BBC Lifestyle on DStv pulls 347 000 viewers for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, making it the most watched international TV channel on DStv for the day.

BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) pulled 347 000 South African viewers this past Saturday who tuned to the channel to watch the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, making BBC Lifestyle the number one international channel in terms of ratings on DStv for the day.

An estimated 1.9 billion people globally watched all or part of Saturday's royal wedding that took place at Windsor Castle.

The royal wedding was also carried and seen in South Africa on CNN International, BBC World News, E! Entertainment, ITV Choice and SABC3 although none of those channels released viewership and ratings data.

It means that the combined South African audience who watched the wedding will be bigger than the already stellar 347 000 viewership rating that BBC Lifestyle got, with BBC Studios Africa that also held an outdoor viewing at The Melrose Arch Piazza in Johannesburg to promote the BBC Lifestyle channel and the appointment television event.

"This was the biggest live viewing area for the royal wedding in the country," said Shireez Latief, senior marketing manager for BBC Studios Africa.

Sarah-Jane Harling, advertising director for BBC Studios Africa, says the BBC's set of channels are growing from strength to strength.

Joel Churcher, the vice president and general manager for BBC Studios Africa, says one of the channels in BBC Studios' Africa portfolio, BBC First (DStv 119), is now the second most watched international TV drama channel on MultiChoice's DStv platform.

Joel Churcher says BBC Brit (DStv 120), that has been repositioned and changed into a general entertainment channel, is now one of the top 10 most watched TV channels on DStv.

The latest season of Come Dine with Me South Africa produced by Rapid Blue and moved to BBC Brit pushed past the 250 000 viewers rating, cracking a new series viewership record as the most viewers for a series on any of the BBC's channels seen in South Africa yet.

BBC Lifestyle that continues to be the number one lifestyle TV channel in South Africa will undergo an on-air look and ident refresh later this year.

BBC Studios Africa is working on another new locally commissioned and produced programme that will be announced in a few months' time.

ITV Choice makes embarrassing U-turn on its run-up programming to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's royal wedding; shows dropped, start of wedding strand pushed out to 10 May due to programming rights issues.

ITV Choice (DStv 123) has been forced to make an embarrassing U-turn on its announced "royal season" frontrunner programming leading up to the British royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, with ITV Choice yanking previously promised shows off of its schedule and pushing out the start of ITV Choice's special programming from 4 to 10 May.

ITV Choice will no longer broadcast Meghan: The First 100 Days (originally scheduled and announced for Thursday, May 10) or Harry and Meghan: In their Own Words (originally scheduled and announced for Friday, May11).

ITV Choice had to drop both shows due to ITV Choice running into "unavoidable international rights clearance issues".

ITV Choice is also pushing out its scheduled and previously announced "royal season" warm-up programming strand from Friday 4 May to Thursday 10 May.

The Meghan and Harry wedding programming on ITV Choice will now be:

• Thursday, 10 May: A Right Royal Quiz
• Friday, 11 May: A Very Royal Wedding 
• Thursday, 17 May: Invitation to a Royal Wedding
• Friday, 18 May: Harry and Meghan: A Very Modern Romance
• Saturday, 19 May: The Royal Wedding (broadcast from 10:25)
• Thursday, 24 May and Friday, 25 May: The Royal Wives of Windsor

BREAKING. Record viewership: More than 8 million viewers tuned in to watch the Royal Wedding on 29 April on SABC3.

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SABC3 that broadcast the BBC feed of the Royal Wedding this past Friday says the broadcaster had a whopping 41% share of the total available adult TV audience that watched television on Friday morning and the early afternoon, with more than 8 million viewers that tuned in to SABC3.

''SABC3 achieved a phenomenal 8.5 AR (All Adults) for the timeslot 09:00 to 14:30, against 3.8 ARs (All Adults) of its nearest competitor. The average audience ratings on SABC3 for the same timeslot during the previous three Fridays, measured 2.2 ARs,'' says SABC3.

''The Royal Wedding shown on SABC3 on 29 April reached a staggering 8 110 091 viewers (older than four),'' says the channel that says SABC3 is ''thrilled'' with the viewership. ''Our turnaround strategy is to restore the channel's credibility. Over the next six months a lot of work will be done behind the scenes as SABC3 plans to re-launch in October,'' says Ed Worster, acting channel head of SABC3.

Programming note: Live from London and broadcast around the world, the Royal Wedding of the Century.

