Top Billing Lures 133 320 Viewers in First TV Return, Revives SABC3 Primetime Ratings as Cardova's Glam Lifestyle Magazine Show Viewership Holds Steady and Builds

by Thinus Ferreira

"Good night and God bless" indeed: The revived Top Billing, back on SABC3 after an absence of six and a half years, is pulling boffo ratings with 133 320 viewers who tuned in to watch the first brand-new episode on 30 April on SABC3, and with Top Billing's weekly viewership remaining steady and rising since.

As the SABC's most struggling TV channel, Top Billing's addition is single-handedly reviving SABC3's moribund and sliding linear TV ratings, proving that original and high-quality production content will scoop up viewers for advertisers and bring them to the channel for appointment viewing.

Besides a SABC3 repeat, Top Billing episodes also get a weekly repeat slot on SABC1.

Stripping out the SABC3 repeat, and besides the SABC1 episode replay, Top Billing lured 133 320 linear viewers on Thursday 30 April to the 19:00 timeslot on SABC3 in the All Adults 15+ demo - the one that advertisers focus on.

The next week, Top Billing held steady, luring 133 326 viewers in the demo on 7 May 2026 to SABC3 at 19:00, which increased for the third episode on 14 May on SABC3 to 177 008 viewers. 

Total Top Billing viewers would be even higher if the SABC3 and SABC1 repeats, and SABC+ were added.

The ratings for the first three Top Billing episodes are far from bad - especially considering its debut on a neglected TV channel that hasn't had any real, original local content or anything high-quality or substantive for years as an audience draw.

Cardova Productions, the SABC, SABC3, as well as show sponsors and advertisers, are surely happy with the positive Top Billing reception from viewers and the SABC3 ratings bounce. 

Revived Top Billing Once Again Doing a 2026 Presenter Search This Time Using Social Media - How to Enter and Maximise Your Chance for an In-Person Audition

by Thinus Ferreira

The revived Top Billing on SABC3 is doing a new presenter search through social media to find a brand new presenter to join the existing presenters' corps of the weekly South African lifestyle magazine show.

At the end of the first episode of the new Top Billing on Thursday night on SABC3, Cardova, that is producing the show, announced that South Africans can now send in videos of themselves to audition for the show.

Previous Top Billing presenter searches through the years have been hugely successful. They were physical auditions over various dates in several South African cities, and people stood in line in long queues. 

These Top Billing presenter searches were filmed as TV reality shows, and underscored the desire of South Africans wanting to be a part of "the good life" put on display week after week by the show that has become an institution on South African television.

Simba Mhere was the winner of the first Top Billing Presenter Search in 2010, with Jonathan Boynton-Lee who won My Top Billing Dream in 2012 and is once again back as a presenter on the show.

Jade Hubner, Zoe Brown and Danilo Acquisto won the Presenter Search on 3 on 2015 and joined various SABC3 shows.

Ryle de Morny and Fezile Mkhize were two of the four winners of the Presenter Search on 3 in 2018 who joined Top Billing and are also both back as presenters of the revived Top Billing.

For the 2026 Top Billing Presenter Search, the search is moving to utilise social media.

People who want to enter must be 18 years old, must be legally entitled to work in South Africa and should exude Top Billing presenter qualities like the "it" factor with a lot of charisma, a sense of style and personality, and have a passion and knowledge of people and lifestyle content.

People who want to enter must record an audition video and explain and showcase briefly why they think they're the perfect Top Billing presenter, highlighting their personality, presenter style and what they would bring to the role in terms of perspectives, travel, culture and trends.

The video must be uploaded and posted on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook or TikTok with the hashtags #TopBillingPresenterSearch and #TopBillingAudition, along with tagging @TopBillingTV and @SABC3, by 30 June.

Important for the audition video is to dress impeccably (no branded clothing) and to come across as self-assured and with charisma like a Top Billing presenter. 

The video should be one minute in length or shorter, and be a concise, professional clip or link about who you are and why you're the perfect choice to join the show as a Top Billing presenter.

The shortlisted candidates will go through to the next round of in-person auditions, currently set to take place during July and August. 

This will lead to on-camera challenges - similar to what the previous Top Billing Presenter Search shows did. With it will go possible TV appearances, background checks, and contractual negotiations and agreements.

Zozibini Tunzi joins as Top Billing presenter

by Thinus Ferreira

It's more than fitting: TVwithThinus can reveal that the former Miss South Africa and former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi is joining as a new Top Billing presenter when the magazine show returns from 30 April to SABC3.

Top Billing, produced by Cardova Productions, will return on Thursday 30 April to SABC3 at 19:00 with new weekly episodes, with a repeat on SABC3 on Sundays at 19:00, and another repeat on SABC1 on Tuesdays at 21:30.

The SABC ended Top Billing in October 2019 after 27 years on air but the show has thankfully, finally, been revived after a six-year absence.

Besides a group of former Top Billing presenters who are back on screen as part of the aspirational TV series - including Basetsana Kumalo, Michael Mol, Jonathan Boynton-Lee, Ryle DeMorny, Fezile Mkhize and others - a few new presenters will also join, including Zozibini Tunzi.

The former Miss South Africa and Miss Universe 2019 is a perfect fit for the return of the glamorous lifestyle magazine show and is destined to become "the new Bonang", following in the steps of Bonang Matheba who joined as a Top Billing presenter in 2012.

Zozibini Tunzi is perfectly suited and has a custom-made pedigree through experience as well as a sought-after profile for the iconic "walk and talk" Top Billing format - both she and the show will jointly elevate each other with her addition as a Top Billing presenter, representing "the best of the good life".

Zozibini Tunzi's role as a Top Billing presenter will fit Top Billing like a fine white beauty pageant glove, and in turn the show will add to her allure, soft power and influence as a media personality.

With her natural glamour and grace and her history-making reign as Miss Universe 2019 and Miss South Africa 2019, Zozibini Tunzi brings a global level of sophistication and poise that perfectly matches and will add to Top Billing's inspirational and aspirational, high-end aesthetic for South African viewers.

With a Bachelor of Technology in public relations management, she also has the professional foundation for the communication, hosting and interviewing demands of the programme.

She also has a long-standing brand connection already with Top Billing: Her history with the show runs deep with Top Billing that famously toured her luxury Sandton apartment during her Miss SA reign, and she even auditioned for the Top Billing Presenter Search earlier in her career.

Furthermore, Zozibini Tundi as a model and a black model and a black female model is the epitome of empowerment and female empowerment in South Africa. 

Joining as a Top Billing presenter perfectly aligns with Top Billing's "modern evolution" of the show for SABC3, focusing on authenticity and empowerment alongside traditional luxury.

Not only will Zozi interview and hobnob with the rich and famous - she herself is who viewers want to see and "be" with.

Besides covering high-profile people and events, she has zeitgeist cache and public interest power as a current "it-girl", underscored by things like the interest in her personal milestones, like her wedding in March 2025 to Luthando Bolowana, which underscores the exact type of cultural "magic" that she represents and will add to Top Billing.

"We are incredibly excited to bring Top Billing back to South African screens," says Patience Stevens, managing director at Cardova Productions and executive producer of Top Billing.

"This show has always been about celebrating what's possible. Bringing it back now, at a time when inspiring local stories matter more than ever, feels incredibly special. We're honouring the legacy while creating something that feels fresh, relevant and deeply connected to today's audience."

Bradley Van Den Berg, chief operating officer at Cardova Productions and executive producer of Top Billing, says "Top Billing has always stood for excellence, aspiration and storytelling at the highest level".

"This new chapter is about evolving that legacy for a modern audience, keeping the heart of what made the show iconic, while introducing a sharper, more dynamic take on the good life that resonates with South Africans today."

Dichaba Phalatse, SABC video entertainment marketing manager, says "The return of Top Billing marks a defining moment for SABC3 as we continue to position the channel as a home of iconic South African storytelling, reimagined for today's audience".

"This is not just about a comeback - it's a cultural rest where legacy meets a new generation of viewers who are shaping what aspiration looks like now. Top Billing remains a powerful expression of possibility, and we are excited to bring that energy back in a way that feels unapologetically South African."

UPDATE Tuesday 21 April 2026 09:00:

Also joining as new presenters are Bryoni Govender, the Miss South Africa 2023 runner-up, the actor Arno Greeff, as well as Sine Mpulu as this new season's dedicated social media presenter.

"We are incredibly excited to bring Top Billing back with this dynamic mix of returning favourites and fresh new talent," says Patience Stevens, in a statement.

"Each presenter brings their own unique energy and perspective. Together, they will continue Top Billing's proud legacy of celebrating the very best of our country while delivering the aspirational, feel-good content viewers have missed and new audiences are eager to discover."

Bradley Van den Berg says "Bringing together a mix of iconic Top Billing presenters and exciting new talent was a very intentional decision".

"This season is about honouring the legacy that audiences know and love, while evolving the show to reflect the energy, diversity and ambition of modern South Africa. Each presenter brings a unique perspective, and together they create a dynamic storytelling experience that feels both familiar and refreshingly new."

Revived Top Billing return to TV a no-show in March without explanation, SABC says lifestyle magazine show 'on SABC3 remains in development'

by Thinus Ferreira

After the SABC announced in late 2025 that a revived Top Billing would start as a new weekly show during March 2026 on SABC3, that didn't happen and the public broadcaster doesn't want to explain why.

