TV CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK. Who caused this? DStv subscribers short-changed as Doctor Who suddenly swirls back for its 11th season - but to Showmax, not BBC First - with the never-shown 10th season suddenly becoming a phone booth burn-off.

It's not a diabolical Dalek plan; it's more an outcome of what is increasingly becoming the chaos of a nonlinear system.

Doctor Who is coming back for South African viewers after a very long absence, but coming back in the "wrong" way.

Unfortunately this "took-way-too-long" development - of which the net effect in the end is positive - is actually very bad for a particular type of South African consumer.

Distilled down the loser is ... the DStv subscriber who used to watch Doctor Who on BBC Worldwide Africa's (now BBC Studios Africa) BBC First channel on MultiChoice's satellite pay-TV service.

Let's start in the past with the background, then the present and what's happening now, before we get to what the problem is.


First the past

The joy was great when, in the mid-2000's, the BBC revived the British science fiction series, Doctor Who and MultiChoice and BBC Worldwide announced that the new series would also be shown on the BBC Entertainment channel on DStv.

That carried on until season 9 of Doctor Who in 2015 with Peter Capaldi that was shown on BBC First (DStv 119) when the BBC relaunched its channel set on DStv in South Africa.

Everything was hunky-dory, and you couldn't really justifiably criticise anything the BBC and DStv did around Doctor Who, except perhaps a few too long breaks between seasons where BBC Worldwide took just a tad too long to show the next season and South Africa was mostly a season behind.

In 2014 I got upset at the BBC's so-called "global tour" of Doctor Who when the 12th Time Lord, Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman went on a "global" tour to every continent - except for Africa.

African viewers, it seemed, were not really good enough for Doctor Who.

After the 9th season, Doctor Who on DStv's BBC First also just stopped.

Since then it's been the longest wait, of course with the expectation that Doctor Who would return, but not knowing when. I also knew also that the BBC didn't really consider the Doctor Who ratings "good enough", which is why it wasn't a priority to really buy and schedule Doctor Who's 10th season.

In July I still asked the BBC in Africa when Doctor Who would return, and was told there's nothing definite yet.


Now we get to the present

Imagine my surprise when, in late-August, BBC Studios Africa suddenly announced that it will be hosting a special Doctor Who experience at Comic Con Africa 2018, with Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service, Showmax.

The announcement also included that Doctor Who's upcoming 11th season is going to be on Showmax with Jodie Whittaker as the "new" doctor.

(Keep in mind South Africans haven't even seen the 10th season yet on DStv, or the exit of Peter Capaldi, who, according to what we saw last, is still the doctor and will be for a whole season.)

"Whovians and new fans from across the continent can come to Johannesburg and celebrate the return of one of the BBC’s most successful franchises with an immersive TARDIS experience, ahead of the launch of the all-new series starring award-winning actress Jodie Whittaker," said BBC Studios Africa.

"The new series heralds a brand-new era for Doctor Who with a world-class team at the helm."

"Bigger and bolder than ever, Series 11 marks the arrival of the Thirteenth Doctor – a super-smart explorer of the universe, alongside a team of new friends and delightful characters," said the statement, adding that "it will be available exclusive to Showmax later this year."

At Comic Con Africa 2018 "fans of the show will be able to come together and enjoy a screening of the final episode of Series 10, where the new Doctor makes her first appearance."


Now the sad and disappointing problem

Firstly, I don't blame Showmax.

It's a new player in a new video world and all sharks have to keep swimming or die.

Showmax bought BBC Studios content and BBC Studios was willing to sell Doctor Who to Showmax - just like it sold Doctor Who to Cell C's black SVOD service which is where I watched Doctor Who last two months ago.

Furthermore Showmax, marketing-wise, wants to do an "activation" and have a type of a physical brand presence at Comic Con Africa 2018 (with BBC Studios maybe as well) - and again, nothing wrong with that.

I also don't really "blame" BBC Studios and BBC Studios Africa. I really like and respect what BBC Studios Africa keeps accomplishing in South Africa and Africa. Also, BBC Studios produces shows, has shows and wants to sell those. Companies exist to sell.

The problem is maybe that BBC Studios should have sold Doctor Who first to the BBC's channels instead of Showmax, but if the channels part of a company doesn't want it, and you can get money for it elsewhere, who isn't going to sell it to a buyer who wants it?

Here is the bad problematic part though: I have a big problem with what it means for dedicated DStv subscribers and BBC viewers who have been loyal and who have paid for over a decade to watch Doctor Who on MultiChoice's DStv and who now can't watch or follow it anymore.

After first cultivating and creating an audience - something DStv and the BBC did together, these subscribers' are having their show ripped away from them which is now continuing on another platform.

M-Net has done somewhat the same by starting certain shows on certain of the M-Net packaged channels on DStv - mostly M-Net (DStv 101) - and then after a few seasons flinging them away to other channels or higher-tiered channels where subscribers can no longer see them, don't know where to find them, or don't know that new seasons have started elsewhere.

That's not as bad though as having a long-running and existing show jump from a channel on DStv to Showmax.

While some DStv subscribers might get free access to Showmax, they still have to pay data costs to stream episodes.

Secondly, while the deal for season 11 also includes season 10 for Showmax, it's beyond ridiculous  how the 10th season of Doctor Who is being downplayed as merely a phone booth burn-off to just get through, to now get to the ooh-so-exciting season 11.

It comes across as a desperate corporate marketing attempt to make it look as if South Africa is/has always been one of the kids in class who also have the latest pair of Nike.

Meanwhile the truth is that the powers that be could be bothered less with Doctor Who, while real, ardent fans waited and waited and waited.

It took two and a half years since season 9 for South Africans to get access to season 10, and now viewers must suddenly "binge" through it in days - and not on DStv's BBC First but on Showmax - just to be cool enough for Comic Con. That ain't right, Face of Boo.

Thirdly, why is Doctor Who suddenly cool enough for Comic Con Africa (and yes, it is) when it didn't matter before?

All of the sudden fuzz - "ooh, Jodie!", "ooh, one of the BBC’s most successful franchises" - sounds fake and put-on given that South Africans and DStv subscribers heard and were basically told nothing about the show for over two years.

