1. Introduction

The FAME Week Africa × MTN One TV Pitch Session 2026 (“Pitch Session”) provides established African producers and production companies with an opportunity to pitch bold, authentic and commercially viable African film and television projects to MTN One TV.

MTN One TV is seeking stories that are locally rooted, universally resonant and created for youth and mass-market audiences across its key African markets.

Participation in the Pitch Session does not constitute a commission, option, development agreement, production agreement, licence agreement or financial commitment by MTN One TV, FAME Week Africa or any associated partner.

Any project that MTN One TV elects to pursue will be subject to separate negotiations, due diligence and formal written agreements.

2. Producer Eligibility

Submissions are open to established producers operating through registered production companies.

The lead producer must:

• Have a minimum of seven (7) years’ professional industry experience, with a demonstrable track record relevant to the genre and/or format being submitted.
• Operate through, or be formally attached to, a registered production company with appropriate governance structures.
• Demonstrate experience managing professional creative and technical teams.
• Demonstrate production management and budgeting capability appropriate to the scale of the proposed project.
• Have experience delivering content to recognised broadcast, streaming or comparable professional standards.
• Demonstrate an understanding of audience development, distribution and the intended market for the project.
• Own, control or be legally authorised to represent the intellectual property and all necessary underlying rights associated with the submitted project.  

FAME Week Africa and/or MTN One TV reserve the right to request supporting documentation confirming eligibility, company registration, professional experience, rights ownership or production track record.

3. What MTN One TV Is Looking For

Projects should be:

• Fresh and distinctive.
• Culturally authentic.
• Commercially viable.
• Locally rooted with the potential to resonate across markets.
• Relevant to contemporary African audiences.
• Suitable for youth and mass-market audiences.
• Capable of engaging digitally connected and mobile-first viewers.

The primary audience is youth aged 18–34 and mass-market consumers, with a particular focus on audiences in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Zambia, while retaining broader Pan-African appeal.

Projects exploring universal themes including family, ambition, identity and resilience are encouraged.

4. Eligible Formats and Genres

Submissions will be considered in the following formats:

Genres may include, but are not limited to:

Drama • Reality • Comedy • Action • Thriller • Romance • Animation

MTN One TV is particularly interested in agile, audience-led storytelling and shorter-form content that provides opportunities for audience validation, learning and potential expansion.

5. Submission Requirements

Each submission must include:

• Project title.
• Format and genre.
• Logline.  
• Synopsis.  
• Pitch deck.
• Pilot script and/or relevant episode script.
• Episode breakdown or series outline, where applicable.
• Estimated production budget.
• Indicative production schedule.
• Lead producer biography/profile and relevant track record.
• Production company profile.
• Details of key creative personnel, where confirmed.
• Current financing status.
• Intellectual property and rights status.
• Intended target audience and market.

All materials must be submitted in the prescribed format and by the published deadline.

Late or incomplete submissions may be deemed ineligible.

6. Originality and Intellectual Property

By submitting a project, the applicant confirms that:

• The submission is their original work or that they have the necessary legal authority to submit it.
• They own or control all rights necessary to pitch, develop and potentially produce the project.
• The project does not knowingly infringe the copyright, trademark, privacy or other rights of any third party.
• Where the project is based on existing material, including a book, article, life story, format or other underlying intellectual property, the applicant holds or controls the necessary rights or permissions.

Applicants retain ownership of their intellectual property unless otherwise agreed through a separate written agreement.

Submitting a project to the Pitch Session does not transfer ownership of the project or its underlying intellectual property to FAME Week Africa or MTN One TV.

7. Selection and Judging

Eligible submissions will be assessed using a consistent judging framework based on the following criteria:

Story
Originality, strength of concept and audience appeal.

Market Fit
Relevance to the intended audience, ability to travel across African markets and commercial viability.

Team
Producer experience, creative capability and demonstrated delivery record.

Production
Budget realism, production feasibility and achievable timeline.

Impact
Cultural relevance, representation and audience engagement potential.

All selection decisions are final.

FAME Week Africa and MTN One TV are not obliged to provide individual feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

8. Shortlisting

A limited number of projects will be selected to participate in the FAME Week Africa × MTN One TV Pitch Session 2026.

Shortlisting does not constitute or guarantee a commission, option, acquisition, development agreement, investment or funding commitment.

FAME Week Africa and MTN One TV reserve the right to shortlist fewer projects than anticipated where submissions do not meet the required creative, commercial, technical or production standards.

9. Compulsory In-Person Pitching

Shortlisted producers must be available to pitch their project in person at FAME Week Africa in Cape Town.

The lead producer, or an approved senior representative of the production company with authority to discuss the project, must participate in the Pitch Session.

Remote or pre-recorded pitches will not be accepted unless expressly authorised in writing by FAME Week Africa and MTN One TV under exceptional circumstances.

Failure to attend the scheduled Pitch Session may result in the project being withdrawn from consideration.

10. The Pitch

Shortlisted producers should be prepared to address:

• The project’s central creative proposition.
• Story and characters.
• Format and episode structure.
• Target audience.
• Market positioning.
• Commercial potential.
• Production approach.
• Estimated budget.
• Production timeline.
• Key creative and production team.
• Financing status.
• Intellectual property and rights position.
• Potential for continuation, adaptation or expansion, where applicable.

MTN One TV representatives and/or an appointed panel may ask questions following each presentation.

Further information regarding pitch duration, presentation format and scheduling will be provided to shortlisted producers.

11. No Guarantee of Commission

Participation in the Pitch Session does not guarantee that a project will be commissioned.

