King Charles III coronation and concert: Your comprehensive TV guide.

by Thinus Ferreira

South African viewers will be able to watch the coronation of King Charles III today across multiple TV channels, with the unique Coronation Concert attended by the king and done by the BBC, which will be shown on Sunday night.

BBC News (DStv 400 / StarSat 256)), CNN International (DStv 401), Al Jazeera (DStv 406 / StarSat257), BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174), BritBox, Sky News (DStv 402 / StarSat 258) and SABC News (DStv 404) will all show the coronation of King Charles III today.

The unique Coronation Concert from the BBC featuring multiple performers will also be shown live to South African viewers on Sunday night at 21:00 on BBC Lifestyle.

BBC News

The BBC will have a live broadcast of the ceremony today.

"The BBC is committed to giving audiences everywhere a chance to follow the events around the Coronation, live," says Naja Nielsen, BBC News digital director. "We are determined to provide unique, first-hand access to this historic event through our programming and digital content with rich and distinctive coverage, expert analysis and the best video and pictures."

On Saturday BBC News will broadcast the coronation of Charles III live from 8:30. The live broadcast will cover all the ceremonial events as they unfold throughout the day, from the early military movements to the formal processions, and will give audiences a look at the ceremonial route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.

Kirsty Young will be in a studio at Buckingham Palace and JJ Chalmers will speak to members of the military as they prepare for one of the largest parades in living history. 

Huw Edwards will provide commentary as the doors of Westminster Abbey open and Sophie Raworth will be outside speaking to guests as they arrive. Clare Balding will provide commentary for the ceremonial route and Anita Rani will join the gathered crowds.

The coverage will also feature reporting from teams around the world and major Commonwealth nations, who will provide global context and reflect on the legacy of the monarchy.

CNN International

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will lead CNN International's special live coverage of the coronation of King Charles on Saturday beginning 11:00 outside Buckingham Palace with analysis and reporting from Christiane Amanpour and Max Foster.

CNN anchors Richard Quest and Julia Chatterley will contribute to CNN's coverage from the network's London studio alongside CNN royal historian Kate Williams, CNN royal commentators Emily Nash, Sally Bedell Smith and CNN contributor Trisha Goddard. 

They will provide expert analysis and share their unique perspectives on the historic coronation.

CNN reporters will be positioned along the coronation procession route including Bianca Nobilo outside Westminster Abbey, Salma Abdelaziz and Matthew Chance, who will report live from the crowds gathered along the Mall, and Anna Stewart.

CNN reporters will also provide perspective from commonwealth countries including India, Australia and Kenya. CNN's coverage of the coronation will also stream live on its website and app for free worldwide.

Sky News

On Sky News Kay Burley and Anna Botting will host coverage of the historic event, with Sky News royal events commentator Alastair Bruce and Sky News will also stream for free on its website and YouTube channel.

Kay Burley and Anna Botting will lead coverage throughout the day following the procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey ahead of the service. Kay will be outside Westminster Abbey speaking to well-wishers and will be joined by historian Sir Anthony Seldon.

Anna will be live from Buckingham Palace at 11:00 with Patrick Harrison, former press secretary of 11 years to King Charles III and Sky News royal event commentator Alastair Bruce. 

Cameras will then follow the procession back to Buckingham Palace where Joanna Lumley will join the team for the famous balcony shots and flypast.

Sky News royal correspondent Laura Bundock will bring insight and analysis, while Sarah-Jane Mee and Kamali Melbourne will be amongst the action reporting live from the crowds on The Mall and other key locations around London.

From 19:00 Mark Austin will reflect on the key moments of a historic day at Buckingham Palace with Kristina Kyriacou, recent press secretary to King Charles III and Lord Simon Woolley, who has worked closely with the King. 

From 22:00 Gillian Joseph will present highlights of the coronation and at 23:00 Jonathan Samuels will do a special highlights hour.

BritBox

The coronation will be shown live and on-demand on the BritBox SA video streaming service, starting with live streaming from 12:00 on Saturday. 

BritBox will show King Charles III: The Coronation, produced by ITN and hosted by Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham.

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera's coverage will start at 09:00 on Saturday with Paul Brennan at Westminster, followed by ongoing coverage from 11:00 by Lauren Taylor, also from Westminster, and Jonah Hull and Charlie Angela from Buckingham Palace from 11:00. 