In November 2025, the SABC announced that the iconic lifestyle magazine show Top Billing would be returning to SABC3 from March 2026 with several of the former famous presenters, six years after it was cancelled in October 2019.

The revived Top Billing is produced by Cardova Productions.

In November the SABC said that Top Billing is coming back with "a new chapter that will see the show back on air with a reunion special on 27 November on SABC3, followed by weekly episodes from March 2026".

The new "weekly episodes from March 2026" have however not come to pass and the SABC has been silent about why Top Billing isn't back this month, about the delay with the transmission or TX date, and when it will now start.

Caroline Phalakatshela, SABC publicist, in response to a media query about Top Billing, told TVwithThinus "The SABC confirms that the return of Top Billing on SABC3 remains in development, with final production and contractual processes currently being concluded".

"As these processes are being finalised, the broadcaster will confirm the official broadcast date once all requirements have been completed. The SABC looks forward to bringing the iconic lifestyle programme back to audiences on SABC3 and appreciates the strong interest from viewers and the media."

ALSO READ: SABC revives Top Billing with Cardova produced lifestyle magazine show back from March 2026 with former faces, adding a shorts format, looking at doing TikTok presenter search

BREAKING. DJ Warras (40) murdered in Johannesburg

by Thinus Ferreira

Warrick Stock - the South African radio and club DJ and TV presenter, VIP protection service owner and podcaster known as DJ Warras - was shot and murdered on Tuesday afternoon in Johannesburg. He was 40.

Stock, a former 5FM and Cliff Central producer, and also known as Shady Lurker, was shot and killed on Tuesday afternoon on the corner of Von Wielligh and Commissioner Street in Johannesburg in front of the Carlton Centre.

According to Xolani Fihla, superintendent of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), "a shooting incident that happened this afternoon in the Johannesburg CBD".

"JMPD officers were first respondents to the incident when they were stopped by members of public who alerted them to the shooting."

"Currently, as a JMPD we don't have any information regarding the incident or the victim. And the matter will be criminally investigated by the South African Police Service, who will then shed better information regarding the incident."

The area was cordoned off by yellow police tape as Warrick Stock's lifeless body lay on the scene close to an alleged hijacked building.

According to the police, DJ Warras was approached by three suspects who opened fire on him, shot him dead and then fled.

On social media, Stock's friend and businessman Rob Hersov said his friend was murdered.

"He was murdered today in Johannesburg. I just want to say he is the most loving, compassionate, friendly, honest, open, decent human being, and it is a tragedy beyond belief. Warras, we love you, we miss you, may you rest in peace, brother."

Days ago, DJ Warras - who is also the owner of JT VIP: Elite Guarding & VIP Protection Services, a security company that handles VIP protection and building protection - criticised Rachel Kolisi's upcoming documentary film, Falling forward, claiming that the ex of South African Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi was trying to cash in on the breakdown of their marriage.

"I find this woman insufferable, bro, we get it - you got divorced! Sorry! But now it's become her whole identity, she just wants everyone to feel sorry for how heartbroken she is," he noted.

"F- sakes, what happened to keeping quiet and fading into the background? Dealing with the matter privately and putting on a brave face in public, because you have children, woman!" DJ Warras said.

Warrick Stock, who was born in Durban, never knew his father and was raised by his grandparents and mother, moved to Johannesburg as a teenager.

Stock started working at the Yfm radio station in 2008 where he did various shifts, after which he moved to the SABC's 5FM radio station as a DJ.

In September 2012, after also playing the club DJ circuit, DJ Warras made the jump to television as the new co-host together with Luthando Shosha of SABC1's music magazine show Live AMP from the 14th season.

Four years later in 2016, Warrick Stock who is a dad of three sons, became one of the presenters of the lifestyle magazine series The Man Cave on SABC3 for that show's 5th, 6th and 7th seasons.

In March 2024 DJ Warras started The Shady PHodcast on The Real Network with Phind'Gcobe "DJ PH" Madubela.

In October 2025, DJ Warras started as the presenter of the new reality show Ngicel'iVisa on MultiChoice and M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel, noting that it "wasn't trash TV".

"We've done our research and the show is in line with what DStv subscribers actually want to see. What's happening on Ngicel'iVisa could easily happen to you or me - it's real life!"

Coincidentally, the new episode 11 out of 13 of Ngicel'iVisa will air tonight at 20:00 on Mzansi Magic. 

TVwithThinus asked Mzansi Magic for comment on the death of DJ Warras on Tuesday afternoon and whether the season of Ngicel'iVisa completed filming with Warras as presenter.

