Bye, bye to The Bold and the Beautiful – again – as AMC Networks International's repeat-padded EVA telenovela channel gets axed after 5 years on MultiChoice's DStv and GOtv.

by Thinus Ferreira

After months of repeats the EVA channel from AMC Networks International is the next TV channel getting axed from MultiChoice with the American daytime soap The Bold and the Bold that is getting ripped away from South African TV viewers for a second time when the telenovela channel will go dark in March after 5 years.

DStv subscribers – who have asked about the channels' schedules that became filled with unending rebroadcasts over the last few months – have now been told that EVA, as well as EVA+, will both terminate and disappear from MultiChoice's DStv and GOtv pay-TV service across Africa on Monday 22 March because MultiChoice "no longer has airing rights". 

For the past few months, all of the telenovelas on EVA has been repeats except for The Bold and the Beautiful, produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions, that remained as the sole original daily episode on the schedule.

Viewers in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa will now lose The Bold and the Beautiful – that recently broadcast its 8 000th episode in Africa – for a second time after SABC3 abruptly ended it in March 2019 after which they had to switch to EVA to watch it on linear television.

AMCNI launched the EVA (DStv 141) channel in March 2015 with Latin American telenovelas dubbed into English and into Portuguese on DStv channel 508 as a competitor to NBCUniversal's Telemundo. 

In November 2016 EVA+, as a sister channel, launched on DStv and GOtv, with AMC Networks International saying at the time that with the channels it aims to "satisfy the African audience’s growing appetite for telenovelas" with a crop of "hand-picked, high-quality serial dramas".

In the latter part of 2020 both EVA and EVA+  – similar to the FOX Life and Disney XD channels before they got culled – suddenly stopped adding new content except for the daily Bold and the Beautiful episode.

Viewers quickly noticed that the EVA and EVA+ schedules became padded with the rebroadcasting and repeating of telenovelas that DStv and GOtv subscribers had already seen.

AMCNI in response to a media enquiry says that "After discussion with DStv, we have decided to no longer offer EVA/EVA+ in Africa".

"We’re focused on optimising our portfolio across the region, and these changes are related to that ongoing review. This does not affect other services in our portfolio, including CBS Justice, the newest channel in our portfolio which launched exclusively with DStv in November 2019, in addition to CBS Reality and JimJam which are available to DStv and other operators throughout Africa."

MultiChoice spokesperson Sbu Mpungose in response to a media enquiry confirmed the axing of EVA and EVA+, saying that "from time to time, MultiChoice together with 3rd party channel owners reviews the channels available on the DStv platform which may result in the addition or removal of channels".

"For this reason, EVA and EVA+ will no longer be available on the DStv platform from 22 March 2021. Viewers will, however, be able to continue to view our recently introduced favourite channels such as TLnovelas (DStv 133) and the HONEY channel (DStv 173)."

Asked about what will be happening to the schedule and shows that have not completed the run of their episodes by 22 March, for instance Mujercitas (Little Women) that would only conclude on 13 April, Sbu Mpungose said that "almost all of the series which are currently on EVA and EVA+ are reruns".

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 21 August 2020.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:



■ Covid-19: Say goodbye to sex on television: British screen director's association publishes helpful intimacy on-screen guidlines:
Bodies could be depicted "moving under bedclothes".
"Close a bedroom door аnd leаve the аction to the viewer’s imаginаtion."
- Directors should take inspiration from classic films when depiction of sex on screen was banned.


■ After massive backlash and petition Netflix apologises for "inappropriate" poster of Cuties sexualising 11-year old girls.
- Netflix's "disgusting" film a negative influence.

■ Tosh.0 on Comedy Central (DStv 122) cancelled after shocking reversal of 4 season renewal.

■ Netflix disappoints with Transformers: War for Cybertron after controversy over not using union voice talent and warnings that using cheap talent sets a dangerous precendent for the industry.

■ Nigeria's government continues to attack MultiChoice, once again summos MultiChoice Nigeria to appear over its DStv Nigeria subscription fee increase that came into effect on 1 June 2020.

■ The SABC and e.tv will have to urgently find ways to position themselves as broadcasters beyond their current business models or risk falling too far behind MultiChoice and streaming services like Netflix.

■ Discovery Inc. distances itself from the homophobic Homestead Rescue star Marty Raney.

■ MOZO TV launches in Zambia as a new TV channel to showcase Africa's lifestyle, politics and economics.

■ Netflix is testing a shuffle play button for viewers struggling to decide what to watch.

■ Amazon Prime Video commercial sparks a boycott in Japan.

■ Positive Covid-19 cases reported at Television City in Los Angeles where The Bold and the Beautiful restarted filming.


■ BBC News boss Fran Unsworth says some TV news bulletins might be cut.
"TV journalism will still be around because of the power of pictures to tell a story, but it won't necessarily be received in quite the forms it currently is."


■ Netflix cancels Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj as the streaming service struggles with topical talk shows.

■ Australian Broadcasting Corporation's chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici quits over ABC censorship claims.

■ Egypt's opposition TV channels are a rare phenomenon.

■ TV anchor Anjali Rao told she's "too brown" for commercial TV (subscription required).

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 9 July 2020.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:


■ MUST READ. "I was on a British TV diversity scheme - and saw why they don't change anything."

■ Hamilton, The Simpsons, and the problem with colourblind casting.
Animated shows are finally moving away from letting white actors play characters of colour. But even well-intentioned efforts at increasing diversity create complications.

■ Lithuania bans Russia's propaganda TV channel RT (DStv 407).
Follows Latvia and Baltic countries who sees Russia Today as a Kremlin propaganda tool aiming to influence the region’s ethnic Russian minority.


■ MultiChoice continues to fall even further and further behind with its DStv Explora decoder as Sky launches massive decoder upgrade.
Sky's Sky Q in the United Kingdom announces a raft of feature improvements for its decoder with an even better user interface (UI), so-called "show centres" where every TV show will now have a go-to destination for every available episode; and with all seasons, episodes, recordings, broadcast schedules and on-demand links together in one place.


■ Amazon Prime Video will finally offer one of Netflix's most basic and desired features.
Subscribers can now create different user profiles for multiple people sharing an Amazon Prime subscription to maintain separate watch histories and watch lists - along with parental controls.

■ Uganda censorship continues as Urban TV's Scoop on Scoop show is yanked from the air.
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) got complaints that the shallow gossip show presented by Tina Fierce is "abusive, demeaning and inciting; opinionated and not attributed to any reliable source".

■ Peak Comfort TV.
Coronavirus and political anxiety in the United States have accelerated the shift toward comfort TV.

■ Blow-up dolls for The Bold and the Beautiful sex scenes.
Because of Covid-19 the American daytime soap is now using life-like dummies for intimate on-camera sex scenes where actors have to look like they're "in the throes of passion".

The Bold and the Beautiful to resume production as the first American scripted TV series that starts filming again amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic.

by Thinus Ferreira

The longrunning American daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful that shut down alongside the rest of Hollywood will resume filming on Wednesday 17 June and become the first scripted TV series in the United States to resume production in 2020 amidst the growing global Covid-19 pandemic.

"The health and safety of our cast and crew are of foremost importance to us. We will be following all protocols set forth by the state, city, Television City, and the various guilds," says the Los Angeles-based daytime soap in a statement.

Last month The Bold and the Beautiful produced by Bell-Phillip Television and seen on Vodacom Video Play and EVA (DStv 141), was renewed for a further 2 seasons taking it to at least mid-2022.

The Bold and the Beautiful restarting production although Covid-19 cases in the United States continue to increase is similar to South Africa where the TV and film industry resumed production after an 8-week break because of the country's national lockdown period.

Two local primetime series, M-Net's The River produced by Tshedza Pictures for the 1Magic (DStv 103) channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, as well as Skeem Saam on SABC1 have since been forced to shutter again and deep-clean studio and office spaces following positive Covid-19 cases.

American soap The Bold and the Beautiful renewed for seasons 34 and 35 that will take it to at least mid-2022.

by Thinus Ferreira

The longrunning American daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful has been renewed for another two seasons with seasons 34 and 35.

The two season renewal will take The Bold and the Beautiful, seen on on Vodacom Video Play and EVA (DStv 141), to at least mid-2022.

The soap's Los Angeles production is currently shut down but could restart production in June depending on Californian regulations.

"For over three decades, The Bold and the Beautiful has been a cornerstone of the CBS daytime lineup," says Amy Reisenbach, executive vice president for current programmes at CBS Entertainment, in a statement announcing the two-season renewal.

"The show has been a creative and ratings success due to the supremely talented cast, writers and producers that Brad Bell has assembled."

"Of course, none of this would have been possible without The Bold and the Beautiful's dedicated fans, whose passion for these characters and stories is unsurpassed. We are delighted to be able to continue to offer them a daily look into the romances and rivalries between the Forrester, Logan and Spencer families."

Bradley Bell, executive producer, says "I am thrilled to dive into years 34 and 35 of The Bold and the Beautiful. We are grateful to Amy Reisenbach and everyone at CBS for their incredible commitment to the series. Of course, many thanks to our loyal fans who motivate us every day with their unending passion and enthusiasm."

The Bold and the Beautiful remains the most-watched American produced daytime serialised drama in the world and is set in Los Angeles where it tells a story set inside the world of high fashion, glamour, romance, passion and family.

The Bold and the Beautiful's series' current cast includes Matthew Atkinson, Kiara Barnes, Katrina Bowden, Darin Brooks, Scott Clifton, Don Diamont, Jennifer Gareis, Courtney Hope, Thorsten Kaye, Katherine Kelly Lang, John McCook, Alley Mills, Annika Noelle, Denise Richards, Lawrence Saint-Victor, Henry Joseph Samiri, Rena Sofer, Aaron D. Spears, Heather Tom, Jeremy Ray Valdez and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood.