The fact is that Doctor Who wasn't supported in South Africa, fans were not deemed worthy enough of answers about where the show is and when it' would be coming back and it didn't matter enough to comprehensively keep them or the media up to date.

Now there's a flurry of announcements, an activation and whatnots. But why does it feel like it has such a sense of fakeness to it?


A final River Song

I love science fiction; I like Doctor Who.

There are however episodes I hugely love but I can't say that I'm in love with the series.

I have however watched all of the episodes of the 2005 series onwards  - every season - and I have rewatched a lot of episodes on in-flight entertainment systems, and DVD box sets, and will continue following, watching and tracking it.

But there are real fans of Doctor Who, people who really love the show.

There are DStv subscribers who possibly subscribed and remained subscribed to DStv in order to see the show as part of the matrix of shows making it worthwhile for that person to have DStv.

I feel bad for them, and for DStv subscribers who watched Doctor Who, and for DStv subscribers who tuned to a BBC channel because they watched it there, expect(ed) it to continue to be there, and who are experiencing a show being ripped away from them - exclusively - after they waited for it to return for almost 3 years.


So, Who caused this? Who is at fault? No-one really and everybody really. A system with too many options, players, available avenues, and verticals led to it. Welcome to the TV world as it is now, and changing even more.

Unintended effects are part of complex systems and with South Africa's TV-archology adding more and more constantly moving parts that all interact with each other, it's likely that things like this are going to happen even more and more in the future.

If you're very loyal to a particular TV show and want to see how its story continues or concludes, get ready to have to work even harder, and to pay even more for more different things, if you truly want to keep following it.

BBC Worldwide to simulcast the debut episode of Blue Planet II on its BBC Earth and BBC Brit channels on DStv at the same time.

BBC Worldwide will now simulcast the debut episode of the upcoming Blue Planet II natural history documentary series that will be shown on BBC Earth (DStv 184), on the BBC Brit (DStv 120) channel as well.

When the Sir David Attenborough narrated, aqua-exploratory series starts on 4 February at 16:00 on BBC Earth on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in South Africa, it will also be simulcast to more viewers in South Africa, and across Africa, at the same time on the BBC Brit channel.

BBC Earth is an exclusively DStv Premium channel for its highest paying subscribers, with the channel that also has more limited distribution elsewhere through Africa on MultiChoice Africa with very few African nations where BBC Earth is available on DStv. The more generic BBC Brit however enjoys bigger carriage availability on DStv in Africa.

BBC Brit is also available on the lower DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscription tiers.

The Blue Planet II simulcast on BBC Earth and BBC Brit accomplishes two goals.

Firstly the simulcast of the premium series serves as an upsell marketing opportunity to expose lower-tiered DStv subscribers to what content is available on BBC Earth - something that might prompt some upgrades to DStv Premium.

Secondly it enlarges the potential audience that gets access to the show if they want to watch it with the combined channels' reach that could yield higher viewership and an increase in ratings - a plus for both BBC Worldwide South Africa as well as for MultiChoice.

BBC Worldwide South Africa will preview Blue Planet II to the media next week at an event screening; its PR agency told TVwithThinus this week that it will be for Johannesburg press only with no media from elsewhere invited to see the series beforehand.

Blue Planet II follows 16 years after the first BBC series and has been released as DVD and Blu-ray sets since 27 November 2017 on Amazon. The production team spent over 6 000 hours diving underwater, including filming in South Africa.

The BBC will follow up Blue Planet II with programmes looking at how ocean plastic and clothing manufacture are impacting nature.

BBC Studios announces appointments of 4 genre programming bosses and 3 managing directors for different global regions.

BBC Studios - the new single commercial entity when BBC Worldwide is folded into BBC Studios as one production and distribution business - has announced its new global leadership team that will have 3 global regional bosses and 4 genre programming bosses.

In November 2017 the BBC announced that it's ending its BBC Worldwide commercial arm brand and folding its operations into BBC Studios starting April 2018.

At BBC Studios Hannah Wyatt will be the managing director for factual entertainment and events, Lisa Opie the managing director for factual, Nick Betts the managing director for scripted, and Suzy Lamb the managing director for entertainment and music.

For BBC Studios' global regions Ann Sarnoff will be president of the Americas, Marcus Arthur will be president of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australasia, while Paul Dempsey will be president for global markets covering the rest of the world.

Each regional president will be responsible for leading content sales, branded services including joint ventures, consumer products and other commercial exploitation activities in their market. The appointments will take effect in April with the formation of the new company.

“We are looking forward to getting on with growing BBC Studios as a world-class home for British creativity,” says Tim Davie who will be the BBC Studios CEO.

BBC Worldwide Africa switches Come Dine with Me South Africa from BBC Lifestyle to the BBC Brit channel on DStv; 4th season will start on 15 February with more colourful and diverse contestants.

The 4th season of the beloved Come Dine With Me South Africa series is switching channels from BBC Lifestyle to BBC Brit (DStv 120) and will start on Thursday 15 February at 20:00 with the revived show that will once again include voice-over narration done by Dave Lamb.

The 4th season of the show will start on BBC Brit exactly a year after the SABC awkwardly announced that it had picked up the food competition series for a 4th season on SABC3 - just to then be forced to backtrack after already airing promos and announcing that it will no longer be producing the show.

The out-of-cash SABC failed to sign the necessary contracts for the ITV Studios format produced show.

BBC Worldwide Africa and the South African production company Rapid Blue that is the format rights holder, then agreed to bring the show back for viewers of the BBC's entertainment fare in South Africa and across Africa.

BBC Worldwide Africa has been reluctant to bring Come Dine with Me SA back for a 4th season although TV critics loved it and viewers have been clamouring for more local episodes of the show.

In each episode ordinary South Africans take turns to host each other in dinner parties at their homes. They then rate each other's food, presentation and hosting abilities.

There's a 5 year gap between the 3rd season of Come Dine With Me SA and the upcoming 4th season that will have episodes filmed in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.

