tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44475283650241048732026-04-20T13:05:52.966+02:00TV with ThinusNews & analysis on South African televisionThinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comBlogger14975125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-33037427576395838302026-04-20T12:52:00.013+02:002026-04-20T13:05:52.706+02:00Legendary beauty queen and actress Cynthia Shange dead at 76 after illnessby Thinus FerreiraThe legendary beauty queen and actress Cynthia Shange died on Monday morning. She was 76. Cynthia Philisiwe Shange's cause of death is not known but she was hospitalised for an illness.Born on 27 July 1949, Cynthia Shange is survived by her daughters Sihle and Nonhle and sons Ayanda and Benele Thema.Cynthis Shange, the mother of personality Nonhle Thema, was the first blackThinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-37158538211949773812026-04-16T11:28:00.022+02:002026-04-16T18:49:54.986+02:00Beloved VIA Landbouweekliks and kykNET Kwêla presenter and SuperSport commentator Johnny Davids dead at 48 after heart attackThinus FerreiraJohnny Davids, the beloved TV presenter of programmes like Landbouweekliks on VIA (DStv 147) and Kwêla and Ysters op die Landgoed on kykNET (DStv 144) who was also a sports commentator on SuperSport in Afrikaans died on Thursday morning after a heart attack. He was 48.Johnny Davids who lives in Cape Town started to complain about chest pains on Wednesday but Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-24916167331953424702026-04-12T08:48:00.009+02:002026-04-12T09:11:39.331+02:00Canal+ drops MultiChoice's DStv Delicious Festival - reportby Thinus FerreiraThe Sunday World newspaper, citing sources, reports that Canal+ has decided to dump the DStv Delicious International Food & Music Festival as part of Canal+'s drastic and aggressive ongoing cost-cutting at MultiChoice.The DStv Delicious Festival, that's been often-criticised in past editions, started in 2013 and held its 12th one in September at the Kyalami Grand Prix Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-63695567549025953962026-04-09T10:41:00.005+02:002026-04-09T10:41:43.623+02:00Stained Glass TV's Uzalo adds four actors to season 12 on SABC1 for 'more heart, more tension and honest storytelling'by Thinus FerreiraThe Stained Glass TV weekday primetime soap on SABC1, Uzalo, has added four actors to the cast for its 12th season.The KwaMashu-set series in KwaZulu-Natal has added Nduduzo Zuma, Phindile Mashabane, Sikhosiphi Ngcobo and Thulani Mtsweni.Nduduzo Zuma has already appeared since 27 March as Smiso, described as a "bold, magnetic newcomer who arrives in Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-85314542300055060362026-04-07T11:01:00.002+02:002026-04-07T13:09:42.764+02:002026's 20th Metro FM Music Awards on 25 April in Durban to honour icons in music excellence, adds Maskandi and Lekompo categoriesby Thinus FerreiraThe 20th Metro FM Music Awards (MMAs) of the SABC radio station Metro FM set for 25 April in Durban, will honour music icons over the past decades with the theme of "Icon-inspired music excellence".The 20th MMAs come as Metro FM marks its 40th anniversary, and will incorporate "a fusion of heritage and greatness through Zulu-textured cultural elements".This year's theme blends Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-26541740393311284492026-04-07T09:31:00.000+02:002026-04-07T09:31:01.420+02:00Netflix adds 7-episode documentary series The Trials of Winnie Mandela from 23 April with never-before-seen footage from Emmy-winning director Mandy Jacobsonby Thinus FerreiraOn 23 April, Netflix will add the 7-episode documentary series from the late, Emmy-award-winning director Mandy Jacobson, The Trials of Winnie Mandela, that contains never-before-seen footage of the late South African struggle icon, along with interviews dissecting her legacy.Produced through production companies Indelible Media and The African Oral History Archive, The Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-45078504027268946592026-04-07T08:25:00.006+02:002026-04-07T08:38:38.459+02:00e.tv shunts cancelled Kelders van Geheime back to original 6pm from 7 April in third timeslot change in a yearby Thinus FerreiraeMedia's e.tv channel is once again changing its programming line-up with the cancelled Afrikaans telenovela Kelders van Geheime moving back to its original timeslot at 18:00 from this evening.e.tv moved Kelders van Geheime, currently in its second season, from 18:30 to 19:00 in January 2026. It means that the KFilms produced show shot in Franschhoek has had three differentThinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-18406465848756031182026-04-02T10:16:00.000+02:002026-04-02T10:16:56.215+02:00IN IMAGES. Look inside Hisense South Africa's first-ever premium brand store in Cape Town and the biggest TV in Africaby Thinus FerreiraIn November 2025, Hisense South Africa opened its first-ever premium brand store in South Africa at the Canal Walk mall in Century City, Cape Town - with plans to open some more soon - and a few days ago, I went for a guided store tour.Hisense SA's Canal Walk store is beautiful inside and for the brand represents a milestone in Hisense's 29-year presence in South Africa.Hisense Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-3079817245319418662026-04-02T07:02:00.005+02:002026-04-02T07:02:55.883+02:00'Oubaas' and 'Hilda' reunites on-screen as Pierre van Pletzen