Shirley Adonisi, director of local entertainment channels at M-Net, said "It is with sadness that we, as Mzansi Magic, extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences on the passing of the talented and charismatic Warrick Stock better known as DJ Warras".

"DJ Warras was a vibrant member of our Mzansi Magic family, currently hosting our reality show, Ngicel’ iVisa."

"His natural ability to mediate sometimes complex human emotions with wit and sincerity, made him the perfect host for the show. His contribution to our sister channel, Channel O (DStv 320) was also instrumental in helping shape Mzansi’s urban music landscape and his on-screen presence was testament to his legacy in the local entertainment industry."

"DJ Warras was more than just a face of a reality series, he was a talented storyteller, a passionate music lover and a warm soul who brought joy and energy to every moment on screen."

"His dedication to creativity left an indelible mark on our channels. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his friends, family and all who knew and loved him. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time."

A decade ago, DJ Warras told Move!-magazine "I passed matric with three A's and B's through the guidance of my grandparents, whom I stayed with".

"My grandfather insisted I educate myself so that I could be able to do everything for myself. I really looked up to him and that's why I am the person I am today. I turned out to be responsible and it's all because of the people who raised me, and for that I am forever grateful."

DJ Warras said that being a father made him more cautious since his sons "are my life".

"Being a father has taught me to be more responsible and cautious. Even though I am no longer with the mother of one of my sons, we are doing a great job in taking care of our child."

SABC revives Top Billing with Cardova produced lifestyle magazine show back from March 2026 with former faces, adding a shorts format, looking at doing TikTok presenter search

Thinus Ferreira

The iconic weekly South African lifestyle magazine show Top Billing will return to SABC3 from March 2026 with several of the former famous presenters, six years after it was cancelled in October 2019. 

Returning within a social saturated TV era, Top Billing also plans to do a TikTok Top Billing Presenter Search to find new presenters and will interact and engage viewers by adding a Top Billing shorts format as a second-screen experience.

Talking about experiences, besides the weekly TV show, Top Billing also plans to branch out into finely-curated "Top Billing Experiences" where viewers, fans and VIP guests will be able to physically get together in unique locales and settings, together with the presenters, around certain experiences and curated lifestyle celebrations with sponsors.

The Top Billing announcement was made on Tuesday evening at the Chefs Warehouse restaurant at the Tintswalo Atlantic hotel near Chapmanspeak in Cape Town, where an exclusive gathering of 90 people, including several former Top Billing presenters, feasted on a specially curated 7-course dinner, in true "Top Billing"-style.

The SABC issued no press release about the Top Billing revival.

Also in attendance at the event were Patience Stevens and Batsetsana Kumalo, the original executive producers who steered Top Billing under the Tswelopele Productions banner, and who will once again run the show, this time as a Cardova Productions show, together with Bradley BalsamoVan Den Berg.

Top Billing will kick off with a special Top Billing reunion episode on Thursday 27 November on SABC3 with several of the former presenters back to do a special episode, after which the regular season will start from March 2026 on the channel.

In attendance on Tuesday night were various producers, influencers, SABC executives, Patience Stevens and Basetsana Kumalo, along with the SABC's head of local productions Lala Tuku.

Former Top Billing presenters also attended, including like Michael Mol, Janez Vermeiren, Jonathan Boyton-Lee, Fezile Mkhize, Ryle de Mornay, and Harmony Katulondi.

How SABC TV under-delivers in languages besides English in prime time on SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 - and why

Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's public broadcaster far under-delivers on the required quota of programming on SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 that it is supposed to broadcast during prime time.

The SABC is mandated by the regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), to broadcast a certain number of hours during prime time in languages other than English.

The SABC, according to the SABC's 2024/'25 annual report, fails to do this and is in breach of the quotas set in this regard by Icasa.

The SABC is supposed to broadcast 18:12 hours per week during prime time in languages other than English on SABC1. Yet SABC1 only managed to broadcast 6:56 hours.

The SABC is supposed to broadcast 19:36 hours per week during prime time in languages other than English on SABC2. Yet SABC2 only managed to broadcast 4:03 hours.

The SABC is supposed to broadcast 10:06 hours per week during prime time in languages other than English on SABC3. Yet SABC3 only managed to broadcast a paltry 3:58 hours.

According to Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO, the financially struggling public broadcaster doesn't have the money to acquire and make the content in other languages in order to reach these Icasa quotas.

Nomsa Chabeli told parliament's portfolio committee on communications that SABC1 and SABC2 as the "bedrock of our TV business in revenue and audience underperforms".

In May, SABC CEO Nomsa Chabeli said that "Come August, we are launching a new telenovela called Pimville on SABC2, and based on that we will be really driving that audience share back to SABC2". 

