MultiChoice Malawi has announced a new local channel named Mwabi TV which will air local programmes such as Pamphambano, Misika pa Malawi, Phindu Point to name a few.

Gus Banda, Managing Director of MultiChoice Malawi, said: “As Africa’s number one storyteller, we continue to bring more content to our customers that entertains and resonates with them and will continue to provide our customers with choice in all aspects of our services. Throughout the years, and 2021 has been no different, MultiChoice Malawi has cemented its position as trailblazers in the delivery of premium content at our Annual Content Showcase.”

Yolisa Phahle, CEO of General Entertainment and Connected Video, added: “It is because of our customers that we can continue to focus our energy on growing the African film industry and bringing content which is authentically yours. Relevant, local and above all, entertaining and informative. Last month, we launched the new OneZed channel, allowing customers to experience great and authentic African content.”

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Viasat Inc., a global communications company, has announced it completed the purchase of Euro Broadband Infrastructure Sàrl (“EBI”), the wholesale broadband services business created as part of Viasat’s former partnering arrangement with Eutelsat Communications.

By purchasing the remaining 51% share of EBI from Eutelsat, Viasat gained 100% ownership of the KA-SAT satellite and related ground infrastructure, which provides satellite coverage over Europe and the Mediterranean region. With complete ownership of these assets, Viasat can continue to diversify its business portfolio in Europe, while establishing operations, distribution and sales for its growing retail, enterprise, mobility and government businesses—ahead of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)-focused ViaSat-3 satellite.

Commenting on the acquisition, Rick Baldridge, Viasat’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “With the EBI purchase now complete, we can more aggressively move forward with growing our European broadband business and introduce new service offerings—before the launch of our ViaSat-3 EMEA satellite. This deal provides a foundation for growth and investment in the European region in addition to Africa and the Middle East. We can now set in motion our multi-tiered partner and distribution strategy, while trialling new ‘ViaSat-3 like’ home internet plans and new mobility offerings that best consider the needs and requirements of the local market dynamics as well as consumer and enterprise appetites for broadband.”

The transaction was initially announced on November 19, 2020.

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Maxar Technologies has appointed Chris Johnson as Senior Vice President of Space Programmes Delivery (SPD), overseeing spacecraft and robotic systems from design to distribution.

Johnson has spent more than 20 years at Boeing, where he was most recently president of Boeing Satellite Systems International. In that role, he was responsible for strategy, capture, development and manufacturing of the company’s commercial satellite business. Prior to that, Johnson was vice president of Boeing’s commercial satellite services division and held a number of defence and intelligence-related engineering management and business development roles.

In his new role leading the SPD organization at Maxar, Johnson will oversee design, manufacturing, integration, test and delivery for the company’s portfolio of space platforms and space-based robotics systems. He will lead a team of 1,900 employees at the company’s Palo Alto, San Jose and Pasadena facilities.

Johnson’s new position will be effective May 24 when he will succeed Paul Estey, who was Maxar Space Solutions executive vice president for customer relations before taking on the role on an interim basis on January 29.

Speaking about the new role, Dan Jablonsky, CEO of Maxar, said: “We are exceptionally pleased to have a leader of Chris’s calibre join Maxar’s executive leadership team and take on this critical role. His track record of performance and deep understanding of every aspect of satellite manufacturing and space programmes will be invaluable as we continue to grow our space business and deliver innovative, reliable and cost-effective solutions for our commercial and government customers.”

Chris Johnson, added: “Maxar has a 40-year heritage in commercial space and is rapidly becoming an indispensable asset to US strategic programmes. It is a privilege to lead Maxar’s space teams as we continue to deliver for our customers, drive innovation, streamline operations and take on new customer missions.”

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Extreme E has confirmed a broadcasting agreement with SuperSport, expanding its reach into over 50 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, Uganda and Nigeria.

Johannesburg-based SuperSport International, broadcasts some of the world’s biggest events from Premier League football to the PGA Tour, through to major motorsport including Formula One and Moto GP. Extreme E, will be aired in French and English on the station’s linear channels, SuperSport Motorsport, Grandstand and Blitz and on its digital platform and SuperSport app.

Speaking about the agreement, Ali Russell, Chief Marketing Officer at Extreme E, said: “We are thrilled to have reached this agreement with SuperSport. The emerging African market is hugely significant for us. SuperSport’s reach in Sub-Saharan Africa is unparalleled, making it an excellent addition to our broadcasting roster. Extreme E is so much more than just a race series – it’s an opportunity to tell a story. Audiences in the Sub-Saharan region have had the issue of climate change brought into sharp focus in recent years, and with Extreme E we hope to raise awareness further than ever before in a region where so much is at stake. The impacts of climate change can be devastating, and nowhere is that clearer than in this region, where increasing temperatures and declining rainfall is threatening already strained food security, whilst intensified flooding is damaging fragile shelters and increasing the spread of deadly diseases like malaria and dengue fever.”

