survives.

Commenting on the service, ZNBC director- general Eddie Mupeso said, “In the next few years, the current analogue signals will be switched off and ZNBC will become digital. This means that viewers will need to use a DDT decoder in order to receive a TV signal in future.”

And GOtv spokesperson Lee Nonde said the introduction of the service is the latest digital technology platform, adding that it will be available to customers with only a decoder or a grid antenna.

“The arrival of GOtv marks the introduction of a new service on a technology platform that subscribers can afford. All you need to receive GOtv is a DTT decoder or either a stub or grid antenna,” he said.


Channels on offer by GOtv in Zambia?
eTV Africa
Sony MAX
Zone Reality
Magic World
E! Entertainment
AfricaMagic +
ZNBC
ZNBC 2
The Style Network
Discovery World
Kids Co
Disney Junior
One Gospel
Channel O
BBC World
E News
Al Jazeera
TBN
Day Star


The service will soon be launched in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda.


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M-Net launches Africa Magic Swahili on July 1.

M-Net has announced the arrival of their new baby, Africa Magic Swahili, a gift for more than 124 million Swahili speakers across the continent.

M-Net Africa Managing Director Biola Alabi says the complete Swahili package will debut on DStv channel 127 on July 1, at 3pm to be precise.

General Manager of Multichoice Kenya Stephen Isaboke  and  M-Net Africa Managing Director Biola Alabi

“Kiswahili is one of the oldest and most beautiful languages in the world. It’s also one of the most widely spoken languages in the region,” she said, stressing that it was a by-product of an urgent request from subscribers in the region.

Africa Magic Swahili will be the fifth offering of more localised content for the region after Africa Magic, Africa Magic Plus, Africa Magic Hausa and Africa Magic Yoruba.

DStv Channel 127 will initially broadcast on six hour loops much like the M-Net Series channel, and content will range from movies, drama series, talks shows and music videos.

“Content is a big challenge,” says Wangeci Murage, program Manager for M-Net in East Africa, who acknowledges that most of content is currently being sourced from Tanzania.

She however stresses that since there is a platform, local producers and film makers should take advantage of the chances to come up with more content.

It should come as good news to film makers in Kenya who rarely have an outlet for their creations that would generate revenue.

Wangeci has called on any film maker with relevant content to drop it at the M-Net offices in Rahimtulla Towers in Upper Hill,Kenya.

Biola said that most of the contracts they sign with programmes on their pay-TV channel range between 12 and 18 months, and this has been a successful model across the continent.

Stephen Isaboke,Biola Alabi and Wangeci Murage, program Manager for M-Net in East Africa

She also took the chance to announce that they would be shooting another season of Changes in the near future.

The General Manager of Multichoice Kenya Stephen Isaboke said the channel would be available even on their cheapest bouquet – DSTv Access – making it within reach for anyone who can afford to pay the monthly subscription.

Anyone can enjoy the programmes on the channel though as the dramas and movies will have English subtitles.

M-Net’s BIG BROTHER AMPLIFIED: A MASSIVE SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT!

It was a definitely a night to remember when Big Brother Amplified turned up the volume last night (Sunday June 12 at 6pm on DStv Channel 198) with the biggest announcement in the show’s history!

To huge applause from the studio audience, and in news that is sure to cause great excitement, series presenter IK revealed during the live eviction show, that this season there will be not one, but TWO winners - and each will take home a whopping USD200 000 cash prize. With the series almost at the halfway point, the surprise announcement is the latest twist in the highly popular reality series which is set to end with a spectacular two hour finale on July 31. It’s the first time ever that Big Brother Africa series will award two winners, bringing the total prize money to an incredible USD 400 000 though the housemates themselves will only find out about the double prize during the final show!

With Malawian stars Tigris and Maskal lifting the roof off of the Big Brother Amplified studio with amazing musical performances, the night also saw two housemates leave the Heads house…

With 7 Housemates nominated for eviction, there was a lot of tension in the Heads House this week. When IK asked Head of House Lomwe to reveal and explain his ‘save and replace’ decision to the Housemates, he told them it was “nothing personal”. “The person I decided to save represents the same cause as I do, that’s obviously Felicia,” he said. “The person I decided to replace her with – again nothing personal – has a strong background and foundations. If they leave the House, they will have a bright future. At the same time, that person is strong and I believe they won’t be evicted – sorry, Vimbai,” he revealed.

IK then took viewers into the House and told the Housemates that when he called out their names, they should stand. He named Millicent, Weza and Zeus. After a dramatic pause, he told Millicent and Zeus that they had been saved, calling Weza to the stage. Once she emerged, he asked her about her favourite memory in the House. As she started to answer, Big Brother delivered a message to IK – that Weza was to leave the stage immediately. The bewildered Angolan made her way off stage and before long, found herself entering the Tails House and being mobbed by a new set of excited Housemates.

