Exclusive ITV-Oscar Pistorius interview to air on M-Net and M-Net City

M-Net has announced that the pay tv broadcaster has secured the rights to the highly anticipated and much hyped ITV interview/documentary, Oscar Pistorius: The Interview.

The interview will premiere on M-Net this Friday, 24 June 2016 at 22:55, whilst the credits will still be rolling from its first broadcast over in the UK on the ITV network. In addition, the broadcast will be simulcast on M-Net City, which is an M-Net channel available on both the DStv Compact and Extra bouquets, allowing more people to see the special broadcast.

Because M-Net has been hyping the court case as if it is a major soccer match, there will also be a live panel that will be providing what is essentially a build up and post match analysis. So far, we know that John Webb, who had been reporting from court, will be in studio. This special will be broadcast from an actual Supersport studio that is used to hype up sports matches.This part of the special will be produced by the Carte Blanche team.

Carte Blanche ran a popup channel covering the initial trial and has continued to cover the trial during their regular Sunday broadcast.

“The content of the documentary will undoubtedly make headline news across the globe and our viewers will be able to see it in full and in high quality on the M-Net Channels first. In addition to that the Carte Blanche team, who has been following the trial intensively from the start, will add to the conversation with their valuable insights and comments with the Carte Blanche special,” says Jan du Plessis, Director: M-Net Channels.

In addition, because the broadcast time is quite late and on an evening when television viewership is slightly lower, the special will be made available on the DStv Catch Up platform and also air on Supersport channels at various times. Expect to see the interview quite a few times as one of the questions under the FAQ of the release asks "Why are you airing the interview so many times?"

In the interview, acclaimed ITV investigative journalist, Mark Williams-Thomas, will meet up with Pistorius at his uncle's home where he had been  staying in order to provide his side of the story.

Why did Pistorius choose the UK's ITV for the interview instead of a domestic journalist? Apparently he prefers the 'format' presented by the foreign broadcaster. What exactly is the 'format' of a documentary/interview in any case? Is ITV paying him? Are they allowing a certain level of editorial control? Who knows, but it just doesn't make sense why go that far, as if a local broadcaster would not have tweaked a 'format' for him.

Pistorius is not the first major role player in the trial to prefer speaking to foreign media instead of local media. During the initial trial, Reeva Steenkamp's family opted to open up to NBC's Today Show (United States) instead of a local media source. The odd move led to American media commentators to speculate that NBC had paid the family for the interview (as it is odd, at least in the US, to prefer foreign media over local media), especially considering how close to the time of the incident the interview took place. The pressure from critics led NBC to actually issue a statement that no sum of money had [apparently] been paid for that interview.

[ANN7's Michael Appel has Tweeted that he will be appearing in the special]

Jessica Pitchford Joins eNCA's Check Point

Picture from TVSA

Award winning broadcast journalist, Jessica Pitchford has joined eNCA's investigative journalism program, Checkpoint, show presenter Nkepile Mabuse announced via Twitter earlier today.

Jessica graduated from Rhodes University in the 80's, then began her career in radio news in 1986 and then to television in the early 90's. She is a former CNN African Journalist of the Year for Political Reporting. Her CV also includes other investigative shows like Special Assignment, which she joined in 2000. At the SABC she not only contributed to Special Assignment but also other news and actuality programming as both a reporter and a producer.

 She later moved to MNet's long running investigative magazine show, Carte Blanche, where she was most recently a managing editor. At Carte Blanche, she also penned the show's highly publicised memoir, so to speak, Carte Blanche: The Stories Behind The Stories. (More on that book here).

Checkpoint, which is broadcast on both eNCA and free-to-air channel eTV, launched on the 8th of April this year as the broadcaster's replacement to longrunning investigative magazine show 3rd Degree, which ended when host Deborah Patta left eNCA to join CBS News as a correspondent. Pitchford's addition to Checkpoint will add a certain level of credibility to a show that still trying to gain prominence in a market with other investigative magazine shows like Carte Blanch and Special Assignment.  

Is South Africa Becoming Obsessed with Broadcast Trials?