The new season of Come Dine With Me SA will also see the show switch channels. The previous three seasons were all broadcast on BBC Lifestyle where seasons of shows like The Great South African Bake Off were also shown.

Early in 2017 BBC Worldwide announced that Come Dine With Me SA would return to BBC Lifestyle in early 2018, but now Come Dine With Me South Africa is switching to BBC Brit.

BBC Worldwide Africa didn't specify why Come Dine With Me SA is switching to BBC Brit and why it will no longer be on BBC Lifestyle.

"We are thrilled to be able to announce the return date of Come Dine With Me South Africa for a 4th series," says Joel Churcher, general manager and vice president of BBC Worldwide Africa.

"Since announcing its return, viewers have blown us away with their excitement at seeing a new line-up of the country's best and worst dinner hosts step into the kitchen."

"I have seen a sneak peek of episode one and am confident that the new contestants will find their ways into the hearts of our viewers with the new episodes, promising even more iconic moments and catchphrases".

The first episode of the 4th season of Come Dine With Me South Africa is set in Pretoria with pole dancer Carmi van Heerden, the hyper-critical Philipine Modimogale, the amateur-dramatic Ian Perryman and the chatty Nonhlanhla Ntwasa.

"After all these years of producing international formats for a South African audience, I'm still constantly amazed at all the colourful and diverse personalities that our amazing country has to offer," says Kee-Leen Irvine, Rapid Blue executive producer. 

"This season of Come Dine With Me South Africa once again bring the proof to the pudding.”

BBC to follow-up David Attenborough's Blue Planet II on BBC Earth with programmes looking at how ocean plastic and clothing manufacture are impacting nature, and animal dynasties.

The BBC is following up Sir David Attenborough's Blue Planet II oceanographic series coming to Africa's viewers from next month on BBC Earth (DStv 184) with further documentary programmes looking at how plastic is killing the oceans, a shocking expose about clothing, and wildlife "dynasties".

The BBC commissioned Drowning in Plastic as as 90-minute documentary with presenter Liz Bonnin who will look at the shocking impact plastic in the sea is having on the world, travelling to horrific “plastic hot spots” to show viewers first-hand what all forms of plastics is doing to sealife along shorelines and in the open sea.

The Truth About What You Wear with presenter Stacey Dooley will examine the connections between fashion, modern-day clothing manufacture and rainforest deforestation, water contamination and pollution, in addition to the threats posed to endangered animal species like orangutans and jaguars.

Dynasty will be the BBC's new signature wildlife documentary TV series that will look at groups of lions, African hunting dogs, chimpanzees, tigers and emperor penguins and how they create "dynasties" and groups as family packs.

The BBC has also commissioned Spy in the Wild II for 2019 using cameras to travel with various animals on their migration journeys, as well as Equator from the Air, looking at the Earth's equator region from above.

Blue Planet II has been scheduled to start on BBC Earth (DStv 184) on Sunday 4 February at 16:00.

Why MultiChoice, M-Net and FOX decided to back away from 'Express from the US' on DStv: Says 'quick-show' concept will continue in a limited fashion but 'became too confusing for the consumer'.

MultiChoice is explaining why the satellite pay-TV operator and its premium channel suppliers like M-Net and FOX for its DStv service decided to backtrack on the "Express from the US" concept, saying it had a debilitating impact on channels' ratings and became too confusing to viewers who ended up tuning out because of a broken experience while struggling to follow their series.

MultiChoice said that although "Express from the US" on DStv is being scaled back, it is and will continue in a limited fashion for big tentpole series, like Game of Thrones on M-Net (DStv 101) and The Walking Dead on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) for instance.

The middle and latter part of 2017 saw a marked and dramatic reduction in the number of "Express from the US" shows across TV channels - especially M-Net and FOX, part of a cutback that will continue in 2018.

It is why DStv subscribers now once again have to wait months to even a year for new seasons and new episodes of shows ranging from The Flash to The 100 to be shown in Africa.

It brought an end to the 3 year experiment of the "Express from the US" idea that was first introduced by M-Net in mid-2014 and that was quickly followed by other channels like FOX and even BBC Worldwide Africa that narrowed the gap between when shows and episodes aired overseas and were seen on pay-TV in South Africa.

M-Net initially trumpeted the success of Express from the US, saying that the pay-TV broadcaster was now "faster than piracy" and was "proud" of fast-tracking top-notch international series to South Africa within 24 hours of episodes being broadcast in America, putting DStv subscribers at the forefront of the latest broadcasting trends and technology.

M-Net and other channels called Express from the US "a tremendous success" but has now admitted that it didn't work as well, similar to countries like Australia that also tried it but scaled back after a while.

The problem is however that South African and African DStv subscribers are once again starting to fall further and further behind on a whole range of TV series since the launch of the latest American "fall TV season" that started in September 2017.

M-Net also shuttered the M-Net Edge channel thereby reducing the broadcasting real estate space available to not just broadcast all its available shows, but to broadcast them quickly enough.

The Late Late Show with James Corden that M-Net added in September 2017 at 17:00 was suddenly moved, just 4 months later, to literally midnight since this week's Monday in a very late timeslot where very few viewers will watch it.

Meanwhile supposed to be prime shows American ranging from Arrow to Once Upon a Time are now being burnt off at 16:45 on M-Net when its content is not just largely unsuitable for the timeslot but the bulk of its intended audience isn't yet home to watch it.

M-Net is also causing havoc with several superhero series that again not only switched between M-Net channels with some from VUZU now on M-Net, but is also spanning a big new 4-episode arc cross-over story across 4 different American series for the 2017 season  - something that M-Net won't be showing in the correct chronological order to viewers.

Over at FOX, Fox Networks Group Africa in late-2017 admitted it is also backing away from the Express from the US concept, already impacting the latest seasons of two of its premium drama series, Empire and Star that already had an early-season cross-over story.

FOX said it was well aware that there's a cross-over between the two shows, but would first show the first half of the new season of Empire in South Africa and Africa, that will then be followed by the first half of Star in the same timeslot - despite the cross-over story that is supposed to be seen at the same time.

