Radio & TV

Content Piracy: A Fight For African Culture And Heritage

Published

4 weeks ago

November 8, 2023

When we turn a blind eye to content piracy, we undermine the ability of African storytellers to express themselves, Alex Okyere Managing Director, MultiChoice Ghana. By fighting to protect intellectual property, we keep local productions viable, and we ensure our people have a voice.

Nana Akoto, Dede, Madam, To Have and To Hold, Tanko Villa, and RSM (shows on Akwaaba Magic)… all of these are expressions of our society, showcased by talented creators and production crews, telling Ghanaian stories for African and Ghanaian audiences. All are threatened by content piracy.

A nation’s creative output is a fundamental part of its identity. One could even argue that art and creative works are what allows a group of people to define themselves as a nation.

In centuries past, those artworks might have included pottery, sculpture, textile and clothing design, as well as religious and cultural artefacts. Today, these cultural signifiers are still produced, but they exist alongside contemporary art forms that are equally important in defining national culture today.

Those modern art forms include film, television, recorded music, websites, virtual environments and a host of other digital content.

Digital channels make it easier to distribute this creative cultural content, and to reach more people. However, the digital economy comes with a significant risk of piracy.

Content piracy is a form of digital theft, which misappropriates creative work without fair compensation for the work’s creators and rightsholders.

This is the modern face of art theft, and we have all been exposed to it. Piracy can take the form of broadcast interception, the showing of content that hasn’t been licensed, or the copying, sharing and sale of online digital content on pirate websites.

Tragically, it’s the most exciting, most relevant content that is most likely to be pirated.

Digital content piracy is an insidious crime. It initially appears to be a mild, victimless misdemeanour, but when it becomes rampant, it can destroy entire creative industries.

Content piracy deals a death blow to local creatives when audiences begin to access their work on alternative channels and legitimate platforms are starved of viewers. The legitimate licence holders are then unable to build businesses on funding and creating original local content.

This is especially relevant in Africa.

When it’s no longer viable to produce local, Africa content because it’s being pirated it becomes easier and more financially viable to simply purchase cheap international content from the USA, Europe and the Global North.

Audiences are then provided with films and shows that reflect the values of the developed world not Africa. The idea of a nation expressing itself, telling its stories through its cultural output, is then undermined. It becomes a case of rich, industrialised nations colonising the minds of African audiences with generic, Western content.

Content piracy supports cultural imperialism. Where African people no longer see themselves reflected in the art they consume, it distorts how they see themselves. Conversely, when Africa stops exporting content to the world, it distorts the way the world sees Africa.

Films, series, television programming… all this content is about cultural representation. Where we undermine a country’s creative industries by stealing content, we sabotage their ability to tell their own stories.

The scale of the content piracy problem is enormous.

In the United States, a global leader in content creation, an industry report estimated that digital video piracy was costing the economy between 230 000 and 560 000 jobs every year, and up to $115.3 billion in reduced gross domestic product. How much larger then, is the impact in Africa, already battling to make its voice heard!

An Irdeto survey has found that piracy is already taking root. It found that users in five major African territories made 17,4 million visits to the top 10 identified piracy sites on the internet in a single three-month period.

African-based organisations like Irdeto, Partners Against Piracy (PAP) and the Kenya Copyright Board are doing sterling work to protect intellectual property and ensure that content creators retain the right to earn a living from their work.

However, it’s worth remembering that the war against content piracy is not simply a financial one. In many ways, it is a fight for the soul of Africa.

If we allow criminals to steal our creative output, we allow them to silence our voice and to destroy an expression of our culture. We must continue that fight and defend our right to make Africa’s voice heard across the continent, and across the world.

As citizens of Africa, it is our duty to safeguard what is intellectually ours. Combat piracy and protect creators by reporting instances of copyright infringement and piracy by sending an e-mail to piracy@multichoice.co.za.

