Lefa Afrika has left SABC3 as head of programming; SABC3 looking to appoint a new programme manager.

Lefa Afrika has left SABC3, leaving SABC3 without a programming manager.

I'm told Lefa Afrika left SABC3 last month. 

Lefa Afrika was the head of programming at SABC3 but became the acting channel head of SABC3 at the beginning of 2013 when Ed Worster left.

Lefa Afrika who joined the SABC in October 2009 left shortly after Aisha Mohamed was appointed as the new permanent SABC3 channel head from 1 April.

The SABC says SABC3 is looking for a new programme manager.

BREAKING. Aisha Mohamed appointed as the new channel head of SABC3 at the SABC.

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Aisha Mohamed has been appointed as the new SABC3 channel head although the SABC has been quiet about it and has not responded to media enquiries.

SABC3 is the SABC's only commercial TV station and Aisha Mohamed's appointment as the person who will now oversee the channel, forms part of the SABC's new strategy for the TV channel.

The SABC's corporate communications department didn't respond to media enquiries made Monday afternoon. An SABC3 spokesperson said that Lefa Afrika, currently the acting SABC3 channel head, will revert back to his position as SABC3's programming manager.

It's not clear when Aisha Mohamed will take up the position. She was the station manager for 5FM - one of the SABC's radio stations.

Before that Aisha Mohamed worked as the marketing manager for Viacom International Media Networks' Africa (VIMN Africa) MTV Base, MTV Europe in Africa, VH1 and Nickelodeon TV channels.

With Aisha Mohamed's appointment as SABC3 channel head comes the obligatory Top Billing profile piece - the channel's weekly glamorous profile and entertainment magazine show, but also huge challenges.

SABC3 has been in a ratings and image slide the past half a decade which dulled the once sparkly brand. SABC3 used to be a buzz-making TV channel with must-see hits ranging from Ally McBeal and The Practice to ongoing high quality local South African dramas which completely evaporated from the channel's line-up.

The past few years has seen SABC3 suffer major programming, content and scheduling problems, the non-delivery of scheduled programming and abrupt last-minute changes, dated on-air content and the loss of experienced personnel from on-air managers to schedulers.

Odd and old sitcom blocks like The Cosby Show, documentary strand day and timeslot changes, lengthened news broadcasts and bad American reality shows have cost SABC3 dearly in brand reputation and viewership figures.

Then there is SABC3's directionless soap Isidingo having lost not just stars and writers but which is no longer considered appointment television compared to the myriad of other soaps.

The channel's weekday talk show Three Talk with Noeleen went into ongoing repeats in 2014 with no explanation of what happened to the show or when - or if - the show will return, also costing the channel ratings and reputation points.

SABC3 has however found success with its new morning lifestyle breakfast show Expresso introduced a few years ago and stalwart programming like Top Billing, Survivor, The Amazing Race and Days of Our Lives which continue to act as strong programming pillars for the TV channel. After a three year struggle it also took over SABC1's The Bold and the Beautiful weekday soap for its own line-up.

Aisha Mohamed will have to try and rejuvenate SABC3's brand and image, content and line-up and retain and win back viewers as satellite and satellite pay-TV offerings in South Africa continue to launch more channels which over years siphoned away a lot of SABC3's target market.

Aisha Mohamed's permanent appointment, still leaves the SABC's other two TV channels, SABC1 and SABC2, with acting channel heads.

SABC3 on canning All My Children: 'It has seen declining audiences in recent times on SABC3 which means people were losing interest.'

Tomorrow, Wednesday 20 November, will be the final episode of the weekday soap All My Children, since SABC3 is removing the show from the schedule, and now SABC3 is finally responding to multiple media enquiries made over the past few weeks, telling TV with Thinus that SABC3 is canning the soap because viewers lost interest.

"The soap has seen declining audiences in recent times on SABC3," says Lefa Africa, SABC3's acting channel head, "which means that more and more people were losing interest in the soap."

"All My Children has been removed from the television schedules of most broadcasters worldwide, and it continues on the internet."

SABC3: New schedule will better service our audiences' needs through 'simplifying and focusing programming' says channel head.

SABC3's acting channel head says the new round of SABC3 schedule changes which came into effect from April will help in "simplifying and focusing our programming" on the channel.

Lefa Afrika who has been the head of programming at SABC3 and is now the acting channel head since the abrupt departure of Ed Worster earlier this year, says the new SABC3 schedule will "create opportunities for new content which we will be introducing during the year".

Lefa Afrika also commented on the SABC3 news bulletin which is now an hour long from 18:30 on weekdays, saying that SABC3 believes that "this will become the news bulletin of choice among South African audiences."

SABC channel head changes at the South African public broadcaster's television division: who is now where, doing what exactly.

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Channel head changes at the Television division of South Africa's public broadcaster is once again creating sweeping new management dynamics within the TV section of the SABC as executive musical chairs shuffling continues.

All three of the SABC's TV channels have acting channel heads.

Verona Duwarkah remains the group executive for television at the SABC.

Leo Manne formerly the channel head of SABC1, is now the general manager for television channels at the SABC. This position under Verona Duwarkah is the executive management post tasked to look directly after, and oversee, the trifecta of the public broadcasters three TV channels - SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3.


At SABC1 (with Leo Manne vacating that position) Sam Mpherwane, previously the acting programming manager, is now the new acting SABC1 channel head.

At SABC2 Pulane Tshabalala is the acting channel head.

At SABC3 Lefa Afrika, previously the programming manager, is now the new acting SABC3 channel head. TV with Thinus broke that news earlier this month when Ed Worster, the acting SABC3 channel head suddenly and unexpectedly left with early retirement.