joins Annelisa Weiland in kykNET's SuidoosterThinus FerreiraIt's an on-screen reunion for actors Annelisa Weiland and Pierre van Pletzen, with Van Pletzen who is joining kykNET's (DStv 144) Afrikaans weekday soap Suidooster.Anneliza Weiland and Pierre van Pletzen played the iconic duo Hilda and Oubaas for decades in SABC2's now-cancelled Afrikaans weekday soap 7de Laan until first Van Pletzen and later Weiland, were let go as the Danie Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-55261789194125207832026-04-01T19:17:00.000+02:002026-04-01T19:17:05.378+02:00Stephanie Pillay upped to MultiChoice Botswana CEOby Thinus FerreiraStephanie Pillay who has been MultiChoice Botswana managing director has been upped to MultiChoice Botswana CEO.Stephanie Pillay, known as "Steph", joined MultiChoice Botswana in 2022 as managing director.Before her move to Botswana, she was at MultiChoice Africa where she served as the regional head of customer experience (CX) and care for MultiChoice Africa's southern markets.Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-84652095778357583142026-04-01T12:30:00.000+02:002026-04-01T12:30:45.359+02:00MultiChoice gives eligible Showmax subscribers the chance to switch for a year to DStv Stream Compact for R99 per month by Thinus FerreiraMultiChoice is migrating some of its Showmax subscribers to DStv Stream Compact who will be offered access at R99 per month for a year, after losing access to Showmax.Canal+ decided to axe Showmax that MultiChoice did in partnership with Comcast's NBCUniversal, with the failed video streaming service which will remain accessible until 30 April although no new content is Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-5269538261018437362026-03-30T09:46:00.001+02:002026-03-30T09:46:11.211+02:00Revived Top Billing return to TV a no-show in March without explanation, SABC says lifestyle magazine show 'on SABC3 remains in development'by Thinus FerreiraAfter the SABC announced in late 2025 that a revived Top Billing would start as a new weekly show during March 2026 on SABC3, that didn't happen and the public broadcaster doesn't want to explain why.In November 2025, the SABC announced that the iconic lifestyle magazine show Top Billing would be returning to SABC3 from March 2026 with several of the former famous Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-14001322644147764882026-03-26T10:05:00.001+02:002026-03-26T13:15:51.442+02:00Why M-Net's Carte Blanche is exiting its Ferndale office space and switching to a work-from-home staff formatby Thinus FerreiraM-Net's long-running weekly investigative current affairs programme Carte Blanche is exiting its office space in Johannesburg, with the show produced by Combined Artistic Productions that has decided to switch to a work-from-home format.Combined Artistic Productions is giving up its office space in Oak Avenue in Johannesburg at the end of March. What DStv subscribers of Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-50897051454277541982026-03-26T09:31:00.001+02:002026-03-26T09:31:30.403+02:00First HBO Harry Potter series official teaser released as Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net have still not secured it for DStvby Thinus FerreiraOn Wednesday evening HBO released the first official teaser for its upcoming new Harry Potter series, entitled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that will debut over Christmas this year on its HBO Max video streaming service.Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net (DStv 101) have so far failed to secure this series, set to run for a decade, for DStv subscribers in South Africa.It Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-43890805978183313552026-03-26T08:50:00.001+02:002026-03-26T09:07:04.121+02:00Trace has a channel rebrand event for Trace Ngoma TV channel on DStv, MultiChoice CEO notes 'the evolution of a brand'by Thinus FerreiraOn Wednesday night, TRACe held some type of launch event for its rebranded Trace Ngoma (DStv 326) TV channel on Canal+'s MultiChoice DStv platform, although it failed to tell media and journalists covering TV anything about it or that it would take place.Trace rebranded Trace Africa to Trace Ngoma in December 2025, and now, three months later, decided to have some type of aThinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-52349315275183309712026-03-25T10:08:00.000+02:002026-03-25T10:08:16.159+02:00Angry MultiChoice execs sidelined by Canal+ frustrated and fearful for the(ir) future after decision-making moved to Paris - reportby Thinus FerreiraFrustrated MultiChoice executives, sitting in Randburg in Johannesburg and who used to have final approval on decisions, say they're fearful about the future and their futures, after new owner Canal+ swooped in and moved the final decision-making function to Canal+'s own executives in Paris.In a new report by Africa Intelligence, MultiChoice executives are quoted as saying Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-57376009752102499102026-03-25T09:44:00.000+02:002026-03-25T09:44:04.981+02:00TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. On yet another M-Net PR failure and failed promises about Mzansi Magic's Big Brother and nothing being done to properly communicate with media trying to cover itby Thinus FerreiraColour me baffled, disappointed and jaded (yet again!) by the latest just-concluded season of M-Net's Big Brother Mzansi: Bazozwa on Mzansi Magic - once