MultiChoice says it introduced two new television channels on 17 January, called Maningue Magic and Kwenda Magic, for audiences in Mozambique and Angola respectively. Its hyperlocal strategy combines local content acquisition, local production and the development of local output via international production partnerships. The Portuguese language channels will show dramas, telenovelas, local versions of hit reality shows, comedies, dubbed international programmes and homegrown music on the DStv and GOtv platforms.
Over the past eighteen months, MultiChoice has expanded its local content offering through channel launches including Pearl Magic Prime, Akwaaba Magic and Abol TV in Uganda, Ghana and Ethiopia, as well as international co-productions such as Reyka and local productions such as Big Brother Naija. The group produced an extra 2,692 hours of local content in 2021 (41% YoY growth). The combined MultiChoice local content library is now approaching 66,000 hours and represents 45 percent of total general entertainment content spending. This proportion is in line with local content targets but the group plans to increase local output investment further.
Joao Ribeiro, channel head for both Kwenda Magic and Maningue Magic, says the new channels are already boosting the production industries in both countries. Highlights on Maningue Magic include the telenovela "Maida", about a naive teenager who leaves the countryside for the big city; Mozambican music show "Estacao do Boss"; and reality proramme "Date My Family". Mozambican original series "The Influencer" will tell the story of a girl aiming to become a digital influencer who ends up in a network of drugs and prostitution. "Top+" will showcase famous artists and personalities from Mozambique and Africa. "Txunado" is a magazine show about Mozambican fashion, arts and lifestyle.
On Kwenda Magic, flagship shows include "O Rio", an Angolan adaptation of popular 1Magic telenovela "The River"; "Makongo", a drama about a young man's life in Luanda; and "Salao de Beleza", a sitcom about a Luanda establishment and its diverse, dramatic customers.
