You're reading it here first.
First the major news, then I'll tell you what it means: I can exclusively reveal - although not so much as a peep from anyone yet - that the brand-new American drama series American Horror Story has been snapped up by Fox International Channels (FIC) that will have it for South African television viewers on FX (TopTV 110) literally within days or weeks after this big-buzz show starts in America in October. My guess would be November.
American Horror Story has Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton, Jessica Lange and Zachary Quinto in the cast and the show is from producer Ryan Murphy (from Glee). American Horror Story is a high-buzz, creepy horror show about a family who move into a Los Angeles mansion ... that's actually haunted (see, there's a hand under the carpet).
Although TopTV as an overall pay TV platform is lagging with innovation, FIC that runs and supplies channels such as FX to TopTV in South Africa, has now become a bona vide and major game-changer on its own within the South African television industry.
Following drama series The Walking Dead, Falling Skies, and soon the 2nd season of The Walking Dead, and now American Horror Story, FIC's role as an innovator, disruptor of the status quo, and a massive game-changing agent shaking up the South African television environment can now easily be a new exam question posed to students at South African film schools. Because FIC is definitely changing this up by grabbing great shows exclusively and showing them very quickly in South Africa.
M-Net for instance got the rights to Terra Nova - Steven Spielberg's dino-time travel show starting this month in America - but decided to wait until January 2012 to show it in South Africa. FIC and FX now clearly has decided to focus on acquiring some similar high-buzz shows exclusively, that's also brand-new, and is now clearly doing so consistently ... and then shows it (worldwide, not in South Africa) as soon as it possible can, instead of waiting.
Is this - or rather what - effect is this going to have on the rest of the South African TV industry? Is M-Net going to up it's gamesmanship? Vuzu has already dramatically brought series premiere dates forward the past two years - youth viewers are an impatient bunch. South African television channels must surely be realizing that the ''buy, slot on the schedule, show it months from now'' equilibrium has been disturbed.
Once viewers and South African pay TV subscribers realize that not only, in fact, it is possible to see shows and episodes much quicker instead of waiting weeks or months, but that rivals are actually doing it, pay TV operators are going to have to improve what they show and when they show it. The scheduling game is changing before subscribers' very eyes.
ALSO READ: The 2nd season of The Walking Dead to be shown from 18 October in South Africa; 48 hours after episodes premiere in America.
ALSO READ: FX in South Africa immediately also super-sizes the premiere episode of the 2nd season of The Walking Dead after America lengthens the first new episode.
