kykNET doing dramatic schedule changes from July: soaps Suidooster and Getroud moving timeslots; magazine shows Kwêla and Bravo! shunted to Sundays.

kykNET (DStv 144) is doing dramatic schedule changes from July that will force viewers to adjust to new times and days to tune in to their shows and weekday soaps as part of a new schedule that's being rolled out for the Afrikaans pay-TV channels on DStv.

kykNET says the Afrikaans channels set on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform had to rethink its programme schedule from July "to make room for all our new content".

From 10 July the Cape Town based soap Suidooster set in the fictitious suburb of Ruiterbosch will be blowing in later when it's moved to 18:30 on kykNET (DStv 144) and kykNET & Kie (DStv 145).

It will be followed by the Afrikaans eNuus that stays put at 19:00, simulcast on both channels.

Suidooster is moved from 18:00 to get out of the way of the SABC's Afrikaans weekday soap 7de Laan on SABC2  that was abruptly moved to 18:00 in February.

Currently Suidooster was at 18:00 on kykNET and 20:00 on kykNET & Kie, but will now be at the same time on both channels, at 18:30.

While soap Binnelanders will remain at 19:30, the soap Getroud met Rugby that used to be at 18:30 is moved a lot later to 21:00 from 10 July on kykNET and kykNET & Kie.

After toning down the show's content when it changed from a drama series to an early prime time soap, it's likely that the producers and kykNET will once again ramp up the risque content in Getroud met Rugby when it moves to outside the so-called "watershed" time period.

The week's entertainment magazine shows on kykNET are removed from the week's schedule and moved to weekends with Kwêla moving to Sundays from 9 July at 20:00 and Bravo! moving to Sundays from 16 July at 19:30.

The 10th season of the talk show Jou Show is moving to Saturdays at 19:30 from 15 July and Fiësta moves to Saturdays at 18:30 from 15 July. The 10th season of Jukebox on kykNET will now be on Saturdays at 20:00.

The new comedy Elke Skewe Pot about an internet dating site company with Franci Swanepoel, Marisa Drummond, Carien Botha, Carine Rous and Hannes Brümmer will kick off on Monday 10 July at 20:00 on kykNET.

It will be followed by the new panel discussion show Parlement Parlement at 20:30 with Joey Rasdien, Louw Venter and Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp as the moderator.

Hond se Gedagtes with presenter Lizma van Zyl starts on Tuesday 4 July at 17:30 and will look at how the dog became man's best friend.

The second season of the Afrikaans drama series Die Boekklub following the antics of a rural town's bookklub members will kick off on Tuesday 11 July at 20:00 with some new characters in the mix.

Lise Swart is the presenter of the cooking show Kook & Geniet, based on the iconic recipe book, starting on kykNET on Wednesday 5 July at 20:00, followed by the third season of the popular Groen Namibië on 12 July at 20:30.

Cricket lovers can also tune in to kykNET & Kie for the brand new season of BVP with Johnny Davids and Fanie de Villiers at 21:30.

More episodes of Legendes van Afrikaanse Musiek profiling Afrikaans singers like Gé Korsten, Rina Hugo and Johan van Rensburg, Lucas Maree and Boet Pretorius will be broadcast from Thursday 6 Julie at 20:30.

Afrikaans films on Sunday nights at 21:00 in July will include Modder en Bloed, Noem My Skollie and Treurgrond.

 Jý Geld is with presenter Lynelle Kenned is a new finance programme aimed at women guiding viewers to personal finance money matters, starting on Sunday 9 July at 18:00 on kykNET.

It will be followed by the second season of the weight-loss reality show Slank II at 18:30 with presenter Leandie du Randt Bosch.

From Friday 7 July the interactive chat and music show chatNOU! will be simulcast on kykNET and kykNET NOU! (DStv 146) at 15:00, while the new season of Jan Braai will be broadcast on kykNET on Fridays at 18:30, followed by Toks en Tjops at 20:00.

"The kykNET platform is now bigger than ever. We had to rethink our programme schedule from July to make room for all our new content," says Karen Meiring, director of kykNET channels.

"Our biggest priority, as always, remains our viewers and this was the biggest consideration in the decision-making around changing schedules. We serve a growing and diverse audience and people's behaviour and needs are constantly changing."