So Rahman will take over anchoring duties of the special event from Buckingham Palace from 17:00.

BBC Lifestyle

The BBC Lifestyle channel will carry a live broadcast of the day's coronation coverage from 08:30 on Saturday morning, done by BBC Studios Productions.

At 20:00 BBC Lifestyle has scheduled the special programme, Charles R: The Making of a Monarch. The programme tells the story of King Charles III's more than seven decades as heir to the throne. During that period, every step of Charles' life was captured on camera and his words recorded: from newsreel to home movies from interviews to documentaries - both about him and by him. This 60 minute documentary brings together a wealth of material, much rarely seen or unseen.

At 21:00 on Saturday night, BBC Lifestyle will have the special programme, Sing for The King: The Search for The Coronation Choir. A very special choir made up from singing groups of all shapes and sizes is given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sing for King Charles III at the coronation concert.

On Sunday night at 19:30, BBC Lifestyle will show The Coronation: A Day to Remember. It will show moments of King Charles III's coronation, following the procession to Westminster Abbey, the ceremony and the return journey to Buckingham Palace where the newly crowned monarchs greeted the crowds.

On Sunday night at 21:00 BBC Lifestyle will show The Coronation Concert: Live. 

This unique Coronation Concert will take place at Windsor Castle. Produced, staged and broadcast live by the BBC and BBC Studios, the Coronation Concert will bring music icons and contemporary stars together in celebration of this historic occasion. 

The British pop group Take That, international superstar Lionel Richie, popstar Katy Perry, international opera star Andrea Bocelli, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, singer/songwriter Freya Ridings and classical-soul composer/producer Alexis Ffrench are some of the artists who will be on stage at The Coronation Concert in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

They will perform in front of King Charles III and 20 000 members of the public and invited guests during the live broadcast.

What there is to binge-watch on BritBox like a new Charles and Diana wedding documentary.

by Thinus Ferreira

When Britbox launches on 6 August in South Africa viewers will be able to watch thousands of hours of classic British TV content, as well as new seasons of shows, exclusive new series, and a new feature-length documentary, Wedding of the Century, with carefully restored HD footage of Prince Charles and Diana's 1981-wedding with new interviews.

Britbox as a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service will launch on 6 August as the latest international video streaming service to become accessible to local audiences at a cost of R99.99 per month and can be accessed at britbox.com on Android and Apple mobile devices and tablets, FireTV, AppleTV, Samsung Smart TV and LG Smart TV sets.

New content for South African viewers on BritBox will include series like Annika starring Nicola Walker, Deadwater Fell with David Tennant and The Larkins with Bradley Walsh, as well as Michael Apted's multi-award winning documentary series Up, from 1964's Seven Up all the way to the most recent 63 Up.

BritBox will also have the second season of Manhunt with Martin Clunes, Unforgotten season four, Endeavour season eight, Vera season 11, Grantchester season six and The Syndicate season four. 

Classic library series on BritBox will include Blackadder, Absolutely Fabulous, Inspector Morse, Top Gear, Poldark, Fawlty Towers, Keeping Up Appearances and Midsomer Murders.

The 6th season of the police drama series Line of Duty will be on BritBox in which Kelly Macdonald is guest-starring as DCI Joanne Davidson, the senior investigating officer on an unsolved murder whose unconventional conduct raises eyebrows at the AC-12 anti-corruption unit. 

Expect cliffhangers and plot twists as cast regulars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar return in their quest to bring "bent coppers" to book while fighting their own flaws.

Professor T is an exclusive new drama series on BritBox, with Ben Miller as Professor Jason Tempest, a brilliant but unorthodox criminologist at the University of Cambridge, and Emma Naomi as DI Lisa Donckers, a detective facing an uphill battle to get the eccentric professor's help with a challenging case.

South African BritBox subscribers will also be able to watch Wedding of the Century, a feature-length documentary about Prince Charles and Princess Diana's 1981-wedding, showcasing carefully restored high-definition footage with interviews with key professionals from behind the scenes. 

"We're really excited to be bringing BritBox into South African homes and are confident viewers are going to love our programming, which offers a mixture of brilliant classic and contemporary content, plus the biggest collection of British box sets, all in one place," says Neale Dennett, BritBox International's new markets launch director.

BritBox CEO Reemah Sakaan says "It's quality content that's effortlessly watchable. British TV and film has grown exponentially as a cultural export in recent years, with productions and talent frequently scooping BAFTAs, Emmys and Oscars, and regularly recognized as some of the best in the world for quality and escapism".

