Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

MMVP Productions and SABC give their side to Generations saga

22/08/2014

--

MMVP Productions and SABC give their side to Generations saga --

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 14:22

--

On 22 August the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and MMVP Productions, the company responsible for producing the country s most popular soapie Generations, held a press conference to engage with the media about the show s recent dispute with its actors and the 16 contract terminations which occurred.

SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng began by saying that the SABC took pride in having resolved some of the previous issues that had arisen between the production house and actors in 2013 when the decision was made to increase the contractual period with MMVP Productions from one to three years. This meant that cast members would also be able to receive a three-year contract and the production company would be better equipped to strategise operations accordingly. Added to this, Motsoeneng claimed action was taken to ensure that inflation and royalties be considered when allocating performers rates. However, the three-year contracts are yet to be signed, due to on-going disputes surrounding the rate which the actors requested. Following another stand-off by the Generations cast, MMSV Productions stopped production and terminated 16 contracts on Monday, 11 August.

Disputes with employees will always happen and we always want to engage in these circumstances, but we won t allow anarchy. You can t not go to work no one is allowed to do that, not even permanent SABC staff that is anarchy, remarked Motsoeneng.

He continued, I agree in principal with some of the issues that the actors are raising, but they need to go to work. They can t hold the SABC at ransom.

Mfundi Vundla executive producer at MMVP productions claimed the terminations were as a result of MMVP Productions trying to comply with their contractual obligations to the SABC which requires that they deliver episodes on time and in accordance with a pre-approved budget. Further to this, the production house stated that reports that the cast members were getting paid peanuts were to the contrary.

Producer Friedrich Stark said that they could not reveal the individual salaries of each of the 16 terminated contracts but claimed, On average, taken from the 16 actors earnings, a Generations actor gets R55 000 per month. He added that some of the actors seemed to want the rights and benefits of being both an independent contractor and permanent employee and commented, You can t have your bread buttered on both sides.

Motsoeneng highlighted that there was a need to establish an independent panel to deal with such issues, and that the SABC would works towards appointing such a body. Some of the actors are using lawyers, some are part of an orgainisation - they are not using one voice, he explained.

To claims that actors were mistreated or made to work under unfair conditions Stark said that the cast members had received three meals a day, had their own dressing rooms, were given an average of six weeks production break a year and were always treated with respect. Vundla added that he felt betrayed to an extent and recalled an incident when one cast member was rushed to hospital with a life-threatening condition and, as the actor had no medical aid, he had paid for the medical expenses out of his own pocket. To be painted as this avaricious person who doesn t care, I feel betrayed, he said.

As fans of the show wait with baited breath to determine its outcome, Vundla maintains that, There is a risk we face but it s an exciting risk. We ve got creative ideas and when we come back, man we re going to give you something.

Motsoeneng maintained that he would like to see the issue resolved with the 16 actors and is a fan of the show himself.

When asked about the possibility of cast members with terminated contracts staying on, or returning to the show, Vundla responded, Whoever we engage with must be congruent with our plans for the future.

Related Articles

MMSV Productions fires striking Generations cast On Monday, 11 August 2014, MMSV Productions stopped production of Generations...

Read more...

SA actress appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for Africa International Film FestivalThe Africa International Film Festival has appointed South African actress Xolile Tshabalala as the 2014 Goodwill Ambassador...

Read more...



-- --

-- --

-- Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus
LINK: http://www.screenafrica.com/page/news/business/1645418-MMVP-Production...
See more stories from screenafrica

Most recent headlines

09/11/2025

Dalet Unveils Agentic AI Media Workflows at IBC2025

Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...

04/11/2025

Broadcasting is Too Important to Fail

Fred Baumgartner's op-ed (ATSC 3.0: I Cant Imagine Anyone Defending Our Current Adoption Strategy) on the broadcast industry's transition to ATSC 3.0 dr...

04/11/2025

Q&A with Music Alum Andrew van der Paardt

Q&A with Music Alum Andrew van der Paardt The oboist and English horn player reports back from the pit of the New York City Ballet Orchestra, and tells how he...

04/11/2025

November 03, 2025

Douglas W. Phillips and Steven M. Paul join Scripps Research Board of Directors Finance and biomedical leaders bring decades of experience in investment strateg...

03/11/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Inside the Sports Rights Landscape (and the new IMG) with Andrew Demsey, IMG SVP, North America Rights

SVG Sit-Down: Inside the Sports Rights Landscape (and the new IMG) with Andrew D...