"Our audience also expects us to stay ahead of international television trends but still bring them the best in local storytelling. Our new schedule represents all these considerations and behaviour shifts."

kykNET promises more shirtless men in soaps: 'Actors ordered to take off their shirts as often as possible' as kykNET ramps up drama and comedy output.

kykNET has ordered the guys to ditch the shirts and is ordering a lot more male shirtless scenes for its weekday soaps as M-Net's Afrikaans channels division is also dramatically ramping up its drama and comedy content output.

Besides more Afrikaans male soap stars pushed to bare their six packs, kykNET is doubling its amount of drama content and tripling the amount of comedy produced for its channels on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in the upcoming months.

In Suidooster on kykNET & Kie (DStv 145) it took actor Eden Classens who just joined the Cape Town set soap just two scenes to bare his body.



"New actors have been ordered to take off their shirts and to go shirtless as often as possible to give kykNET good ratings," said Nicola van Niekerk, kykNET's head of production.

Making the remark about more male shirtlessness in kykNET soaps in jest, she spoke to the media about some of kykNET's upcoming content slate and its increased Afrikaans content plans over the next year.

And while the men might be losing the shirts off their backs, with kykNET - as far as content is concerned - the channel says things have never been better.

"In the next 12 months, kykNET will bring DStv subscribers double the amount of drama content and triple the amount of comedy than before," said Nicola van Niekerk. "Content wise, things have never gone as well with kykNET as now."

Coming up is a second season of the Afrikaans drama series Boekklub in July and in October is anther new series entitled Waterfront.

"We struggled between channels about whose going to produce this show. The story is unbelievable and kykNET won and is doing it in Afrikaans. Filming will start around July and August to be ready by October."

"Comedy wise we have Phil 101 starting in April. Phil 101, is set at a fictional university's philosophy department with Frank Opperman and Pierre van Pletzen who viewers for the first time in a long time will see as a character other than 7de Laan's Oubaas, and he is a hero, together will all the new talent"," said Nicola van Niekerk.

Sara se Geheim is starting on 11 April at 20:00, a new Afrikaans drama series with 26 episodes in which the past comes back to haunt the Cloete, Kiewiet and Vermeulen families and starring June van Merch, David Minnaar, Lee-Ann van Rooi, Brendon Daniels. Marlo Minnaar and Nicola Hanekom.

"Then in July on kykNET we have Elke Skewe Pot that we're currently busy filming. It's about four old spinsters struggling to find love and then they start a dating website."

"Soaps wise, I'm a big fan. In Binnelanders a lot of drama is waiting for a pregnant Pippa. She's been through rabies - everything - what else can possibly still happen with her? I hear ghosts are waiting to haunt her. Is doctor Tertius going to finally find love - whether in a nurse's embrace or another doctor?" said Nicola van Niekerk.

"In Getroud met Rugby Sasha is being confronted with an identity crisis. I love soaps because they provide us with characters that every viewer can relate to."

"You come home in the evening and watch your soaps and can relate to the people. It's in our soaps what's happening with South Africa's people and what the Afrikaans community experiences daily".

"But we're not just telling these stories. We also have actuality programming through which we try to give unbiased context to the news to help viewers form their own opinions about the world."

"Then there's our cornerstone programming like Kwêla and Bravo who boasts some of the most beautiful presenters on television. Kwêla in its 17th year covers stories and people that are incredibly special. You can't underestimate the value of a programme like Kwêla"," said Nicola van Niekerk.

The first season of the surprise hit, Varsity Sing, the a capella university choir competition series, will be repeated on kykNET & Kie (DStv 145) in April.


Exciting varsity experiment coming to kykNET NOU!
About kykNET NOU! (DStv 146), kykNET's channel that focuses on music shows and programming, Karen Meiring, the M-Net director for Afrikaans channels, said that the viewership on kykNET NOU! is surprisingly not just young people.

"kykNET NOU! has a large number of older viewers watching it. We also focus on a lot of lifestyle and entertainment shows on kykNET NOU! We're also very excited- we're doing an experiment with kykNET NOU! with universities, that we will be talking more about soon, but it's hugely exciting."

"Our core business is to tell stories, and through our stories we want to make an impact on the wide Afrikaans community that we serve," said Karen Meiring.