Marc Jury, SuperSport Chief Executive added: “This is a wonderful addition to SuperSport’s content slate, not least because we are in the business of storytelling and the narrative of Extreme E is so compelling. We are delighted that the calendar takes in Africa, too, where the market is vibrant and has an appetite for motorsport.”

Extreme E’s debut season kicked off earlier this month in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, with teams travelling on from there to four more of the world’s most remote locations, all of which are affected by the climate crisis, with the entire series being transported by sea to reduce emissions aboard St. Helena, a ship that will also be used to conduct marine research thanks to its on-board laboratory and a team of scientists.

In addition, Extreme E will be the world’s first gender-equal motorsport series, with teams consisting of one male and one female driver.

Extreme E’s next X Prix takes place in Lac Rose, Senegal (29-30 May) followed by Kangerlussuaq, Greenland (28-29 August), Pará, Brazil (23-24 October) and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (11-12 December).

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US-Palestinian actor Waleed Zuaiter has been nominated for a 2021 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award.

Zuaiter, who was born in the US and raised in Kuwait, was nominated in the Best Leading Actor category for his role in the thriller series Baghdad Central, which premiered in 2020.

Nominated in the same category are John Boyega (Small Axe), Josh O’Connor (The Crown), Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), Paul Mescal (Normal People) and Shaun Parkes (Small Axe).

Based on the debut crime novel by Elliott Colla, Baghdad Central follows the story of Muhsin Khafaji, played by Zuaiter.

Set in 2003, when Baghdad was occupied by US-led coalition forces for six months, the thriller follows Iraqi ex-policeman Muhsin Al-Khafaji, who finds himself embarking on a wider quest for justice in a society that has become lawless.

Al-Khafaji, who was fired after the US invasion, worked under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime. The show, which was shot in Morocco, revolves around Al-Khafaji and his two daughters after he loses his wife and son.

The show is produced by Euston Films and has been released on the UK’s Channel 4.

Bafta TV Awards will be held on Sunday, June 6 while the Bafta TV Craft Awards will be on Monday, May 24. Both will take place in a studio format.

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Huawei Video, the region’s growing subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, has boosted exclusive and premium content. The combined number of free and paid-for TV channels on Huawei Video now exceeds 100, including a range of premium regional channels from MBC to Rotana.

Huawei Video+, the premium version of the video streaming service, takes things up a level. Now available in 13 markets across the MENA region, subscribers can watch more than 20,000 movies and TV series from around the world.

The platform recently partnered with StarzPlay, a regional content provider, to offer discounts of up to 63% to subscribers in KSA, UAE, Kuwait, and Oman, when signing up to StarzPlay through Huawei Video.

The user experience will reach a new level with the imminent launch of Huawei Video’s newest feature, Replay TV. In time for Ramadan 2021, users can view previously aired programmes from 80+ channels. All previously aired programmes up to 14 days are viewable with features such as pause, rewind and fast forward.

Speaking about the development, Noha Jadallah, Huawei Video Operations Lead, Huawei Mobile Services, said: “Huawei Video is a direct response to our customers’ desire to be able to watch their favourite channels, TV shows and movies on their smart devices at any time and any place. We’ve been successful in meeting their needs with a platform that provides a wealth of content, is user-friendly, and makes intelligent recommendations based on their viewing history and preferences. For the region’s media community, Huawei Video opens up access to a new and sizeable audience of affluent, tech-savvy content consumers. Through in-app advertising, purchased through the Huawei Ads marketplace, brands can also achieve high levels of consumer engagement and follow-through.

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Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %), has been selected by the European Commission for a new strategic contract to assess the feasibility of an integrity service to complement the European Global Navigation Satellite System (EGNSS) High Accuracy which will pave the way for use in autonomous vehicles.

Thales Alenia Space will focus on the development of a new approach to combine several sensors (sensors fusion) including and complementing evolutions of EGNSS High Accuracy in order to provide the necessary integrity level to serve the high reliability and high accuracy positioning needs of new demanding applications such as road autonomous vehicles but also autonomous transport in maritime and rail sectors.
With this contract, Thales Alenia Space will assess the extension of the integrity and safety of life services for aviation into the road, rail and maritime sectors, having already won last year the EPICURE project, based on an integrity concept for road travel (tolls and insurance), as well as the IMPRESS project targeting an integrity service for rail signalling and train separation.

The prime contractor for EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) for 25 years, a lead industrial contributor to Galileo system and ground mission segment and now responsible for providing 6 Galileo Second Generation satellites, Thales Alenia Space has always been at the forefront of navigation solutions in Europe.

Today, GNSS, as an absolute positioning system, is a key driver for wide scope positioning applications. Tomorrow, the addition and integration of an integrity service complementing EGNSS High Accuracy will foster the emergence of large scale precision safety-critical applications, such as autonomous vehicles.

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Vizrt has announced its support for the AWS for Media & Entertainment initiative from Amazon Web Services (AWS), complimenting Vizrt’s Flexible Access Solution Suites to give customers greater control and adaptability.