Multi-channel pay television platform, MultiChoice, has said it has set aside R80 million equivalent to GHS 26,165,360 to ensure that ongoing productions pay full salaries of cast, crew, and creatives and to sustain production houses in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 across Africa and the world.

This was disclosed in a statement released on Friday, 27 March 2020.

According to Multichoice, it had implemented several measures aimed at “safeguarding the incomes of cast, crew, and creatives as well as the sustainability of production houses” to steer the industry through the era of the pandemic.

It noted that it “has set aside R80 million to ensure that current productions are able to pay full salaries of cast, crew, and creatives for the months of March and April, by when hopefully, we will have the worst of the disruptions behind us. The need to secure the salaries of our creatives goes a long way in creating income stability for them and their families. We believe this to be critical for the industry and in our view, this is simply the right thing to do.”

Also, through the “MultiChoice Talent Factory” it will be “launching an online learning portal that will support over 40,000 members of the industry to gain access to courses and online masterclasses, so they can continue to hone their craft whilst adhering to the public health measures of social distancing and isolation.”

MultiChoice further noted that it has committed to “guarantee the incomes of freelancers in our SuperSport Productions, who are currently unable to work due to the suspension of sport and the national lockdown.”