M-NET GROWS ITS EAST AFRICAN-FOCUSSED BRAND ON DStv

M-Net has announced that it will be launching a new East African focussed TV brand, Maisha Magic tailored to meet DStv subscriber local viewing needs from Monday 1 September and will be closely followed by Maisha Magic Swahili on September 24. This exciting channel will be screened to Premium, Compact Plus and Compact subscribers on channel 161.

“M-Net has been building steadily on its investment in the East African market, centralized in Kenya but with outreach across the region. We have recognized that whilst the Africa Magic brand has come to represent a powerful philosophy about pan-African cohesion, there is definitely great potential for a customized East African television brand. As such, M-Net put in place a detailed project a few years ago to carefully build its technical, staffing and content capacity so that when Maisha Magic is officially launched, it would be the culmination of all these investments,” says M-Net East Africa Regional Director Michael Ndetei.

He goes on to say, “We have always believed that East African talent, East African stories are as vital and as compelling as those found anywhere else in Africa. This is a fact proven by the success of East African content at the first two Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. Now with our studio fully functioning, the Africa Magic Original Films Project well underway producing made-for-TV titles and our flagship show Mashariki Mix well established, we are ready to launch Maisha Magic, both the channel and the brand.”  

It will be made up of East African content, though the channel will also include some international programming that have resonance with East African audiences, such as South American telenovelas, dubbed into English.  Ndetei confirms the combination strategy saying, “Our research demonstrated clearly that our audiences want home-grown entertainment, with very specific kinds of international content, so we’re working on getting that balance right to ensure that this is in fact a channel made in East Africa, to meet East African tastes.”

Programming on the Maisha Magic channel will cover multiple genres including sitcoms, telenovelas, reality, drama and music. Highlights to look out for include; Comedy shows Mr & Mrs Singh and Mazagazaga and Comedy Club Uganda hosted by Ann Kansiime; the dramas Rush and The Tendo Sisters; the music shows Wakilisha and Beyond the Beat; the Mexican soaps A Love To Remember and Loving You Is All I Want as well as recent hits such as Kona and Noose of Gold. Notably the channel will screen Original Films from East Africa as part of the Africa Magic Original Films Project. The Maisha Magic channel will also be the home for all daily highlight programs from the up-coming Big Brother Hotshots, plus all the live Sunday eviction shows.  

For more information log onto www.dstv.com