Coronavirus: American weekday soaps The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless suspend production - report.

by Thinus Ferreira

The American weekday soaps The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless have both suspended production according to reports, along with another soap, General Hospital which shut down last week already because of the rapid growth in cases of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus pandemic globally.

Episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful are carried on Vodacom's Video Play service and EVA (DStv 141).

Deadline reports that The Bold and the Beautiful, produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions, as well as The Young and the Restless, produced by Bell Dramatic Serial Company and Sony Pictures Television, are shuttering from Tuesday 17 March 2020.

Days of Our Lives seen in South Africa on e.tv, produced by Corday Productions and Sony Pictures Television, already shut down for four months in November 2019 due to budget reasons.

Collectively South Africa's TV industry has multiple large ensemble cast and crew weekday soaps - each numbering far more than 100 people - that are produced for the SABC, e.tv, as well as M-Net's Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) and kykNET (DStv 144) channels carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, none of which have yet shut down production because of the coronavirus.

M-Net (DStv 101) will very likely have to postpone the filming and change the island location of its upcoming 8th Survivor SA: Immunity Island season, produced by Afrokaans, that was set to broadcast in September, while Rapid Blue will likely implement changes for the second season finale and "Women Tell All" episodes of The Bachelor SA.

Questions are also swirling around the latest 16th season of Idols, produced by [SIC] Entertainment, and how it will continue given that the show has a contestant and crew complement of over 100 people, as well as several local scripted drama series in production across various TV channels.

SABC and Danie Odendaal Productions will likely be forced to cancel the upcoming 20th anniversary celebrations and viewers' competition for its longrunning 7de Laan Afrikaans weekday soap.

Vodacom says 'free' Bold that's back in SA is only beautiful on its restricted Video Play service with a Vodacom number.

Vodacom that announced that The Bold and the Beautiful is back and free to watch for viewers in South Africa on its Video Play streaming service, now says that the American weekday soap is restricted to customers who must have a Vodacom number.

A growing number of disappointed viewers and fans of The Bold and the Beautiful who tried to register on Vodacom Video Play to watch the soap that made its return on Wednesday after the struggling SABC dropped it in March this year, couldn't understand why they're not able to register and sign up for Video Play and getting a "register error".

It turns out that Vodacom only allows viewers to watch Video Play if they have paid to be a Vodacom customer.

In its initial statement issued by the WE South Africa PR company, Vodacom said that it has "secured the rights to stream the beloved TV show on its video-on-demand platform, Video Play. Now South African consumers will be able to stream the soap on their mobile devices, such as their smartphones, tablets and laptops". 

Vodacom said that "consumers don't need to subscribe to any packages" because The Bold and the Beautiful, produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions, "is FREE".

Vodacom made no mention that people who want to watch The Bold and the Beautiful must buy a Vodacom SIM card and have a valid Vodacom number in order to register on Video Play.

TVwithThinus asked Vinnie Santu, Vodacom spokesperson for comment about South African consumers saying that they can't register or watch The Bold and the Beautiful because they don't have Vodacom numbers. She said that "Video Play is exclusive to Vodacom customers".

Asked why this was not specified in the announcement, Vinnie Santu said "Video Play is Vodacom's entertainment platform, exclusive to Vodacom customers". 

Rival Cell C doesn't restrict access to its struggling Cell C black streaming service to just Cell C customers, and neither does VIU, or any of the other major video streaming services available in South Africa like MultiChoice's Showmax, Netflix South Africa or Amazon Prime Video. 

ALSO READ: Brooke's back! The Bold and the Beautiful returns to South Africa - this time on Vodacom's Video Play streaming service.

ALSO READ: INTERVIEW. Katherine Kelly Lang on why Bold - now back in South Africa on Vodacom Video Play - remains beautiful: 'The times and moods and the technology all change and showrunner Brad Bell has done that very well'.

INTERVIEW. Katherine Kelly Lang on why Bold - now back in South Africa on Vodacom Video Play - remains beautiful: 'The times and moods and the technology all change and showrunner Brad Bell has done that very well'.

Photo: Gilles Toucas/Bell Phillip TV Productions

South African viewers can once again follow Katherine Kelly Lang, known for her iconic role of Brooke in The Bold and the Beautiful with the American weekday soap that is back - this time on Vodacom Video Play - and she says that she's grateful for all of the fan support and viewers who have kept watching over decades.

In a phone interview with Katherine Kelly Lang timed with The Bold and the Beautiful's return to South Africa and with episodes that can now be watched for free on Vodacom's Video Play streaming service, the star opened up about how the show and she have evolved, her new Beverly Hills store she's opening in November, the show being back in South Africa, its ratings success, and her life beyond the show's studio schedule.


The Bold and the Beautiful remained a hugely-watched show in South Africa over many years. What did you think when the SABC as South Africa's struggling public broadcaster decided to end it?
Katherine Kelly Lang: I know that a lot of people were saying "Please we want The Bold and the Beautiful to come back on the air after it went off the air.

The SABC has been great for us for so many years. But we're glad to be back and that all South Africans can now watch the show again. We're back in people's living rooms to again bring them some joy during the day and we're very glad about that.

Now with Bold being available on Vodacom Video Play and accessible to South Africans again after some months, how do you feel about it?
Katherine Kelly Lang: It's very exciting. I was in South Africa last year and so many people in South Africa are so amazing, just talking about The Bold and the Beautiful and how they love it, and saying that they've been watching it from the very first day.

Honestly most people I've talked to say they've been watching from the very first day. They know all of the storylines, all of the characters.

So when it went off the air in South Africa they were sad but they're happy now and we're happy. We love South Africa - it's so beautiful there and the people are so lovely. It's just great to have Bold be seen there, and really all around the world.

So The Bold and the Beautiful is the most-watched daytime show internationally, and in August I saw that Bold became the most-watched soap opera in the demo after 32 years. To what do you attribute its enduring success? Why do you think it is that Bold remains beautiful?
Katherine Kelly Lang: Well, it's amazing just to get the demo. We've been the most-watched soap opera in the world for so many years, which is really, really incredible on its own.

And then to win the demo in the United States for the first time in all these years - a very important demo - is incredible. So we're all really excited.

I attribute it all of course to Brad Bell - he runs the show; he makes it what it is. He's done such a great job. His father started the show and now he's taken over. He's made the show his own and so it's still going strong today because of it.

You can't keep the show the way it was at the beginning. Bold needs to evolve. The times and moods and the technology all change and showrunner Brad Bell has done that very well. It's not easy to keep a daily show going and keeping it running as number one for so many years.

So I have to say, firstly, Brad Bell, and then everyone involved. I'm not saying me or anything like that, but it's every single person who works on the show - behind-the-scenes, in front of the camera, the producers, the writers, the directors, the crew, the publicity.

I mean, it's incredible what goes into such a huge machine. Everybody puts in 110% and tries to make it the best it can be every single day.


Obviously there's been several weddings and happy moments for her, but viewers have seen, lived with and cried with a long-suffering Brooke. Why is your character of Brooke so popular, why does she resonate so much with viewers?
Katherine Kelly Lang: She's shown that she's a real person. She makes mistakes. But then she is also remorseful. She makes mistakes a few times in order to learn to be better. People like to experience that with her.

Viewers love to hate her, and they love to love her - they feel something. Whatever they feel with or for Brooke, they feel something. That makes me feel good because I feel that I'm doing my job as an actor.

I just try to bring as much reality to her and as much honest emotions to Brooke as possible.


There's a lot of reboots of American series that we see now of shows from the 90s coming back and being very successful, but of course The Bold and the Beautiful started in 1987 and never went away. It's still on and resonates as strongly as ever with its audience. To what do you contribute this resurgence of interest to in shows that started in that decade?
Katherine Kelly Lang: Nowadays there are so many different kinds of shows, so many different channels, so many things to watch.

I think people kind of want to go back to basics. I don't know - for me, I love the 80s. I miss those. I would love to see some of that again.

We'll see which ones are successful and how all of these turn out - usually nothing is as good as the original. So I'm glad that The Bold and the Beautiful is still the original, and we're still going strong!


It's so unusual and you don't get a lot of people in this industry who out of principle or whatever reason stick with a role or character or a show and who is clearly in it for the long haul with a project. Why did you stick with Bold and how has Bold evolved, and you with it over the years?

Katherine Kelly Lang: First of all, I love the show. And I did from the very beginning. I love my character. I don't know what I would do without her.

The Bold and the Beautiful has evolved a lot, including our schedule. The studio schedule allows us ... we shoot so much in a short period of time, that we still have one week off after every few months.

That has allowed me to have a whole other life outside of the show. I have a fashion business. I'm opening up a boutique store in Beverly Hills in November, I travel and do Home Shopping Network, I do movies in Italy and now some TV in Greece. I travel and do a lot of things outside of America and it's a lot of fun.

But it's The Bold and the Beautiful that has done this for me. The show has opened up all of the avenues for me to see and do and to experience and I'm really grateful for that.

Without the show I wouldn't have been involved in things in other countries and all of these opportunities. The schedule has allowed me to go out there and do that but my number one job is The Bold and the Beautiful so I always come back and do that. I'm allowed to go out and do other things and my life is so full because of it.


What is your store's name?
Katherine Kelly Lang: The store will have a brand that's made in Tuscany - leather jackets, and shoes and belts and we're bringing it to Beverly Hills, and I'm very excited about it, it's called Benheart and that's happening in November!

Who do you just love working with on the Bold cast?
Katherine Kelly Lang: We are so lucky. We get to work with people who we genuinely enjoy being around, who are good people and who give 100%.

