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.

SUMMER UPFRONT 2016: BBC Worldwide South Africa shows some of its new upcoming programming across its channels on DStv for October to February 2017.

BBC Worldwide in South Africa held a Summer Upfront on Tuesday in Johannesburg showcasing some upcoming programming on BBC Worldwide's set of channels that's available on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in South Africa and selectively through some other African countries.

From BBC Worldwide flew in Grant Welland, the BBC Worldwide's executive vice president for the CEMA (Central Europe, Middle East and Africa), actor Sanjeev Bhaskar who appears in the drama Unforgotten and Chadden Hunter who is an executive producer on the documentary series Planet Earth II.


Editor's note: The PR agency of BBC Worldwide in South Africa didn't inform some media beforehand that the Summer Upfront would be happening. In my case BBC Worldwide's PR agency tells me there wasn't enough coverage given of BBC Worldwide's previous upfront to justify an invitation/communication about it.



Kully Kaur-Bains, BBC Worldwide's head of programming for South Africa says "this summer our South African channel portfolio is one of our strongest yet. From the ambitious history series Planet Earth II to star-studded premium dramas The Collection and The Durrells, audiences will find a diverse range of premium content to indulge in."

Joel Churcher, BBC Worldwide Africa's vice president and general manager for Africa says that since the relaunch of BBC Worldwide's set of channels on DStv in South Africa and some across Africa, "BBC Brit's weekly reach has doubled since the channel's launch among DStv Compact males."

"BBC Earth leads its competitor set with the largest proportion of LSM 8-10 viewers, and BBC Lifestyle continues to be DStv's number one lifestyle channel among all individuals."

Joel Churcher says "BBC First ranks as the number one international drama channel on DStv for average time spent on a channel, a true testament to how well premium British drama resonates with South African audiences."

"BBC Worldwide continues to significantly invest in world-class, premium programming spanning every genre, the results of which South African viewers can experience through our channels."

Reggie Yates Collection
BBC Brit (DStv 120) (no date, coming soon)
BBC Brit will be showing a collection of the British actor's programming. Race Riots USA (1 60 minutes episode) looks at black people in America.

Reggie Yates' Extreme Russia (3 60 minute episodes) visits three different communities in Russia, exploring what it's like for young people there 24 years after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Chris Harris on Cars
BBC Brit (DStv 120) (no date, coming soon)
The new Top Gear presenter shows a compilation of his best YouTube hits. He gets behind the wheel and takes viewers into the technical complexities of these vehicles and featuring cars like Ashton Martin G12, Porche 911, GT3 RS, McLaren 650S and Ferrari 458.

Robot Wars
BBC Brit (DStv 120) Sunday 16 October 21:00
Filmed in a purpose-built arena in Glasgow, Scotland, presenters Dara O Briain and Angela Scanion look on 40 teams of amateur robot enthusiasts battle it out over 6 episodes to become Robot Wars Champion 2016. Each episode has 8 competing robots.

Motorheads
BBC Brit (DStv 120) (no date, coming soon)
Described as a "hilarious car show for the internet age". Presenters Tom Ford and Jonny Smith look for online motoring videos and pit their own driving skills against some of those seen on the internet.

Episodes 
BBC Brit (DStv 120) Tuesdays 20:00
Comedy series with Matt LeBlanc who plays an actor cast in a British sitcom.

You're Back in the Room
BBC Brit (DStv 120) Sunday 27 November 21:00
A brand-new game show with Phillip Schofield as the presenter. A team of five strangers take on simple tasks - but after they've been hypnotised, something that often triggers them to sabotage their own chances of winning.

Britain's Biggest Superyachts - Chasing Perfection
BBC Brit (DStv 120) Thursday 1 December 21:00
An inside look at Britain's biggest luxury yacht manufacturer, Sunseeker. This once off hourlong documentary tells the story of the company's latest model and the challenges faced by the company as they build their most bespoke boat every for a demanding New York client.

The Graham Norton Show XX
BBC Brit (DStv 120) Tuesday 11 October 21:00
The talk show returns for its 20th season

The World's Deadliest Drivers
BBC Brit (DStv 120) Mondays 20:00
Dashcams and CCTV footage reveal car crashes, filled with outrageous footage caught by cameras.

Planet Earth II
BBC Earth (DStv 184) February 2017
Sir David Attenborough (who else?) narrates this next new version based and continuing on from Planet Earth made a decade ago.
The new version will take viewers to jungles, deserts, mountains, islands, grasslands and cities and explore the characters of Earth's most iconic habitats.

Forces of Nature
BBC Earth (DStv 184) February 2017
Four 50 minute episodes explaining what lies beneath Earth's startling beauty and what makes the world work.
The series uses accessible science and cutting-edge filming techniques as it answers questions like "Why is water blue?"

Rome's Invisible City 
BBC Earth (DStv 184) Sunday 17 January 2017 16:00
Dr Michael Scott leads a team to reveal the ancient world's most awe-inspiring city - the underground quarries, aqueducts, vast water cisterns, temples, tombs, lifts, trap doors, and mechanics beneath the Coliseum and how the city was built two thousands years ago.

Weird Wonders of the World
BBC Earth (DStv 184) (no date, coming soon)
Eight 50 minute episodes in which scientists answer some of the strangest questions that range from animal oddities and weird weather to remarkable natural phenomena and medical marvels.

Where the Wild Men are with Ben Fogle III
BBC Earth (DStv 184) Tuesday 1 November 19:30
There's 9 episodes in the third season in which adventurer Ben Fogle meets more people setting up home in some of the most isolated locations on Earth.
This season he will join Gaynor Leeper in the Swedish Arctic Circle, in Utah twins living inside a canyon, an Alaskan forest home, and in Namibia someone living in the desert sand dunes.

Life Below Zero IV
BBC First (DStv 119) (no date, coming soon)
Twenty episodes following the hardy characters living and working in Alaska as they gather, hunt, fish and build before the land freezes and the dark winter arrives around them.
Note: BBC Worldwide South Africa says this is coming to BBC First but it falls in the BBC Earth category, likely making the "BBC First" a mistake.

The Great South African Bake Off II
BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) Tuesday 18 October 20:00
Twelve new baking contestants with one leaving midway through in the new second season of the local South African version of the baking reality show.
With Anne Hirsch as presenter and Lentshe Bhengu replacing Donovan Goliath as the new co-presenter, and Shirley Guy and Tjaart Walraven both back as the judges.

Strictly Come Dancing XIV
BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) January 2017
Fifteen new British  celebrity contestants dancing and trying to win the Glitterball trophy. Look out for the South African dancer Oti Mabuse.

Anjum's Spice Stories
BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) (no date, coming soon)
The British-Indian food writer and TV chef Anjum Anand takes viewers on a spice trail throughout Australia in this new 12-episode series.

Celebrity MasterChef UK IX
BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) February 2017
Twelve celebrities put on aprons and prepare dishes to try and impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallance. They have to make dishes for former MasterChef champions and notorious restaurant critics.

Grand Designs: House of the Year
BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) February 2017
Follows the House of the Year competition to find the winner of this architecture prize. Kevin McCloud and others explore some of Britain's most contemporary and cutting-edge homes.

The Collection
BBC First (DStv 119) (no date, coming soon)
This new 8-episode drama series revolves around a fashion empire, The House of Sabine, in Paris 1947, that's run by two very different brothers.
Paul controls the business and younger brother Claude is the reckless, hedonistic one. Behind the glamour are of course devastating secrets in this drama series set during a pivotal moment in France's history when fashion became a vehicle for transformation and reinvention.

SS-GB
BBC First (DStv 119) (no date, coming soon)
Drama series adapted from Len Deighton's bestselling thriller.

The 6 hour-long episodes that's a bit like The Man in the High Castle, revolve around London detective in a London in the 1940's where the Second World War was won by Hitler.
Detective Douglas Archer is caught between his brutal new SS bosses and the British resistance movement.

Maigret
BBC First (DStv 119) January 2017
Rowan Atkinson is Maigret in two 90-minute episodes as a detective in Paris in the 1950s solving cases. The first episode deals with a serial killer targeting women in the seedy district of Montmartre.
The second episode deals with the murder of a gambler.

Sherlock IV
BBC First (DStv 119) (no date, coming soon)
There's a further three 90-minute episodes of this detective series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.

Unforgotten II
BBC First (DStv 119) (no date, coming soon)
Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nicola Walker in a brand-new story, revolving around the fallout from the investigation into a historic murder case.

The Durrells
BBC First (DStv 119) (no date, coming soon)
A British family living in the Greek islands and based on Gerald Durrell's trilogy of novels exploring the drama when a family adjusts to a new way of life with new challenges in a new country.

Ripper Street IV
BBC First (DStv 119) Friday 18 November 21:00
A fourth season of the cancelled, then brought back Victorian era set drama series taking place in London's East End criminal world.

Father Brown IV
BBC First (DStv 119) Friday 23 December 20:00
The meddling detective and man of the cloth is back investigating further crimes in the sleepy Cotsworld village of Kembleford with his pushy secretary Mrs McCarthy. Ten new episodes.

BBC World News
DStv 400,  StarSat 256

Little new.
Still basically Focus on Africa from Mondays to Fridays at 19:30 and Africa Business Report on Fridays at 20:40.
Didi Akinyelure from CBNC Africa (DStv 410) won this year's BBC World News Komla Dumor Award.

Go Jetters
CBeebies (DStv 306) Monday 10 October 17:50
The animation series is back daily from Monday 10 October about four international heroes looking like cut-off fingers with a My Little Pony that's a unicorn.
They like to explore new places and learn more about (and protect) landmark natural and man-made places.

The Great South African Bake Off returning for a second season to BBC Lifestyle; applications open to find 10 new amateur bakers for the reality baking competition.

The Great South African Bake Off has been commissioned for a second season by BBC Worldwide and will once again be produced by Rapid Blue with BBC Worldwide's Kirsty Hanson as executive producer.

In March BBC Worldwide announced that it had invested an unspecified amount of money in Rapid Blue as part of its plans to ramp up its local TV production capacity in South Africa to produce more focused, locally-produced programming for its set of BBC channels available on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform across the African continent.

The Great South African Bake Off will be back for a second season on BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) with 10 new bakers, with amateur bakers who can now enter at bbcsouthafrica.com until 13 June.

Successful applicants will have to be available to attend the countrywide contestant auditions during the end of June and July.

Filming of the second season of The Great South African Bake Off will take place in Johannesburg and will be broadcast on BBC Lifestyle towards the end of 2016.

BBC Worldwide didn't release any ratings information and actual viewership figures for the show, but says The Great South African Bake Off was "the highest performing show on BBC Lifestyle for 2015" and on social media "trended" on Twitter during every new episode.

"BBC Worldwide is dedicated to commissioning shows that delight and entertain our local audiences," says Kully Kaur-Bains, BBC Worldwide's head of programming for Africa in a statement.

"The talented, vibrant and vivacious bakers found in South Africa are one of the reasons The Great South African Bake Off is so special and why we can't wait to embark on a brand-new series."

BBC Worldwide unveils its upcoming slate of 2014 winter programming on its BBC TV channels for South Africa.

BBC Worldwide for Africa unveiled its upcoming slate of 2014 winter programming for South Africa and Africa.

Joel Churcher, BBC Worldwide's new vice president and general manager for Africa, says that BBC Worldwide will open its South African office later this year in Johannesburg and is reaffirming the BBC's commitment to Africa, saying that "South African audiences are guaranteed the highest calibre of British content for years to come".

BBC Worldwide provides BBC Entertainment (DStv 120), BBC Knowledge (DStv 184), BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) and CBeebies (DStv 306) to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform and the 24-hour TV news channel BBC World News (DStv 400  /StarSat 400) is available on DStv and StarSat.