On March 3rd, South Africa, and the rest of the world, tuned in to the trial of Oscar Pistorius, a trial that made history by becoming the first ever South African trial to be broadcast in its entirety on television. As time progressed, the trial got prolonged for various reasons. But, instead of all the hype for the trial fuzzing out, it seemed to just increase as South Africans became increasingly obsessed by the trial.

In the courtroom itself, 40 seats are reserved for local media, 40 for foreign media, an overflow room for others and many more crowding outside.

The proceedings of the trial are covered on so many channels, they are spoilt for choice. There is the three news channels, eNCA, SABC News and ANN7, all of which carry the proceedings live and also all of which have their own daily wrap shows. The international channels carry proceedings live as well including CNN, Sky News (which has a nightly highlights show on trial days) and BBC World News are just as obssessed with the trial. Openview HD, South Africa's first commercial free-to-air satellite platform started Trial TV: The State vs Oscar Pistorius, a special channel dedicated to the trial that was to run daily until 6pm. Problem was, demand for the trial was so high and, after a large amount of requests, the platform extended its broadcast hours to well into the evening to allow viewers who cannot see the trial during the day the opportunity to catch  up at night. 

However, the most successful channel, by far, must be The Oscar Pistorius Trial, a Carte Blanche Channel on Multichoice's DStv platform. Though the channel was expected to be a success, the degree of success it has achieved has far exceeded expectations, drawing more than 190 000 viewers during live court times during the middle of the day, easily ranking as the most watched channel among DStv's over 100 channels on the platform.

This all excludes the success seen by various websites that broadcast the trial live, many of which see traffic numbers peak when court is in session.

But now it seems as if South Africans are finally realising that this trial wont last forever and are already looking at what trials could consume their attention in the future.

The first such one is the trial of Shrien Dewani, due to start later this year. The team behind the Oscar Pistorius channel on DStv have already polled viewers to gauge interest on whether they would watch that trial as well, a staggeringly large amount said yes.

But, as it seems as if  South Africa might be in for a change in their tv diet to include some court tv, the first channel to get ahead of the curve is surprisingly the SABC's SABC News, which now runs a daily half hour recap show at 9pm on the trial of Radovan Krejcir, hosted by Dumile Mateza. What makes this move more smart is placing this show in exactly the same slot occupied by the Oscar Pistorius trial when it is on, daily at 9pm, developing a sort of culture in which at 9pm viewers are to make appointment viewing for the broadcast proceedings of a trial, no matter who the trial may be about, but they know that at that time, there will be trial tv to watch.

The next few months will be interesting to see exactly where the broadcasters go with broadcasting  trials when the Oscar Pistorius trial finally ends.

Special Freedom Day Boradcasts

As we celebrate 20 years of Freedom in our country, various channels are planning special programming to commemorate the event, our first without our first democartically elected president Nelson Mandela.

As expected, SABC News will be carrying the carrying the 'official proceedings' live from the Union Buildings at 10am, simulcast on SABC 2.

eNCA will be re-airing the documentary The Blood Miracle at 1pm and again at 9pm. Their special coverage starts at 8am with special guests and senior anchors being brought in.

All three local news channels will have special coverage throughout the day.

Carte Blanche (Mnet, 7pm) will be airing Carte Blanche: 20 Years of Democracy. The synopsis is as follows :"
In the run up to the first democratic elections in 1994, a fearless breed of young photojournalists roamed the townships of Tokoza and Katlehong on Johannesburg’s East Rand, documenting a civil war that caused hundreds of deaths and displacement. 

Now, two decades later, these middle-aged and hardened lens-men remember that pivotal era of transition and the man who led the pack. 

Ken Oosterbroek died in a hail of bullets in the streets of Tokoza just days before the election, leaving a legacy of definitive photographs of those dark and dangerous days. This Sunday Carte Blanche looks back at a time etched in blood. "

Mzansi Magic has the documentary Countdown to Freedom at various times on Sunday and throughout the week on their group of channels. The synopsis is as follows: "Countdown To Freedom, a ground breaking documentary which was filmed 20 years ago in April 1994 at the personal invitation of then President in Waiting, Nelson Mandela, will be broadcast for the first time on television on Freedom Day, Sunday, 27 April on Mzansi Magic at 16:00. "

Kyknet has various special editions of their programs Jukebox (focussing on music in a free South Africa), Toks 'n  Tjops (Focusing on Sport in the new South Africa) and Robinsons Regstreeks (focussing on the upcoming elections).

