I can tell you that SABC3 has decided to get rid of its Friday night movie slot that the broadcaster now admits just isn't working and will be replacing it with a new reality show programming block in 2011 to complement it's Monday premium reality shows.
I can also exclusively break the news about TV to the Power of 5 - a new lifestyle show that SABC3 will be doing in conjunction with the radio station 5FM in 2011 also on a Friday night. (''Its translating radio to TV,'' I'm told by SABC3. ''We're translating 5FM to TV.''). But back to the reality block addition on the channel.
''On Fridays in 2011 SABC3 brings viewers a new block of MTV style reality viewing,'' says the channel. It will start with MTV Cribs on Friday, 4 February at 20:00 with tours through the domestic sanctuaries of some of today's biggest stars, then Run's House at 20:30 and the MTV reality show The Hills with reality star Lauren Conrad will start its first season on SABC3 on 4 February at 21:00.
''Monday nights will still remain your Survivors and The Amazing Race,'' Risuna Mayimele, SABC3's brand manager assured me when I asked whether SABC3 is possibly planning to move its reality night to a Friday. ''The new Friday reality slot will be totally different [from Mondays]. If you look at the Friday reality its more the entertainment aspect of it. What we're now saying with the new programming strategy is we're looking at the different days and responding to what the viewers need on those different days. We'll never put Survivor on a Friday.''
''We're a lifestyle TV brand, so we're trying to bring those elements of lifestyle and make it more entertaining and more relevant to our viewers,'' she says.
