e.tv just announced that SA's Got Talent will start on the free-to-air commercial broadcaster in September - oh, did I mention that So You Think You Can Dance? and Strictly Come Dancing will also return this year with new seasons? Viewers should not necessarily look for these so-called ''format floor shows" on the channel's they've seen them before. And the broadcaster's who haven't locked them down? Well, get ready to be blindsided.
"We are excited that SA's Got Talent will form part of our programme offering,'' says Monde Twala, e.tv's channel head. "This reality show gives e.tv an opportunity to showcase a large variety of South African talent across a variety of categories."
I asked SABC2 about SA's Got Talent over the weekend when I got word of the imminent announcement. SABC2 said that the broadcaster had no plans to bring back the show in the current fiscal, which meant that the production company Rapid Blue is making SA's Got Talent for another channel. The SABC has now lost another format show to a rival broadcaster, similar to how I Want to be a Millionaire, Popstars and others were taken to new channels.
"We are delighted that SA's Got Talent will make its debut on e.tv," says Trish Kinane, the president of Worldwide Entertainment, FremantleMedia. "Got Talent has been hugely successful around the globe and we think it has enormous potential in South Africa, given the vast pool of talent in the country. We look forward to seeing what SA's Got Talent will uncover, and I have no doubt the show will be just as popular with e.tv's audiences as it has been worldwide"''.
The third season of SA's Got Talent on South African television will be the first season on e.tv and will be produced by Rapid Blue which did the previous seasons. It's not clear which of the judges will be back.