 PERSONAL ANALYSIS: The Mzansi group of channels along with Vuzu, all local channels, all have special on air idents celebrating 20 years of freedom. I find that it is quite eyebrow raising that not one of the local channels that do not have primarily black target markets have on air logos like these channels. These include Kyknet and MNet, all of which have versions exculsive to the South African market. Do viewers of these channels not celebrate Freedom Day? The excuse that those channels are broadcast in other countries does not stand considering that we often see on air idents celebrating freedom in other countries on the Africa Magic channels yet here they seem to be 'protecting' the rest of the continent from knowing that South Africa is celebrating Freedom Day.

ANALYSIS: ALL ABOUT THE OSCAR PISTORIUS TRIAL CHANNEL

This comes from the channel DStv is planning on launching to cover the Oscar trial. As always, analysis follows the press release:
26 FEBRUARY 2014

On 3 March the world’s media will descend on Pretoria to cover the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius. However, only one media platform will provide 24-hour coverage of the trial’s progress, with in-depth analysis and informed commentary from key personalities.

The Oscar Pistorius Trial - A Carte Blanche Channel on DStv Channel 199, will feature interviews with a large variety of expert guests from around the world throughout the course of the daytime and evening programming. These guests will offer insight and commentary on what happened in court. Experts will include senior legal minds, psychologists, forensic experts, social commentators, brand gurus, social media analysts, news and media heavyweights.

“The channel has secured exclusive access to acclaimed international experts, who will feature as regular guests. These include criminal defence attorney, Robert Shapiro, famous for his defence of OJ Simpson, American forensic experts and police consultants to hit TV shows likeDexter, who provide fascinating insights,” said George Mazarakis, Executive Editor of the channel.

The editorial team responsible for the channel’s conception and content are the very same journalists who have brought the world 25 years of credible, award-winning investigative reporting on news magazine show, Carte Blanche. The presenters are veteran news journalists Derek Watts, John Webb, Bongani Bingwa and Devi Sankaree Govender, top social media lawyer Emma Sadleir, experienced radio talk show host Leigh Bennie, heavyweight legal journalist and radio talk show host, David O’Sullivan and ex BBC presenter, Subniv Babuta.

In a landmark judgment today, Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo found in favour of MultiChoice’s application to broadcast audio of the full trial and to televise parts of the trial, including opening arguments, state expert witnesses’ testimony, police officers, any other state witnesses (unless they object), closing arguments, judgement and sentencing. “We are thrilled that the SA judiciary has matured to this ground breaking decision. It is a seminal moment and will make South African television and legal history as visual access of this nature has never before been granted in a South African court,” said Mazarakis.

The channel will be hosted from a studio in Johannesburg, with regular live crossings to a team of top journalists who will be based at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. This team, led by field anchor John Webb, will provide live commentary via on-camera crossings and social media as events unfold in court.

Top local and international journalists will also join in-studio and field anchors to offer insight and analysis. This partnership between news channels and platforms is also a first of its kind.

The Oscar Pistorius Trial - A Carte Blanche Channel will feature daily analysis on the global audience’s reaction to the case on social media, with a live Twitter feed displayed on screen and engaging public polls run on social media.

The channel will also have daytime and night time programming, which will run from 7:00 to 22:00 daily, with content repeated from 22:00 until 7:00 the following morning when the channel goes live again from the North Gauteng High Court and the channel’s Johannesburg studio.