03/11/2025

Challenging the Norm: How TNT Sports is Evolving Coverage of the Men's and Women's FA Cups With a Fresh Approach

Challenging the norm: How TNT Sports is evolving coverage of the men's and w...

03/11/2025

Inspired Storytelling: TNT Sports' Pete Thomas on Creating Opportunities Out of Challenges for the FA Cups

Inspired storytelling: TNT Sports' Pete Thomas on creating opportunities out...

03/11/2025

NBA 2K League Returns With New Format Featuring NBA Players, Creators, and Fans

NBA 2K League Returns With New Format Featuring NBA Players, Creators, and FansSeason will include online tournaments, in-person events, and open-ladder fan com...

03/11/2025

Live on the Water: The Rowing Channel Pulls Off Historic Production at Head Of The Charles Regatta

Live on the Water: The Rowing Channel Pulls Off Historic Production at Head Of T...

03/11/2025

L3Harris and ESL Labs: A Strategic Investment in Canada's Defence Future

Strategic partnership to expand specialized testing equipment, advance national security and support regional economic growth...

03/11/2025

How Will the FCC's Busy Fall Agenda Impact Broadcasters?

In less than two weeks during late September and early October, the Federal Communications Commission acted on two proposed rulemakings that could have an enorm...

03/11/2025

NAB's Josh Miely Named VP of Technology, Programming and Education

Josh Miely is returning to a more hands-on radio and TV role with the National Association of Broadcasters....

03/11/2025

All You Need to Know About MXL

Broadcasters have spent years trying to integrate different vendor technologies in their facilities. As the industry has moved closer to software, that struggle...

03/11/2025

The Battle to Protect Broadcast Content From AI Has Just Begun

As the malevolent siege against broadcasters' interests intensifies from the far reaches of artificial intelligence misuse to relentless innovation in the m...

03/11/2025

Gary Snow Plans to Retire From Wheatstone

Wheatstone founder and owner Gary Snow will retire from the company by the end of next year....

03/11/2025

Hybrid, AI Are Guiding the Measurement of TV Viewership

In ye olde days of traditional television, when U.S. TV viewing options were limited to ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS, Nielsen's paper diaries were sufficient for t...

03/11/2025

NVIDIA Partners Bring Physical AI, New Smart City Technologies to Dublin, Ho Chi Minh City, Raleigh and More

Two out of every three people are likely to be living in cities or other urban c...

03/11/2025

Trailer & poster unveiled for Sky Original festive family feature film Tinsel Town

Monday 3 November 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. ...

03/11/2025

Rohde & Schwarz acquires open source intelligence specialist Munich Innovation Labs GmbH

Rohde & Schwarz acquires open source intelligence specialist Munich Innovation L...

03/11/2025

Rohde & Schwarz launches revolutionary super wideband mobile network scanner, setting new standard for 5G

Rohde & Schwarz launches revolutionary super wideband mobile network scanner, se...

03/11/2025

Nokia and Rohde & Schwarz collaborate on AI-powered 6G receiver to cut costs, accelerate time to market

Nokia and Rohde & Schwarz collaborate on AI-powered 6G receiver to cut costs, ac...

03/11/2025

A4ESSOR and OCCAR sign new procurement contract to advance development of interoperable tactical communication

A4ESSOR and OCCAR sign new procurement contract to advance development of intero...

03/11/2025

Sitep Australia joins Rohde & Schwarz team for Hunter class frigate communications

Sitep Australia joins Rohde & Schwarz team for Hunter class frigate communicatio...

03/11/2025

Famke Janssen Stars as Betty Jonkers in "Forever Pour Toujours" Music Video

Back to All News Famke Janssen Stars as Betty Jonkers in "Forever Pour Toujours" Music Video Entertainment 03 November 2025 GlobalNetherlandsBelgium Link c...

03/11/2025

Red Seat Ventures and The 33rd Team Announce Exclusive Sales Partnership

Red Seat Ventures and The 33rd Team Announce Exclusive Sales Partnership Red Seat Ventures to Spearhead Sales Representation for The 33rd Team's Dynamic S...

03/11/2025

Brand New RT Documentary Series Tonight New RT Documentary Series Trackers: The People v The Banks

They've made that decision and ruined an awful lot of people's lives. ...

02/11/2025

Space42 Expands Earth Observation Constellation, Foresight, with Launch of Three New SAR Satellites

Abu Dhabi, UAE November 2, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...

01/11/2025

Thunderbolt 3 and Symphony MkII

Thunderbolt 3 Now Standard on Symphony MkII - Starting November 11 Beginning November 11, all new Apogee Symphony I/O MkII units will ship with Thunderbolt 3 as...

01/11/2025

Expanding Symphony Desktop Using ADAT

How to Expand the Apogee Symphony Desktop with Cranborne 500ADAT Want to expand your Symphony Desktop beyond two inputs? Whether you're tracking a full drum...

01/11/2025

aconnic AG releases Half Year Financial Report 2025 and implements Change Measures

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has published the Financial Report for ...

01/11/2025

tvONE and Matrox Video Partner to Deliver Flawless AV-ove...

tvONE is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Matrox Video, combining CALICO PRO's high-performance video processing with the Matrox ConvertIP Ser...

01/11/2025

CJP Broadcast Joins Grass Valley Partner Programme to Str...

CJP Broadcast has joined the Grass Valley partner programme as both a Systems Integration Partner and AMPP Partner. The collaboration enhances CJP's ability...

01/11/2025

TAG Video Systems Earns Dual Recognition for ESG Initiati...

TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has earned a higher-rated DPP Comm...

01/11/2025

Operative Announces New CEO to Drive Next Phase of Growth

Michael Napodano Appointed New CEO Of Operative Media Operative today announced the appointment of Mike Napodano as Chief Executive Officer, marking the next s...

01/11/2025

Cine Gear Expo Atlanta 2025 Success at Trilith Studios

Film industry professionals flocked to Cine Gear Expo Atlanta 2025 at celebrated Trilith Studios in Fayetteville, Georgia, on October 3 and 4. Back for its 6th ...

01/11/2025

Christopher Ross BSC and 300 Asteras Light the Border Cro...

Photo courtesy of Peacock and Sky Christopher Ross, BSC, began his cinematic obsession early. He cites reading Scorsese on Scorsese as a teenager with teaching...

01/11/2025

ITN, Magnite Launch New Private Marketplace for Local Linear TV

NEW YORK ITN and the sell-side advertising company Magnite have announced the launch of what they are billing as the industrys first Local Linear TV Private Mar...

01/11/2025

Netflix Unveils Operation Safed Sagar' at the Inaugural Sekhon Indian Air Force Marathon 2025

Back to All News Netflix Unveils Operation Safed Sagar' at the Inaugural S...

01/11/2025

Netflix Announces Partnership With Yash Raj Films, Bringing Iconic Bollywood Titles to the Platform

Back to All News Netflix Announces Partnership With Yash Raj Films, Bringing Ic...

31/10/2025

FanDuel Sports Network To Deliver Selected Live NBA, NHL Games to Major Streaming Services for In-Market Viewers

FanDuel Sports Network To Deliver Selected Live NBA, NHL Games to Major Streamin...

31/10/2025

NBC Jumps Out of the Gate in Extended Breeder's Cup Deal With Dual Drones, Jockey Cams, RF Super-Mo

NBC Jumps Out of the Gate in Extended Breeder's Cup Deal With Dual Drones, J...

31/10/2025

Tribute: Remembering Segomotso Keorapetse (28 May 1968 22 October 2025)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 30 October 2025 It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of Segomotso Keorapetse, an award- winning South African television d...

31/10/2025

Nexstar Extends Chairman and CEO Perry Sook Through 2029

IRVING, Texas As station groups move into an era that promises rapid tech, regulatory and economic changes, Nexstar Media Group said its board has extended chai...

31/10/2025

Late Night Thrives on Social Media With Billions of Views in 2025

While some analysts have questioned the ongoing economic viability of broacast-TV late night shows amid ongoing declines in linear viewing, new data from Tubula...

31/10/2025

Disney Programming Dropped From YouTube TV

The contentious contract negotiations between The Walt Disney Co. and YouTube TV have resulted in a blackout of Disney-owned programming on the pay TV operator....

31/10/2025

tvONE Integrates CALICO PRO Video Processing With Matrox ConvertIP Series

CINCINNATI Video conversion and AV signal distribution specialist tvONE and Matrox Video have struck a strategic partnership, combining CALICO PRO's video p...

31/10/2025

IAB Urges Standards for CTV Ad Measurement

NEW YORK The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today released a new industry guide that discusses the urgency of adopting new standards that will help advert...

31/10/2025

Late Night Shows Thrive on Social Media with Billions of Views in 2025

While some analysts have questioned the ongoing economic viability of late night shows on broadcast TV amid ongoing declines in linear viewing, new data from Tu...

31/10/2025

Berklee Celebrates the Inauguration of President Jim Lucchese

Berklee Celebrates the Inauguration of President Jim Lucchese In his inaugural address, Lucchese shared an optimistic vision for Berklee's future as a for...