When BBC Worldwide Africa starts Blue Planet II on BBC Earth (DStv 184) next month, it will be 3 months after it was shown to big buzz at the time in the UK and elsewhere in the world.

The starting date in this case likely has more to do though with BBC Worldwide Africa not wanting to burn off a premium show during the end of year period when linear ratings are traditionally ebbing lower when available viewership due to warmer weather and the holiday period starts to decline.

After BBC Worldwide Africa made an effort to bring South Africa and Africa up to date with Doctor Who in 2015 and showed episodes much faster on the relaunched BBC Brit (DStv 119), a whole 10th season has come and ended in July 2017 in the UK. Half a year later DStv subscribers are still waiting on BBC Worldwide Africa to start showing the already finished season.

The musical stage reality competition show Let it Shine will literally be a year old when BBC Worldwide for Africa starts it on 21 January on BBC Brit (DStv 120) for Africa's DStv subscribers, with the winning band that long-known already and even started touring in September 2017.

At the same time, while M-Net and FOX are maintaining some select shows as Express from the US titles, some channels are also joining the concept, like ITV Choice (DStv 123) for instance, that last week started rolling out episodes of the latest season of the reality singing competition The Voice UK within 24 hours after broadcast in the United Kingdom.

At MultiChoice's DStv media showcase press day in September TVwithThinus asked for clarity as to why Express from the US has been notably scaled back on M-Net and FOX, and across DStv channels in general.

"I think we were very aggressive, which is great; and Express from the US was a great unique selling proposition for us, and we are still going to do it on shows that are American TV network shows where there are limited season interruptions or no interruptions," explained Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice's general manager for content.

"Where there are 5 weeks of breaks, and then it plays 2 episodes, and then there's another 3 weeks of a break, it makes for such a broken experience for the consumer. And we see the ratings literally dropping off," she said.

"If you compare it to TV channels that have second-run content but have no interruptions, often they rate much higher because they have a consistent experience for viewers."

"So we're still going to bring you the best, as fast as possible - we might time it with the end of a show [season in America] to make sure that we give a seamless experience."

"But we are seriously going to start on M-Net. M-Net is doing a great job with its schedule that's very stable, helping people to know exactly what's coming, and promoting it in a way that everybody knows long out when their favourite shows are returning," said Aletta Alberts.

"It's really to give you an experience that you watch it, and it's there weekly; so that it's not like 'now it's on', 'then it's off', 'then it sits on the box' and then you don't know if you've seen it before. I think it's just confusing for the consumer. So that's the strategy behind that".

Blue Planet II to start on BBC Earth on DStv on Sunday 4 February 2018 at 4pm as an 'immersive' TV experience - exactly a year after after Planet Earth II.

The BBC's next globally shown natural history series, Blue Planet II will start on BBC Earth (DStv 184) on Sunday 4 February at 16:00 as literally an "immersive" TV experience.

BBC Worldwide confirmed to TVwithThinus that, as expected, the Sir David Attenborough narrated oceanological follow-up series to Blue Planet will be shown in February 2018 on DStv, similar as to when Australians will start to see it.

The 7-episode Blue Planet II already concluded since it started at the end of October in the United Kingdom, Nordic regions, Europe, Asia and New Zealand and the 3-disc Blue Planet II has already been released as a DVD and Blu-ray sets and is being sold since 27 November on Amazon.

America and Canada will see it from 20 January 2018.

The start date of Blue Planet II on BBC Earth in South Africa on DStv is interesting: The 4 February is a day short of a year since the natural history series Planet Earth II started on BBC Earth in 2017 on Sunday 5 February in the same 16:00 timeslot.

Blue Planet II follows 16 years after the first BBC series, and was 4 years in the making, complete with a soundtrack from composer Hans Zimmer and Radiohead.

Produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, filming involved 125 expeditions to 39 countries, filming on every continent and every ocean.

The team spent over 6 000 hours diving underwater, filming everywhere from South Africa and the Seychelles to Norway and the Gulf of Mexico and Antarctica in a deep manned submersible.

In Antarctica they explored under icebergs; in the Gulf of Mexico they filmed methane volcanoes erupting.

Where life was thought to be impossible in the deepest point of the Earth's ocean, more than 11 kilometres down, they filmed creatures living under pressure equivalent to 50 passenger planes stacked on top of one another.

Aletta Alberts, MultiChoice general manager for content, who saw some of Blue Planet II earlier this year before the start of its run on the BBC in the United Kingdom, shared some fascinating insights about the series with TV critics and journalists covering television at MultiChoice's DStv media showcase press day in September.

"I was privileged enough to go to BBC showcase earlier this year and they had one evening that they hosted where Blue Planet II was the theme and they had 360 degree cinema-like screens around".

"The submerged vessels that they film from look like big flying saucers, made from glass."

"They showed one of them, filming, and they were basically saying, 'Okay, we've been here for 3 days now, lift-off', and they push a button, and there's nothing".

"And they go: 'Okay, there's no pressure. We can't go up.' And you can see people panicking. And they go: 'Oh, the comms have gone as well.' And then you just see a guy going: 'Okay, lets switch everything off."

"So they switch everything off - click - and it's black. And it's black for about a minute. And you hear the sounds of how they start to switch everything back on like when you switch your lights back on when your board is tripped at home - clack, clack, clack. And there's nothing."

"And you just hear panicked voices. And the next minute, about a minute - everything comes on: boom. And then they get a little bit of pressure and they lift. Quite, quite, amazing."

"This natural history film unit of the BBC is absolutely amazing - you all know they've been around for years," said Aletta Alberts.

Blue Planet II has episode titles ranging from "Coral Reefs" and "Green Seas" to "Coasts" and "The Deep" and one episode also looks at mankind's destructive impact on the oceans with pollution and plastics threatening the entire marine ecosystem.

M-Net reveals Thembisa Mdoda and Frank Opperman as the first 2 of 12 celebrities who will take part in Dancing with the Stars SA from February 2018.

