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Big Brother Africa 2014 Series launch cancelled after house damaged in fire
The Sasani complex, located in Highlands North, Johannesburg, is used for numerous other television and film productions, including two daily dramas — etv’s Scandal and Rhythm City.
BY Business Daily Reporters
A massive fire has destroyed a Johannesburg television studio and led to the suspension of the ninth edition of Africa’s biggest reality television show.
The fire at the Big Brother Africa house at the Sasani studios comes just five days before the show’s latest instalment, Big Brother Hotshots, was expected to launch across the continent in a Sunday night premiere. No one was injured in the fire.
According to a statement from M-Net and Endemol SA, the “devastating fire” has forced them to urgently begin looking for an alternative house in which to film the show. However, due to the highly technical infrastructure needed to film and edit the live show, no alternative is available immediately.
“At this stage, the cause of the fire is unknown and investigations will commence as soon as it is safe to do so,” the statement reads. “Every effort will be made to find a solution as quickly as possible.”
The Sasani complex, located in Highlands North, Johannesburg, is used for numerous other television and film productions, including two daily dramas — etv’s Scandal and Rhythm City. It is still unclear how many of its nine studios were damaged and which other productions will be affected.
The Big Brother reality game show follows a group of houseguests living together 24 hours a day in one house, isolated from the outside world but under constant surveillance with no privacy for three months. Contestants from a dozen African nations try to avoid weekly eviction and remain in the BBA house for 91 days in the hope of winning $300,000 (about KShs26 million).
The show is screened across Africa on several of Multichoice’s DsTV channels.
Multichoice is a South African company that operates the DStv Satellite Television service, a major satellite TV service in Sub-Saharan Africa.
M-Net is a private subscription television service broadcasting general entertainment and niche channels to over 2.5 million subscribers in 41 countries across Africa.
Endemol South Africa is an affiliate of the privately-held Endemol International, the world’s largest independent television production company, with over 80 companies in 31 countries. KMM Review Publishing, a black empowerment company, holds a 33 per cent stake in the company.
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