Media & Entertainment

VENTURES AFRICA – The 2013 Economist Nigeria summit has come to an end. The event had in attendance global economic icons such as former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, under whose helm the country’s economy significantly improved; founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, Jacqueline Novogratz; and Robert Neuwirth, author of Stealth of Nations [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – JSE-listed investment holding company, Remgro, planned to launch e.tv online and eNCA online before the close of the first half of this year, it disclosed on Tuesday. This is in an effort to develop a multi-channel plan aimed at boosting Remgro’s attractiveness across a number of platforms and improve chances of new [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – South Africa’s media giant Naspers had approved the merger of its two Russian internet classified sites with larger competitor Avito.ru in a deal worth over $570 million, it emerged on Tuesday. It is understood that this merger would set the scene for the consolidation of Russia’s internet market. Financial Times reported that [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – Nigerian music digital distributor gaint iROKING has built a brand new mobi site in partnership with South African social network 2go, to bring instant free Nigerian music downloads to the more than 9 million active 2go users across Nigeria. Commenting on the development, Adi Nduka-Agwu, Head of Business Development for iROKO Partners, [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – Times Media Group (TMG) had boycotted public hearings on transformation in South Africa’s print and digital media, forcing these inquiries to be postponed indefinitely, it emerged late on Monday. According to the South African Press Association (Sapa), TMG on Friday last week told the task team about their immediate pull out of [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – South Africa’s largest English-language newspaper group, Independent News & Media (INM), has agreed to sell its South African unit for R2billion ($219.6 million) to a consortium of investors led by Iqbal Survé, a renowned SA philanthropist and former doctor to ex-president Nelson Mandela. According to a statement released by INM, detailed heads [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – Bankole Wellington, owner of Nigeria-based music label EME records, renewed his endorsement deal with Samsung Electronics West Africa which will see him earn up to 140 million naira ($890,000), according to report. His reps, in a statement, confirmed that “Banky (as he is popularly called) and Nollywood star, Kate Henshaw will be the [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – Ficomms International today announced the launch of a Nigerian entrepreneurial reality TV show tagged THE NEXT TITAN and sponsored by African telecoms giant MTN, through one of its division, MTN Business. The 13-week series would feature 16 street smart contestants from across Africa which would be given the opportunity to prove their [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – Nduka Obaigbena, publisher of Nigeria-based THISDAY newspaper and global style, fashion and culture magazine, Arise, on Monday ‘soft launched’ two international 24-hour TV stations, ARISE NEWS and ARISE 360, headquartered in New York. Arise News “ARISE NEWS, will have a strong African footprint and serve underserved communities in the USA and other [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation Studios has announced a new funding partnership which sees South African production and finance firm Spier Films investing in feature film Khumba. Revealing the new partnership today, Triggerfish confirmed that the animation film – which is set for release later this year -, is now a fully South [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – iROKOtv, the world’s largest online distributor of Nigerian movies, Tuesday announced the launch of a brand new mobile app in an exclusive partnership with global phone manufacturer, Nokia. The app has been designed to give iROKOtv PLUS subscribers and fans of Nigeria’s movie industry, Nollywood, mobile access to Nigerian movies on Nokia [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – The Independent News & Media Group has failed to receive satisfactory offers for the sale of its South African unit, with most bids coming in up to 100 million Euros ($ 133 million) less than expected. The Ireland-based publishing company has received offers in the region of 150 million Euros ($ 199.5 [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – LC2, the broadcast right owners of the Orange AFCON 2013, has said it maintains its stand on the approach and charge for media rights “in the interest of African football, and for the AFCON 2013,” thereby leaving some major African populations still unable to watch the tournament on their national terrestrial TV [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – LC2 Media, the licensed broadcaster of the latest edition of Africa’s largest sporting event, AFCON 2013, said its decision to charge the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) $11 million for broadcasting rights in the country was based on contract agreement with the organizing body of the tournament “to ensure a better visibility [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – South Africa media conglomerate, Caxton and CTP Publishers and Printers Limited‚ which owns The Citizen has increased its stake in Times Media Group (TMG) to 10.44 percent after it bought Tokyo Sexwale’s Mvelaphanda Holdings’ 7.3 percent stake in TMG. This has made Caxton one of TMG’s largest shareholders after Coronation, UHC and Public [...]