Pistorius’ criminal trial is scheduled to run in the North Gauteng High Court from 3 March to 20 March.
 _____________________________________________________________________________________
ANALYSIS:
-DStv is really going all out with the trial. They are really investing what I am sure is millions into this trial, in the form of talent, on screen and off, which comprises of Carte Blanche personalities, Eye Witness News reporters (which I am sure did not come a t a cheap cost) and international 'starts' that are being brought in to cover the trial of a century. Howver, one has to wonder on the type of return they plan on seeing. As they say in business, there is no such thing as a free lunch. So, with this in mind, one has to wonder what DStv expects in return for their investment. I mean, yes, many people are likely to tune in to the channel, which could be a good source of ad revenue. But DStv is not in the business of Ad revenue. They need sunbscribers and though this may generate a lot of interest, I do not see any potential subscribers signing up to DStv to see the trial or the channel. I cannot even imagine many people on smaller packages upgrading to at least the Compact bouquet so that they can gain access to the channel.

- The partnership between Eye Witness News and Carte Blanche is equally as promising as it is interesting. Promising as in the fact that this can lead to many more great projects coming out of this partnership in the future (should it succeed). Before the launch of ANN7 and SABC News, I always thought the first competitors eNCA would have would be either a channel from Carte Blanche or EWN.
Interesting in exactly what each party gets out of the deal. Before this announcement, I wondered as to how Carte Blanche planned on running a full channel based on only the staff of a one hour show. Now we know that they will have EWN reporters as well to fill the schedule. But what does EWN get out of the deal? Free advertising? Carte Blanche talent, who are rather quite popular, going on radio? This talent sharing deal could actually in the end be bad if talents are forced to pull double duty for both radio on EWN and tv for this channel.

-Does the country come to a stand still for this trial? What I mean with this is is there really not going to be any other news for Carte Blanche, who usually does a multi-story show, to cover during the trial as it seems the award winning weekly show will be exclusively focus on the trial for the next few weeks and not other issues in the country like, say, the elections.

-The studio being built for this channel is rather nice I might say. (See below)

The Oscar Pistorius Trial: a Carte Blanche channel

Press release issued this morning:

MultiChoice to launch pop-up Oscar Pistorius trial channel on DStv.

On Sunday, 2 March 2014, MultiChoice will launch a 24-hour pop-up channel on DStv Channel 199. The Oscar Pistorius Trial: A Carte Blanche Channel will feature round-the-clock coverage of the legal proceedings, as well as exclusive documentaries, profiles and in-depth expert analysis.

This is the first time DStv is using a pop-up channel to cover a major news event. “We previously added dedicated channels for special events such as Idols and Big Brother. This pop-up channel will give our viewers in-depth coverage of the Oscar Pistorius trial, with a rich variety of content and social media integration,” says Aletta Alberts, Head of Content for MultiChoice.

The channel will be put together by the producers of Carte Blanche, well known for their excellence in investigative journalism. “The Carte Blanche producers were the obvious choice to create and package the channel. Their mantra of ‘You have the right to see it all’ ensures viewers will get fair and balanced coverage of the trail,” Alberts added.

The channel will be available exclusively to DStv Premium, Extra and Compact customers. The Oscar Pistorius Trial: A Carte Blanche Channel will be a conduit to the inside information on the most talked about and controversial subject in recent South African history.

Pistorius’ criminal trial is scheduled to run in the Pretoria High Court from Monday, 3 March to Thursday, 20 March 2014. The trial judge will decide whether any part of the trial will be broadcast live closer to the start date.

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Let's analyse:

First time ever something like this is put together and the Carte Blanche team involved.

It is going to be interesting to see how the Cart Blanche team will manage going from their well structured news magazine   show to providing rolling coverage.

One has to wonder if these guys have enough time to man the channel AND to continue putting together such a high quality weekly show.

While the channel will be available for Compact and upwards, the show itself (and thus the brand), is premium exclusive, meaning a great deal of their potential audience is unfamiliar with their product and thus are likely to stay with their current news provider of choice. However, considring that the channel is sandwitched between both SS Blitz and Big Brother Mzansi, both of which are hugely popular on the lesser packages, they are definitely counting on people to channel surf in the region

 It is also going to be interesting to see how exactly this 'pop up channel' concept will work as it is being described as the channel will "disappear" if there is nothing going on. Disappear as in go the message that says 'Service Not Available' or disappear as in a static on air graphic. The channl also cannot do these disappearing acts too often otherwise the viewers wont enjoy it.

This can only lead to greater things from these guys in the future as we gt to see what Cart Blanche is really capable of.