Experts in various fields will keep the nation and world informed during the Oscar Pistorius trial, MultiChoice said on Tuesday.
[full]”The Oscar Pistorius Trial – A Carte Blanche Channel on DStv Channel 199″ will feature interviews with a variety of guests from around the world throughout the course of the daytime and evening programming,” MultiChoice spokeswoman Michelle Esau said in a statement.
“These guests will offer insight and commentary on what happened in court.”
The experts would include senior legal minds, psychologists, forensic experts, social commentators, brand gurus, social media analysts, news and media heavyweights.
Executive editor of the channel, George Mazarakis, said they had secured exclusive access to acclaimed international experts, who would feature as regular guests.
“These include criminal defence attorney, Robert Shapiro, famous for his defence of OJ Simpson, American forensic experts and police consultants to hit TV shows like Dexter, who provide fascinating insights,” he said.
On Tuesday, Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo ruled in favour of MultiChoice’s application to broadcast audio of the full trial and to televise parts of the trial, including opening and closing arguments, judgment and sentencing.
“We are thrilled that the SA judiciary has matured to this ground breaking decision. It is a seminal moment and will make South African television and legal history as visual access of this nature has never before been granted in a South African court,” said Mazarakis.
The channel will feature daily analysis on the global audience’s reaction to the case on social media, a live Twitter feed displayed on screen and engaging public polls run on social media.
The channel will also have daytime and night time programming, which will run from 7am to 10pm daily, with content repeated from 10pm until 7am the following morning.
Pistorius, 27, whose legs were amputated below the knee when he was a young boy, is known world-wide as the “Blade Runner” for competing on two fibre-optic blades and running against able-bodied athletes in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
He shot dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, on February 14 last year through a locked bathroom door at his upmarket Pretoria east home. He says he mistook her for an intruder.
The case has sparked worldwide interest.[/full]