How South Africa's no-sex soaps are adjusting on-set during Covid-19: Creative camera tricks, no holding hands and the end of on-screen intimacy.

by Thinus Ferreira

As South Africa's hugely popular TV soaps turn sexless and are even kissing kisses goodbye during the Covid-19 pandemic, producers and directors plan on using nifty camera tricks and other cinematography secrets to fool viewers as filming resumes on the country's local primetime productions.

As studio lots from Cape Town to Johannesburg and Durban reopened this week for cameras to roll on soaps and telenovelas ranging from Uzalo and Suidooster to Rhythm City, and from Generations to Getroud Met Rugby, Scandal!, Binnelanders and Skeem Saam to Imbewu, broadcasters and production companies now have to juggle and adapt story demands and completed scripts with extremely strict on-set Covid-19 preventative regulations.

According to the latest published Covid-19 regulations for Level 4 of the country's national lockdown period, the responsibility is on broadcasters like the SABC, e.tv, M-Net that runs channel collections like Mzansi Magic and kykNET on DStv, as well as MultiChoice, to ensure that series that were already in production adhere to the latest rules.

These include things like replacing craft services with packed boxes of lunches and a total limit of on-set cast and crew of 50 people.

Also no sex scenes, please.

While the casts and crews where soaps have started to reopen with filming this week - and SABC2's Venda weekday soap Muvhango, produced by Word of Mouth, that will start on Monday - are all wearing masks and face shields on studio lots, actors' masks come off when they're in front of the camera, although they're filmed standing further apart and in single scenes.

The regulations have banned intimate scenes or close contact between actors and this is where writers, producers, cameramen, directors and video editors will have to become creative.

It's the end for bed-hopping and smootches for the young crowd of SABC1's Skeem Saam filmed at Sasani Studios for now where filming started on Monday.

"We have had to make sure that we restrict the number of people shooting at a time so that we are able to keep safe distances. There will no longer be scenes filmed where there is close contact between characters," publicist Sumaya Mogola told TVwithThinus. "Whether it might come across differently on screen, we can't really say at this point."

Sexy time is also out on Generations, produced by Morula Pictures in Johannesburg, where production and filming resumed on Tuesday with groups of cast and crew now divided into workflow teams to keep them separate. The production team now consists out of three teams of up to 12 people.

"Yes, there won't be any physical contact between the actors," Generations publicist Nandipha Pantsi told TVwithThinus. "No kissing, holding hands or intimate scenes. Actors will also be practising social distancing on set. Camera trickery will be used to make them appear closer together."

South Africa's most-watched TV show, Uzalo on SABC1 produced by Stained Glass TV on its Durban studio lot switched on the cameras again on Wednesday and here, also, Covid-19 has canned the on-set canoodling.

"No intimacy will be permitted in performance," Uzalo publicist Nomfundo Zondi tells me. "Where possible, the number of cast members participating in a scene will also be limited."

In the fictional Hillside suburb of SABC2's 7de Laan, filming already started on Friday 1 May last week at Sasani Studios although the workflow never really stopped. The Afrikaans weekday soap that initially would have run out of episodes by 25 May had a core team who kept working to complete further episodes already filmed.

7de Laan's editing team worked from home during Level 5 of lockdown managing to complete episodes to now keep the show on the SABC2 airwaves until at least 1 June. The scripting department also kept writing and churning out new scripts from home.

7de Laan also confirms the end to kissing and any other intimate scenes between Hillside characters. "Extras will only be used if it’s absolutely necessary to do so and this will be kept to the bare minimum. There will be no intimate or close contact between actors," the soap says.

e.tv's two Sasani Studios produced soaps - Rhythm City done by Quizzical Pictures and Scandal! done by Ochre Moving Pictures - as well as Imbewu filmed in KwaZulu-Natal from its harbour-front studios in Sydney Road all resumed production, keeping to the new regulations with a ban on kissing and on-screen intimacy.

"Scripts will be adjusted accordingly without compromising any storylines," says Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director.

Getroud met Rugby (GMR), produced by Overberg Produksies at Atlas Studios in Milpark, Johannesburg as one of kykNET's three weekday Afrikaans soaps also kicked off again on Monday with filming.

"We're incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be able to work again," executive producer Soné Combrinck tells TVwithThinus, noting that the rugby-themed production "jumped to quickly prepare everything according to the latest government rules and regulations".

"It makes everyone feel safe knowing that the studio environment is safe to work again. The team quickly adapted to the new regime of temperature checks, wearing masks, sanitising hands and surfaces."

She says GMR's directors and camera team are extremely creative and that while adjustments are being made kykNET viewers can still look forward to the soap that will be filled with a lot of drama, intrigue and humour.

kykNET's Suidooster produced at Atlantic Studios in Cape Town by Suidooster Films, and Binnelanders produced by Stark Films at Stark Studios in Johannesburg, were also asked about their shows but didn't respond with any answers.


ALSO READ: Coronavirus: South Africa's decimated film and TV industry allowed back to work amidst Covid-19 pandemic – but without extras or studio audiences.
ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Independent Producers Organisation cautions that 'the situation is fluid' as South Africa's film and TV industry is allowed back at work under strict on-set requirements.

COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE. At 08:37 in the morning M-Net shows viewers a man being tortured with a power drill drilling into his knee.

It's completely disgusting, utterly wrong and shocking that M-Net (DStv 101) will at 08:37 in the morning show a man being physically tortured in Shonda Rhimes' The Fixer with a power drill being used to drill straight into a gagged and bound man's knee.

Later in the episode a character goes to get an abortion. Lovely television for early in the morning.

Is anybody at M-Net in Randburg actually watching what the pay-TV broadcaster is broadcasting?

Either nobody is, or somebody is and just don't care.

In America this episode of Scandal, in South Africa called The Fixer, came with an on-screen "viewer discretion advised" message that the episode contains "adult content" where it is shown at 21:00 (in South Africa it's shown at 19:30).

That should have told M-Net that the episode of the series, shown here in later prime time, should not have early morning repeats - especially since its age restriction is 16 V.

Of course M-Net's standards and practices people are clearly oblivious to the gratuitous torture scenes and just went ahead and repeated the episode.

It's adult content which M-Net apparently has no problem showing not just during the day, but early during the day, and it's wrong and disgusting and likely a contravention of the Broadcasting Code of Conduct.

M-Net says in response to broadcasting this morning's repeat of The Fixer that "M-Net abides by the BCCSA Code of Conduct for subscription broadcasters and every single episode of all programmes are viewed and rated by our Programme Acceptance department before going onto our channels".

"According to these BCCSA rules and guidelines, programmes with a rating of 16V, as is the case with this specific episode of The Fixer, can be broadcast before the watershed, which is 20:00 for pay-TV and 21:00 for free-to-air broadcasters," says M-Net.

"We also have a parental control option available on our decoders that protects children from age-restricted content when set by parents. The episode's rating was communicated to viewers before the show started," says M-Net.

Is some viewer or M-Net subscriber going to lodge a complaint at the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA)? I don't know.

What I do know is that my week started off on a disgusting note due to M-Net, pandering to a new low with showing salacious stuff at a time it shouldn't and not even caring.

I find it revolting and disgusting that M-Net has so little respect not just for its viewers but cares so very little about its own product that nobody at M-Net who watched this episode thought that it shouldn't be repeated and shouldn't be shown again at any time period other than late primetime or later.

What's more sickening than the callous behaviour of utterly irresponsible broadcasters like M-Net showing gratuitous torture television like this in the early morning, is that South African viewers who perhaps don't know better, are just forced to take it - watching what they think is appropriate to be shown, when in fact it's not.

Perhaps it's not torture to an oblivious M-Net, but it's definitely torturous and shocking viewing for me. You don't want to put your television on early on a Monday morning and then be greeted with someone drilling a hole with a power tool into a gagged man's knee cap.

It's not the M-Net I want, it's not the M-Net I like, and it's definitely not the M-Net that M-Net should be.

How to fix an unfixable (and growing) The Fixer problem? With Kerry Washington and Eric Dane both in The Fixer, which Fixer is which?

Perhaps you've heard of The Fixer ... no, not Shonda Rhimes' Scandal which was forced to be changed to The Fixer in South Africa due to e.tv's soap Scandal!, but the new drama The Fixer with Eric Dane and Kathleen Robertson.

Will The Fixer, if it's shown in South Africa be forced to change its name to something else because The Fixer is being used for Scandal on M-Net and SABC3 and Star Series E1 (StarSat 125), because Scandal! is on e.tv?

And if The Fixer (Eric Dane's show) doesn't change, will viewers looking at a TV schedule realise its another new show and not The Fixer (Kerry Washington's show)? Who knows? Even I can't puzzle it out.

That's the troubles that start and grows when TV shows from different places with the same names start impacting on each other in the same TV markets and territories.

Luckily The Fixer (Eric Dane's show) is a mini-series; it's an additional project and he is still involved with The Last Ship shown on M-Net.

Perhaps The Fixer (Eric Dane's show), if it is shown here in South Africa by M-Net or another broadcaster and retains its title, it should just be shown not concurrently with The Fixer (Kerry Washington's show).

Although, even if it's shown during a mid-season break or in-between seasons, ordinary viewers will still struggle to discern from just looking at a printed TV schedule or EPG which The Fixer is now which.

BREAKING. Renewed: Greys, The Fixer, Castle, Once Upon a Time, and Agents of SHIELD for further seasons.

Several TV shows seen in South Africa just got renewed in America for further seasons.

Grey's Anatomy (M-Net), Scandal (shown as The Fixer on M-Net and SABC3, and Scandal on Star One and Star Series E1), Castle (M-Net Series Showcase), Once Upon a Time (M-Net Series Showcase), Marvel's Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D and The Middle were all picked up for further seasons.

BREAKING. SABC3 which boldly decided to keep Scandal as Scandal, ordered to change it to The Fixer after just 2 episodes.

You're reading it here first. 

Someone call Olivia Pope quick for this fast-growing public relations fiasco: SABC3 has been ordered to change the title of the American drama Scandal - which SABC3 decided to keep Scandal - to The Fixer, after broadcasting the first two episodes of the show as Scandal.

The Shonda Rhimes drama on SABC3 which started on M-Net a year and a half ago, has just been forced to change its title in South Africa to The Fixer as well.

SABC3's forced name-change comes just a week after SABC3 proclaimed that the TV channel will be staying with the original title of Scandal. e.tv has a weekday soap entitled Scandal!.

Although SABC3 promoted, advertised, and placed the show as The Fixer on the SABC3 schedule and in print adverts, it suddenly started showing the drama as Scandal.

Last week SABC3 in a press statement, and SABC3's channel head Aisha Mohamed, specifically asked about the show's title, told TV with Thinus that it makes more sense to keep the original title, that Scandal is what the show is known as internationally, and that the decision was taken to keep Scandal as Scandal for South Africa.

Now Scandal is suddenly back to The Fixer for SABC3 too, after M-Net had to change Scandal to The Fixer in October 2012.

It's not yet clear whether e.tv ordered SABC3 to change Scandal to The Fixer or whether Disney Media Distribution, responsible for selling Scandal worldwide, mandated the change.

BREAKING. SABC3 decides to remain with original American show title, Scandal, for Shonda Rhimes' Kerry Washington drama.

SABC3 which has acquired the first season of the American TV drama Scandal with Kerry Washington has decided to stick with the original American title of the show and will not be changing it to The Fixer as pay-TV broadcaster M-Net has to try and distinguish the show from the already-existing weekday soap Scandal! on e.tv.

SABC3 channel head Aisha Mohamed told TV with Thinus on Friday morning that the channel will be sticking with the drama's original title and not be changing it to The Fixer like M-Net has done.

"It makes more sense to keep the original name of the show, which is what people around the world knows it as," says Aisha Mohamed. "Internationally people are watching Scandal with [Kerry Washington] and the decision was taken to keep it like that for South Africa," she says. 

In October 2012 M-Net changed Scandal to The Fixer for South Africa and Africa. 

That happened after M-Net acquired the rights to the popular Shonda Rhimes drama earlier in 2012, and had an original starting date for Scandal of July 2012. 

M-Net however counter-programmed Scandal for the 19:30 timeslot - the exact same time as e.tv's weekday soap Scandal!. 

M-Net suddenly removed Scandal from the line-up before the show started, changed it to The Fixer, gave it another timeslot and moved the show to a new starting date three months later.

BREAKING. e.tv pulls its soaps Rhythm City and Scandal! from the Royalty Soapie Awards, citing a lack of info about the judges.

e.tv has pulled both its soaps Rhythm City and Scandal! from the Royalty Soapie Awards set to take place on 2 November in Durban making the upstart awards show instantly controversial and making the results unrepresentative and non-inclusive of South Africa's local soap opera industry, with e.tv saying the broadcaster didn't get enough information about the planned awards.

e.tv says the broadcaster decided to pull both Scandal! and Rhythm City from the Royalty Soapie Awards organised by Generations actress Winnie Modise since no information about the judging process, aims and other criteria were forthcoming from the organisers. 

Both Rhythm City and Scandal! are now shut out from all categories, similar to when e.tv pulled Rhythm City and Scandal! from the 6th South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas) in March 2012 which suffers from an ongoing credibility problem regarding impartiality and judging.

e.tv's soaps which are not eligible, makes something like the Royalty Soapie Awards instantly an industry sham, since viewers' votes who determine the winner of a category such as "Most Popular Soapie of the Year" are not able to vote for a TV show they might want to vote for. 

Without full industry buy in such as when South Africa's largest free-to-air commercial TV station say it doesn't want to be a part of it, makes it impossible to take a given awards ceremony - or the prizes handed out - seriously.

Sindile Xulu, Royalty Soapie Awards project director says "the purpose of these awards is to promite creativity, quality and excellence of local productions".

Apparently judging for the Royalty Soapie Awards has already taken place and auditing of the process is done by KPMG.

Monde Twala, e.tv's group head of channels says e.tv has "declined to participate in the Royalty Soapie Awards".

"We did not have sufficient information about the awards, its judging processes and overall objective. We have plans to meet with the organisers later this year to discuss the prospect of e.tv participating next year."

Only technical and creative nominees have been announced so far and the Royalty Soapie Awards have not made available a list of the judges or their credentials. Awards are presented in 20 categories, 18 of which are chosen by judges.

e.tv Winter Upfront 2013: SABC3's Isidingo on Fridays is kicking e.tv in the ratings - which is why e.tv is extending its soap Scandal! to 5 days.

e.tv explained at the free-to-air commercial broadcaster's Winter Upfront 2013 that it's soap Scandal! is getting extended to five days a week and will now also have an episode on Fridays starting from Friday 5 July at 19:30 basically because e.tv kept being hammered on Fridays in the timeslot by SABC3's soap Isidingo.

Scandal! going from four days to five days, means another scheduling change for e.tv: the music magazine show Club 808 is getting yanked from its current Friday primetime slot and is being moved to Saturdays at 19:30 from 6 July.

"e.tv as a broadcaster is constantly evolving. And as the TV landscape evolves and as our competitors evolve e.tv needs to constantly innovate as the competition change," e.tv told TV critics at its Winter Upfront 2013.

"Scandal! being just four days a week, we found our audience not coming back on Fridays since there wasn't an episode. They switched over to SABC3's Isidingo which take our viewers," explained e.tv about the decision which prompted the red letter channel to make a substantial investment to up the episode order of Scandal! and to adjust the e.tv schedule for a five day a week primetime soap at 19:30.

As yet there's no plans for a Scandal! omnibus on weekends, although viewers are also clamouring for a Scandal! omnibus on the e.tv schedule. The soap is eight years old and is produced by Ochre Media for e.tv.

"Scandal is one of our primetime soaps with an average of 3 million viewers each night," says Monde Twala, e.tv's channel head. "It is currently one of the fastest growing soaps in the country and in light of this we have undertaken to invest additional resources to continuously bring viewers more of their favourite TV production."

"Staying in line with our vision to grow our local content and to give our viewers the very best, we have decided to add an additional episode per week," says Monde Twala.

"The entire production team is thrilled that our tireless efforts in bringing a quality and relevant production to viewers has not only been embraced but is in such demand that we can extend the soap to a five day timeslot," says Ilse van Hemert, Scandal! series producer.

"The decision has been carefuly planned and viewers can anticipate new faces, new sets and more gritty drama in the forthcoming months. We have the utmost faith that our fans will not be disappointed with what we have in store," says Ilse van Hemert.

BREAKING. Scandal! on e.tv becoming a 5 day a week soap from 5 July; finally adding a 5th episode on Fridays.

e.tv is extending its weekday primetime soap Scandal! to 5 days a week from the current 4 episodes per week, with the first Friday episode going out on the South African free-to-air commercial broadcaster from Friday 5 July.

Despite a complete lack of any kind of communication from e.tv's publicity department to all South Africa's TV writers and critics about upcoming local content changes on the red letter channel, I can tell that e.tv has ramped up its Scandal! episode production to now deliver 5 episodes per week.

e.tv also has a international format game show planned which will be produced in Cape Town, and will also have another celebrity reality show and introduce boxing as a sport which the past few years got marginalised in terms of coverage on the SABC.

I asked e.tv for a possible interview with Monde Twala, e.tv's head of channels earlier in the week; was told he is not in the country.

The eKasi: Our Stories programming strand which started out as 13 episodes per season will increase to 52 episodes per year.

You can't have Scandal! and Scandal on South African television - M-Net changes Scandal to The Fixer, puts it on a new channel and timeslot.

You just cannot, cannot have a Scandal! and a Scandal at the same time on television. And definitely not in the same timeslot and on two different TV channels - so M-Net changed the name of the American drama series Scandal to The Fixer.

Back in July I broke the news that M-Net has acquired the broadcasting rights to  Scandal, the new drama series from Shonda Rhimes, the creator, writer and executive producer of Grey's Anatomy.

Only problem is, as I said, Scandal was allocated to M-Net Series, to start on 19 September, and in the timeslot of 19:30. The problem? That's when e.tv's weekday soap Scandal! is on ... at the exact same time.

Suddenly Scandal got yanked from not just the September line-up, but also from M-Net Series, and also from the timeslot. What's more is that Scandal is getting especially retitled for South Africa to The Fixer. Oh, and it's moving to the M-Net channel. And to a new timeslot.

Scandal The Fixer with Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope who protects Washington DC's powerful elite running her own crisis management firm will now start on M-Net (DStv 101) on Tuesday 6 November at 20:30.

BREAKING. Fake Scandal! Facebook account has people wondering: What is going on with e.tv soap?

You're reading it here first (besides Facebook of course)

e.tv is suddenly raising a lot of eyebrows with the below-the-belt joke e.tv's Scandal! posted on Facebook - but e.tv just told me its a fake account and not the real Scandal!'s.

The real -life drama started when this naughty joke was posted on Facebook - complete with words "penis", "nuts" and "panty".

"A little whoopsie on Facebook?" asks an insider. "Hacker or a drunk post? Or is this meant to replace e.tv's late night porn?"

Whatever the case, this seems bad for e.tv's reputation and for its soap. I've reached out to e.tv for a possible response as to what on earth happened here.

e.tv responded quickly and tells me the account is not real. "It's not the real Scandal! account. It's not us. Scandal! is different on Facebook, it's not this one."

Here is e.tv's response:

"It has come to our attention that a fake Scandal! Facebook page has been created. The updates posted on the fake account are not shared or endorsed by the Channel or the Production Company (Ochre media). We have reported the fake page and are exploring ways to shut it down.  The official fan page for the soapie is “etvScandal”.  In the meantime, we would like to encourage fans to use the “etvScandal” facebook page to get the latest information about the soapie."

BREAKING. Scandal vs Scandal! South African viewers get 2 shows with the same name in the same timeslot.

You're reading it here first. 

Careful with setting those PVR and scheduling those VCR and other recordings, people - South Africa will soon have two TV shows both at the same time, and both called the same thing: Scandal and Scandal!


M-Net has acquired the broadcasting rights to the new Shonda Rhimes drama Scandal, the first season of which I can reveal will start on M-Net Series (DStv 110) on 19 September at 19:30. Meanwhile e.tv has its soap Scandal! also at 19:30.

Sheer co-incidental timeslot tinkering or deliberate counter-programming?

Scandal with Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope protects Washington DC's powerful elite running her own crisis management firm. She tries to spin the news in her clients' interest and has a team of uniquely gifted people helping her.

Scandal was recently renewed for a second season.

e.tv's soap Scandal! to celebrate the broadcast of its 1 500th episode next Thursday as the show charts a new creative direction.

Scandal!, e.tv's weekday soap which the free-to-air commercial broadcaster slowly nurtured to hit status with over 2 million viewers now tuning in daily, will broadcast its 1 500th episode on Thursday 15 March.

The production is also going through a transition phase behind the scenes where Loyiso Maqoma recently joined as the new Scandal! head writer with the reknowned Ilse van Hemert stepping in as the new series producer. Together they've been branstorming new creative directions for the characters the past month.

''We are creating a future for each character in Scandal! that is as real and believable as it is surprising and explosive,'' says Ilse van Hemert whose Monday to Thursday primetime soap duels in South Africa's over subscribed TV soap market against formidable competition such as SABC1's Generations, SABC2's 7de Laan and Muvhango, SABC3's Isidingo and a group of smaller soaps who all collectively grabs a sizeable chunk of the country's primetime viewership each night.

''Viewers can expect the unexpected from the likes of Shakira, Donna, Daniel, Morongwe and Tino, with some being taken to the brink of destruction and others to the pinnacle of triumph,'' she says.

BREAKING. e.tv pulling all its nominated shows and its soaps Scandal! and Rhythm City from the upcoming 6th Saftas.

The South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas) that's already suffering from a credibility perception within the South African TV industry is set for another knock to its dented reputation with e.tv that's pulling all of its nominated shows and soaps just days before the 6^th Saftas takes place this weekend.

Insiders say that the broadcaster - which has had a frosty relationship with the Saftas for years - has ''huge concerns'' about the judging process and mechanics and is going to yank all of its nominees for all of its shows, including its soaps Scandal! and Rhythm City.[e.tv just confirmed it to me with a statement]. This will also remove both soaps from the already incomplete and contentious Best Soap category which already lacks any credibility.

E.tv has long been at loggerheads with the Saftas for years but the broadcaster is hardly alone in having problems with the awards ceremony handing out Golden Horn awards to the local film and TV industry.

M-Net didn't enter the Saftas for years, also unofficially citing concerns. Previously SABC1's Generations and super producer Mfundi Vundla criticised the Saftas with Vundla and the soaps cast and crew who boycotted the show. 7de Laan snubbed the Saftas last year. The Saftas also failed to secure a broadcaster for the awards last year. Critics constantly blast the awards spectacle as unorganised. In addition previous winners and nominees within the industry are the judges  which critics say is a conflict of interest.

All three actors up for best actor in a drama series this year are from SABC1's Intersexions to the exclusion of everyone else. There's no nominees for the category for best actress in a film. Interestingly Shona Ferguson is one of the nominees in the category for best actor in a soap but for e.tv's Scandal! Shona Ferguson left Scandal! longer than a year ago and has been seen since the beginning of 2011 in M-Net's soap The Wild. Critics point to these and other examples as part of what is wrong with the farcical Saftas.

Meanwhile the SABC is still in shock after SABC3 initially agreed to broadcast the ceremony this year only for the public broadcaster  to discover that one of its biggest soaps was suddenly not ''allowed'' to compete in the Best Soap category.

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) which organises the Saftas said 7de Laan isn't eligible to be included in the Best Soap category - the winner which is decided by public voting and which soaps can't actively enter. Soaps can't enter the Best Soap category, but the NFVF isn't allowing 7de Laan as a nominee because it didn't enter any of the other categories. The Saftas didn't tell either the production company or the broadcaster that it would happen. ''We were not aware that such a category – based on the fact that it's a public voter's choice, required a formal submission for other categories first,'' said Zandile Nkonyeni, SABC2's publicity manager.

Now e.tv which is in talks with the NFVF has decided to pull its shows from the 6th Saftas taking place on Friday and Saturday at Gallagher Estate in Midrand. I understand from sources that e.tv and the Saftas have been involved in a heated to-and-fro about the awards.

In a statement earlier the NFVF said the juding panel made up out of only previous winners and nominees is ''a move aimed at creating a stronger peer recognition adjudication process''.

E.tv which is withdrawing all its programming and presenter participation from the 2012 Saftas, says ''it's unfortunate that we have had to withdraw our programming from the Saftas but we feel that it is necessary to do so in order to achieve greater organisationa cohesion''.

 Monde Twala the group head of e.tv channels refused to give specific reasons for e.tv's decision.

RATINGS ANALYSIS. Oprah! Idols! Three Talk! More on Isidingo's ratings resurgence, Bold's decline, and SABC1's unimpressive 18:00 timeslot.

Here's my latest viewership analysis and South African TV ratings intelligence nobody else can or will give you. TV with Thinus has some must-know show - and no-show - rating performances for you:

I can 100% guarantee - without a word from the channel - that Idols will be back for an 8th season on M-Net. Why? It's basically the only local reality show with enduring viewership strength. That tedious Idols winners announcement last Tuesday cracked a 1,7 AR for the pay broadcaster - making it the number one show for the week on M-Net. And on a school night no less.

The first season of The X Factor USA also immediately started performing for M-Net with a 0,8 AR - if M-Net gets the chance or has the moola to do a local version of The X Factor SA, its very clear that a local version has strong potential to perform well too.

Isidingo's timeslot change from 18:30 to 19:30 has had an immediate dramatic impact on viewership for the show and SABC3 - up from generally 5,5 AR's to a sudden 6,7 AR, vaulting Isidingo to the new number one show on SABC3 and an insta-gain of thousands of viewers for the weekday soap.

Less good? The demise of The Oprah Winfrey Show that will remain in 100% repeat mode and no new episodes until the show disappears in its new early midday slot on SABC3. Oprah immediately fell out of the top ranking on SABC3 from October.

Now the good and the bad: Three Talk has showed up for the first time on the list of SABC3's top 10 shows, coming in in 10th position. That's good. Not so good is that it's at a lower AR than what Oprah mustered. Three Talk pulls a 3,8 AR which means that SABC3 is overall actually getting less total viewers per week than previously, because the combined viewership of the top shows are at a lower level.

Meanwhile on SABC1 where Bold and the Beautiful don't appear anywhere near top-rated show levels anymore and it doesn't appear as if the dime-a-dozen ''local magazine shows'' that trash-pack the 10:00 timeslot isn close to actually being popular.
They just don't feature on SABC1's list of top 10 shows. Maybe Mzansi-not-so-sure might want to bring in some differentiation to the very similarly themed shows or rethink the timeslot. Luckily for the channel Generations, Zone 14 and Intsika still towers far over anything else on SABC1 viewership wise (and over all of South African television for that matter).

On SABC2 Muvhango still outranks any Rugby World Cup 2011 match broadcasts or coverage on SABC2. And here's something else nobody will tell you: While e.tv's Rhythm City has long ago surpassed SABC2's 7de Laan in total viewers, e.tv's second primetime soap Scandal! is now also passing 7de Laan in total viewers. There's (new) massive soaps in South Africa and they're not on the SABC - which you wouldn't say if you look at the ragtag gossip glossies since their editorial decisions on who to feature isn't based by actually looking and analysing from week to week what their readers are actually watching.

EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK! e.tv's Scandal! gets a brand-new intro.

I have the complete and brand-new theme song and intro of e.tv's soapie Scandal! that I can show you exclusively before it goes out for the first time this evening on e.tv at 19:30.

The brand-new clip above gives you a bit of the behind-the-scenes making of Scandal!'s new title sequence and then you can watch the full new Scandal! intro in the last minute of the clip. The new Scandal! intro (with a new Scandal! logo) presents a world of contrasts and ruthless reality in the opening sequence. The new music is by Alan Lazar.

''We're updating the Scandal! title sequence to reflect the fast moving pace of the shows content and dramatic style,'' says Romano Gorlei, Scandal! producer. ''We wanted the new title sequence to really represent everything that the show is about on a global level - not only the actions of the characters, but the world they live in as a whole. There's a divide of lives all co-existing in the same world of opportunities and often the only difference between them is due to the actions they take.''

For more about the new Scandal! intro, more photos of the new intro and what it's all about - as well as the refreshed logo, click on READ MORE below!

Scandal! in January 2010.

In Scandal! in January 2010 on e.tv, Nadia takes an overdose of sleeping pills, Keke gets into trouble with World Cup tickets and has Leticia's remains been found?

Click on READ MORE below for your comprehensive episode summary for the full month.

BREAKING. Scandal! finds a missing baby.

You're reading it here first. e.tv's soapie Scandal! has found an abducted baby. Baby Khanyi has been found and reunited with her family through the help of a TV viewer.
Scandal! launched a Missing Children SA awareness campaign mid-November which it linked to the launch of a poignant TV storyline featuring the kidnapping (and subsequent nationwide hunt) for 12 year old Thabang (Thabo Nyaku).

In real life baby Khanyi that's 4 months old, was abducted on Friday 21 August - a week after she was born.

A viewer who watched e.tv's hugely popular Scandal! on weekdays at 19:30, recognized Khanyi from amongst several official photos of missing children that aired immediately after the show and a suspect was arrested this past Saturday.

Elsa Tzougonatos of Missing Children SA confirmed that Khanyi has been reunited with her parents.

''Our channel is so proud to be associated with the positive outcome from this campaign,'' says Lynn Gaines, e.tv's executive producer of the show. ''This particular story was heavily researched prior to screening. We aim for topical stories that reflect the realities of life and our South African communities.''

e.tv now in Ghana

e.tv will be lanching soon Ghana. e.tv doesn't have s specific launch date yet.

The channel will be free, broadcasting for 24 hours a day, with some local shows (like a breakfast show called Rise and Shine and 20:00 Prime News news bulletin) as well as the channel's local South African soaps, Scandal and Rhythm City. International shows are the same as in South African, including the international soap The Young & the Restless, Fear Factor and the WWE Wrestling.

e.tv in Ghana is run as a partnership between Global Media Alliance Ghana Ltd. and Sabido Investment Ltd in South Africa that owns e.tv.

I'm waiting on official word from e.tv on this and will post an UPDATE when I get it.

UPDATE 13:55 - e.tv was super fast getting back to me.

''e.tv is excited to be involved in this new venture and looks forward to e.tv Ghana becoming a market leader in West Africa,'' says Bronwyn Keene-Young, e.tv's chief operating officer.

''Our programming is focused on the audience and what they want to watch. We will offer top-notch programming,'' says Akwasi Agyeman, chief executive of e.tv Ghana.