SABC3 alerts that Survivor: San Juan Del Sur starting tonight has a longer debut episode duration; will push other shows all 20 minutes later.

After last week's no-show, the SABC is now alerting and pro-actively warning viewers that the debut episode of the new season of Survivor: San Juan Del Sur - moved out a week and now starting tonight - will run longer than usual, and will result in shifting the starting times of other shows later.

SABC3 caused controversy and a viewer uproar last Tuesday night when schedule chaos engulfed the public broadcaster's commercial TV channel after unspecified technical problems prevented the debut episode of the new 29th season of Survivor from starting.

It created a chaotic and unmanaged schedule cascade failure that saw as viewers flee SABC3 after the channel broadcast an erratic and jumbled, start-stop-repeat collection of other shows out of order.

The situation was made worse by the fact that it was the first time in the history of the show since it started on SABC3, that Survivor was moved away from Monday nights to Tuesdays, with viewers who also have to adapt and get used to watching it on a new day of the week.

SABC3 says the broadcast of the first episode of Survivor: San Juan Del Sur, distributed by CBS Studios International, will run for 62 minutes tonight, instead of the usual 48 minutes.

The extended duration of Survivor will affect all of the shows following after Survivor.

It means that The Hostess with Lorna Maseko, Driving in Heels, Trending SA and Days of Our Lives will have an expected delayed starting time of around 20 minutes after its usual starting time.

SABC3 sinks Survivor San Juan Del Sur as technical problems create Tuesday night schedule chaos and a Survivor no-show.

The SABC is silent over why it happened - and viewers shocked and furious - after SABC3 sank the new season of Survivor on Tuesday night and failed to show it in an evening of complete prime time schedule chaos.

The Survivor San Juan Del Sur no-show happened in an evening that saw entire prime time schedule disruption on SABC3 from 19:30.

SABC3, mired in unexplained technical problems behind the scenes, made multiple false promises in an on-screen crawl to start the new 29th season of Survivor, now moved to Tuesdays, only to later abandon it altogether, without telling viewers on-screen what's happening.

Zandile Nkonyeni, head publicist for SABC TV channels, didn't respond to a media enquiry made Tuesday night about Survivor, asking why the show didn't start, when viewers can expect to see the show and what caused the crazy scheduling.

According to SABC insider sources, speaking on condition of anonymity since they're not authorised to speak publicly on behalf of the public broadcaster, the SABC playout division experienced technical issues with the tape, with the first episode that will now be shown next week Tuesday.

Last night, at 19:30, the problems started when instead of Survivor, SABC3 suddenly showed The Hostess with Lorna Maseko, only meant to show at 20:30.

SABC3 promised to start Survivor at 20:00. 

The Survivor starting time was then pushed to 20:03, 20:08 and 20:13 - all of which came and went as SABC3 cited technical problems and played in-house programming promo fillers, stalling for time to try and fix the tape. 

Then Driving in Heels started at 20:25 on SABC3 - meant to show at 21:00. It was however only broadcast for around 8 minutes after it was abruptly yanked, and suddenly replaced by The Hostess starting again with the same episode shown an hour before.

SABC3 kept telling viewers on screen that Survivor will start, but now only said it will start "late". At 21:00 Driving in Heels started - the episode SABC3 showed a portion of, half an hour before.

Then SABC3 fell quiet and stopped updating viewers on-screen. Viewers with no access to social media wouldn't have known that on Twitter SABC3 said Survivor will no longer be happening.

On social media, SABC3 viewers got no answers and no explanations to their specific questions and comments as to what is happening. 

@SABC3 why are you repeating this hostess show? It is still as underwhelming as it was when I watched the same episode an hour ago #survivor

— Thina Makhathini (@ThinaMak) April 4, 2017

No wonder @SABC3 is in financial crisis. Changed the schedule so much that they've confused themselves. Same show on 2x. No Survivor!

— Andre Dorfling (@ADorfling) April 4, 2017

Ok @SABC3 . #Survivor is now an hour late. Unexplained problems should be explained or isn't there anybody home who knows what going on?

— FireflyTheTravelGuy (@FireflyAfrica) April 4, 2017

Looks like SABC3 got junk status too...where is Survivor? Cruel to deny us our escapism in a week like this. #sabc3thestageisyours @capetalk

— Pippa Hudson (@pjchudson) April 4, 2017

At 21:30 Trending SA started looking at the trending topics of the day on social media, but ignored the TV elephant in the room: the word "Survivor" that trended in South Africa due to SABC3's unsolved technical problems.

The cash-strapped SABC3, struggling with low and falling viewership, will also have to make what the biz calls make-up ads. 

The SABC, already owing South Africa's ad industry over R150 million for wrong, incorrectly flighted and unflight TV commercials, will have to give Tuesday night's advertisers free spots after failing to show the programming promised, and other new local shows in the right order.

Even later advertisers from after 21:00 on SABC3, like for instance Clicks, will likely ask for make good ads since lead-in audiences were by then chased away by Tuesday night's chaotic schedule disruption.

Previous Survivor drama

Tuesday night isn't SABC3's first Survivor scandal with the CBS Studios International distributed show.

In September 2009 SABC3 messed up the order of the episodes for the Survivor China finale which led to massive viewer outrage. 

Advertisers and the sponsor demanding money back, the final control worker was immediately sent home, and later disciplined; and the issue was even addressed in parliament where the massive mistake was lamented as indicative of the worrying state of the public broadcaster. 

In December 2010 SABC3 abruptly delayed the start of Survivor Gabon. Weekly South African entertainment magazines that ran exit interviews worked according to SABC3's planned schedule and already put Christmas and New Year issues to bed.

The result was that multiple magazine covers - complete with inset-photos, gave away who was getting voted out before SABC3 showed it because the broadcast schedule no longer synced up with magazines' on street dates.

In Aprl 2012 SABC3 played a wrong promo during the 19th season showing a contestant already sitting in the tribal council jury although he was still very much in the show - giving away that he is getting voted out.

SABC3 moves Survivor to Tuesdays, 29th season of Survivor: San Juan Del Sur with pairs of loved ones competing against each other, set to start at 19:30.

As part of its third dramatic schedule reshuffle in a year SABC3 has moved its iconic Monday bulwark show Survivor to Tuesdays with the 29th season, Survivor: San Juan Del Sur - Blood vs Water that will start tonight at 19:30.

SABC3 has given no reason or explanation for the day change, although viewers are glad that Survivor has managed to survive under the SABC's controversial former chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng's 80% local programming decree for the channel that saw international shows being dumped from prime time.

The still very popular veteran American reality show is one of the last remaining SABC3 legacy programmes from the channel's "quality shows" era and Survivor, distributed by CBS Studios International, still generates enough buzz and pulls enough viewers to land it a spot on SABC3's monthly most watched programmes list.

Similar to the 27th season, Survivor: Jan Juan Del Sur, set in the same Pacific Ocean location as Survivor: Nicaragua and Survivor: Redemption Island, has 9 pairs of loved ones competing against each other in two tribes, Coyopa and Hunahpu.

The season's 18 contestants include brothers, a black married couple, a father and son, a father and daughter, a daughter and mother, the twins Nadiya and Natalie from The Amazing Race, a gay couple, and two white dating couples.

This season of Survivor will see the return of Exile Island with a hidden immunity idol in the mix.

The 7th season of Tropika Island of Treasure Seychelles started on Monday night on SABC3.

With Survivor starting tonight - and with Island of Treasure at 13 episodes running just one episode less than Survivor's 14 - it means that viewers will be seeing two island based reality competition shows on consecutive weeknights, on the same channel, over the next three months.