MultiChoice Namibia Reveals Sizzling Hot New Content For The Summer

MultiChoice Namibia held its annual content showcase event via livestream on 9 September 2020. Hosted by Managing Director Roger Gertze and his leadership team, the virtual event gave the media and other key industry stakeholders an exclusive look at the breakthrough content coming to Namibian audiences via DStv and GOtv this summer.

“Video entertainment is our language, it’s what we work with every day in line with our mission of making great entertainment more accessible throughout the country. It was only natural that we used video in an innovative way to rise above the challenges presented by COVID-19. Additionally, this showcase demonstrated MultiChoice’s hyper-local approach in our business and local content offerings alike. In this way, we were able to use video, the medium we ‘own’, in a powerful way,” explains Gertze.

The event featured updates from across the MultiChoice Group covering exciting additions to its entertainment and sports content offering as well as insights into how the company is innovating to deliver a world class customer experience.

New productions, movies and more

Aligning with MultiChoice Group’s mission to invest in local content as Africa’s most loved storyteller, M-Net has raised the bar yet again recently by adding more local scripted series to its line-up.

This includes four new shows: Trackers, MultiChoice Group’s first international co-production based on the book by South Africa author, Deon Meyer; Still Breathing; Legacy and Inconceivable.

FliekNET, the popular holiday pop-up channel showcasing locally-produced blockbuster movies, classic favourites and a variety of Afrikaans film formats, is now a permanent part of the KykNET stable, broadcast on DStv Channel 149.

KykNET is also now producing shorter dramas, moving away from its regular 13-episode format for scripted content. The first of these is Kompleks, written by Louis Pretorius and Albert Snyman (Die Boekklub, Fynskrif), directed by award-winning actress Tinarie van Wyk Loots, and narrated by Koos Kombuis and Deon Meiring.

Fans of Arendsvlei, the first telenovela on kykNET&kie (DStv Channel 145), will be delighted to hear that the nail-biting cliff hangers will be around for another year, as the next installment debuts on the channel in October 2020.

New-look M-Net Movies

With the recent streamlining of M-Net movies, it is now even easier for viewers keep tabs on all their favourite movie genres and stay up to date with the latest releases.

New international channels and shows

The content showcase event also revealed a number of new international channels coming to DStv and GOtv, including TLNovelas, the renowned English-dubbed Mexican telenovela channel; Timeless Drama Channel, big-budget series from Turkish producers in Istanbul and Anatolia; tvN, the best in Korean dramas dubbed into English; Kix, Asian action movies and cutting-edge reality shows, featuring the biggest Asian action icons and classic Kung Fu movies; ZooMoo, animal-themed shows for kids combining live animation, puppetry and a real-time app; and WildEarth, the only 24/7 channel that delivers authentic live and interactive safari experiences worldwide.

M-Net will continue to bring Hollywood’s latest series to Africa, first, beginning in September with the highly rated Mrs America with its A-list cast. Other hot new international shows on M-Net’s horizon include Legacy; The Good Lord Brid; The Undoing; The Equalizer; Lioness; The Bachelorette SA and Love Island South Africa.

The world’s best sport

With international sports resuming, MultiChoice Namibia announced a number of exclusive global football broadcasts coming this summer. Among these are the action-packed Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Serie A and LaLiga, all exclusive to SuperSport and complete with expert commentary and analyses.

DStv and GOtv are now officially the home of American sports in Africa, with two new channels – ESPN 1 and 2 – joining the existing ESPN channel offering.

In addition, a sterling production, Chasing the Sun, debuts on DStv this month. This powerful SuperSport documentary has been produced in collaboration with the Springboks, and tells the rousing tale of their path to redemption and World Cup glory in 2019.

The six-part documentary series premieres on M-Net on Sunday, 27 September 2020, concluding six weeks later on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Springbok World Cup win. The documentary will also air on Catch Up, kykNET, SuperSport and Showmax.

“The fresh content slate for Summer 2020 forms part of our commitment to ensuring that we keep bringing valued customers the quality video entertainment they love, telling the best local and international stories, giving access to nail-biting sporting action and up-to-the-minute news, as well as leading international series, movies, documentaries and children’s entertainment,” says Gertze.

Looking ahead, Namibians are in for a real treat in the coming months, in terms of both outstanding content and product innovation.

The 5 best new international movies on Showmax, from BlacKkKlansman to Time Freak

MultiChoice’s streaming service Showmax has new international movies for you to stream.

Here are 5 best international movies new to Showmax for you to watch- from BlacKkKlansman (2018) to The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019).

BLACKKKLANSMAN (2018)

BlacKkKlansman tells the bizarre true story of Ron Stallworth, Colorado Springs’ first African-American detective, who attempts to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s… with the help of a Jewish stand-in.

The film won auteur-director Spike Lee a long-overdue Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, making it his first competitive Academy Award in a 34-year career that’s included films like Do The Right Thing (1989) and Malcolm X (1992). BlacKkKlansman also won the Grand Prix at Cannes; was nominated for four Golden Globes, including Best Drama; and is ranked third on Rotten Tomatoes’ recent list of the Best Black Movies of the 21st Century.