So, I can say who my favourite is because it depends on what the storyline is and who I get to spend time with, but now it's Annika Noelle (Hope Logan, Brooke's daughter). I spend a lot of time with Heather - I love my TV-sisters, Jennifer Gareis (Donna) and Heather Tom (Katie) - all the girls on the show are so incredible. We are all very supportive and we all have each others' backs. I can't pick just one or two people, I want to say everybody.

And I just want to say thank you to all of The Bold and the Beautiful fans in South Africa, and I truly appreciate all of your love and support.


Vodacom Video Play at www.videoplay.co.za now carries The Bold and the Beautiful in South Africa where the show can be watched on a free subscription, with new episodes from season 31 added daily, continuing on from where it stopped in March 2019.

BREAKING. Brooke's back! The Bold and the Beautiful returns to South Africa - this time on Vodacom's Video Play streaming service.

The Bold and the Beautiful is blasting back to South Africa with the American weekday soap that has found a new home on Vodacom's Video Play streaming service since getting axed from the SABC in March.

Despite strong ratings until the end the cash-strapped SABC decided to abruptly end its decades-long contract with the Bell-Phillip Television Productions, that led to big viewer outrage and disappointment.

M-Net (DStv 101) looked at possibly acquiring The Bold and the Beautiful but said it's schedule is full with lifetime reality shows currently working well in its late-afternoon timeslot and with ratings up 120%, while e.tv has been unable to add another American soap after it already took over Days of Our Lives in September 2017 after SABC3 dropped that as well.

Now episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful will play from today on Vodacom's video-on-demand (SVOD) service, starting with brand-new episode from season 31, as well as a binge, catch-up catalogue of 50 episodes to span the "missing period". 

 The 50 Episodes will be loaded to binge for those customers that weren’t able to watch the Bold & Beautiful when it went off air in South Africa early this year. 

The ‘first new Episode – 7715 from Season 31 will form part of the new content that will be ingested as part of the 10 Episodes a week, this will launch on 9 October. 

 The episodes are free and a new episode is released daily. Vodacom Video Play customers will get access to The Bold and the Beautiful as part of a free subscription and don't have to pay for access.

Vodacom says viewers "will be able to stream the soap on their mobile devices, such as their smartphones, tablets, and laptops."

"We are extremely excited to be bringing back one of South Africa’s favourite international soap operas on our video on demand service, Video Play, along with the characters we’ve all grown to love, or love to hate," says Zunaid Mahomed, Vodacom group digital and fixed services officer. 

"This move forms part of our ongoing commitment to providing access to the content our customers want, in a format that allows them to watch it whenever they want and wherever they are."

Additionally, the synopsis of each new episode will be displayed so that viewers can discern exactly which episode they want to watch.

"Our South African viewers have been asking for The Bold and the Beautiful to come back. Now we’re very happy to announce the good news," says Bradley Bell, executive producer and head writer. "Thank you for welcoming us back onto your screens."

M-Net explains why it passed on picking up The Bold and the Beautiful after the SABC dropped it: 'We did consider it but our schedule is full and timeslot ratings up 120% with lifestyle reality'.

M-Net (DStv 101) has considered taking over The Bold and the Beautiful after SABC3 dropped it earlier this year but the pay-TV broadcaster ultimately decided against picking up the American weekday soap because it's late afternoon schedule is already full and timeslot ratings up 120% with lifestyle reality shows.

The South African public broadcaster abruptly ended The Bold and the Beautiful, produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions Inc., in March 2019 as the last remaining American soap opera left on the SABC's channels, after the struggling SABC could no longer pay for it.

The Bold and the Beautiful remained a very strong ratings performer during its many years on SABC1, as well as with its move to SABC3 for three years, until the end in March.

Bold was the 6th most-watched show overall on SABC3 in March 2019, excluding once-off sport events, when it left with 358 864 viewers. The Bold and the Beautiful is running on EVA (DStv 141) but with episodes that are two years behind what was shown on SABC3.

e.tv couldn't accommodate The Bold and the Beautiful as a second American soap since it already took over Days of Our Lives from the SABC3 since September 2017 when the SABC dumped that soap.

TVwithThinus asked M-Net what the possible future of The Bold and the Beautiful is on M-Net and whether it wouldn't be a fit for the late afternoon 17:00 or 18:00 weekday slot, since the high viewership indicates that there are a lot of South African viewers who like and watch the show despite the SABC no longer able to afford to broadcast it.

"The Bold and the Beautiful is not something we've got planned for M-Net. We did consider it. We met with Christine Waage, vice president of international sales at BBL, but at the same time we didn't believe that a soap is something that we want to do," says Tracy-Ann van Rooyen, M-Net's head of acquisitions and scheduling.

"We know what our audiences are liking in that time of day which is very much family viewing, which is why the lifestyle reality does so well."