"Our TV is no longer niche but has come firmly into the mainstream, plus there's a definite rise in nostalgia viewing, which is finding completely new audiences. It's a rich time to be in British TV."

ALSO READ: British video streaming service BritBox launching in South Africa on 6 August 2021 costing R100 per month.

ALSO READ: Britain's BritBox video streamer to launch in South Africa later in 2021 with content from the BBC and ITV.

British video streaming service BritBox launching in South Africa on 6 August 2021 costing R100 per month.

by Thinus Ferreira

The British video streaming service BritBox, jointly run by ITV and the BBC, announced that it would launch on 6 August in South Africa as the 5th global territory where it will be available at a price of R99.99 per month, including a 7-day free trial.

BritBox that is already available in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, will join South Africa's video streaming wars where MultiChoice's Showmax, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ are competing with VIU, Vodacom Video Play and TelkomONE, with HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock and Discovery+ still to launch.

Meanwhile eMedia Investments plans to take the wrapping off of its renamed video streaming service eVOD that it will launch on Wednesday night in South Africa, with the SABC that plans to launch its video streaming service modelled on the British iPlayer, before the end of this year.

Then there is also Acorn TV, likely BritBox's biggest competitor and that is already available in South Africa, also offering a 7-day free trial and costing R79 per month for access to its revolving catalogue of British TV content.

Britbox in South Africa will be supported on the web, as well as on all mobile and tablet devices, while Apple TV set-top boxes, Samsung and LG smart TV sets are also included.

Some of the series at the launch of BritBox will include Absolutely Fabulous, Blackadder, Broadchurch, Fawlty Towers, Inspector Morse, Line of Duty, Luther, Manhunt, Mr Bean, Unforgotten, Professor T, The Midwife, The Office, Wedding of the Century, Vera, as well as Young Victoria.

Reemah Sakaan, BritBox International CEO, at the virtual media launch on Tuesday evening, said that when BritBox launches in South Africa on 6 August, it will have "record-levels" of exclusive content, especially since linear pay-TV channels in South Africa have ended.

Reemah Sakaan alluded to the ITV Choice channel from ITV Studios and BBC First from BBC Studios that were terminated on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service and saw the loss of a large chunk of content that led to several complaints from DStv subscribers.

"We chose South Africa as our next priority region because we know there's a massive loyal fanbase for British television and it's growing," she says.

"BritBox is perfectly place to respond to the new shifting patterns of behaviours of the way people want to watch. We see new audiences discovering gems from the past to love and generational audiences finding hot new premieres to stick their teeth into - and that's the beauty of streaming."

"In the past few years, British content has moved firmly into streaming centre-stage while also maintaining its high-quality benchmark in character-driven storytelling. That's why we seized the opportunity to tap into that appetite and created BritBox."

Britbox series will include stars ranging from Idris Alba, Helen Mirren, Judi Densch, Martin Clunes and Dominic West. 

"In a sea of other streamers Britbox does exactly what it says on the tin. We pride ourselves in giving subscribers a highly curated and distinctive offering versus others. It's the largest selection of British box sets all in one place for all to discover, rediscover and to binge and enjoy."

"Due to the recent closure of some linear TV channels in Britbox in South Africa will have record-levels of exclusivity," Reemah Sakaan says.

"Premieres will regularly arrive within hours of their UK transmission, she said "making us the fastest from UK screen to BritBox stream".

"Our research tells us that South African audiences have a really broad variety of tastes. We know for instance that they love British comedies, are passionate about crime series and mad about period drama and who doesn't love a classic Agatha Christie mystery?"

"They're also adventurous and keen to try something new and edgy. So it's all of that finding a sweet spot for South African audiences as we hand-select and carefully programme for each market. We're also really excited as we've been busy commissioning and producing new originals that have been created specifically for BritBox." 

Exec Neale Dennett, BritBox new markets launch director, said that BritBox South Africa will be bringing consumers several latest seasons of ongoing British series.

Customers who sign up for BritBox for a 1-year subscription will get two months added on for free.

ALSO READ: What there is to binge-watch on BritBox like a new Charles and Diana wedding documentary.

ALSO READ: Britain's BritBox video streamer to launch in South Africa later in 2021 with content from the BBC and ITV. 