M-Net has announced the former Our Perfect Wedding presenter Thembisa Mdoda on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) and the veteran drama and comedy actor actor Frank Opperman appearing on kykNET (DStv 144) as the first 2 of 12 celebrities who will be taking part in Dancing with the Stars SA.

Dancing with the Stars SA will start in 2018 on M-Net (DStv 101) and is retitled from the longrunning Strictly Come Dancing SA show that was on SABC3 but discontinued due to a lack of money at the SABC.

The pay-TV broadcaster also announced the starting date for Dancing with the Stars SA, with the glitter floor format show produced by Rapid Blue that will be starting on M-Net on Sunday 4 February 2018.

M-Net licensed the Dancing with the Stars SA format show from BBC Worldwide.

Tracey Lange from kykNET's glamour magazine show Bravo! and Chris Jaftha from SABC3's glamour magazine show Top Billing are the presenters of Dancing with the Stars South Africa.

"I have always wanted to be part of Dancing With The Stars," says Thembisa Mdoda who won the title of Best TV Presenter at the 2017 DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards.

"In the past, I’d watch the show, practice the steps and give myself 10 out of 10s! I am so excited and can't wait to make new memories."

"Mostly, I'm eager to learn some new steps and to have fun."

Frank Opperman says "some people climb Everest for fun. Some walk to the South Pole for kicks, some people swim the seven oceans for pleasure and some people dance with the stars because they have gone insane!"

Rapid Blue and M-Net chose 12 stars to assemble an eclectic group of celebrity dancing stars all from various different backgrounds who will come from the worlds of acting, comedy and sport.

All 12 are already taking dancing lessons and are practising for the show.

BREAKING. BBC is ending its BBC Worldwide brand; folding it into BBC Studios as a new single commercial entity that will be known as BBC Studios.

The BBC is announcing that it is ending its BBC Worldwide commercial arm brand and folding it into BBC Studios. The combined, single commercial entity will be known as BBC Studios.

The BBC in a statement on Wednesday says that moving forward with one combined unit "will ensure the BBC is best placed to succeed both creatively and commercially and will better serve licence fee payers".

"At a time of an increasingly competitive and global market for production and distribution, this new organisational structure will bring the BBC into line with the rest of the industry, integrating programme production, sales and distribution in a single entity," says the BBC.

The commercial activities already carried out by BBC Worldwide - including content financing, sales and commercial channels - and BBC Studios, the BBC’s main programme production arm, is being combined into a simplified organisation.

BBC Studios launched as a commercial subsidiary in April 2017 and makes over 2 000 hours of programming a year.

Following the restructure, BBC Studios will employ approximately 3 000 permanent staff.

BBC Studios and BBC Worldwide already worked together on for instance the new documentary series Blue Planet II, currently shown in the United Kingdom, Asia and parts of Europe and set to debut on MultiChoice's DStv in Africa around February 2018.

"Joining forces will allow them to operate more simply and efficiently," says the BBC.

"All of the major established United Kingdom industry players integrate their programme production and distribution in this way."

"The TV industry has been changing fast and major global players are investing vast sums in content - but not primarily in British content reflecting British lives," says the BBC.

"A successful new BBC Studios will be better placed to make the investments others will not."

"Production arm BBC Studios is internationally recognised for making high-quality British programmes across a broad range of genres and specialisms. Boasting 81 awards so far this year, its output includes the highly acclaimed Blue Planet II, Strictly Come Dancing, Antiques Roadshow, EastEnders, Top Gear, the award-winning drama Three Girls, Louis Theroux’s latest documentary series and Drugsland".

"In a fast-changing TV industry, securing the future success of the BBC is vital," says BBC director-general, Tony Hall.

"Creating a single BBC Studios will bring the BBC in line with the industry, be simpler and more efficient."

The new BBC Studios will be led by Tim Davie as CEO and Mark Linsey as chief creative officer.

"Creating one company, in line with market norms, is a natural step in this market," says Tim Davie in the BBC statement.

"The new BBC Studios will be focused on the highest quality British content, underpinning our future financial return to licence fee payers."

"It will allow us to better serve customers, independent partners and the wider industry, resulting in world-class British productions for audiences in the UK and overseas. I am excited about the prospects ahead, and delighted to be part of the new organisation".

Mark Linsey says: "Bringing BBC Studios and BBC Worldwide together will help secure the BBC's future and guarantee our unrivalled creativity, risk-taking, quality and range."

WEIRD. You're going to be able to buy and watch the complete Blue Planet II in your home months before its on BBC Earth on DStv.

Something odd is happening: You're going to be able to buy and watch the complete new Blue Planet II series from the comfort of your home, literally months before the BBC's new Sir David Attenborough narrated natural history series will get broadcast on BBC Earth (DStv 184).

While the United Kingdom, Nordic regions, Europe, Asia and New Zealand are watching Blue Planet II since it started at the end of October, South African and African viewers are not getting the same treatment.

MultiChoice and BBC Worldwide will be showing Blue Planet II - but only sometime in 2018.

This underwater natural history series with pedigree series is not one of MultiChoice and BBC Worldwide's "Express from the US UK" programmes.

The 7-episode Blue Planet II will definitely be on BBC Earth, but a starting date is not yet known and hasn't been given to the South African press.

Australians will get to see it from February 2018 which is the time I would guess South Africans will start to see it on DStv as well.

It's possible that BBC Worldwide didn't want to start Blue Planet II too late in the year and have it run over the December holidays, but then why didn't it start end of October at the same time as in the United Kingdom where, and when, there was a big BBC media launch?

Here's the odd thing: South African and African viewers won't have to wait until sometime in 2018 to see it on BBC Earth on DStv. You'll be able to see it for Christmas and even before then.

The 3-disc Blue Planet II will be released as DVD and Blu-ray sets on 27 November on Amazon.

When the original Planet Earth came out in 2006 I bought several Blu-ray sets as gifts and one for myself - it was literally the first Blu-ray I ever bought.

I will probably do the same again with Blue Planet II.

It's odd and doesn't make any sense that BBC Worldwide would sell something already on DVD that it hasn't yet properly exploited on its television window because it ends up cannibalising its own potential TV viewership.