"So we don't have plans for that or to bring talk shows back to M-Net at 17:00 because the changes that we've done there has increased the ratings for our slot by over 120% as it stands. So what we've got there is working but obviously we will see what comes out from America because Kelly Clarkson has now brought her talk show, I've watched it, I'm a fan."

"But the fact of the matter is that on M-Net right now and what we've seen, is that audiences are chasing in terms of talk is topical and current affairs - Carte Blanche and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. You will not believe the ratings that Last Week Tonight gets live on a Sunday night when it's on."

"Viewers of M-Net as channel 101 on DStv want to be engaged with the world," says Tracy-Ann van Rooyen. "They have the opportunity to engage with real, topical conversations like on Carte Blanche and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and of course the documentaries.


Talk show delays
About the delay of episodes of The Late Late Show with James Corden, Tracy-Ann van Rooyen says "there are challenges because of licensing because of his music".

"We have to wait for all of that to be cleared, sometimes because of who the artist is. So we do the delay on purpose to make sure that we can get everything cleared before we broadcast it. Music rights is such a big deal, especially on Ellen."

"So M-Net has to wait for all of that to be cleared before we can put it on the air. We go as close as possible but sometimes we have to delay because we don't have all of the rights for the music broadcast. It's music rights that make our TV talk shows be delayed," she explained.

"And they keep putting more and more music in them all the time, so Kelly Clarkson's new talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, would be very difficult for me to license because she sings almost all the time." 

Out of cash for content: This is why the SABC is filled with rebroadcasts and why The Bold and the Beautiful is really gone.

With the South African public broadcaster in extreme trouble, its programming schedules are filled with repeats and rebroadcasts of old shows with the SABC that admitted in parliament on Tuesday that it's not just out of cash to pay salaries but also out of cash to pay for content.

Since the beginning of this month The Bold and the Beautiful was abruptly gone from SABC3 with the contract that was terminated.

The SABC is now showing repeats of old content even during prime time on its channels. A repeat of 2017, Taryn & Sharon, is now rebroadcast on weekdays in prime time on SABC3, as well as SABC2’s former telenovela Keeping Score that is getting a re-airing now on SABC3 also in prime time.

The SABC previously at least tried to keep repeats out of prime time.

Seasons of long-running shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race that used to alternate on SABC3 no longer appear on the March or even April schedules. Meanwhile SABC2 is dusting off library series like 2010's The Joey Rasdien Show, back for yet another repeat. 

Madoda Mxakwe, SABC CEO, warned parliament that a "black-on-air" scenario will happen soon without a government bailout of the beleaguered broadcaster that is on the precipice of financial collapse and will be technically insolvent at the end of this month.

Last month the minister of finance, Tito Mboweni, revealed after his budget speech in parliament that the SABC needs a whopping R6.8 billion in cash as a government bailout to survive.

Madoda Mxakwe, who said that the SABC's cash flow is completely depleted, said the SABC "cannot adhere to all our committed contracts". "We cannot even commission local content production as a result of all of the severe liquidity challenges that we're facing."

"The situation is so bad that several major content providers of key programmes actually refuse to engage with us. Understandably, because we have not been able to pay them in the past couple of months," added Madoda Mxakwe.

"We can't acquire sports rights. Owing to our liquidity challenges we are not able to do it."

"In terms of the significant suppliers that are due and overdue, you are looking at Sentech, we're looking at SuperSport, Samro, as well as other providers of content that we have not been able to pay."


'Black-on-air scenario is a real threat' - SABC CEO
Madoda Mxakwe told parliament that "the SABC cannot guarantee that it will be able to pay its employees’ salaries at the end of March 2019. Should this crisis not be addressed as a matter of urgency, the SABC would be unable to operate and the 'black-on-air' scenario is a real and highly possible threat."

The minister of communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said later on Tuesday that the National Treasury will give some money to the SABC in order to pay staff salaries at the end of March. The amount was not disclosed.

The SABC told parliament that since October 2018 the broadcaster's audience share has been declining, with its revenue that is expected to continue to decline in the 4th quarter of its financial year.

Yolande van Biljon, the SABC's chief financial officer (CFO), told parliament that "our audience share is declining as a result of a combination of factors and we anticipate it to continue."

She added: "Of our television stations, SABC1 remains the top-performing station but we're also too heavily reliant on it. It is outperforming the prior year revenue but it is the targets for this year which are not being met for all three TV channels."

Yolande van Biljon said: "We have incidents almost once a month where either there's a fire or a roof caves in as a result of the severe storms we've been having in Johannesburg. All of it are symptoms of our inability to maintain our infrastructure."

SABC3 viewers furious and reacting angrily after SABC abruptly dumps The Bold and the Beautiful weekday soap after years.

SABC3 viewers are just as livid as when Brooke stole Ridge for the 9th time from Taylor, and are reacting after the SABC abruptly dumped the long-running American soap The Bold and the Beautiful since Monday from its schedule.