Following the Pitch Session, MTN One TV may elect to:

• Enter into further discussions with one or more applicants.
• Request additional development or materials.
• Explore an option, licence, acquisition, development or commissioning arrangement.  
• Decline to pursue any project presented.

MTN One TV is under no obligation to commission or acquire any project submitted or pitched through this initiative.

If MTN One TV wishes to pursue a project, all rights, commercial terms, budgets, development requirements, production requirements, delivery specifications and other conditions will be negotiated separately and recorded in a formal written agreement.

Applicants must not commence production or incur expenditure on the assumption that a project has been commissioned unless and until a formal written agreement has been concluded.

12. Similar Projects and Concepts

Applicants acknowledge that FAME Week Africa, MTN One TV and participating industry representatives may receive, consider, develop, commission or already be involved with projects containing themes, concepts, characters, genres, settings or ideas that are similar to those contained in a submission.

Submission of a project does not prevent MTN One TV or any participating organisation from developing, acquiring, licensing or commissioning other projects containing similar subject matter, ideas or creative elements.

13. Confidentiality

Reasonable care will be taken in handling submitted materials.

Applicants acknowledge that submissions may be reviewed by FAME Week Africa, MTN One TV and/or appointed industry representatives, assessors and judges for the purposes of selecting projects for the Pitch Session.

Unless separately agreed in writing, submission of a project does not create a confidential or fiduciary relationship between the applicant and FAME Week Africa, MTN One TV, assessors, judges or participating partners.

Applicants should therefore only submit information necessary for the assessment and pitching of their project.

14. Costs and Participation

Applicants are responsible for all costs associated with preparing and submitting their projects.

Unless otherwise expressly communicated in writing, shortlisted producers are responsible for their own:

• Travel.  
• Accommodation.  
• Visas, where required.
• Local transport.
• Subsistence.  
• Any other costs associated with attending FAME Week Africa.

No costs may be claimed from FAME Week Africa or MTN One TV unless expressly agreed in writing in advance.

15. Shortlisted Projects and FAME Week Africa Accreditation

Each shortlisted project will receive two (2) complimentary FAME Week Africa accreditations for the purpose of participating in the FAME Week Africa × MTN One TV Pitch Session 2026.

These accreditations will provide access in accordance with the applicable FAME Week Africa accreditation category and event access conditions.

Any additional accreditations required by the shortlisted project team will be for the participants’ own account.

Complimentary accreditation does not include travel, accommodation, visas, local transport, subsistence or any other costs associated with attending FAME Week Africa, unless expressly agreed in writing by FAME Week Africa.

Shortlisted producers are responsible for ensuring that the appropriate representatives from their project are registered and available to participate in the Pitch Session at the scheduled date and time.

16. Marketing, Publicity and Recording

Shortlisted producers agree to participate in reasonable publicity associated with the Pitch Session.

By accepting a place in the Pitch Session, shortlisted producers grant FAME Week Africa and MTN One TV permission to use their:

• Name.
• Company name.
• Project title.
• Approved logline and/or project description.
• Biography.  
• Headshot.  
• Approved project imagery.
• Photographs, video and recordings captured during the Pitch Session.

These materials may be used for reasonable editorial, marketing, promotional and publicity purposes relating to FAME Week Africa, the Pitch Session and its participating partners.

This permission does not transfer ownership of the submitted project or its underlying intellectual property.

17. Grounds for Disqualification

FAME Week Africa and/or MTN One TV may disqualify a submission where:

• Information supplied is materially false or misleading.
• The applicant does not meet the eligibility requirements.
• The applicant does not own, control or have authority to represent the necessary rights.
• Required submission materials are incomplete.
• The submission is received after the stated deadline.
• The applicant breaches these Terms & Conditions.
• A shortlisted producer fails to participate in the compulsory Pitch Session without prior written approval.
• Continued participation could reasonably expose FAME Week Africa, MTN One TV or participating partners to legal or material reputational risk.

18. Changes to the Pitch Session

FAME Week Africa and MTN One TV reserve the right, where reasonably necessary, to amend:

• Submission deadlines.
• Eligibility requirements.
• Selection criteria.
• Pitch dates or times.
• Pitch format.
• Number of shortlisted projects.
• Judging or assessment procedures.
• These Terms & Conditions.

FAME Week Africa and MTN One TV may also postpone, suspend or cancel the Pitch Session due to circumstances beyond their reasonable control.

Reasonable efforts will be made to communicate material changes to affected applicants.

19. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, FAME Week Africa, MTN One TV, their respective affiliates, partners, employees, representatives and appointed judges or assessors will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense arising from participation in the submission, selection or Pitch Session process, except where such liability cannot lawfully be excluded.

Applicants remain responsible for their submission materials, rights clearances, intellectual property and participation costs.

20. Acceptance of Terms

By submitting a project to the FAME Week Africa × MTN One TV Pitch Session 2026, the applicant confirms that they:

• Have read, understood and accepted these Terms & Conditions.
• Meet the stated producer eligibility requirements.
• Have the authority to submit the project.
• Own or control the necessary rights, or are legally authorised to represent them.  
• Accept the selection and judging process and acknowledge that all selection decisions are final.
• Understand that submission, selection or participation in the Pitch Session does not guarantee a commission, funding or other commercial arrangement.
• Understand that any future commercial arrangement with MTN One TV will be subject to separate negotiation and formal written agreement.
• Agree to participate in person at FAME Week Africa in Cape Town if shortlisted.
• Understand that each shortlisted project will receive two (2) complimentary FAME Week Africa accreditations, but that travel, accommodation and associated attendance costs remain the responsibility of the participants unless otherwise agreed in writing.
• Agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions.