Huge turnout at Multichoice office as BBA fans pay for subscription

Roki

HARARE - MultiChoice Zimbabwe yesterday struggled to cope with the deluge of payments by Big Brother Africa (BBA) enthusiasts in Zimbabwe who said they could not wait to witness the  commencement of the reality TV show Big Brother Africa Stargame which kicks off tonight.

The participation of Zimbabwean urban groover and “bad boy” Roki in the reality TV show has set the capital on fire as Digital Satellite Television (DStv) subscribers swarmed the MultiChoice offices in Avondale yesterday.

 A long winding queue formed at the offices as soon as they opened. MultiChoice was forced to extend closing time from midday to 1600hrs yesterday to accommodate the massive turnout.

BBA has attracted a huge following and the majority of the people making payments were women and youths who seemed enthusiastic to watch the biggest reality TV show in Africa.The show is available on all bouquets 24/7 on Channel 198. A few people were seen holding new DStv decoders. Most of them said they made the new purchases to watch Roki.

Ivy Mwale from Hatfield was among the people who made new purchases and said Roki was the major attraction. “Big Brother is going to be happening this year, Roki will be there. Our very own darling of controversy! Can’t wait. We are going to be seeing him in action, live,” she said.

Some subscribers foretold the fate of the local broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), saying it will suffer a further slump in viewership during the next 90 days. Another DStv subscriber, John Garapo said he sacrifices money to make sure his family is entertained.

“I pay $70 every month for quality programmes that DStv offers. The variety is amazing. My wife will watch Big Brother, the children will watch Disney and I get to keep track of all the Manchester United games.

There is a variety and these guys cater for everyone. They don’t impose war programmes on their audience,” he said. The seventh season of Big Brother Africa will premiere to viewers in 47 African countries today.

US rapper J Cole is set to perform at tonight’s launch of this year’s edition. The 27-year-old rapper, currently riding high with hit song Can’t get enough is signed to Jay Z’s Roc Nation and has collaborated with Beyonce, Trey Songz, Missy Elliot and Drake.

This season, the cash prize was raised to a staggering $300 000. A new rule called Double-Up was introduced to the show. This means that entrants must partner with another person to enter as a pair.
Big Brother initially involved 12 countries within Africa (Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia & Zimbabwe) with two countries (Ethiopia and Mozambique) being added in Season 4 and two other countries Liberia and Sierra Leone being added in Season 7.

Last year, Zimbabwean Wendall Parsons and Nigerian Karen Igho won the coveted $200 000 prize money each. This year Zimbabweans are placing all their hopes on Roki to bring the cash home. DStv attracts much viewership during Big Brother and the English premiership season. It has an estimated threshold of 72 percent viewership in Harare. DAILY NEWS