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Phew!!!
What a year 2015 was!
Before we jump into conclusion, I hope so your Christmas was marvelous. Yes many are crying “No money, no bonus!” but the entertainment joints were fully packed Revellers were geared for Christmas and Boxing Day.
That’s Zimbabweans for you!
2015 was a great year in terms of television, although there were some mishaps here and there. However, we still got a long way to go. Entertainment is entertainment anyway but it needs to be spiced up to give people value for their money. Here are the Silver Screen Awards for 2015 courtesy of Yours Truly. The categories are based on the writer’s discretion.
Biggest Criticism Award Of DStv subs cut and increased rates
When Multichoice Zimbabwe announced that it was increasing subscription prices, ardent fans of the bouquet were not happy, considering that in Africa we are the highest payers when it comes to subscription. One of DStv’s selling points has always been its sports coverage, specifically European football which has a cult following locally.
Live matches are available on Supersport which is accessible on Compact Plus, Premium and HD Premium packages. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that these three bouquets are the ones most affected by the price increases. Multichoice has always justified these annual price increases by citing rising operational costs, challenges with inflation, acquiring content and other factors.
It is up to DStv subscribers to believe any of that or not.
By the way, Multichoice is the only player that has firmly established itself as the consistent provider of TV entertainment. As if the price increases were not enough, Multichoice announced its intention to cut off DStv viewers who pay their subscriptions in South Africa while residing in Zimbabwe.
Without specifying the time when this move will be implemented, the company said an audit had been conducted to determine the accounts that need to be corrected. A survey conducted by Yours Truly revealed that many people in Zimbabwe prefer paying their subscriptions in South Africa as it offers cheaper rates. It offers South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) channels, which include soap operas, something Zimbabweans are hooked on to. The soapies include Generations, Isidingo, and Muvhango, all of which many Zimbabwean viewers used to watch on free-to-air channels. With this confusion in mind, DSTV lands top spot. Viewers’ Choice Award – Empire vs How to Get Away With Murder
Drama series and soaps help to lighten the mood, better still when one regularly follows them. When DStv introduced Africa Magic and Telemundo, many people, especially women, fell in love with it because somehow it related to them. Do not get me wrong; I am not sexist. But there are two shows which changed the face of television, “Empire” and “How To Get Away With Murder.”
Thumbs up to the directors, 2015 may be memorable courtesy of the two. I am also in the boat with viewers voting the two as the best choice for television. I hope next year we have much more entertainment.
Most Progressive Award – Digitalisation
For how long we continued to cry, “We want to move with time.” In recent months, we have witnessed a milestone in the implementation of the Digital Migration Project, with the hoisting of a satellite uplink dish at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s Pockets Hill studios.
So far, according to sources, only seven out of the 48 transmitter sites have optical fibre connectivity. We are getting there although it is costly. Rome was not built in a day. The technology will address the television transmission challenges the country is facing.
However, we still lack on studio set-up as evident seen in most shows. I also want to congratulate ZBC TV for the outside broadcast coverage which is immensely good. Although quality is a bit hazy we still get to know what is happening. The challenge comes on what we are covering. For entertainment, I do not think they deserve an award because most of the shows happening are not covered if not live.
We later watch them on VUZU, Channel O or MTV Base.
We are losing a golden opportunities. Bryn Adams, Toni and Tamar Braxton, all great musicians, were in this country and those who missed the show had a chance to watch it on DStv. Where are we going wrong? Another lost opportunity are fashion weekends and shows. Please, that is also entertainment! As for the parliamentary sessions and ICASA, we acknowledge a job well done.
Best Newcomer – Birth of Zambezi Magic
Enter the new baby for 2015, Zambezi Magic which was launched a couple of months ago. MultiChoice Zimbabwe called for local content to be aired on its M-Net Africa channels. Yes, we can say that it is what MultiChoice has been doing for a while now, engaging local content producers who can come up with productions that can be aired on a variety of channels that serve this growing market.
For obvious reasons, this was a bit of exciting news for local producers; getting content onto MultiChoice offers exposure to a much larger platform and a bigger audience along with the possibility of better revenue.
Now, it looks like things are set to get even better for them. The challenge came when you couldn’t notice the difference between the new baby and old (SABC).
According to DStv Zimbabwe, this channel has been created with the Southern African viewers in mind. They confirmed that Zambezi Magic will show SABC soaps ranging from SABC1’s Generations and SABC3’s Isidingo to SABC2’s Muvhango among the curated content from the SABC’s archives, as well as shows pulled from M-Net and Mzansi Magic’s shelves.
By showing the SABC soaps, Zambezi Magic will also try and curb the growing and lucrative black market in pirate copies of shows smuggled daily and weekly across South Africa’s borders to neighboring countries where viewers who can’t watch these daily melodramas on TV pay for DVDs with burnt episodes.
That awkward moment when DStv asks for local content yet it remains South African, Nigeria and Ghana – anything but Zimbabwean!
To give credit where it is dues, however, it is a good thing that Zimbabwean music is now being played with improved frequency.
Best Awards Show – Not Really African
There are lots of awards which took place in the entertainment industry from Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards to MTV African Musical Awards. We salute Africa for recognising talent.
Let me start off with the MAMA’s. My dissenting opinion was attacked by some bloggers because they did not want the truth. If we mean Africa why not have a share for all Africans? Do they know that we have about 53 countries in Africa?
The awards were more for Nigeria.
They put up a good performance with notable faces like P-Square, Davido and Yemi Alade winning laurels in various categories.
The Nigerian winners at the event include Davido (Best Male Act), he beat the other Nigerian nominee, Wizkid; Yemi Alade (Best Female Act); P-Square (Best Group); Patoranking (Best New Act)); AKA, Burna Boy, Da Les and JR (Best Collaboration); and The Mavins’ “Dorobucci” (Song of the Year).
Where was Zimbabwe? Some said we did not enter the awards because we thought we were bound to lose, but what about featuring in performances?
Are the awards based on who has the most population of DStv subscribers? We enjoyed the awards but please if you term them “African,” include other countries at least by giving them an opportunity to perform.
Best Adorable but Boring Miss Award
This year there was no Big Brother Africa although we were now used of the boring reality show. I think they deserve an award for not hosting this year because they need to up their game. Only one thing is predictable on the show: Who the winners will be, because checking on the records, BBA seems to rotate countries. Do not fire at me; it is just my observation.
We missed it this year and, alas, well done to Idols which took over. If you were to bring back Big Bore Africa, make sure it is better and bigger. Please ‘“Biggie” do something interesting so that I too would love to take part. I have been a big fan but if you do not change, I will stick to other shows.
That’s it for now folks! I wish you a prosperous New Year. We need those resolutions to last for the next 12 months not two months down the drain.
For television and film, I wish next year to be bigger and better. More action on what you preach. I am tired of blasting without changing. I promise to give solutions to some of these problems next year.
Hope all will be considered.
Till next year!!! Cheers 2016
Online Reporter