It wasn’t over for the Heads Housemates – IK took viewers back into the House and asked Vina and Confidence to stand. “Vina, you’re safe,” said IK.

“Yay!” exclaimed Confidence. “I’m walking out! I’m free – I’m free of you people!” said the Ghanaian. Unfortunately for Confidence, she will miss out the cash prizes as she was evicted after gaining the fewest votes from Africa during the week.

As Confidence joined IK on stage, he confirmed that she had been evicted. “What was your favourite moment?” he asked her. “Well every moment was my favourite, I’m so grateful I’ve been brought to this place and taught the lessons of life and I’m going to go home a changed person,” she said.

When IK asked about her least favourite person in the house, Confidence said “Put it this way - they’re behind me. I’m moving forward!” IK quizzed her about what she’d be taking away from the experience. “Big Brother!” she said jokingly, before saying: “I have so much in my life and feel I’m so blessed to be here, of all the Ghanaians, I’m the girl who’s been picked to be here. I feel honoured and privileged and for me this is fun. Come on Africa - thank you so much!” Her parting shot came when IK asked her for a quick prediction on who would win Big Brother Amplified. “None of those people in that House [Heads]. There are nicer people in the other house. Those people are pretenders, please!”

As Confidence left the stage to head back home, IK still had time to scare Hanni and Vimbai when he crossed back into the House – but revealed that they had been saved.

Earlier in the show, viewers got a chance to see how Ernest and Bhoke had been coping after their eviction last week. Ernest explained his ‘intelligent attack’ on Luclay and talked about Bhoke’s ‘beautiful energy’. He looked forward to visiting Botswana to meet up with Zeus and Miss P and also hanging out at Confidence’s club in Ghana. He said he felt he had represented his country and its diversity well.

Bhoke said that being part of Big Brother Amplified was an “awesome experience” that she would carry with her for the rest of her life. She saw Confidence as a big sister in the other House, and had bonded with Kim in the Tails House as they both recognized something of themselves, in each other. She revealed that her high point was the first task win – having previously lost two tasks. Speaking about tension in the House, she felt that there had been many disagreements because nobody wanted to be seen as a weak person. “It’s been a learning experience,” she said. “I learned a lot about myself and I’m strong and confident in my own skin”.

Four viewers picked up fantastic prizes for voting and interacting with Big Brother during the past week: Ijeoma Sophia Nwogbo (Nigeria) won a DStv HD PVR, Ntsikiseng Motaung (South Africa) picked up a Samsung Laptop, Susan Kotobridge (Ghana) won a Samsung Smartphone and Jacob Asante (Ghana) won a Samsung Galaxy S.

Big Brother Amplified is headline sponsored by Coca-Cola. Fans can catch all the latest news, video – and all-important voting information – at www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother. Tweet Big Brother @BigBroAfrica, send SMS messages to the on-screen strap, visit the Big Brother Africa Facebook Group to get the low-down on the continent’s favourite reality show and get updated news and two video streams – and houses - by pressing the “OK” button on your DStv remote when on DStv Channel 198.

NEW DStv MOBILE RATES FOR KENYA

DStv Mobile - The new 'watch wherever you are 'broadcast television service can be accessed by a number of DVB-H enabled cellphones - is set to change the way viewers catch their favourite DStv shows.

DVB-H enabled phones are available from Mobile Network Operators.

There will be four bouquets to choose from:

Free Tier	Mini	Maxi
KTN	KTN	KTN
KBC	KBC	KBC
NTV	NTV	NTV
	Channel O	Channel O
		Big Brother Amplified
	Idols Extra	Idols Extra
	Africa Magic Plus	Afruca Magic Plus
	Cartoon Network Mobile	Cartoon Network Mobile
	BET	BET
	E! Entertainment	E! Entertainment
	CNNi	CNNi
	Trace RBAN	SuperSport 9
		SuperSport 10
		SuperSport Blitz

DStv Mobile Subscription costs
Since the launch of the DStv Mobile broadcast service in Kenya, the service has been offered at no subscription cost as part of the introductory phase.  From the first week of June 2011, billing will commence in Kenya on Safaricom, Airtel and YU and a subscription fee will be applicable for the DStv Mobile package via the DVB-H handset.  The Free Tier is free of charge.  Orange subscribers will only the free package available at launch.  Billing on Orange will commence soon.

Summary of subscription costs for DStv Mobile

Handets
Free	Free
Mini	KES 110.00
Maxi	KES 260.00

Kenya DVB-H Coverage cities

Nairobi	Mombasa
Gigiri	Bima
Karen	Nyali
Moi
Rahimtulla
Steelmakers