The SABC that can't and won't pay for The Bold and the Beautiful anymore replaced it with a Democracy Gauge political show at 17:30 on weekdays, and added repeats and rebroadcasts like Taryn and Sharon from 2017 and SABC2's former telenovela Keeping Score to its prime time schedule.

Neo Momodu, SABC spokesperson, didn't respond to a media enquiry, made multiple times since last week, seeking comment on the programming changes and asking when the decision was taken to remove The Bold and the Beautiful, whether old content will not lead to lower viewership during prime time for the already-struggling channel, and what the new direction is that SABC3 is taking.

The SABC only confirmed on Saturday afternoon in a statement that The Bold and the Beautiful has been canned and would be gone from Monday, after the SABC3 schedule for March that became available in February, showed that the soap was no longer on the schedule from 4 March.

In September 2018 the SABC did a big countrywide publicity blitz with The Bold and the Beautiful star Katherine Kelly Lang that the SABC gave prime placement and massive exposure on a flurry of SABC TV talk and magazine shows as well as SABC radio stations, emphasising the value and importance of the programme to the SABC.

In January Bold from BBL Productions lured 484 067 viewers, just below local magazine show Top Billing, as the 5th most watched show on the channel for the month, excluding four sports broadcasts.

Bold finally getting scrapped from the latest March SABC3 schedule come two years after SABC3 lost Days of Our Lives in September 2017 to rival e.tv.

M-Net (DStv 101) was asked if it's possibly looking into taking over The Bold and the Beautiful and tells TVwithThinus "we always buy the best of the best. In this case it depends whether the show will fit into our current channel strategies and propositions, schedules and budgets".

"SABC3, you took off The Bold and the Beautiful and replaced it with this political garbage? Disgusting!" said Joyce Dembo.

"Wow, The Bold and the Beautiful really not broadcasting on SABC3 anymore. End of an era," said Caeden Govender.

"Hi SABC3. Please call my mother and tell her what y'all did with The Bold and the Beautiful because it's now my duty to look for it," said Kgabo Kganyago.

"Even an entertainment institution like The Bold and the Beautiful can be taken off the air so rapidly for a propaganda show, when just late last year there was a massive marketing drive to cement collaboration with local shows and establish viewership," said Harold Ferwood.

The Bold and the Beautiful is running on EVA (DStv 141) but with episodes that are two years behind SABC3.

@SABC3 u took off the Bold and the beautiful and replaced it with this political garbage? Disgusting!

— Joy Robyn Dembo (@JoyRecruitRite) March 4, 2019

Wow, Bold and the Beautiful really not broadcasting on SABC 3 anymore... End of an era :/

— UnclePhil💤 (@CaedenGovender) March 4, 2019

@SABC3 Hi... Please call my mother and tell her what y'all did with 'bold and the beautiful' because it's now my duty to look for it 😩😥

— kgabo kganyago (@supreme_core) March 4, 2019

Yip, even an entertainment institution like the Bold and the Beautiful can b3 taken off the air so rapidly for a propaganda show, when just late last year there was a massive marketing drive to cement collaboration with local shows and established viewership.

Interesting times.. https://t.co/QzwiFSI5p2

— Harold Ferwood (@Harold_Ferwood) March 5, 2019

SABC finally confirms it has dumped The Bold and the Beautiful after 21 years; troubled SABC3's schedule padded with repeats and rebroadcasts from March 2019.

The SABC on Saturday afternoon confirmed what the upcoming SABC3 schedule has showed for a month and said it's cancelling and removing the American weekday soap The Bold and the Beautiful after 21 years from Monday and stocking the troubled channel's schedule with repeats and rebroadcasts of old programming.

After doing a big countrywide publicity blitz with The Bold and the Beautiful star Katherine Kelly Lang in in September 2018 who got prime placement on a flurry of SABC TV talk and magazine shows as well as SABC radio stations, the SABC said Saturday that The Bold and the Beautiful which has been shown on SABC1 and later SABC3 since 1997 has been canned because "of the property's poor return on investment whilst the financial investment to acquire the property kept increasing".

The Bold and the Beautiful, produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions Inc., is the last remaining American soap opera left on the SABC's channels and has remained a very strong performer on SABC1, as well as with its move to SABC3.

Bold finally getting scrapped from the latest March SABC3 schedule come two years after SABC3 lost Days of Our Lives in September 2017 to rival e.tv.

Exactly as previously reported by TVwithThinus, The Bold and the Beautiful in its 17:30 timeslot is being replaced by a show called Democracy Gauge from Monday 4 March in the timeslot.

SABC3 is also stocking up on rebroadcasts and repeats to pad the channel's schedule, including Taryn and Sharon at 18:00 on weekdays that was first shown in October 2017, a rebroadcast of the SABC2 telenovela Keeping Score on weekdays at 18:30; and yet another repeat of these two shows in the mornings at 09:30 and 10:00.

