MultiChoice Group Boasts Record Number of SAFTA Nominations

WINDHOEK, FEB 12 – MultiChoice Group, the largest investor in television and film production on the African continent, has received a record number of nominations for the South African Film and Television Awards, outperforming all other content platforms in South Africa for the second year in a row.

The 13th annual SAFTA nominations were announced on 8 February 2019 in Rosebank, Johannesburg. The awards ceremony is set to take place on 2 March 2019 at Sun City.

Nomination highlights include 1Magic’s new highly popular telenovela The River with 17 nominations and Mzansi Magic’s Isibaya with nine, while Afrikaans channel kykNET’s programmes collectively received no fewer than 60 nominations. M-Net’s local reality shows Survivor SA, My Kitchen Rules SA and Dancing with the Stars also outperforms in the reality categories and MultiChoice Group’s Video on Demand service, Showmax, can be proud of its 7 nominations for Thali’s Wedding Diary (see full list of nominees attached). All these productions can be enjoyed on the DStv platforms.

Mzansi Magic and 1Magic dominate every category
In the telenovela category Mzansi and 1Magic shows dominate every category in particular The River, an extraordinary feat for a production in its first year. “Congratulations to all our producers and the talent that received nominations for this year’s awards,” said Yolisa Phahle, CEO General Entertainment for MultiChoice Group. “MultiChoice plays an important role in the African film and television production industry by investing heavily in local talent and production development. It is paying off. We are changing the dynamic from international content consumption to consistently bringing our audiences the best stories on all the DStv platforms.” said Phahle.

“We are also happy to see our people being recognised for their behind-the-scenes work in the technical categories, as well as in every single genre from reality, variety and drama to speciality shows and current affairs. “Not to mention the sought-after best actor and actress categories in the different genres in which our shows will also compete,” she continued.

MultiChoice Group is the leading producer of content in South Africa and Africa. The group is poised to become a significant competitor on the global stage with its content creation strategy aimed at adding value to Africa’s growing GDP and jobs environment. MultiChoice Group is also the single biggest supporter of media entrepreneurs through the awarding of production contracts to small and medium production companies and freelancers. It indirectly supports many industry jobs (in line with President Ramaphosa 5 critical points at SONA).

MultiChoice Group is a newly formed company due to list on the JSE this month and includes MultiChoice South Africa, MultiChoice Africa, Showmax Africa and Irdeto.

The South African Television and Film Awards ceremony will be broadcast live from the Sun City Superbowl at 19:00 on 2 March 2019. – Multichoice Namibia