This didn't happen and Nomsa Chabeli said nothing about it again.

In a media query last week the SABC was asked why Pimville Queens failed to start on SABC2 in August and why there haven't been any further updates about this. The SABC didn't respond to the media query.

ALSO READ: SABC cancels Muvhango after 28 years, CEO Nomsa Chabeli says replacement telenovela Pimville Queens will hopefully be successful to bring SABC2 viewers back

ALSO READ: SABC's Muvhango replacement Pimville Queens nowhere in sight on SABC2 as Venda soap ends belatedly 

With 'trial and error' SABC moves Afrikaans news again - now to 5:30pm on SABC3 on weekdays and 7:30pm on weekends

by Thinus Ferreira

The SABC now admits that its shortsighted scheduling moves with its Afrikaans TV news bulletin were done without any market research, with the public broadcasters moving it yet again from this month: Now to 17:30 on weekdays and from SABC2 to SABC3, and to 19:30 over weekends on SABC3.

The constant timeslot shifts and channel changes of the SABC's Afrikaans TV news already cost the broadcaster millions of rand in lost advertising income as well as the loss of hundreds of thousands of viewers.

The Afrikaans TV news was suddenly and inexplicably moved in March 2024 from SABC2 to SABC3 and the much later 20:30 timeslot where it lost further viewers on the SABC's terrestrial TV channel with the smallest transmitter reach.

During the week the SABC's Afrikaans TV news bulletin has around 290 000 viewers on SABC2, and over weekends 550 000 on SABC3. 

Now the SABC is once again moving it from July to 17:30 on weekdays and away from SABC2 to SABC3.

The news bulletins of language groupings with fewer viewers are currently broadcast at 17:30, like the Siswati and Ndebele bulletins on SABC1, and the Venda and Tsonga bulletins on SABC2.

The two Afrikaans weekend TV news bulletins, which was at 18:15 on Saturdays and Sundays on SABC3 are moving to 19:30 from this first weekend in July 2025.

The SABC is further planning to make these two bulletins 30 minutes in duration again, back to the length it used to be.

There's been no explanation as to why the SABC is moving the weekday Afrikaans TV news bulletins from SABC2 to SABC3, which the broadcaster says targets a "millennial audience".

Daniëlle Wass, bulletin editor of the SABC's Afrikaans TV news, told the SABC's RSG radio station that no market research was done before the SABC moved the Afrikaans TV news to SABC3 and the late 20:30 timeslot.

"Even my dad said to me 'I'm sorry, I know it's your bulletin, but I can't [watch it]".

According to Daniëlle Wass, the new 17:30 timeslot for Afrikaans TV news "is also an inconvenient time for a lot of people - a lot of them are still on the road". She also called the new weekend timeslot of 19:30 "a bit uncomfortable".

"Over the past while there wasn't much market research done about news bulletins," she said. "It was an expensive trial and error to see the bulletins so up and down where it fits," she said.

"Perhaps we should have looked at this more. Perhaps we should have gone about it more carefully. I think the lack of research failed us in being able to know who our viewers are, what our viewers want and what they are comfortable with."

Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO, called the scrapping of the Afrikaans TV news over weekends during the first weekend of April a "scheduling error". Insiders said Nomsa Chabeli was however aware that the plan was to remove the Afrikaans TV news over weekends permanently.

Mmoni Ngubane, SABC spokesperson, didn't respond to a media query about the SABC's latest timeslot moves and TV channel move of the Afrikaans TV news bulletin.

Dr. Elsabe Pepler, communication specialist and media expert in Cape Town, says the SABC's decision to move the Afrikaans TV news to 17:30 "is simply daft".

"Thousands of people are still in traffic, moms and dads are busy looking after kids and meals."

She explains sponsors and advertisers must get something back for their expensive commercial investment in TV ads - "they want new customers".

"If a company or organisation realises that viewership ratings are going down in the timeslot during which the news is broadcast, it becomes a less attractive and profitable timeslot. The broadcast times of news on SABC3 at 17:30 is definitely not one of the most profitable timeslots."

She says, "the result of this scheduling decision will likely be that news viewership will fall further, that advertisers won't get the exposure they seek and that the SABC's revenue from advertisements during the news will drop further".

Dr. Mardi Delport, senior lecturer in communication science at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein, says people watch the news in the evening and that's where it should be shown.

"The 18:00 to 19:00 timeslots will always remain the most popular options and golden standard for TV news since the largest potential audience is lured to watch TV then when people arrive home from work and prepare dinner. We then actively seek out information about our day and our community."

She says the move of the Afrikaans TV news to 17:30 on weekdays is "a step in the right direction but still not perfect. Viewers prefer stability regarding the content offering and timeslots".

