DStv, MacG, and the Age of Famous Nobodies

South African Tech Culture

DStv, MacG, and the Age of Famous Nobodies

By MoAfrika Skotch Ntilane — 24 August 2025

Let’s be brutally, painfully honest. Watching DStv desperately scoop up podcasters to put on television is like watching a dinosaur, moments after the meteor has hit, trying to catch a fly with its tiny, useless arms. It is a clumsy, pathetic, and deeply revealing spectacle. It is the death rattle of the mainstream, a final, panicked attempt to stay relevant in a world that has already rendered it a fossil.

The Age of Famous Nobodies

We are living in the age of the Famous Nobody. A cultural wasteland where clout is mistaken for talent, where controversy is a substitute for substance, and where audience size is the only metric of worth. There is no greater, more garish monument to this new mediocrity than the coronation of MacG as the biggest podcaster in Africa. This is not a milestone to be celebrated. It is a diagnosis of a terminal illness.

The Mirror

Celebrating MacG’s success is exactly like celebrating Baragwanath Hospital. Yes, Baragwanath is one of the biggest and most famous hospitals in the world. But why is it so big? Is it because we are a nation of exceptionally healthy people who enjoy world-class preventative care? No. It is because we have a catastrophic number of sick, injured, and dying people. It is a world-class institution born of our world-class societal ills.

In the very same way, MacG’s astronomical success is not a sign of a healthy, vibrant media landscape. It is a sign that our collective intellectual immune system has collapsed. We get the media landscape we deserve. And right now, we are collectively choosing the gutter.