What is means: Essentially SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 kicks off 2013 with new and acting channel heads, as well as a new general manager for television at the SABC overseeing all three channels. It's a huge change for the SABC's television division as a whole which is supposed to stabilise and solidify.

It also begs the question as to why the SABC remains completely unable to find and appoint permanent channel heads for its TV channels despite having had years now to do that. There's also not any new blood coming in from the outside and infusing the struggling broadcaster with new talent, new vision and new impetus from South Africa's wider television industry.

Once again the SABC rolls over a new year and start a new financial year with brand-new acting television channel heads.

The SABC as a television broadcaster can do better television, and deliver a better public broadcasting service if it can solidify and settle its executive ranks. Not only does it reflect better on the broadcaster, it also helps South Africa's wider television industry and TV community with knowing who to deal with (and who they're dealing with).

The constantly, almost yearly, and unexpected and ongoing shuffling and turnover at the top executive ranks within television at the SABC is not condusive to the service, quality, perception of dependability and image of the SABC's Television division.

Establish your princes for your provinces, and settle down so the hard-working peasants from the TV industry making the stuff you broadcast, not only know where to bring their labour to, but whose name to call at the gate.

BREAKING. Viewers' response to Entertainment Tonight on SABC3 'phenomenal'; entertainment show could possibly expand to more nights.

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SABC3 calls the response from viewers to the recently added Entertainment Tonight (Fridays, 19:30) with Mark Steines and Nancy O'Dell ''phenomenal'' and says the show - ''the most watched entertainment news magazine show in the world'' - could possibly expand to more nights a week on the broadcaster if buzz and viewership holds up.

''The reaction to Entertainment Tonight has been phenomenal,'' Lefa Afrika, SABC3 programme manager tells TV with Thinus. ''Almost everyone on the social network sites have positively welcomed the channel's introduction of ET,'' he says of the show that is also known by its two capital letters. ''More and more positive responses keep coming in.''

Lefa Afrika says SABC3 ''will not rule out the possibility of extension of Entertainment Tonight to more nights in a week'' and that decision would be made based on the show's viewership performance and buzz. ''The decision will be based on sustainability of these positive viewer responses, as well as good AR's,'' he says.

''ET is a programme that provides reliable information on our viewers' favourite icons and celebrities. SABC3 is very excited about the show, as it delivers content meaningful to locally rooted audiences who are also interested in what is happening around the world,'' he says, calling Entertainment Tonight ''part of SABC3's move to becoming a leading entertainment destination''.

''The programme is also part of SABC3's Friday entertainment offering that is characterised by good quality, globally relevant content.''

Expresso turning into a major morning viewership winner for SABC3; keeps growing and building TV audience in its new additional half hour.

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SABC3's breakfast show Expresso is turning into a major morning viewership winner for the channel.

Expresso is showing remarkable ratings growth the past 6 months since it started in October last year, and which is the reason that led SABC3 executives to extend the Expresso timeslot by an additional half hour - a half hour that TV with Thinus can reveal - has already grown SABC3's morning viewership even further from what it used to be.

At the beginning of February I broke the news RIGHT HERE that Expresso, that started in October on weekdays from 05:30 to 07:30 would get its timeslot extended by an additional half hour from April. A month later, in March I broke the news that the April timeslot extention was postponed a bit but it eventually happened a few weeks into April, starting on Friday 22 April - Good Friday - with Expresso broadcasting from 05:30 to 08:00 on weekdays. I can exclusively reveal that SABC3, as well as Tswelopele Productions producing the show, couldn't be happier with Expresso's early morning performance.

Despite the crowded South African breakfast show landscape with SABC2's established Morning Live and e.tv's strong Morning Edition both formidable contenders, the perky lifestyle show with bubbly presenters like Liezel van der Westhuizen and Ewan Strydom immediately lifted the early morning viewership on SABC3 since Expresso's start in October. In the past month Expresso immediately started to lift the viewership of the additional 07:30 to 08:00 half hour timeslot on SABC3 as well.

Expresso, produced from Cape Town and broadcast live, is fast becoming a strong bookend for the SABC3 schedule, kicking off the channel's daily programming with local content that's getting viewers to tune in, and to stay tuned in. Early indications are that viewers gravitate towards Expresso's strong focus on lifestyle orientated segments like cooking and fitness, it's revolving door of local celebrities, and a string of local musicians and artists who are profiled and also perform live. The show is taking a page from the also Tswelopele Productions-produced Top Billing SABC3 primetime show, by creation a softer, glammed-up approach to early morning television. And it's working.

Despite multiple promises to respond following several requests, Tswelopele Productions didn't respond to media enquiries made the past two weeks by TV with Thinus regarding Expresso's spectacular ratings rise for this article. SABC3 did respond. ''The performance of Expresso on SABC3 has been steadily increasing since the show launched in October,'' Lefa Afrika, SABC3's programme manager tells me.

''We noticed that immediately when the show finished at 07:30, the channel lost a lot of audiences,'' he says. ''This meant that there were still available audiences who tuned in just for Expresso, and we realized that they could possibly stay on if the show continued. It was on the basis of this that we decided to extend the show.''

Lefa Afrika says based on SABC3's morning viewership growth in just the past month in the extra half hour, the Expresso timeslot extension was the right decision. ''The performance figures so far have proven us right. TV audiences have stayed with the show, and we have seen significant improvement between 07:30 and 08:00 for SABC3 since Expresso got extended to this time.''