Radio & TV

12 years old Ghanaian Nicholas Boamah premieres first TV show

Published

2 days ago

December 1, 2023

Ameyaw Debrah

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U.S.-based Ghanaian, Nicholas Buamah Continues To Wow Audience

12-year-old Nicholas Buamah has recently set the internet ablaze with the premiere of his new TV show, “Nick’s House.”

The much anticipated pilot episode lived up to expectations, delivering both a blend of humor and wholesomeness. Nicholas, whose father hails from Ghana, infused elements of the Ghanaian culture into the TV sitcom, evident in the incorporation of the Twi language. Hollywood actor Som Aidoo, portraying Nicholas’s father on the show and a native of Ghana, seamlessly embraced the Ghanaian dialect, contributing to the authenticity of ‘Nick’s House.’

Nicholas’s journey into the world of storytelling began at the age of 7 when he published his first book, “Kayla & Kyle: The Walking Dictionaries, Election Day.” This marked the inception of a passion that led him to publish two additional books. As his love for writing blossomed, he envisioned creating a scripted show. Collaborating with his mother, Danielle, Nicholas enlisted the expertise of professional writers and producers to bring this remarkable project to life.

Although presented with offers from different platforms to feature “Nick’s House,” Nicholas and his mother opted to release it independently, ensuring accessibility to a global audience. Nicholas says that he’s looking forward to filming an episode or two of “Nick’s House” in Ghana in 2024.

Nicholas is credited as the creator, writer, and star of the show. He invites everyone to watch the pilot episode on MotherHubbard.TV or YouTube.com.

Radio & TV

Nat Geo: “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” To Premiere On GOtv The man, the music, the movement

Published

4 days ago

November 29, 2023

Ameyaw Debrah

In Uganda’s 2021 presidential election, music star, activist and opposition leader Bobi Wine, together with his wife Barbie, rallied his people in a dangerous fight for freedom from President Museveni’s oppressive 35-year regime. Documenting his presidential run, National Geographic’s Bobi Wine: The People’s President, premieres across Africa on DStv 181 and GOtv 201 this Sunday, 3 December at 7pm.

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leqt5JhRa5A

Born in the slums of Kampala, Bobi Wine, Ugandan opposition leader, former member of parliament, activist and national superstar musician, risks his life and the lives of his wife, Barbie, and their children to fight the ruthless regime led by Yoweri Museveni. Museveni has been in power since 1986 and changed Uganda’s constitution to enable him to run for yet another five-year term.

Running in the country’s 2021 presidential elections, Bobi Wine uses his music to denounce the dictatorial regime and support his life mission to defend the oppressed and the voiceless people of Uganda. In this fight, he must also take on the country’s police and military, which are not afraid to use violence and torture in a vain attempt to intimidate and silence him and his supporters.

His characteristic enthusiasm for democratic discourse and the popularity he had earned from his prior artistic and philanthropic endeavors successfully endured his transition to politics. Bobi Wine continues to lead the NUP, the largest political opposition party in Uganda and has become the main opposition leader to President Museveni’s rule.

More information about the documentary is available here: https://films.nationalgeographic.com/bobi-wine-the-people-s-president

Radio & TV

Best series to binge this December on Showmax, from Poker Face to The Winter King to World On Fire

Published

4 days ago

November 29, 2023

Ameyaw Debrah

Here are some new shows on Showmax to add to your watchlist this December.

1st seasons of Poker Face, The Winter King, Blue Lights; new World On Fire, How To With John Wilson

POKER FACE S1 | Binge from 11 December

Four-time Emmy nominee Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll, Orange Is The New Black) is on the case in Poker Face, a Peacock Original mystery from Oscar-nominated creator Rian Johnson (Knives Out, Glass Onion, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi).

Lyonne plays Charlie Cale, a casino worker with an extraordinary ability to detect lies. After a close friend is murdered, she hits the road in her Plymouth Barracuda. At every stop, she encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but investigate and solve.

The all-star cast includes Oscar winner Adrien Brody (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Oscar nominees Hong Chau (The Whale), Nick Nolte (Warrior) and Chloë Sevigny (Big Love), Emmy winners Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception), Ellen Barkin (Animal Kingdom), and Cherry Jones (Succession), and Emmy nominees Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order), Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Judith Light (The Menu, Shining Vale).

Poker Face is the 10th best-reviewed series of 2023 on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 98% critic’s rating, and is up for four Emmys, including Lead Actress (Lyonne) and Guest Actress (Light).

WORLD ON FIRE S2 | Binge from 20 December

Four years after its acclaimed first season (thanks to Covid-19 delays), the World War II series World on Fire is back for a second season.

Starring Jonah Hauer-King (Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid and Laurie Laurence in Little Women), Oscar nominee Lesley Manville (Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, The Crown, Phantom Thread), and an ensemble cast, World on Fire Season 2 is set between 1940 and 1941, taking us from the war-torn streets of Britain and the start of The Blitz in Manchester deep into Nazi Germany, the resistance within occupied France, and the brutal sands of the North African desert, including the Siege of Tobruk and Operation Compass.

Season 2 has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Guardian’s calling it, “totally gripping” and saying, “This hugely ambitious attempt to show the war through the lives of ordinary people has an immaculate grasp of tension and character. To watch is to be fully invested in these peoples’ fate.”

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THE WINTER KING S1 | First On Showmax | Mondays from 4 December

Before Britain, there was King Arthur…

Set amid the brutality of the 5th Century in a land of warring factions and tribes, The Winter King follows Arthur Pendragon (BAFTA Scotland nominee Iain De Caestecker, aka Leopold Fitz/The Doctor in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as he evolves from outcast son to legendary warrior, leader and ultimately, legend.

An epic revisionist take on the well-loved Arthurian legends, The Winter King is based on The Warlord Chronicles trilogy by Bernard Cornwell, and has an 82% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As the critics’ consensus says, “Action-packed and sprawling in scope, The Winter King compensates for its lack of fidelity to Bernard Cornwell’s books with sheer entertainment value.”

The cast includes award winner Valene Kane (Gangs of London) as Morgan, Olumide Olorunfemi (Venom: Let There Be Carnage) as Lunette, award winner Tatjana Nardone (Devils, Medici) as Ladwys, Ken Nwosu (Christopher Robin, The Witches, Killing Eve, The Letter for the King) as Sagramor, and award winner Nathaniel Martello-White (Collateral, Deceit, I Hate Suzie) as Merlin, with former Cape Town model Jordan Alexandra (Surprised by Oxford) as Guinevere. Also look out for Screen Actors’ Guild Award nominee Daniel Ings (The Crown, I Hate Suzie) as Owain, Ellie James (Girl/Haji, I May Destroy You) as Nimue, and Billy Postlethwaite (Silo, 1917) as Cadwys, with Teen Choice nominee Eddie Marsan (The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe) as Uther.

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SHINING VALE S2 | First on Showmax | Binge from 4 December

Season 2 of Shining Vale promises a Phelps family reunion like no other. The story picks up four months later, with Pat (Emmy-nominated Scream queen and Friends star Courteney Cox) being released from the psychiatric hospital early and returning home, determined to pick up the pieces of her broken family. But she quickly finds out her children (Gus Birney from Dickinson and Dylan Gage from PEN15) don’t need her, and her husband Terry (Oscar nominee Greg Kinnear from As Good As It Gets and Little Miss Sunshine) doesn’t remember her – thanks to that little brain injury.

To make matters worse, Pat’s new neighbour looks uncannily like Season 1’s resident spectre, Rosemary (Oscar winner Mira Sorvino from Mighty Aphrodite, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion), and the house is starting to reveal the shocking secrets of its dark past…

Four-time Emmy nominee Judith Light (tick, tick…BOOM!, Transparent, Ugly Betty, and Who’s the Boss?) returns as Pat’s mom, Joan, with Screen Actors’ Guild Award nominee Merrin Dungey (Big Little Lies, Alias) as her editor, Kam. Emmy nominees Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks) and Allison Tolman (Why Women Kill, Fargo) are also among the cast this season.