John David Washington (Ballers) stars the Golden Globe-nominated lead role, with Adam Driver (Star Wars’ Kylo Ren and Oscar nominee for Marriage Story [2019]) in an Oscar-nominated supporting role.

Lee and producer Jordan Peele (Get Out, 2017; Us, 2019) released BlacKkKlansman just after the Unite The Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017, which features at the end of the film, but Blackkklansman sadly feels even more timely now, in light of the recent Black Lives Matter protests.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (2019)

Inseparable besties Hiccup and Toothless, the big screen’s most adorable dragon ever, are back for their final adventure in the beloved Dreamworks threequel inspired by Cressida Cowell’s best-selling book series. Hiccup and Astrid have created a utopia for dragons and Vikings alike, but now a new danger threatens everything they love, just as Toothless finds a potential girlfriend…

The Hidden World was nominated for a 2020 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, as well as a Golden Globe, six Annies and two People’s Choice Awards. Rated 7-9 PGV, The Hidden World was the 14th biggest film at the global box office in 2019, grossing over $500 million, and has a 91% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Jay Baruchel (This Is The End, 2013) reprises his Emmy-winning role as Hiccup, alongside Golden Globe winner America Ferrera (Superstore, Ugly Betty) as Astrid. The stellar cast includes Oscar winners Cate Blanchett (Galadriel in Lord of the Rings) and F. Murray Abraham (Homeland, 2011); Oscar nominees Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, 2011) and Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street, 2013); Golden Globe nominee Kit Harington (Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow); Emmy winner and Late, Late Show host Craig Ferguson; BAFTA winner David Tennant (Doctor Who, 2005; Good Omens, 2019); and MTV Movie Award winner Gerard Butler (300, 2006).

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 (2019)

With a new baby in the house, our favourite Jack Russel, Max, lands himself in pet therapy for stress and finds a mentor in the form of a Welsh Sheepdog, Rooster.

Emmy winner Patton Oswalt (Remy in Ratatouille, 2007), replaces Louis C.K. as the voice of our hero Max; Oscar-nominee Harrison Ford voices Rooster, and two-time People’s Choice winner Kevin Hart returns as Snowball.

The Secret Life of Pets 2 was a 2020 Kids Choice nominee for Favourite Animated Movie, a 2019 People’s Choice nominee for Favourite Family Movie, and was the 19th biggest movie of 2019 at the global box office, grossing over $400m. Rated PGV, the film has a 90% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with both Guardian and Variety hailing it as even better than the original 2016 blockbuster.

YESTERDAY (2019)

Jack Malik (Himesh Patel in a 2019 Teen Choice-nominated performance) is a small-time singer-songwriter in an English coastal town who’s rapidly facing the reality that his dream probably isn’t going anywhere, in spite of the fanatical support of his best friend, manager and biggest fan, Ellie (People’s Choice, Teen Choice and Kid’s Choice nominee Lily James from Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), Baby Driver (2017), Cinderella, 2019). Then there’s a mysterious global blackout, Jack gets hit by a bus, and wakes up to find that The Beatles never existed…

Yesterday was nominated for a People’s Choice Award for Favourite Comedy Movie, a Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie, and a Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Movie, as voted by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

Yesterday is written by Oscar nominee Richard Curtis (Love Actually, 2003; Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994) and directed by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 2008; Trainspotting, 1996). It has a gorgeous, feel-good soundtrack that Beatles fans (and most humans with a pulse) will adore, a modern-day fairytale of a love story, and endearing performances from a charming cast that includes BAFTA nominees Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal (The Kumars at No. 42, 2001) as Jack’s conservative and musically-clueless parents; Emmy winner Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live), Ed Sheeran, and the best cameo ever from Emmy nominee Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty, 1997; Trainspotting, 1996).

TIME FREAK (2019)

You know that time you messed up in a relationship and got your heartbroken, maybe let the one that could have been The One slip through your fingers? Well, what if you could go back and fix it? What if, like teen genius Stillman, you had a time machine, that would give you all the do-overs you needed to get it right?

Expanded from director Andrew Bowler’s Oscar-nominated short film, this comedy-drama with a sci-fi twist was nominated for a 2019 Saturn Award, as voted by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Critics Choice and Teen Choice nominee Asa Butterfield (Sex Education) stars opposite Emmy nominee Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones’ Sansa Stark, Dark Phoenix, 2019); and Skylar Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones, 2019; Santa Clarita Diet, 2017).

Los Angeles Times calls it “a whimsical rom-com that’s a little bit Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), and a little bit Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).”

Before you go…

THE BEST BLACK FILMS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

In addition to Blackkklansman, other films on Rotten Tomatoes’ list you can stream on Showmax include Creed, 2015 (#12), Fruitvale Station, 2013 (#21), O.J.: Made In America, 2016 (#24), Straight Outta Compton, 2015 (#43), Creed 2, 2018 (#45), Barbershop: The Next Cut, 2016 (#63), Akeelah and the Bee, 2006 (#77), and Barbershop, 2002 (#89). Look out for Jordan Peele’s multi-award-winning Us 2019, starring Lupita Nyong’o, which is ranked second on Rotten Tomatoes’ list and premieres on Showmax on 16 July 2020.