On the other hand, that is the crazy rough-and-tumble TV world we inhabit today.

As more and more TV goes today, I will watch BBC Worldwide's Blue Planet II - it's just that the way I'm going to see it will most probably not be as a linear broadcast on pay-TV.

BBC Worldwide to stop commissioning original content for its channels like BBC Earth and BBC Brit seen on DStv in South Africa and across Africa.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, is reportedly ending the commissioning of original content for its set of international BBC channels like BBC Earth and BBC Brit seen on for instance MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in South Africa and Africa, with BBC Worldwide that has started firing commissioning editors as part of the process.

Deadline on Tuesday first reported about BBC Worldwide's overhauled channel strategy for its BBC channels that includes a cutback on the commissioning on original content for channels like BBC Earth (DStv 184) and BBC Brit (DStv 120).

While in 2017 BBC Brit and BBC Earth for instance broadcast over 50 hours of originally commissioned content, that is now going to be completely eliminated.

BBC Worldwide's channels will now be filled with existing programming that's already being distributed by BBC Worldwide, like Planet Earth II for instance.

People out of jobs so far already are London-based commissioning editors like Hannah Demidowicz who has been with BBC Worldwide since 2014 and Kirsty Hanson who joined BBC Worldwide in 2015.

A BBC Worldwide spokesperson said in a statement that "our global network of branded services has grown and evolved since 2014 - with their commissioning strategies also adapting to best fit their content needs."

"As a result, much of the resource put into delivering global factual entertainment has been redirected towards meeting a growing demand for formats and factual entertainment that can be localized".

BBC Earth is available in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Canada and India.

BBC Brit is available in Africa, Eastern Europe and the Nordic territories.

'BBC WORLDWIDE ARE C****' - Angry Doctor Who writer slams BBC Worldwide and publisher Panini in a vulgar, hidden magazine message.

An angry and upset writer for the BBC's Doctor Who Magazine, published by Panini, has worked in a hidden, vulgar message slamming Panini and BBC Worldwide.

Using the first letter of every sentence in a one-page article, the disgruntled writer spelled out the sentence "PANINI AND BBC WORLDWIDE ARE C****"

At the end of the article in the latest issue that is currently on sale and that was written by The Watcher - who is very likely no longer employed by the Doctor Who Magazine - he writes: "IN A NUTSHELL: If you look hard enough, there's always something hidden in plain sight".

Clever readers did notice and figured it out yesterday, when they checked the first letter of every sentence that appear in the entire body copy of the article.

The online version of the article has now been changed. There's been no comment so far from either Panini or BBC Worldwide.

BBC Worldwide runs and distributes channels like BBC First, BBC Brit, BBC Earth and CBeebies to pay-TV operators like MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in South Africa and Africa.

In South Africa Doctor Who is broadcast on BBC First (DStv 119).

Jodie Whittaker will make her appearance as the Thirteenth Doctor - the first woman in the Brit sci-fi show's run in the Christmas day special entitled "Twice Upon a Time" on the BBC in the United Kingdom as the final episode of the 10th season.

It's not yet known when that episode will be broadcast on BBC First.

A starting date for the new 11th season has not yet been announced.

BBC Worldwide sells more than 150 hours of content to Showmax Africa, including Planet Earth II, Call the Midwife and Special Forces.

BBC Worldwide has sold more than 150 hours of content to Naspers' subscription video-on-demand S(VOD) service Showmax in Africa.

The content from the BBC Worldwide will be available in South Africa and the other 35 African countries in which Showmax operates that in Africa now resorts under MultiChoice's DStv Digital division.

BBC Worldwide announced the Showmax deal at TV market MIPCOM 2017 that includes a mixed-genre package of more than 150 hours of content ranging from natural history and drama to factual entertainment programming.

"I am delighted that Showmax subscribers across the African continent will soon have access to some of the most loved and much talked about shows from the BBC and leading UK independents through this new agreement," says Joel Churcher, vice president and general manager for Africa.

"BBC Worldwide has a deep catalogue of premium content which we can offer across all platforms to ensure African audiences can view our world class content whenever and wherever they choose."

Chris Savides, the head of Showmax Africa says "BBC shows are a cornerstone of our content lineup and have played a major part in propelling Showmax from a standing start two years ago to one of the most popular internet TV services in Africa".

"We're looking forward to adding even more BBC content in the future".

BBC Worldwide shows that will become available on Showmax include:

Planet Earth II
The updated natural history series shown earlier this year on BBC Earth (DStv 174). Travelling through jungles, deserts, mountains, islands, grasslands and cities, this series explores the unique characteristics of Earth's most iconic habitats and the extraordinary ways animals survive within them.

Call the Midwife seasons 4 - 6
The triumphs and tribulations of the nurses and nuns from the Nonnatus House convent as they work in the poverty-stricken East End of London.

The Durrell’s seasons 1 & 2
The adventures of the eccentric Durrell family as they embrace life on a gorgeous Greek island of Corfu in the 1930’s. Based on Gerald Durrell’s much-loved Corfu trilogy, the series sees widow Louisa Durrell and the family adjust to their new life, face a whole new set of challenges and meet new friends, rivals, lovers and animals.

The Collection 

A tale of secrets, lies and high fashion from writer Oliver Goldstick (Desperate Housewives). Set in 1947, the series tracks a pivotal moment in France’s history when fashion became a vehicle for transformation and reinvention.

Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week seasons 1 & 2

In this action-packed series, 29 super fit men and women take on the challenge of their lives when they have to endure 12 days straight of physical and mental endurance, masterminded by some of the world’s toughest special forces operatives, to discover who can survive and ultimately win. 

The second season was filmed in South Africa.

DStv SHOWCASE SEPTEMBER 2017: MultiChoice CEO Mark Rayner: DStv remains hard at work at driving down repeats and helping viewers with content discovery; DStv Now has 'surpassed expectations'.

MultiChoice CEO Mark Rayner says DStv remains hard at work at driving down repeats and rebroadcasts across the various DStv channels - one of the biggest complaints from subscribers - while viewing and use of the DStv Now service has "surpassed expectations".

