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GLOBAL – December 10, 2013 – In tribute to humanitarian hero Nelson Mandela who recently passed away last December 5, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) in Africa removed all commercial advertising on its channels within a few hours of Mandela’s death.
As a sign of respect for the anti-apartheid activist, and former president of South Africa, the advertising was taken off air for 24 hours.
South Africa-based music and youth channel MTV Base, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 Classic, and Comedy Central have replaced onscreen logos with a tribute logo for 24 hours after the announcement.
VIMN websites www.mtv.co.za, www.mtvbase.com, www.comedycentralafrica.com and www.nickelodeonafrica.com have also faded to grey for 24 hours.
MTV Base also changed its programming schedule to incorporate music programming, tribute promos, and documentary programming inspired by the spirit of Mandela’s life and work. It will also be airing MTV’s Meeting Mandela special at regular intervals.
Worldwide, MTV’s 60+ channels are also airing dedicated interstitial and long form content in tribute to Mandela’s life and legacy.
Apart from interstitial tributes in between programming, several MTV channels will air a specially updated version of Meeting Mandela, hosted by Beyonce Knowles and produced by MTV to celebrate Mandela’s 85th birthday.
Meeting Mandela: A Staying Alive Special will air on December 10, 11 p.m. in Indonesia; December 11, 12 a.m. in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines; and 1 a.m. in Malaysia.
Online, MTV Voices, MTV’s international online pro-social platform, serves as the primary destination for tributes.
Audiences can post their own memories of Mandela as well as their personal tributes on the Nelson Mandela: Leave Your Tributes page. They can also watch the Meeting Mandela Documentary; read the story "The Day Mandela Died," written by a young South African; or browse through the gallery "What Mandela Meant To Me," a photo gallery of a millennial audience holding up signs in which they’ve written what Mandela means to them.
General entertainment network BET in the US, UK, Africa, and France is also airing content in tribute to Mandela.
BET News will cover the 10 days of mourning and Mandela’s funeral, broadcasting from a post in South Africa with a backdrop to all activity. A BET News special, Mandela: Freedom’s Father, will also be aired, taking viewers on a journey through the life and times of Mandela, with exclusive video and heartfelt interviews with celebrities and close friends like Alfre Woodard, Blair Underwood, and Richard Stengel.
BET’s flagship show, 106 & Park, will air footage and tributes to Mandela during regularly scheduled telecasts, while In Memoriam tributes will be played in between programming.
The Meeting Mandela special will also be aired on BET.
