THE BLAME GAME. Why the frothy celeb weeklies are spoiling SABC3's Survivor Gabon with exit interviews . . . but didn't mean it.

I'm getting a lot of very angry letters from upset viewers who are ranting and raving about the clutch of celeb tabloids and entertainment weeklies now spoiling SABC3's Survivor Gabon with exit interviews before the contestant even got voted out - and going so far as to even punting it with the contestants' names and photos on their covers. Very bad. But don't really blame them.

I smiled 2 weeks ago because I knew it was coming. Don't really blame the magazines like YOU and others. Although the YOU and other magazines have ''new'' issues coming out now, its actually all old news and interviews produced before Christmas and they didn't really plan on spoiling the show for readers. Here's what they won't tell you but what's really happening, straight from an insider who knows how they operate, and who have been in this production cycle for many years too: me.

The real culprit is SABC3. All of the weekly magazines on supermarket shelves the past 3 weeks and the coming week (for monthlies even their February issues) all ''closed'' as we call it in the rag trade before Christmas. Although TV with Thinus stayed fresh and I gave you new TV news all through the end of the year and kept you updated with all the latest inside scoop regarding what's happening with Survivor Gabon on SABC3, all of these magazines' editions were put to bed before the end of the year. It means they were sent to the factory and printed where trucks now wait diligently for the right distribution date to deliver them to where they're sold.

When I worked as news editor at newspapers and my last magazine, what I'd do (as do they) is to ''plot'' according to dates once a channel issues their confirmed schedule. If you're clever you read up and try to watch a show and then look for ''reader interest points''. After that you look for the local broadcasting dates of those shows, and ''time it'' on your planning sheet according to specific magazine issue dates for when you will then run a story or interview around those ''interest points''. Of course SABC3 had to postpone the launch date of the first episode of Survivor Gabon right before Christmas when future issues were not just already at printing presses but magazine staffs were already gone for the holidays and editors undoubtedly waiting for the inevitable fallout and reader backlash they knew were coming.

Wth SABC3 making the episode order run one week later, the exit interviews and news about who's out of Survivor Gabon no longer appears in magazines one week after it ''happened'' (as it was planned) but before its happening. It should correct next week when embarassed magazine staffs start working on their ''really new'' issues this week. It could have been worse though. Imagine what would have happened if SABC3 had to postpone Survivor Gabon for more than one week. . .

ALSO READ: SABC3 finally secures the first episode of Survivor Gabon for broadcast.
ALSO READ: SABC3 desperate to try and get the first episode of Survivor Gabon; going to try a satellite link-up to Amsterdam.
ALSO READ: Why broadcasters still use - and prefer! - video cassettes for broadcast play out.

BREAKING. SABC3 finally secures the first episode of Survivor Gabon; will broadcast it tonight at 20:00.

You're reading it here fi . . .why bother, nobody else is covering TV today besides me.

SABC3 has finally secured the first episode of Survivor Gabon, meaning that the next season of this reality show will be going out this evening on the broadcaster.

SABC3 confirms to me that it has the first episode and that it will be broadcast at 20:00 tonight. The video casettes arrived this weekend at the SABC's Television Centre in Auckland Park.

BREAKING. SABC3 desperate to get Survivor Gabon; now going to try a satelite link-up to Amsterdam to beam the first episode in.

You're reading it here first.

Days before Christmas I can reveal that SABC3's programming division is in a flat spin and in emergency overdrive, desperate to get the first episode of Survivor Gabon for Monday night's broadcast. That comes after the channel failed to premiere the new season this past Monday due to the video cassettes that haven't arrived from a snowed-in Europe.

In this very fast developing story, I can now exclusively reveal that SABC3 out of sheer desperation, will now try a satellite uplink to beam the episode in to Auckland Park over the weekend from Amsterdam in the Netherlands in a tricky logistical manuevre. After I broke the news on Monday about the tape delay, I told you RIGHT HERE why broadcasters still find satellite downloads of shows difficult and prefer not to do it.

A short while ago I broke the latest news RIGHT HERE that SABC3 is now looking at broadcasting an EPK of Survivor Gabon castaway interviews in the ''repeat'' timeslot of the show this Sunday morning. That has just changed. In Sunday morning's 07:00 repeat slot of Survivor Gabon, viewers are going to see the music documentary The Parlotones: The Road to the Dome.

Insider sources now tell me exclusively that SABC3 is readying an attempt and is furiously organizing a digital uplink to try and take a feed from Amsterdam. SABC3 will then try and make a tape of it to broadcast the first episode of Survivor Gabon this Monday night. ''They're not sure if its going to work or not,'' I'm told by a source. ''They're also hoping the tape arrives by Sunday,'' says another well-connected source.

LATEST. SABC3 Survivor Gabon tape delay: Broadcaster readying a ''pre-look'' special of behind the scenes castaway interviews.

You're reading it here first.

I have all the latest inside info on what is currently happening with SABC3 and the broadcaster that was unable to premiere Survivor Gabon on Monday night because the video tape didn't arrive from a snowed-in-Europe.

I can now reveal that although expected to be delivered last night (Wednesday) SABC3 is still without any Survivor Gabon video cassettes. And here's the latest plan. Survivor Gabon already has a repeat slot built into SABC3's schedule on Sunday mornings at 07:00. With no first episode, SABC3 does have something else of Survivor Gabon and is now considering using it: those behind the scenes interviews with the new crop of castaways recorded before they go to the island. Often sliced as short filler promos, and hardly ever seen as one continuous program which it is available as, SABC3 is now considering broadcasting the Survivor Gabon electronic press kit, or so-called ''EPK''.

According to SABC3 sources I spoke to, if the Survivor Gabon tapes don't arrive soon, the behind the scenes interviews will run on Sunday morning, and then also ''repeat'' on Monday night in the usual Survivor Gabon timeslot to give viewers a ''pre-look'' at the upcoming season. ''I'm hoping the tapes arrive soon,'' says another. SABC3 has still not again responded officially on what it's planning to do since Monday afternoon.

ALSO READ: SABC3 can't premiere Survivor Gabon because the video cassette didn't arrive in time from a snowed-in Europe.
ALSO READ: Why the TV channels still use video tapes for play out.

EXCLUSIVE. SABC3 has still not received those Survivor Gabon video cassettes for the next Survivor season.

ALSO READ: SABC3 can't premiere Survivor Gabon because the video tapes haven't arrived in time because of a snowed-in Europe.
ALSO READ: Video tapes? Really? Why broadcasters still use a system of video cassettes to play out TV shows.

BREAKING. SABC3 can't premiere Survivor Gabon tonight since the tapes haven't arrived because of a snowed-in Europe!

You're reading it here first.

The weather has spoken! SABC3 is in a flatspin since the broadcaster won't be able to premiere the first episode of Survivor Gabon tonight at 20:00 since the snowed-in weather in Europe made it impossible for the Survivor Gabon tapes to arrive in South Africa on time!

SABC3 which still held up hope that the first episode of Survivor Gabon make make it to the SABC's Auckland Park head quarters in time today, had to face the reality (no pun intended) this morning that Survivor Gabon will not be starting tonight.

Sources tell that because of the continuing bad weather in Europe, as well as the Christmas weekend, SABC3 is not holding out any hope that Survivor Gabon might even be able to start next Monday, 27 December. Currently SABC3 has no new starting date for Survivor Gabon, I'm told. In the place of Survivor Gabon tonight on SABC3, the channel will broadcast a last minute filler, Piers Morgan interviewing Susan Boyle in Susan Boyle - Piers Morgan's Life Stories.

Now in a press statement SABC3 confirms that Survivor Gabon ''scheduled to air this evening, Monday the 20th of December 2010 at 20:00 will not be broadcast'' for the reasons I've mentioned. ''SABC would like to apologise to all its viewers for the change in schedule. Further communication about the broadcast of the first episode of Survivor Gabon will follow.''