again in my book a complete failure in anything resembling passable communication and proper MultiChoice PR in liaising on a bare bones, adequate way with the press trying, and supposed to, cover this show. After raising Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-48603425906507875802026-03-20T09:21:00.000+02:002026-03-20T09:21:33.394+02:00TV REVIEW. NFVF's badly done 19th SAFTAs mirrors a haphazard film biz in crisisby Thinus FerreiraThe National Film and Video Foundation's delayed, then rushed, then badly done broadcast of the 19th South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) was an embarrassment to the country's TV and film industry.Yet, perhaps, in all its faults and haphazard on-air mistakes as it stumbles along, it needs to be this way, since it ironically, and unintentionally, mirrors a troubled Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-1379738214498962062026-03-18T19:34:00.016+02:002026-03-19T09:29:08.405+02:00Canal+ to end Showmax subscriptions on 1 April 2026, will axe streamer on 30 April, as content moves to DStv Stream and later Canal+ appby Thinus FerreiraCanal+'s Showmax will end subscriptions for its doomed video streaming service from 1 April 2026 as Showmax content will temporarily be moved to DStv Stream, and later Canal+'s app, also known as Canal+.Showmax will stop on 30 April 2026.Earlier this month, Canal+ announced that it's ending the loss-making Showmax that it said could have destroyed MultiChoice.Banks like Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-25352897507329057662026-03-17T13:48:00.002+02:002026-03-17T13:48:24.402+02:00No, Checkers Sixty60 doesn't deliver by Airwolf helicopter and along the whole West Coast as ARB orders TikTok ad pulledby Thinus FerreiraOne flight of fantasy that isn't true is Checkers' Sixty60 delivery ad on TikTok that shows it delivering orders by turquoise Airwolf helicopter to houseboats along the whole West Coast. South Africa's Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) upheld a complaint after a consumer complained about "a floating house or houseboat situated on turquoise water somewhere on
the West Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-67053246492029758382026-03-17T07:32:00.000+02:002026-03-17T07:32:23.054+02:00South Africa's parliament demands answers from Canal+ over film industry job losses caused by shutdown of MultiChoice streamer Showmaxby Thinus FerreiraSouth Africa's parliament wants to look into how many job losses there will be in the country's film and TV industry because of Canal+'s shutdown of MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax, with parliament's portfolio committee on communications set to do special oversight visits to MultiChoice and eMedia's e.tv as commercial broadcasters.Canal+ announced it's shutting Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-28512565284282824032026-03-15T09:31:00.006+02:002026-03-20T09:22:32.083+02:00Cancelled shows win at NFVF's embarrassingly bad 19th South African Film and Television Awards (full winners list)by Thinus FerreiraThe National Film and Video Foundation's belatedly held 19th South African Film and Television Awards, awkwardly awarded prizes to a litany of cancelled shows.As an inept, mistake-riddled and badly done show which ran over by almost an hour on Saturday night as a live broadcast, the 19th SAFTAs, again produced by Black Swan Media, ironically held up a mirror of a troubled Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-52583847048177972832026-03-11T10:14:00.000+02:002026-03-11T10:14:53.239+02:00Conservation biologist Dr Steve Boyes on new National Geographic documentary film Ghost Elephants: 'We look for historical genetic connections' by Thinus FerreiraJust like the iconic scene from the first Jurassic Park movie, where a real T-Rex ends up in the visitor's centre main rotunda in its massive glory as a banner glides down, Dr Steve Boyes stands in front of a display of an elephant at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., in Ghost Elephants.But he isn't after a dinosaur.The South African Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-30161650269376752712026-03-10T19:01:00.001+02:002026-03-10T19:01:22.007+02:00Gus O'Brien upped as new NBCUniversal International Networks boss from Aprilby Thinus FerreiraGus O'Brien is replacing Ken Bettsteller, with NBCUniversal Media Group moving him to president of International Networks and direct-to-consumer (DTC) from 1 April, as Ken Bettsteller is replaced and shifted to an advisory role.NBCUniversal is also expanding Hendrik McDermott's scope, who has been leading Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Networks & DTC, to now Thinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447528365024104873.post-92041416480620911342026-03-10T09:15:00.000+02:002026-03-10T09:15:15.048+02:00Monsters In Africa: Why the continent waits for its own global fantasy and sci-fi breakthrough by Thinus FerreiraWhile Netflix's Squid Game did it for Asia and put Korea on the global map for genre content, the Nordics found success mining folklore, and Latin America booms with producing "telefantasy", the one continent that is still waiting for its local Wakanda-like breakthrough on the worldwide stage is Africa.While Africa is rich in stories, folklore, writing talent and creativity, theThinus Ferreirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17047178066844853211noreply@blogger.com