SABC2 and SABC3 to remain loss-making as South Africa's public broadcaster wants to position SABC+ as 'flagship platform'

Thinus Ferreira

According to the struggling South African public broadcaster's latest 5-year strategic corporate plan its SABC2 and SABC3 TV channels will remain loss-making, while it plans a pivot to position its streaming service SABC+ as its "flagship platform going forward".

The technically insolvent SABC plans to spend 86% more in 2026 on consultants and legal fees,239% more on market research and 260% more on production expenses.

Meanwhile two of its three main TV channels - SABC2 and SABC3 - will continue to run at a loss, with SABC1 that has to carry the weight of "subsidising" the two loss making channels. 

This is also the reason why the SABC is more hesitant to tamper or change the SABC1 schedule and programming line-up, and more willing to do that with SABC2 and SABC3.

With no further bailouts forthcoming from the South African government, the SABC is looking at other possible resources, including signing a loan with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in 2026 to produce new content.

The interest on this loan, should the SABC sign a deal with the IDC in 2026, will amount to R29 million.

"The biggest challenge that we've got is that really our inability to fund compelling new content," says Nomsa Chabeli, SABC CEO. "Our assets are deteriorating. For example, the SABC has not been able to install new lifts in 55 years."

Nomsa Chabeli says the SABC has been slow in monetising SABC+ as its streaming service but the broadcaster is pivoting to generate more money through SABC Plus.

"We are looking going forward that SABC+ is going to be a standalone business unit in its own right with dedicated resources because to compete in the streaming world, we really need to focus and be more deliberate on how we take this to market and monetise this."

According to her, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime don't just make money from new content, but also by purchasing old programmes from other broadcasters.

"The catalogue is very critical and we are going to ensure that we exploit it not just for ourselves but then be able to license it globally to other streaming services."

The SABC aims to grow SABC+'s registered users to 1.4 million this year, to 2.2 million in 2027 and 3.1 million by 2028. It currently has about 850,000 registered users.

Tendai Matore, SABC acting chief financial officer, says the public broadcaster is planning on an increase of 86% to R127 million in "professional fees" due to a drastic increase in the money spent on consultants, audit fees and legal fees.

According to him, the SABC also plans to increase production expenses by 260% to R29.6 million, with an increase of 208% to R98.9 million in the cost of new media productions.

The SABC's total marketing costs next year will increase by 33% more than the current forecast.

Most of this spending is allocated for the SABC radio division for "awards shows", like this past weekend's 19th Metro FM Music Awards, which is "income-generating" according to the broadcaster.

The SABC is also forging ahead with setting up its own satellite-TV project, similar to MultiChoice's DStv but more aligned with eMedia's Openview where a customer buys a decoder once, with no subscription fee to get access to a set of free TV channels.

Kathutshelo Ramukumba, SABC chairperson, says the broadcaster now wants to work with the likes of MultiChoice, Primedia, as well as Netflix and VIU which are competitors, to "share content".

"We are seeking partnerships with organisations that traditionally would be viewed as competition for the SABC. This includes MultiChoice; also streaming services like VIU, Netflix and all the rest."

BBC Studios achieves standout growth in Africa for its linear channel business, reach on DStv up by 14%, on SABC3 up 24% in 2024

by Thinus Ferreira

BBC Studios says it has achieved record-breaking performance for its linear channel business, with standout growth in Africa, alongside remarkable results across the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.

In Africa, BBC Studios' linear portfolio on MultiChoice's DStv - including the BBC Lifestyle, BBC Brit, BBC UKTV, BBC Earth, and BBC News TV channels - expanded its reach by +14% in 2024.

According to BBC Studios, this growth marks the highest-ever performance for CBeebies and BBC UKTV, while BBC Lifestyle achieved its best results since 2017. 

Additionally, BBC Primetime, a bespoke two-hour content block on SABC3, has increased its reach by 24% compared to the same period last year.

According to BBC Studios, in the Netherlands, BBC First - BBC Studios' premium drama channel in the Netherlands - saw 2024 topping 2023 as its biggest year since launching in 2015. The channel has delivered a 2.3% 4+ market share to date in 2024, up +16% from last year.

In Poland, BBC Studios' channel portfolio of BBC Earth, BBC Brit, BBC First, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies is also on track to deliver its highest share in 2024 (0.82%, 4+) since the portfolio launched in 2015.

Here BBC Earth and BBC First delivered the highest annual share ever in 2024.

In the Nordics, BBC Nordic - BBC Studios' multi-genre linear channel available in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland - has ranked as the biggest international channel in its competitive set in Norway in October and November. 