Shining Vale won the 2022 Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Television Series, with nominations for Best Actress and Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Cox and Birney respectively. Cox was also named Best Actress in a Comedy at last year’s Women’s Image Network Awards, where the show won Outstanding Comedy Series.

Created by Emmy-nominated writer and executive producer Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters) and Writers Guild of America Award nominee Jeff Astrof (Trial & Error, The New Adventures of Old Christine), Shining Vale is once again helmed by an all-female line-up of directors, with Cox producing.

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BLUE LIGHTS S1 | Binge from 11 December

Set in Belfast in Northern Ireland, Blue Lights follows three rookie police officers who find themselves up against criminal gangs, undercover agents, their own communities and even their own police force as they work to complete the last two months of their probationary period.

Blue Lights has an 89% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with five-star reviews from both The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian, with the latter calling the series “well-crafted, fantastically tense, thrilling stuff,” and “one of the best shows of the year”.

The BBC police procedural is led by award nominee Sian Brooke (Guilt, Good Omens) and newcomers Katherine Devlin and Nathan Braniff, with the likes of Irish Film and Television Award winner Martin McCann (Last Sentinel, The Survivalist), Screen Actors Guild nominee Richard Dormer (Game of Thrones), and award winners Valene Kane (Gangs of London, The Winter King) and Andi Osho (I May Destroy You, The Sandman) co-starring.

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HOW TO WITH JOHN WILSON S2 | Binge from 20 December

The third and final season of the zany, hilarious, and widely acclaimed HBO Original docu-comedy series How To With John Wilson follows documentary filmmaker and self-described “anxious New Yorker” John Wilson. Continuing his heartfelt mission of self-discovery, exploration, and observation, Wilson films the lives of his fellow New Yorkers while attempting to give everyday advice on six new deceptively simple and wildly random topics, from how to find a public restroom to how to work out to how to clean your ears. Obviously.

Nominated for a 2022 Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program, How To With John Wilson boasts a consistent 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes across all three seasons, with the Season 3 critics’ consensus saying, “Still subversive but taking on new layers of emotional resonance, John Wilson’s opus demonstrates exactly how to bring a labour of love to a satisfying finish.”

The Guardian calls it “miraculous”, saying, “Every episode of this visual essay is an absolute masterpiece – like nothing else on television… One of the finest shows to come out of the US in years… A complete modern reinvention of the visual essay form, something funny and profound and head-spinningly human, a glimpse of New York City from an angle it’s never been seen before, at grubby street level and round freakish little corners.”

Radio & TV

MultiChoice Ghana Staff Bring Akwaaba Magic’s ‘Nana Akoto’ to Life

Published

5 days ago

November 29, 2023

Ameyaw Debrah

Walk-in customers to the MultiChoice Ghana HQ in Accra were thrilled to see staff transform the office into a colourful display of the rich Ghanaian culture depicted in the Akwaaba Magic epic, ‘Nana Akoto’ on Friday 24^th November 2023.

Barely a month into its premiere, ‘Nana Akoto’ has already become a household name for many viewers of Akwaaba Magic. However, the extra attention garnered from the staff activation added another layer of excitement and anticipation from viewers and those yet to watch the series.

The epic story of ‘Nana Akoto’ is inspired by true events; it tells the story of a young prince of the ancient Kwaaman kingdom, whose life takes a turn when he is sent to the powerful Denkyera Empire as a tribute. After years of indoctrination and a loss of identity, Nana Akoto must rediscover his identity and find his way back to his people.

The team at MultiChoice Ghana were able to bring the story of Nana Akoto to life in the Ghana office, dressing in traditional costumes with its accompanying accessories as exhibited by the characters in this series. Participation was “massive” as staff brought on their A-Game as they stood the chance to win a shopping voucher amongst others.