On Thursday Mark Rayner addressed the media at MultiChoice's DStv media showcase held in the cinema auditorium at MultiChoice City in Randburg, Johannesburg.

As part of his presentation, Mark Rayner told the press that MultiChoice remains committed to not just reducing old content across DStv TV channels as part of an increased focus to reduce repeats, but has also been putting a lot of focus on improving scheduling to make it easier for viewers to watch shows.

MultiChoice is also pro-actively working to create new ways for DStv subscribers to find the content that's available that they might want to watch, through creating and implementing better content discovery mechanisms.

"We're making pro-active moves to limit DStv repeats; complaints have been coming down nicely," said Mark Rayner.

There's been a strong focus at MultiChoice the past few months to reduce the number of repeats and rebroadcasts of content across various TV channels on DStv's platform and to help viewers find new programming.

With a lot of work that's been done to reduce repeats on the various M-Net packaged channels for DStv, Mark Rayner said that the focus on reducing repeats resulted in an increase in the viewership and ratings of the M-Net (DStv 101) channel for instance.

And it's not just M-Net.

MultiChoice has also been having ongoing discussions with the distributors of third-party supplied TV channels for DStv's platform who have been urged to reduce repeats where they're not working - even in instances where they still got good ratings.

A repeat problem that has been addressed for instance has been old Top Gear episodes from BBC Worldwide shown on a channel like BBC Brit (DStv 120), with DStv subscribers who complained that they had been forced to watch the same old episodes over and over.

"Sometimes I pity the TV channels that get a call from Aletta Alberts [MultiChoice's head of content] and her content team. Aletta has argued vehemently with the BBC for instance over repeats of old Top Gear episodes in particular," said Mark Rayner.

He said that DStv subscribers' use of MultiChoice's over-the-top (OTT) service DStv Now "has surpassed expectations".

SABC3 Expresso chef Zola Nene replaces Shirley Guy as judge in the 3rd season of BBC Africa's The Great South African Bake Off starting October.

The SABC3 Expresso chef Zola Nene has replaced Shirley Guy as judge in the third upcoming season of BBC Worldwide Africa's The Great South African Bake Off starting in October on BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174).

It is the first judge change for the Rapid Blue produced show, based on The Love Productions format, that saw a presenter change in the second season.

Filming of the new third season is starting this month.

According to BBC South Africa, Shirley Guy who was a judge alongside Tjaart Walraven, decided that she wanted to "spend more time with her family" and pursue other projects.

Zola Nene will now judge the contestants' baking alongside Tjaart Walraven, with comedian Anne Hirsch and Lentswe Bhengu both back as co-presenters.

Zola Nene, originally from Durban, now lives in Cape Town and works as a TV chef, appearing on Expresso.

After working as a pastry chef in England, she returned to Stellenbosch and studied at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch and has become a cookbook author.

"I started my career in the food world as a pastry chef and ever since then I have always loved baking," says Zola Nene in a statement.

"I'm hugely excited to be joining The South African Bake Off family, simply because I'm a big fan of the show. I know it's going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to meet all of the new hopeful bakers and join them on this exciting new adventure."

Tjaart Walraven says "it is fantastic that Zola will be joining the team. It has been an absolute pleasure judging alongside Shirley Guy for series one and two but I know it is going to be a fun new experience working with Zola. I'm very excited to get into the tent and see all the new contestants and of course - sample their bakes."

BBC Worldwide picks up Come Dine with me South Africa, produced by Rapid Blue, for a 4th season in 2018 on BBC Lifestyle after a 3 year absence.

After the SABC's botched mess of agreeing to pick up a 4th season of Come Dine with Me South Africa earlier this year and then embarrassingly losing the show after failing to sign contracts in time, the show will return to BBC Worldwide's BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) where the previous 3 seasons aired.

The 4th season would have started broadcasting on the SABC's SABC3 channel in July with SABC3 that ran a call for entries on the channel but the revival of the South African show was abruptly scuppered with the SABC that

Now BBC Worldwide has picked up Come Dine with Me South Africa for a 4th season that will be broadcast in 2018.

In April 2014 BBC Worldwide said the ITV Global Studios Entertainment format show won't see any further local South African seasons on the BBC's channels in South Africa/Africa that started in 2011, as it's looking for a new locally produced format show for South Africa.

BBC Worldwide ended up going for The Great South African Bake Off that's already broadcast two seasons and production underway on a third season, produced by Rapid Blue.

Now Come Dine with me South Africa, also produced by Rapid Blue and again based on the ITV Studios Global Entertainment format, has been picked up by BBC Worldwide again after an absence of three years, with the show that is returning for a 4th season on BBC Lifestyle.

Each episode follows four strangers as they alternate hosting the others with dinners in their homes, with the winner that stands a chance of winning R10 000. The 4th season of Come Dine with me South Africa is now looking for South African contestants with people who can enter at BBCSouthAfrica.com until 6 August and with filming that will start later this year.

The 4th season of Come Dine with me South Africa will have 12 episodes and will be broadcast on BBC Lifestyle in early 2018. The Come Dine with Me format is now produced in 34 countries worldwide including Germany, France and Australia.

The show that delivered several stand-out South African characters during its first three seasons, says it aims to be "bolder, bigger and better than ever" when it returns and episodes will be filmed in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.

"Come Dine with me South Africa quickly established itself as a South African sensation, taking us into the dining rooms of some of the country's most intriguing characters," says Joel Churcher, BBC Worldwide's general manager and vice president for Africa, announcing the show's return.

"I'm pleased that BBC Lifestyle is joining forces with Rapid Blue once more to offer a distinctly South African take on a hugely popular international format".

Come Dine with me South Africa is commissioned by Kirsty Hanson, BBC Worldwide commissioning editor who says that BBC Worldwide remains "dedicated to bringing shows that delight and entertain our audiences across the globe".

"The Come Dine with Me format has proved to be a consistent hit and we are very excited to cast the hopeful contestants for the 4th season and showcase all of the vibrant, fun and vivacious personalities found in South Africa."