The BBC has several programmes linking thematically to the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicking off in June in Brazil.

Kully Kaur-Bains, the head of programming for South Africa at BBC Worldwide says "first class programming takes the centre stage on BBC's channels this winter with high-quality, award-winning content across all genres. South African audiences can look forward to viewing Britain's most talked about shows".

BBC Entertainment (DStv 120)  has new comedy series Moone Boy "coming soon", an autobiographical series with Chris O'Dowd and revolving around an 11 year old boy Martin growing up in the 1980s in Ireland.

Big School starts on 1 July at 19:55 with David Walliams and Catherine Tate, a new comedy in which French teacher Miss Postern joins the school and with Mr Church falling in love.

Ambassadors is "coming soon", a comedy with David Mitchell and Robert Webb about a British embassy. The 6th season of the game show The Cube with presenter Phillip Schofield will start on Sunday 15 June at 20:00.

The 9th season of Live at the Apollo will start in August showcasing big names in comedy in stand-up performances.

The second season of drama series Mr Selfridge starts on Sunday 27 July at 21:00 with Jeremy Piven, based upon the world-renowned store on London's Oxford Street in 1909.

The third season of drama series Death in Paradise starts on Friday 11 July at 20:00 with more mysterious murders to be solved on the Caribbean island of Saint Marie.

The 12th season of the British Strictly Come Dancing will start in October, and the 16 season of The Graham Norton Show will start in November.

BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) has Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook: Cosmopolitan Cook starting on Tuesday 24 June at 21:00, visiting destinations from Stockholm to the Amalfi Coast.

The 4th season of The Great British Bake Off starts on Tuesday 29 July at 20:00 with Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood judging the next batch of 13 passionate bakers.

Rick Stein's India kicks off on Tuesday 5 August at 21:00 with the chef embarking on a spectacular journey through India to find the perfect curry and discover the origins of dishes, ingredients and spices.

The 9th and final season of America's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with Ty Pennington will start on Sunday 24 August at 18:00.

Save with Jamie starts on Wednesday 30 July at 20:00 with chef Jamie Oliver returning in a helpful new food series, hoping to inspire viewers to eat better and spend less on weekly food bills.

The first season of Jimmy and Jimmy's Food Fight Club is "coming soon" in which Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty head to Essex to open up a pop-up cafe.

The second season of Chefs: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is will start in July, in which chefs compete against each other to buy food, prepare dishes and sell it to diners in various different restaurants to see who can make the most money.

BBC Knowledge (DStv 184) has a winter season thematically looking at Brazil and exploring South America - from its people to the wildlife - as the 2014 FIFA World Cup takes place there.

Wild Brazil starts on 8 June at 17:00 - named the same as a documentary series starting on Nat Geo Wild also starting in June. It's not clear if its different series.

This Wild Brazil is a BBC/Discovery Channel co-production and explores the lives of animals in South America, showing never-before-filmed behaviour.

Road to Rio starts on 1 June at 16:10 as a 6 part series, a colourful documentary following comedians Mark Watson and Henning When on a soccer themed road trip through South America.

Secrets of South America starts on 18 June at 21:00 as a 3 part series - a series about South America's diverse culture, ranging from beauty pageants, sex in Argentia and the growth of the money and glamour culture on the continent.

Hunt vs Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals on Thursday 31 July at 21:00 has rare archive footage, fascinating interviews with team managers, journalists, family members and friends about Formula One race driver rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

The Sex Clinic is coming in October, following patients and staff at two of Britain's most overworked clinics and showing how people deal with sexually transmitted diseases.

The Dealership starts on Wednesday 28 May at 21:00. This new 3 part series looks under the bonnet of a used car dealership in Essex.

The Men Who Made Us Thin starts on Monday 30 June at 22:00 with investigative journalist Jacques Peretti looking at the diet industry where business is booming as obesity grows.


CBeebies (DStv 306) has Dinopaws in October about three inquisitive dinosaurs on a quest to explore the world around them.