Viacom Africa and its MTV channel, as well as e.tv, 'reveal' that the local version of Lip Sync Battle Africa will start in April 2015. As in last year.

Back in October last year I reported that e.tv will be doing a local version of Lip Sync Battle in 2016, and then in November that Viacom International Media Networks Africa's MTV will be doing Lip Sync Battle Africa  - they finally issued an official press release about it today.

VIMN Africa says actor LL Cool J "revealed today on MTV's social media platforms" that there will be a local version of Lip Sync Battle Africa done in partnership with e.tv.

Actually VIMN Africa "revealed" it to the press last year in November, and e.tv "revealed" it a month before that.

VIMN Africa will first show Lip Sync Battle Africa on MTV (DStv 130) and MTV Base (DStv 322) before e.tv will get the right to show the episodes.

e.tv and VIMN Africa have worked together for the past two years in content agreements for the MTV Africa Music Awards and is expanding its partnership.

The first season of Lip Sync Africa in which contestants lip sing to popular music tracks will have 13 half hour episodes starting on 14 April at 20:50 on MTV, and from 16 April on MTV Base at 11:30.

VIMN Africa and MTV says "the weekly show will go live in April 2015" - obviously meaning 2016 - and obviously meaning that a lot of the copy-and-paste Journalists Covering Television simply used and ran the press release as a story without changing or questioning anything.

"We are thrilled to partner with e.tv on localising Lip Sync Battle for an African audience, with its amazing energy and authentic charm that has celebrities lining up to take part and viewers clamouring for more," says Dillon Khan, MTV Africa head.

"We are extremely excited about this groundbreaking partnership," says Monde Twala, the managing director of e.tv channels division in the statement.

"Lip Sync Battle Africa is a fresh and entertaining format, it's an extension of e.tv's goal to bring viewers fresh home-grown content with a special twist".

In 2016. In 2016.

MTV Base going 'glocal' in 2016: The Viacom Africa channel plans a new local Daily News show; local versions of Lip Sync Battle and Ridiculousness.

MTV Base (DStv 322) is planning on going "glocal" in 2016 - the channel will launch a brand new daily news show, localise the clip show Ridiculousness, and do a local version of Lip Sync Battle.

MTV Base channel director Tim Horwood who is also the creative director for Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) made the announcements last week at VIMN Africa's Media Day held on Wednesday.

The VIMN Africa Media Day was held in Johannesburg for press and TV critics, with OgilvyPR who invited journalists to it less than 24 hours before it took place.

MTV Base's new daily news show with a working title of MTV Base Daily News, will discuss actuality and popular culture news stories from mostly South Africa and Nigeria has no definite starting date in 2016 yet.

The show will be panel-based like The Real on SABC3, and will integrate live social media input in the show to give it a sense of immediacy and daily relevance.

According to MTV Base 2016 will also see a second season of the local prank show #YouGotGot from April which is also going international.

VIMN Africa will attempt to do a local version of the clip show Ridiculousness, there will be a new round of the MTV Base VJ Search and programming Behind the Story and Between the Video.

Lip Sync Battle that's been showing on MTV, MTV Base and e.tv will see a localised version in 2016 on MTV Base in which well-known personalities compete by dancing and lip-singing to well-known hits.

Meanwhile BET (DStv 129) - now only available on MultiChoice's DStv and only as a single channel from December after it was killed off on StarTimes Media SA's StarSat and the two BET channels on DStv were reduced to one - will in 2016 broadcast a Hurricane Katrina special as well as a OJ Simpson documentary.

e.tv grabs Empire and Tumisho Masha; renews telenovela Ashes to Ashes, adds music game show MVP Jam and also brings back Umlilo, Z'bondiwe.

The free-to-air commercial broadcaster e.tv which has found mass appeal for its programming strategy of creating compelling and original local black drama series for primetime has renewed the highly popular funeral parlour set telenovela Ashes to Ashes and handed out further season orders to Umlilo and Z'bondiwe.

E.tv has also scooped up the free-to-air broadcasting rights to the hit American drama Empire which just started its second season on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) with the first and second season which will be seen on e.tv.

While the SABC continues to makes damaging headlines for outrageous executive salaries, court cases, and behind-the-scenes turmoil at the public broadcaster, e.tv is making rating inroads by quickly securing popular overseas programming like Empire and keeping the press attention focused on its programming, on-screen talent and schedule properties.  

e.tv recently grabbed the new big hit Lip Sync Battle, as well as the reality competition show Bullseye on Saturdays at 18:05 and announced that its hit soap Scandal! has added soap actor Tumisho Masha to the cast as a brand-new villain.

e.tv will also be doing a local South African version of Lip Sync Battle in 2016.

TV with Thinus was first to reveal back in May that e.tv's biggest latest viewership hit, Ashes to Ashes, will very likely be back for a new season after it suddenly changed the billing from "series finale to "season finale".

The channel is ready to roll out a brand-new game show, MVP Jam with Dineo Ranaka and DJ Mulo from 4 November at 18:00 targeting a black urban audience similar to what SABC2's Noot vir Noot has been doing for Afrikaans viewers.

After its already taken over SA's Got Talent, The Ultimate Braai Master and She's The One which used to be SABC2 and SABC3 shows, e.tv has now also commissioned a new local black drama which will be set and filmed in KwaZulu-Natal and which will rival SABC1's Uzalo which was filmed in KwaMashu.

e.tv is also bringing back its popular eKasi series for a 6th season with various stories filmed in Soweto, Malelane and Newcastle, starting on 9 November at 21:00, while the second season of the local police drama Traffic! debuts on 6 October at 21:05, this time following a muti serial killer.

Kasi-licious will be back for a 3rd season on eKasi+ (OVHD 105) from 14 October at 18:00 with Tol A$$ Mo cooking with local celebrities.

A 5th season of Nicky Greenwall's profile interview show The Close Up will start on e.tv on 19 November at 18:00 featuring local personalities like Maps Maponyane, rapper iFani, DJ Sbu, Katlego Maboe and Kelly Khumalo.

"We have secured the first and second season of Empire. We currently have Gold Diggers which will be followed, officially, by Ashes to Ashes, the second season. We're in production and Ashes to Ashes will be back on screen on e.tv from 14 March at 20:00," Monde Twala, director of e.tv channels announced at e.tv's summer press preview on Saturday.

"At e.tv we're quite focused on making sure that we remain relevant, that we remain local, we inspire imagination and that we're the window to the world and the window for progressive South Africans to really engage and mirror the culture and who we are and moving the country forward," said Monde Twala.

Umlilo's new season will start in March 2016 on e.tv at 21:00, Z'bondiwe will return for a new season in May 2016 at 21:30. Empire's first season will start on e.tv on 3 February 2016 at 21:30.


Below some images from e.tv's summer press preview day on Saturday held outside Krugersdorp: