Broadcasters have lockdown covered
The show must go on, and on it goes, with companies having taken contingency measures to ensure sufficient content
TELEVISION shows, movies, documentaries and other content have been a lifeline for scores of people around the globe who have all been urged to stay at home as the deadly coronavirus continues to spread.
But while many fear that these sources of entertainment are running low, local broadcasters have ensured this will not be the case any time soon.
The Multichoice group, which oversees M-net, Dstv and Showmax, as well as the SABC and streaming giant Netflix, has contingency measures in place to ensure sufficient content is available during the crisis.
This is despite production interruptions ocally and internationally as the entertainment industry has not been spared the effects of the pandemic.
“The SABC is firmly committed to adhering to and delivering diligently on its mandate of providing an essential service of broadcasting to the millions of South Africans who rely solely on the corporation for information, education and entertainment,” said spokesperson Vuyo Mthembu.
He added the state entity’s TV schedules were up to date regarding international content.
“The acquisition would have been planned and executed in advance, in line with our international content acquisition strategy.”
These sentiments were echoed by Netflix South Africa.
“We have long lead times and most of our 2020 content from most parts of the world has finished filming, so we only expect minor changes to our release schedule this year.”
Meanwhile, Multichoice admitted it does foresawsome challenges with its content, but said this had also given it a chance to explore alternative avenues.
“There is always a high level of content coming from the UK and US, so we have taken the opportunity to explore new suppliers in territories from which we have never bought content before, which means a feast of new and fresh content across several genres.”
Many of Multichoice’s acclaimed local telenovelas on their Mzanzi Magic channel such as Gomora, The River and Isibaya also returned to the small screen from the end of May while renowned Afrikaans kyknet shows including Binnelanders, Getroud Met Rugby , Suidooster and Arendsvlei resumed in the first week of May.
Multichoice’s popular streaming service Showmax also introduced new seasons and a steady flow of strong international series to its line-up, with even more coming in the next few months.
Netflix also insisted it had more than enough content for people from all walks of life to enjoy.
“We will continue to bring the best in class entertainment to our members across multiple genres,” Netflix said.
“As previously mentioned, most things are still in the schedule as planned for 2020, and it’s possibly too early to know for next year what impact the production pause will have, but overall we have lots of new titles coming that will be supplemented with more licensed titles.”
The SABC added that their schedule was stable in regards to international content.
However, the arrival of the coronavirus in the country and the subsequent nationwide shutdown had resulted in Multichoice experiencing minimal content delays with some local productions and third-party channels.
This also extended to restrictions from other countries, which had had an impact on daily soaps for a limited period.
The group said that while M-net Series anticipated minimal disruptions going forward as the channel had acquired enough content and could comfortably schedule until early 2021, it would not all be plain sailing.
“Due to US production delays, January titles such as Grey’s Anatomy might return two to three months later than usual to ensure no interruption to viewing.”
Meanwhile, the SABC said the coronavirus had caused disruptions with some of its local soapies.
“Unfortunately, in recent times, productions such as SABC 2’s Muvhango, Lithapo and 7de Laan have been faced with situations in which, as a precautionary measure, their production had to shut down.”
All the broadcasters and streaming service providers have also insisted that they are determined to keep their staff as safe as possible during the pandemic.
“The SABC, like many other institutions around the globe, is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and some of our productions endured far-reaching consequences when work was halted during the earlier phases of lockdown,” said Mthembu.
“When the lockdown regulations were eased, productions resumed while strictly complying with the essential services regulations, as set out by the government.”
Multichoice added that although the easing of the lockdown in the country had allowed local productions to resume, they had done so under strict safety measures
“The safety of crews and casts remains a priority and we are in constant communication with production houses to ensure that stringent health guidelines are in place and are being adhered to.”
Another element of the lockdown that all those mentioned agree with, is that there had been an increased appetite for content.
While Netflix is tight lipped about its viewership numbers, calls to stay at home around the globe have seen scores of people engaging with its content.
It has since introduced a Top 10 feature and has said that some of its reality shows such as Love is Blind and Tiger King were hits with the viewing public.
Meanwhile, Multichoice said it had witnessed “an uplift in subscribers towards the end of March, with many viewers engaging with the expanded news, kids, movie and local content that was made available”.