Live from London and broadcast around the world, it's the wedding of the century - and everyone's invited. In a modern fairytale steeped in tradition, Prince William will marry Kate Middleton in front of a congregation which includes kings and queens, cabinet ministers, butchers, grocers and postmen. And an estimated two billion people around the world will be watching

Friday 29 April
09:00 – 14:40 The Royal Wedding – William & Kate (live) SABC3
11:00 – 14:30 eNews Special: The Royal Wedding (live) e.tv
11:00 – 15:00 eNews Special: The Royal Wedding (live) eNews Channel (DStv 403)
09:00 – 15:00 The Royal Wedding (live) BBC World News (DStv 400 / TopTV 400)
09:00 – 15:00 The Royal Wedding (live) BBC Knowledge (DStv 251)
With anchor Huw Edwards in front of Buckingham Palace. This broadcast is from Britain's BBC One channel, the coverage ordinary Britain's will see inside England. Fiona and Sophie Raworth will be mingling with the crowds.
09:00 – 15:00 The Royal Wedding (live) MSNBC (TopTV 410)
09:00 – 17:00 The Royal Wedding (live) Sky News (DStv 402)
With presenters Eamonn Holmes, Dermont Murnaghan and royal correspondent Sarah Hughes. Sky News has a custom-built studio outside Buckingham Palace. Kay Burley is at Westminster Abbey. Sky News has correspondents across Britain such as St Andrews University, Angsley where the couple will live and Bucklebury, Kate's home town.
09:00 – 16:00 The Royal Wedding (live) CNN International (DStv 401)
With anchors Richard Quest and Piers Morgan. CNN has a production team of 125 people working on the wedding.
10:00 – 16:00 The Royal Wedding (live) Fox News Channel (TopTV 405)
With anchors Shepard Smith and Martha MacCallum. Gretchen Carlson and Jonathan Hunt are at Westminster Abbey. Royal experts include former butler Paul Burrell, writer Christopher Anderson and Joan Lunden.
10:00 – 15:00 Live Royal Wedding Arrivals Special (live) E! Entertainment (DStv 124)
Giuliana Rancic covers the arrival of the wedding guests from in front of Buckingham Palace.
16:00 Chris Jansing MSNBC (TopTV 410)
17:00 Showbiz Tonight Star! (TopTV 179)
17:50 How to Marry a Prince History (DStv 254)
18:45 Princesses of the World History (DStv 254)
18:45 The Princess Diaries The Disney Channel (DStv 303)
19:00 America Live Fox News Channel (TopTV 405)
19:00 eNews PrimeTime e.tv
21:00 Piers Morgan Tonight CNN International (DStv 401)
21:00 Martin Bashir MSNBC (TopTV 410)

Saturday 30 April
15:00 The Woman Who Would Be Queen CNN International (DStv 401)
17:00 Showbiz Tonight Star! (TopTV 179)
17:25 Glamour's 20 Wedding Do's and Don'ts Style (DStv 183)
17:00 – 19:00 Royal Wedding Special SABC3
A two hour special BBC highlights show looking back on Friday's events with presenters Huw Edwards, Sophie Raworth as well as special guests. A BBC production.
18:30 Will and Kate: Road to the Altar E! Entertainment (DStv 124)
19:30 Fashion Police – Royal Wedding Special E! Entertainment (DStv 124)
20:30 E! News Special E! Entertainment (DStv 124)
21:30 The British Royal Wedding Highlights BBC Entertainment (DStv 120)
An hour and a half recap of the highlights of the Royal Wedding.

Al Jazeera to cover the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton as well, live this Friday in London.

Al Jazeera (TopTV 401 / DStv 406) will be covering the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton live as well this Friday 29 April, says the Arabic news channel.

Al Jazeera will have several TV reporters stationed across London at various locations including Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace as well as covering street parties and interviewing people amidst the crowds.

BBC has given the broadcasting rights to the Royal Wedding on 29 April for free to public broadcasters in Commonwealth countries.

Despite taking very long to sign the broadcasting rights it now would seem as if the SABC - and possibly even e.tv - which both will be broadcasting the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday 29 April, actually got those broadcasting rights for free.

While M-Net as a pay broadcaster didn't try to acquire the rights (meaning South African viewers won't be able to see the wedding in high definition), SABC3 and e.tv as local broadcasters did acquire the rights (and will be showing it in standard definition). But did they pay the ''nominal fee'' for it that the BBC said it's charging for the rights, or did they actually get it for free?

The trade publication Variety now quotes the BBC which says that BBC Worldwide has licensed the live feed of the Royal Wedding on 29 April to 40 broadcasters in 25 territories who are paying. The BBC however also licensed the Royal Wedding broadcast to 61 public broadcasters of the European Broadcast Union (EBU) for free. The BBC says it has so far also given the broadcasting rights to the public broadcasters in the 54 Commonwealth countries - of which South Africa is a member - also for free, where broadcasters requested the live feed.

The BBC has the biggest production team of any broadcaster working on the Royal Wedding with 550 staff members and will be the only broadcaster allowed cameras inside Westminster Abbey - with the feed from those 30 cameras beamed live across the world. In addition the BBC has another 70 cameras alongside the ceremonial route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and at various other place throughout Britain.

No broadcast of the Royal Wedding of Prince William on the SABC ... yet. But ''99% certainty'' SABC3 will conclude a deal to get a live feed.

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At this very moment there is no signed contract at the SABC to get the live feed and broadcast the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on 29 April, although sources told TV with Thinus this morning that ''there's 99% certainty that SABC3 will get it too''.

ALSO READ: e.tv gets the broadcasting rights for the Royal Wedding for South Africa; will show it live on 29 April.
ALSO READ: BBC World News will show the Royal Wedding live on 29 April.
ALSO READ: BBC Knowledge to broadcast the Royal Wedding on 29 April that Britains will see on BBC One.

