On 19 October, GauTV – Gauteng’s dedicated television channel – launched on DStv
channel 265. The channel is designed to reflect the diverse culture of South Africa’s
“Place of Gold’ – from Sandton, the richest square mile in Africa, to the Bekkersdal
township – showcasing this diversity to the public through a variety of locally
produced talk shows, general entertainment and magazine programming.
Thabo Shole-Mashao, GauTV’s spokesperson and head of News and Current Affairs,
says that the channel’s mission is to depict the province with its diverse culture; to
disseminate information about Gauteng; and to document the tapestry of its
mobility, “You have people constantly moving in Gauteng, catching taxis, trains,
moving in their own cars, chasing their dreams every single day, and we want to
showcase that. We want to tell our own stories, we want to entertain in a way that
only Gauteng entertains.
GauTV should be a beacon of information for anyway wanting any Gauteng-specific
information – if you want to know who the officials are for certain areas, if you
want to know where the hottest clubs are, if you want to know where the best
restaurants are, and what opportunities exist within the province, you should be
able to find that information by tuning into DStv channel 265.’
Shole-Mashao says that the idea for the channel originated within the production
house, Zallywood Productions: “About three years ago, the province began to see
major developments, and it became apparent that there were plenty of new
opportunities, coupled with Gauteng’s rich history and diverse cultural tapestry that
needed to be documented in a way that depicted the province for what it truly
is.’
Zallywood Productions currently produces the larger part of GauTV’s local content –
content encompassing a variety of South Africa’s official languages, including
English, Afrikaans, Setswana, SePedi, Tshivenda, Xitsonga and isiZulu.
Shole-Mashao says that as the channel’s resources grow, plans will be implemented
to acquire content from other local content producers.
Founder of Zallywood Productions, Dr Victor Phume, comments, “We look forward
to delivering a quality channel filled with great entertainment for DStv customers.
We hope to showcase fresh new talent alongside established household names. We
look forward to telling the unique stories of the people of Gauteng.’
Some of the locally produced content on GauTV includes the trendy talk show
Assertiveness, a show presented by the youth of Gauteng, dealing with prominent
social issues as well as day to day happenings that are facing the province’s young
people. Viewers can also tune into Showbizz 411 for the latest entertainment scoop,
a talk show hosted by Lexi Van of Big Brother fame, encompassing weekly celebrity
and entertainment news, exclusive interviews with local celebrities, music and
movie reviews as well as fashion news.
GauTV is available to DStv Access, Family, Compact, Extra and Premium customers,
on DStv channel 265 from 06h00 to 18h00 daily.
– Chanelle Ellaya
