Mzansi Magic channel head Lebone Maema leaving the 2 year old channel at the end of August.

Lebone Maema, the channel head of Mzansi Magic (DStv 107) is leaving the TV channel and Mzansi Magic tells me his last day will be on 31 August.

Mzansi Magic will turn 2 years old on 12 July and is one of the locally produced TV channels within the M-Net stable. The position as channel head of Mzansi Magic has been advertised the channel tells me. There is no word on where Lebone Maema is heading next or why he's leaving.

In the meantime, after a period of 3 months the M-Net and M-Net HD channel(s) are still without a channel head or an acting channel head, following the promotion of Pierre Cloete who is now the director of all of M-Net's movie channels.

Lebone Maema was instrumental in a string of new locally-produced TV commissions for South African television. His time at Mzansi Magic will contain and include the biggest TV footnote: the establishment of the  telenovela iNkaba which started production at the end of last year and started broadcasting on Mzansi Magic earlier this year.

BREAKING. Mzansi Magic issues new commissioning briefs for a new telenovela, bubblegum movies and bubblegum series.

You're reading it here first.

Mzansi Magic (DStv 107) has just commissioned briefs and is looking for South African production companies, producers and writers to please pitch ideas for a new telenovela, so-called ''bubblegum'' movies and "bubblegum" series.

Producers, productions companies and writers have until 28 June to pitch for the channel's second telenovela, as well as the cheaply-produced TV series and movies.

The new commissioning briefs for local content for Mzansi Magic follows the success of Inkaba, the channel's first telenovela which is now the number one show on the channel viewership wise. "We're proud to say that Inkaba has quickly become the most-watched local programme on Mzansi Magic and we know this is just the beginning of a memorable new wave of local storytelling which will include telenovelas, bubblegum movies as well as series, and consolidate Mzansi Magic's position as a local television leader," says Lebone Maema, Mzansi Magic's channel head.

The full commissioning briefs can be found on M-Net's corporate website (Mzansi Magic is an M-Net channel) at www.mnetcorporate.co.za with full briefs and industry details with all the requirements to pitch for any of the shows.

Mzansi Magic's second telenovela will span over 208 half hour episodes in primetime. Mzansi Magic is looking for "an authentic story that world audiences can relate to".

Mzansi Magic says the bubblegum movies "should reflect contemporary South Africa from any region or background and can be told in English as well as indigenous languages". The movies have to be "firmly rooted within South African cultures and traditions and be suited for the entire family".

"Creating a highly entertaining telenovela that will grasp audiences for many months is a challenging yet exciting exercise and we look forward to seeing how great storytellers will take the genre to a new leve," says Lebone Maema.

"The bubblegum films provide the ideal opportunity for young, talented filmmakers as well as industry vterans to explore their creativity with the assurance of getting valuable exposure. It's Mzansi Magic's mission to boost our industry and we will continue to deliver on this promise."

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. M-Net again trying to make The Wild more popular as it returns to Mzansi Magic for a second time in April.

M-Net is making yet another attempt at making its soap The Wild more popular with the soap which will ''reboot'' with a rebroadcast right from the beginning on Mzansi Magic (DStv 107) from Monday 2 April at 20:00 more than a year after it started on M-Net (DStv 101).

Last year M-Net started simulcasting The Wild on Mzansi Magic after a few months, making The Wild available for a wider audience since the timeslot fell inside Mzansi Magic's open time unencoded timeslot on the DStv Compact bouquet. The just as unannounced as it began, The Wild again was yanked from the Mzansi Magic schedule.

A few months ago I asked M-Net why The Wild was suddenly missing from Mzansi Magic. I was asked to please wait for an answer which never came. But I suspected the show has gone away to come back for a pairing with the new telenovela Inkaba.

Now suddenly The Wild will be back and I was right. What I didn't anticipate is that The Wild would be restarting from the beginning instead of current same day episodes as seen on M-Net. It means that the viewership won't be able to be tallied together like before to give The Wild a bigger combined viewership number since it will be different episodes seen daily on both channels.

''We have seen the show gain a loyal and substantial audience during its run on M-Net and are excited that DStv Compact subscribers can now also have access to this phenomenal production,'' says Lebone Maema, Mzansi Magic's channel head.

KEEPING KULI: How Mzansi Magic condones hate speech and is doing massive damage to its brand image by keeping Kuli Roberts.

Mzansi Magic (DStv 107) is doing massive damage to its brand as a new and diverse TV channel by keeping the bigoted socialite Kuli Roberts on the schedule and is trampling on its image as an inclusive channel for all South Africa.

By choosing for Kuli Roberts instead of siding with a big portion of misaligned viewers and an even bigger general and very upset South Africa, Mzansi Magic is showing that offensive on-air TV personalities that don't like a certain part of the South African population, will be welcome on the channel.

''We embrace diversity,'' says Mzansi Magic's channel manager Lebone Maema in a press release issued two hours ago, but the words echo hollow since the channel has decided to keep giving a voice to the hateful Kuli Roberts who wrote that coloured women ''breed as if on a mission by Allan Boesak'' and other disgusting comments.

''Mzansi Magic does not endorse the views expressed by Kuli Roberts,'' says Lebone Maema - yet Mzansi Magic keeps giving her a platform to be seen and heard. What Mzansi Magic is in essence doing is the same as saying ''I do not endorse my child shooting other children with the gun from my house,'' and refusing to take the gun away. By keeping Kuli Roberts on the air after her repulsive remarks about a certain South African demographic, Mzansi Magic is now polarizing its audience as well as people's view on the channel. Viewers who might have watched, won't; some who've watched the channel won't anymore; some who didn't might now.

ALSO READ: Mzansi Magic to Kuli Roberts: Apologize on-air for what you did!
ALSO READ: ''M-Net is NOT happy with Kuli Roberts right now'' - sources.
ALSO READ: Why M-Net and Mzansi Magic should distance themselves from Kuli Roberts right now and cancel her Headline show.

Mzansi Magic delays commissioning new local content; says it needs more time to work through submissions.

You can see why the SABC has now started to see it as a threat, and Mzansi Magic (DStv 107) is forging ahead with big plans for commissioning local TV content in South Africa.

Now Mzansi Magic says its delaying commissioning content like that new black local soap opera I told you they're planning RIGHT HERE, since the channel needs more time to evaluate the submissions from producers that its received. Mzansi Magic says the channel has had an ''overwhelming response'' to its call for shows ranging from a reality show to the soap opera and other productions and that the channel needs more time.

''[We] need to select the best possible ideas for the audience, therefore additional time and resources have been allocated to evaluate the submissions,'' says Lebone Maema, Mzansi Magic's channel manager. ''To give each one a proper consideration means that we need to spend a bit more time than anticipated on the process.'' Mzansi Magic will now only annouce the shortlisted commissioned drama, comedy and reality shows  at the end of February 2011.