The SABC has been very slow out of the blocks starting, concluding and getting a broadcast deal done, and has now been overshadowed by BBC World News (TopTV 400 / DStv 400), BBC Knowledge (DStv 251) and e.tv who all secured the Royal Wedding broadcast for South African viewers.

Sources are telling me that SABC3 already prepared special TV promos for the event to make viewers aware and lure them to the public broadcaster's commercial channel. Sadly and ironically these can't run since no contract has been signed to broadcast the Royal Wedding.

After it was decided that SABC3 will be the SABC channel also showing the Royal Wedding, space has been allocated on the programming schedule on 29 April, but neither the SABC or SABC3 can yet confirm that it has the Royal Wedding broadcast since no contract has been signed. SABC3 has allocated and already cleared the whole schedule for 29 April from the time period of 09:30 to 14:30 on the day for the broadcast, but has nothing to put in there.
On Saturday 30 April at 16:45 until 19:00 SABC3 also cleared the schedule for The Royal Wedding Special, a special recap programme of the Friday's events, which of course also don't exist because of the unsigned contract.

''The problem now is that with less than 3 weeks left, every day that passes SABC3 loses out on making people aware that it too will have the Royal Wedding broadcast,'' says a source. ''Viewers who might have watched it on SABC3 are going to tune in to other channels already marketing this event and running promos and adverts for it.'' Another SABC insider says ''there's 99% certainty that SABC3 will get it too, but nothing can be done before the broadcast agreement isn't completely signed and done.''

TV with Thinus has also asked the SABC numerous times over weeks and constantly keeps asking who - if any - the SABC News journalists would be who would possibly be covering the Royal Wedding in London. Since the first media enquiry the SABC has yet to respond.

BREAKING. e.tv gets broadcasting rights for the Royal Wedding; will show Royal Wedding live on 29 April for all South African viewers.

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TV with Thinus can exclusively break the massive news that the commercial free-to-air broadcaster e.tv has secured the broadcasting rights to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday 29 April.
I can reveal that the TV channel is planning to bring this globally televised event of the year as a live broadcast to all South African viewers for 3 and a half hours from 11:00 to 14:30 on e.tv on this day.

Securing the broadcasting rights to the Royal Wedding makes e.tv the first free-to-air terrestrial South African broadcaster that will be showing the wedding of Prince William live on television for ordinary South Africans viewers without pay television. The Royal Wedding broadcast on e.tv will come just 3 months short of 30 years after the SABC's TV1 showed the wedding of his mother, Princess Diana to Prince Charles as a live broadcast in 1981.
The red letter broadcaster is clearing and adjusting its schedule to add the Royal Wedding to its line-up for Friday 29 April from 11:00 under the banner of a eNews Special 2011: The Royal Wedding broadcast.

e.tv's sure-to-be-spectacular live broadcast coverage of the Royal Wedding on 29 April will include the journey to the historical Westminster Abbey, the glamorous wedding ceremony and all the multiple wedding celebrations and festivals. e.tv's eNews Prime Time will also carry regular inserts from Monday 25 April about the wedding.

e.tv's adjusted programme schedule for Friday 29 April will now look as follow to accomodate the Royal Wedding broadcast:
10:00 Planet's Funniest Animals
10:30 Mad About You
11:00 eNews Special 2011: The Royal Wedding
14:30 Club 808: Make Some Noise

ALSO READ: Andrew Barnes will be the eNews Channel's royal correspondent; will cover the Royal Wedding week from London. 

BREAKING. Now there WILL be Royal Wedding coverage on M-Net; Carte Blanche working on a wedding special for Sunday 24 April.

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M-Net won't be broadcasting the Royal Wedding on 29 April and MultiChoice and M-Net also won't be having it even in high definition (HD) on M-Net HD but I can exclusively reveal that the pay broadcaster now will have Royal Wedding coverage: the weekly M-Net magazine show Carte Blanche is working on a Royal Wedding special.

I'm told that Royal Wedding coverage of the 29 April wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton will now be seen on M-Net on the longrunning Sunday night show. The M-Net Royal Wedding coverage will actually precede the wedding and will be in the Carte Blanche episode of Sunday 24 April at 19:00. The whole Carte Blanche episode will most likely be Royal Wedding special related, although its not absolutely confirmed yet.

''It should take up the entire episode,'' I'm told ''but that has yet to be confirmed.''

BREAKING. SABC3 postpones Expresso's morning timeslot extension that was planned to kick in from April.

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I can exclusively reveal that the planned half hour timeslot extension to SABC3's morning breakfast show Expresso that was planned to kick in from 1 April as I revealed in February RIGHT HERE will no longer be happening. The broadcaster now needs more time to implement this schedule change and selling airtime.

Expresso was set to be extended to 08:00 on weekday mornings from 07:30 from April, but sources just told me the scheduled extension just got postponed since the SABC's airtimes sales division needs more time.

Therefore, for April Expresso that is doing very well viewership wise and is being produced by Tswelopele Productions, will remain on weekday mornings from 05:00 to 07:30 for at least April. May is now the new month that is being considered for the timeslot extension.