The new Defiance science fiction TV drama which debuted Monday and Tuesday across the world and in multiple countries is a global hit - just not in South Africa where South African viewers and DStv subscribers can't see it yet.
M-Net has the broadcasting rights to the new drama and Defiance is set to be shown on M-Net Series (DStv 114).
Defiance as a new "transmedia" show and produced by Universal Cable Productions is however supposed to be watched at the same time as the release of the same Defiance global video game.
Viewers who want a richer, more immersive experience can play Defiance along with the opportunity to influence Defiance the TV show. Sadly South African viewers on DStv can't play and watch along with the rest of the world.
"Defiance is NBC Universal's biggest day-and-date launch ever, premiering in over 55 countries on April 15th and 16th including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and France," says the Syfy channel in a press statement which owns Defiance as a TV property.
Since the video game launched on 2 April, Defiance has seen players log more than six million hours of gameplay.
Defiance as a high-buzz brand-new TV show might show staying power or might fizzle out - the first two hour episode pulled a big 2,7 million viewers in America.
The problem is that Defiance might start showing in South Africa too late, when, or if, Defiance somehow loses that ethereal "must watch" quality which the show has right now as does all things shiny and new.
M-Net waited far too long to start showing Terra Nova, another science fiction show, which also jumped out of the gate with big-buzz.
By the time Terra Nova started showing in South Africa on M-Net, the dino drama's buzz was mostly gone, and of course there was the news that the show was cancelled. When viewers know a show is no longer internationally hot or has been cancelled, it impacts on viewership.
It would be so much better, and so much more effective and win-win for pay-TV broadcaster, pay-TV subscriber, viewer and content distributor, if like Revolution which is also on M-Net Series, episodes of Defiance is rolled out and shown in South Africa as close as possible to it being seen in the rest of the world.