Britain's BritBox video streamer to launch in South Africa later in 2021 with content from the BBC and ITV.

by Thinus Ferreira

Another video streaming service will be launching in South Africa in the second half of 2021 with BritBox, the joint 50/50 streaming venture between BBC Studios and ITV, that announced on Tuesday that it will become accessible to South African consumers later this year.

BritBox, an ad-free subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service will join the quickly getting crowded video streaming market in South Africa where Netflix SA fiercely compete with the likes of MultiChoice's Showmax, VIU, Vodacom Video Play, TelkomONE, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

In July 2020 BritBox announced that it is expanding into Africa, but not naming specific countries.

Meanwhile the South African public broadcaster is working on launching its own SABC streaming service, while Discovery+, Paramount+, HBO Max and Disney+ are still to launch in the territory and across the rest of Africa as well. 

BritBox will serve as somewhat of a replacement for the ITV Choice channel and the BBC First channel that both shuttered on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform during 2020. 

BritBox carries on-demand content in the form of British box sets, drama premieres and live events, as well as new and exclusive original commissions.

South Africa will be BritBox's 5th worldwide territory to launch in, following launches in the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom and, most recently, Australia. 

It's not yet clear whether BritBox will be carried and made available through MultiChoice's new DStv Explora Ultra decoder that already carries and gives streaming access to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. 

BritBox first launched in North America in March 2017, and has since reached over 1.5 million subscribers. In the United Kingdom, BritBox launched in November 2019, followed by Australia in November 2020. 

"The launch of BritBox in South Africa is yet another step in the platform’s trajectory towards international expansion. We’re delighted to bring the service to a brand new territory and continue towards establishing BritBox as a premium VOD brand across the world," says Martin Goswami, ITV group strategic partnership and distribution director, in a statement.

Paul Dempsey, president of global distribution at BBC Studios, says "We know that South African audiences have a real connection to British television and we can’t wait to bring  them even more great shows, on-demand, that we know they will love".

ALSO READ: M-Net abruptly ends Coronation Street and Emmerdale on M-Net City without warning as MultiChoice's DStv subscribers lose access to these British soaps for a second time in months.

ALSO READ: British video streamer BritBox expanding into Africa, is MultiChoice adding this streaming service to DStv as well?

British video streamer BritBox expanding into Africa, is MultiChoice adding this streaming service to DStv as well?

by Thinus Ferreira

The British video streaming service BritBox has announced that it is expanding the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service into Africa without naming specific countries, instantly raising speculation that it might be added onto MultiChoice's upcoming launch of its new streaming carousel of SVOD services that will also carry Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

BritBox is a 50/50 joint venture between the United Kingdom's BBC Studios and ITV and announced on Monday that it is expanding besides the UK, Canada and the United States into Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East and Africa. It's also launching soon in Australia.

BritBox wants to expand to 25 countries worldwide and with Africa now in the mix in stands to reason that South Africa will highly likely be included as the continent's most developed TV market, as well as the best-connected when it comes to broadband internet penetration and speed.

BritBox recently announced its first slate of British Original scripted series commissions including Spitting Image (Avalon), A Spy Among Friends (Sony & ITV Studios); The Beast Must Die (New Regency Television and Scott Free), Crime (Buccaneer Media) and Magpie Murders (Eleventh Hour Films).

With MultiChoice that has overcome its fear of adding streaming services and wants to become a content super-aggregator, will roll out SVOD services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video when it launches its latest DStv Explora decoder in South Africa later this year.

The announcement of BritBox's Africa expansion makes it a strong possibility that BritBox could be housed within MultiChoice's DStv viewing environment given that DStv carries multiple existing BBC Studios channels, carried the ITV Choice channel until recently, and acquired ITV programming after the axing of ITV Choice for the M-Net (DStv 101) and M-Net City (DStv 115) channels.

"This international expansion plan will firmly establish BritBox as a global premium brand in a rapidly growing sector," says Carolyn McCall, ITV CEO in a statement.

"Offering subscribers the best and biggest collection of British content has enabled BritBox to rapidly grow in our existing countries and as streaming continues to expand worldwide this rollout will give our distinctive streaming business truly international scale."

Tim Davie, BBC Studios CEO, says "BritBox has very quickly found a place in viewers' hearts and we know there is further appetite amongst international audiences who love great British content. We are actively appraising new markets to introduce the service and are very excited about the imminent launch in Australia".