In November, the channel delivered the highest share since launch (1.2%, 4+), and the channel has seen a +53% increase in share in 2024 compared to 2023, when it launched.

Arran Tindall, chief commercial officer, EVP, EMEA Key Markets, in a statement, says "2024 has been a record year for our channels business in EMEA".

"We have seen incredible numbers across our whole channel portfolio in the Netherlands, Poland, Africa and the Nordics, and I am extremely proud of the growth we have seen this year."

"This success is a testament to BBC Studios' extensive breadth of high-quality content and the careful curation by our teams to deliver engaging schedules that resonate with local tastes and audiences in each of our markets."

Celebrity MasterChef South Africa edition coming to SABC3

by Thinus Ferreira

Another season of Celebrity MasterChef South Africa will follow the end of the 5th season of the Primedia Studios produced food competition series on SABC3, with South African celebrities who will compete from Saturday 30 November at 20:30.

It will be only the second Celebrity MasterChef SA edition yet on South African television.

This new Celebrity MasterChef SA season comes after the first one which was screened in 2015 between the third and fourth seasons on M-Net - and follows a decade after this first celebrity version which was won by Chris Forrest.

Some of the contestants in the next Celebrity MasterChef South Africa include Expresso morning show presenter Graeme Richards, Siv Ngesi, Dineo Ranaka and singer Holly Rey who will battle it out behind their kitchenette stations to whip up food creations using ingredients from the Pick n Pay pantry. 

The celebrity contestants, using the same purpose-built MasterChef SA set constructed across the two-studio space at Atlantic Studios in Montague Gardens in Cape Town, will compete to win money for various charities.

To amortise the cost of the set and space, the Celebrity MasterChef South Africa season done as a localised version of the Banijay format, was filmed a few months ago already, directly after production of the fifth season ended. 

This is similar to how the first Celebrity MasterChef SA season was filmed at the time in conjunction with the third season.

Celebrity MasterChef SA will be followed by a new 6th season of MasterChef SA on SABC3, again with South African home cooks.

The revived MasterChef SA will conclude its fifth season this coming Saturday night on SABC3 when either Bridget Mangwandi (20, a consumer science student from Bloemfontein and the youngest contestant this season), Chanel Brink (34, an online foodie content creator from Johannesburg) or Nabila Shamshum (23, a school secretary from Johannesburg) will walk away as the winner.

Why MasterChef SA's 5th season axed 5 contestants in the debut episode.

by Thinus Ferreira

Saturday evening's 5th season premiere of MasterChef South Africa on SABC3 ended with the unexpected axing of five contestants who all returned home after just one episode's cooking in the kitchen.

The rugby recruiter and coach Lucas (33) from Worcester, the Johannesburg video producer Andrew (42), the Boksburg content creator Lesego (26), the law firm manager Robyn (28) from Midrand, as well as the environmentalist Ella (39) from Johannesburg were all eliminated after their checked dishes were the lowest-rated out of the 20 contestants.

"It breaks my heart to say this, but your MasterChef SA journey ends here," MasterChef SA judge Katlego Mlambo told the five contestants.

"I'm a very competitive person, so this was pretty serious to me but you've got to be humble in victory and defeat," Lucas said. "It's reignited something in me. It's given me belief and hope. I'll always keep cooking." 

Andrew said that he feels "disappointed". "I didn't expect it to be this short. But we are in the MasterChef kitchen and I didn't perform to the standards".

Lesego said "I'm devastated to leave this early in the competition because I don't think I was able to really show myself. But this is not the end, this is just the start of something different".

Robyn who's lucky charm broke during the cooking challenge said she doesn't believe it had an impact. "I don't feel that my necklace breaking had any effect on the outcome. I choose to carry on in a positive way."

Ella who kept the apron of her dad who had passed away, on underneath her new white MasterChef SA apron, said "I'm quite happy not to have taken my one off. This one belonged to my dad. My dad had the biggest heart. His light shines through and that is the best gift you can give someone - share a bit of light. So I wear it with pride and I know I've done my family proud."

Fifteen contestants from across South Africa are left for the remaining 19 episodes of the Banijay format cooking competition reality show filmed by Homebrew Films at Atlantic Studios and done by Primedia Studios for SABC3.

"knew from the start that this season would only have 15 contestants, but in the pre-auditions, we found 20 really worthy candidates - it was just so difficult to choose only 15," Paul Venter, executive producer, tells TVwithThinus as he explained why the 5th season decided to axe five of them at the end of the first episode.

"We decided to give them all the privilege to come to the kitchen and cook for one episode in the MasterChef SA kitchen - a dream come true for many - but that would then be the last round of auditions, and what great jeopardy to have 5 people going home already in the first episode - drama from scene one, episode one and guaranteed for the whole series!"