BBC Worldwide Africa continues to beef up BBC Brit by broadening the channel; moving EastEnders and Strictly Come Dancing over to BBC Brit.

As part of the ongoing process to beef up the offering and to lift ratings of the male-skewed BBC Brit (DStv 120), BBC Worldwide will now be adding female-focused programming from other BBC channels.

The British soap EastEnders is being moved from BBC First (DStv 119) to BBC Brit from 19 June, to 18:30 on weeknights, while Strictly Come Dancing is being moved from BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) to BBC Brit.

While DStv subscribers lose EastEnders as a high definition (HD) show since BBC First is an HD channel, BBC First is adding the medical drama Holby City from 19 June at 19:00 on weeknights that is "back by popular demand" for the 18th season.

BBC Worldwide Africa says it's broadening BBC Brit. DStv subscribers have been vocal in complaints about too many repeats and too little new programming on the channel, something the BBC has been addressing the past few months.

The movement of BBC channels content means that DStv Extra and DStv Compact subscribers will get access to EastEnders and more newer shows.

BBC Worldwide Africa says BBC Brit will continue to be the channel for series like Top Gear and The Graham Norton Show, but will now also see Strictly Come Dancing moved to BBC Brit, as well as new drama and comedy series like Michael McIntyre's Big Show.

"We know our African audiences have an insatiable appetite for entertaining British soaps," says Kully Kaur-Bains, BBC Worldwide's head of programming for Africa.

"We are excited to introduce the scandals, romances and family dramas of EastEnders to even more DStv viewers on BBC Brit. In addition, firm favourite Holby City is back with a bang and will have our BBC First audiences hooked."

"South Africa is the only market in the world to host BBC Worldwide's fullsuite of channels and over the past 6 months we have seen record viewing figures and an impressive 17% uplift in share, proving that we are the ones to watch," says Kully Kaur-Bains.

BBC Worldwide Africa renews The Great South African Bake Off for a 3rd season on BBC Lifestyle set for broadcast in late 2017.

BBC Worldwide has renewed The Great South African Bake Off for a third season that will be broadcast in late-2017 on BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174).

The 10 episodes of third season of the baking show based on The Love Productions format and produced by Rapid Blue, will once again be filmed in Johannesburg during winter.

Contestants will likely be vetted even more stringently than before after contestant Asfeyah Mia awkwardly left the second season midway through the show after questions surfaced about her amateur baking status.

Applications have opened and will close on Monday 12 June with more information about how to enter at www.bbcsouthafrica.com.

BBC Worldwide says the second season of The Great South African Bake Off pulled an average of 100 000 viewers per episode and made BBC Lifestyle the number one rated channel in its competitor set on DStv.

BBC Worldwide for Africa sells over 800 hours of programming to Naspers' ShowMax and China's StarTimes.

In the past few months the BBC has sold over 800 hours of programming to the African pay-to-play streamer ShowMax and pay-TV operator StarTimes.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has sold over 250 hours of content to Naspers' ShowMax, and over 200 hours to China's StarTimes, MultiChoice's biggest pay-TV rival on the African continent.

In its second deal with ShowMax, the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service picked up shows like Absolutely Fabulous and War and Peace. StarTimes took shows like Luther, Doctor Who and Call the Midwife.

BBC Worldwide says Africa has become one of its "most flourishing markets" with a growing demand for quality BBC programming.

MultiChoice carries several BBC Worldwide channels on its DStv pay-TV platform across Africa, with South Africa that carries all five channels – BBC First, BBC Brit, BBC Earth, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies. 

The BBC says "appetite for BBC content has expanded rapidly".

"It's an incredibly exciting time for the television industry in Africa," says Joel Churcher, BBC Worldwide vice president and general manager for Africa.

"There's an insatiable appetite for top-tier programmes and BBC Worldwide content, in particular our drama series, are cutting are cutting through the wealth of content available and being recognised as some of the most popular shows across the continent."

BBC back to the depths with a second season of Blue Planet later in 2017 with Sir David Attenborough as narrator.

The BBC is following up Planet Earth II with a second season of Blue Planet that it did in 2001, with Sir David Attenborough (90) who will be the narrator of Blue Planet II set to debut later in 2017.

The 7-episode series from the BBC' Studios Natural History Unit, previously called Ocean but now renamed Blue Planet II, returns to the world's oceans with footage captured the past four years.

The show will bring viewers new sea creatures and phenomena captured with new camera technology ranging from the polar seas and coral atolls to the ocean depths, as well as the methane volcanoes erupting in the Gulf of Mexico and the "boiling sea" in the Pacific Ocean.

Blue Planet II will show new creatures like the hairy-chested Hoff crabs, snub fin dolphins that spit water through the air and a tool-using tusk fish filmed for the first time.

The camera team also captured the sophisticated hunting between a coral grouper and a reef octopus and giant trevally catching flying birds in mid-air. Cameras also take a dive with a sperm whale mother and calf into the deep.

New camera technology used include ultra high definition (HD) so-called "tow cams" filming predatory fish and dolphins front-on, as well as special suction cameras recording the view from the backs of large creatures like whale sharks and orcas.

Two unmanned submersibles were also used, recording footage from 1 000 metres under the Antarctic Ocean.

In a BBC statement Sir David Attenborough says "I am truly thrilled to be joining this new exploration of the underwater worlds which cover most of our planet, yet are still its least known".

"The oceans are the most exciting place to be right now, because new scientific discoveries have given us a new perspective of life beneath the waves," says James Honeyborne, Blue Planet II executive producer.

"Blue Planet II is taking its cue from these breakthroughs, unveiling unbelievable new places, extraordinary new behaviours and remarkable new creatures. Showing a contemporary portrait of marine life, it will provide a timely reminder that this is a critical moment for the health of the world’s oceans".

Tom McDonald, the head of commissioning, at the BBC's natural history and specialist factual division says "Blue Planet II promises to combine the exceptional craftsmanship that our audiences have come to expect from BBC Natural History with genuinely new revelations about the creatures and habitats of the world's oceans".

"I have no doubt it will thrill and delight the audience and deliver a new benchmark in natural history film-making."