Commenting on the activation, Human Resource Manager at MultiChoice Ghana, Matilda Asare, said she was impressed with the high participation from staff. “This has been one of the most successful campaigns we’ve run this year. This is a true testament that we do not only promote our Ghanaian series on Akwaaba Magic to external customers, but internally, we consume our content as well,” she noted.

The excitement transcended to our GOtv and DStv customers as staff shared their colourful pictures on their social media handles. Juliet Fianko from our Customer Value Management team confirms she received several messages from her followers enquiring about the show. Juliet adds “I wish we could do this again because the feedback we received from customers has been encouraging, and the attention helps to promote local content on Akwaaba Magic.”

Nana Akoto airs every Monday to Friday at 20:00 GMT on Akwaaba Magic on DStv Ch. 150 and GOtv Ch. 102.

People & Lifestyle

Meet the Top 10 Finalists! Miss Malaika Ghana 2023…. Grand Finale on 24th November!

Published

2 weeks ago

November 23, 2023

Ameyaw Debrah

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When the call for this year’s edition dubbed #thebloomseason was made, thousands responded and showed up. And after a series of audition processes, 20 ladies were selected to begin this life changing journey. Weeks have gone by, weeks of intense training, laughter, tears, highs, lows and of course, evictions which have dropped the numbers down from 20 to the big 10 finalists. And now we are ready for a showdown, the prestigious Miss Malaika Ghana 2023 Grand Finale, and it’s happening on Friday, the 24th of November at the Grand Arena (AICC), 8pm prompt.

Meet the Final 10 Delegates.

Pristine Adzo Agbozo is a 23-year-old graduate of KNUST (voting code 43). Bridgetta Glover is a 24-year-old graduate of the Koforidua Technical University (code 19). Comfort Amoah, AKA Reina, is a 23-year-old graduate of Action Progressive Institute (code 31). Fareeda Habib is a 23-year-old graduate of KNUST (code 33). Fortune Akua Agyeman is a 23-year-old graduate of KNUST (21). Christiana Bervelyn Anim is a 22-year-old graduate of UPSA (code 14). Lady Nana Yaa Nyarko is a 22-year-old graduate of KNUST (code 2). Kimberly Akornortey is a 23-year-old student of University of Ghana (code 6). Charlotte Mawusi Gokah is a 25-year-old graduate of Adonten (code 1). Enyam Dzandu is a 21-year-old student of University of Ghana (45).

Get ready to witness a night where fashion meets glitz and glamor, as the beautiful and smart finalists take the stage in an ultimate spectacle of elegance. This is the crowning moment of the bloom season queen. Who gets the enviable right as the next Queen? Who wins the Crown, the Car, and the Cash.

Tickets for this extraordinary evening are selling for GHc100 at Charterhouse or dial *713*33*24# and follow the prompts. For more information, call 0501288520.

Performing Live are artistes of the new school; Mr Drew, Sefa, Olive the Boy, Loli X Lola, Maya Blu and Banzy Banero.

Get more on-the-go information on Miss Malaika Ghana socials; Instagram & Twitter: @missmalaikagh and Facebook: Miss Malaika Ghana. Watch each episode on CharterhouseLive on YouTube.

Miss Malaika Ghana is a Charterhouse production and is proudly brought to you by GTP, Shandy Bosoe and Pepsodent. With support from Vaseline, Atlas Rent-A-Car, Geisha, BVS Butchery, Ecogel, Locus Estates, Special Ice, Tasty Tom, Best Wester n Plus Beach Hotel, Tigon Creative Studios and Media partners.

People & Lifestyle

Kwame Sarfo makes cast of Netflix’s largest reality show yet, ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’

Published

2 weeks ago

November 22, 2023

Ameyaw Debrah

Kwame Sarfo makes cast of Netflix's largest reality show yet, 'Squid Game: The Challenge'

Old Bridge, New Jersey-based Kwame Sarfo, who is the founder of Obrempong Home, has been cast in Netflix’s biggest reality show yet, ‘ Squid Game: The Challenge‘! (more…)