According to Paul Venter, the biggest enemy in the MasterChef SA kitchen is and remains time.

"We hear screams and see tears when some candidates fail to make the final adjustments in the final minutes and then we will also have the curious case of the 'stolen pickles' ... which is eventually solved. But will karma send the pickle thief home? Viewers will have to wait and see!"

In Saturday's 5th season debut episode, one contestant told judge Justine Drake that she grew up watching her on the show, while another contestant watched her sister compete on the show in a previous season of the series that has over time become a South African television institution.

Kaye Anne Williams, vice president of content at Primedia Studios, tells TVwithThinus that MasterChef South Africa has become an institution because of two components: food and people.

"For those two reasons, it is not hard to find something that you can relate to and, therefore, incorporate in your own life. Our goal in driving awareness for the new season was to ensure that the average viewer understood that this show was for them and is about them, their food and their stories."

Paul Venter says the latest season of MasterChef SA has "contestants from all four corners of our country, from all walks of life and from as young as 20 and as 'young' as 65".

"Some contestants have roots deeper into the African continent, as far as Congo and as close as Zimbabwe, and some even as far as Taiwan. But one thing that equalises the playing field is the big food dream to win the coveted MasterChef SA title".

SABC future: SABC3 getting sold, SABC1 and SABC2 broken up in regional channels?

by Thinus Ferreira

Is the South African public broadcaster's SABC3 finally getting sold off with SABC1 and SABC2 broken up into several smaller provincial TV channels that have to work together and share provincial news and content as a network?

That could be in the future for the technically insolvent SABC which is once again experiencing dire financial problems after the Democratic Alliance political party's Solly Malatsi has been appointed by president Cyril Ramaphosa as South Africa's 15th minister of communication and digital technologies in the past 30 years.

The ANC's appointment of Solly Malatsi could spell significant policy changes for South Africa's communications sector, including massive changes to various communications parastatals like the beleaguered South African public broadcaster.

With South Africa long-delayed and still not completed switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT), as well as the forever-limping SABC, the department of communications - now spearheaded by Malatsi - will have to make decisions on the way forward with the DTT process and the future of the struggling broadcaster.

The DA's recently published policy document for South Africa's information and communication technology (ICT) sector hints at what some of the DA's proposed plans for the SABC are, including the possibilities of selling off and breaking up the South African public broadcaster.

According to the DA's policy document, "There is no doubt that the SABC is in crisis" with 40% of its revenue just going to pay salaries, with the party saying "it is clear that the SABC is a bloated organisation in dire need of fixing".

The DA wants to hold public hearings to determine whether South Africa needs a public broadcaster and then "call for the SABC to be broken up into various commercial entities and sold to the highest bidder".

Under such a scenario the loss-making SABC3 as the broadcaster's only commercial TV channel will definitely go on the block as a long-struggling TV channel that lost half of its entire viewership between 2017 and 2021.

The other part of the plan is to "Consider the option of decentralising the SABC into provincial broadcasting stations to be independently run by and managed by the relevant provinces".

According to the DA's policy document, this decentralisation "will encompass a resource sharing model (similar to the broadcasting model of the United States). This model will increase cooperation between provincial broadcasters in the sharing of content to illuminate duplication of content production, which can reduce the subsequent costs".

There is also the suggestion to "Conduct a nationwide customer survey to identify the causes of viewership losses and implement relevant remedies".

The DA says that if the SABC remains as a public broadcaster in South Africa, it would be important to "Ensure that the public interest always comes first and that the SABC remains an independent public

broadcaster and institution as per the Broadcasting Act, and not a platform for political interference

and corruption".

"We will do this by removing all political appointees through ensuring that a skills audit is completed for all employees and then conduct a restructure of the entity where necessary."

Other plans and suggestions in the policy document include the implementation of "strict financial measures to turn around the SABC's dire financial situation" through cost-cutting, increasing support for making local productions, and increasing spending on more local content productions - but without any local content quotas mandated for SABC TV and radio.

The DA's policy document states that it is important for the SABC to "Seek new and increased revenue streams to fund the operation of the SABC and make it as independent as possible from public financing".

"One such a step will be a new agreement regarding the 'must carry' regulation which does not allow for the SABC to sell its content to other broadcasters."

"The broadcaster must however stay clear of controversial plans such those proposed in the draft white paper on audio and audio-visual content which would see consumers streaming a Netflix of Amazon production on their phone, having to pay a license fee to the SABC."

The policy document notes that the government "must engage with international and local streaming providers and consider a possible mutually beneficial relationship through content sharing. Users will then be able to access local and international content on SABC and other online streaming networks. In this instance, SABC will be able to generate demand by also including trendy, international

shows."