Neo Momodu, SABC spokesperson, said in the Saturday statement that "in response to the current financial challenges facing the SABC, SABC is implementing a programming strategy which seeks to ensure that it provides compelling and entertaining programming that resonates with audiences".

"The SABC would like to thank all the viewers who have shown unwavering support to the show since its debut. SABC3 would like to assure the public that with the channel's evolution, viewer and stakeholder needs remain important".

The SABC didn't respond to the media's stakeholder enquiries the past week and was asked multiple times when the decision was taken to remove The Bold and the Beautiful from the SABC3 schedule, why SABC is showing rebroadcasts of old content during prime time and whether old content won't lead to lower viewership, as well as what the new direction is that SABC3 is taking.

Despite multiple disastrous timeslot changes in successive do-over relaunches and schedule changes on SABC3, The Bold and the Beautiful has remained a strong performer for the channel over the past three years, despite being moved from SABC1 where it was also a big hit.

Although The Bold and the Beautiful did suffer a knock because of all of the ill-advised moves, it remained one of SABC3's most-watched shows, luring 635 000 viewers in December 2018 as the second most watched TV show on all of SABC3, and 484 067 viewers in January 2019, just below local magazine show Top Billing.

David Gregg, vice president of international publicity for The Bold and the Beautiful at Bell-Phillip Television Productions Inc. in Los Angeles was asked multiple times the past few weeks, including this week for comment about the SABC dumping the show but didn't respond to media enquiries.

Meanwhile concern is also growing around stalwart SABC3 titles like Survivor and The Amazing Race.

The SABC was asked what the situation is regarding these legacy American programming and some of the last remaining rating-grabbers on SABC and whether any of these programmes will continue to be shown on SABC3 after March 2019.

The SABC didn't respond with any written answers.

The Bold and the Beautiful is running on EVA (DStv 141) but with episodes that are two years behind SABC3.

No clear answers from the SABC on what's happening with SABC3 from March and shows like The Bold and the Beautiful.

There are still no clear answers from the SABC for South Africa's TV and film industry as to what's happening and planned for the South African public broadcaster's troubled and ratings-challenged SABC3 channel and longtime shows like the America soap The Bold and the Beautiful facing the axe.

SABC3 is not releasing a March schedule 8 days before the month of March starts.

The SABC has also been asked repeatedly when the SABC will be releasing a March schedule, and has been asked what is happening to The Bold and the Beautiful and other programming on the channel from March.

In response Neo Momodu, SABC spokesperson on Tuesday told TVwithThinus in a statement only that the SABC's television division "has been tasked with ensuring that all content investments yield positive returns on 3 pillars, namely; license conditions, public mandate and commercial return".

"It is on this basis that all our programmes are being subjected to this assessment readiness of the new fiscal".

South Africa's TV industry is in the dark and being kept in the dark about the future and the programming line-up on SABC3 and doesn't know what the public broadcaster's plan is with the channel.

Earlier this month TVwithThinus reported that it looks very like that The Bold and the Beautiful is getting dumped from SABC3.

The Bold and the Beautiful, produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions Inc., is the last remaining American soap opera left on the SABC's channels and has remained a very strong performer on SABC1, as well as with its move to SABC3.

If Bold is finally getting scrapped from the latest March SABC3 schedule it will come two years after SABC3 lost Days of Our Lives in September 2017 to rival e.tv.

As previously reported by TVwithThinus and still unchanged, the preliminary SABC3 March schedule shows The Bold and the Beautiful in its 17:30 timeslot ending on Friday, 1 March and a show called Democracy Gauge taking its place from Monday 3 March in the timeslot.

SABC3 is stocking up on rebroadcasts and repeats to pad the channel's schedule, including Taryn and Sharon at 18:00 on weekdays, a rebroadcast of the SABC2 telenovela Keeping Score on weekdays at 18:30; and yet another repeat of these two shows in the mornings at 09:30 and 10:00 from March.

Cash-strapped SABC appears to dumps The Bold and the Beautiful from SABC3's March schedule for Scores of repeats.

The cash-strapped SABC appears to plan dumping the long-running American soap The Bold and the Beautiful from March from the schedule of SABC3 - the South African public broadcaster's most troubled TV channel - filling it with a repeat of the old local Keeping Score telenovela that was on SABC2, while the future of other legacy international shows are also hanging in the balance.

While promising that the American drama series NCIS would start in January on SABC3 as it moved over from SABC2, and SABC3 started running on-air promos - embarrassingly - a new season of the show never materialised.

That followed the pattern of the erratic playout of often-botched, often announced and then delayed seasons of Survivor and The Amazing Race that are all apparently under threat because of the SABC and SABC3 that has seemingly run out of money to buy and hold on to the last remaining international content it had.

Neo Momodu, SABC spokesperson, so far hasn't responded with answers to questions in media enquiries made this week regarding the future of The Bold and the Beautiful on SABC3 after March.

Bold getting scrapped from the latest March SABC3 schedule comes two years after SABC3 lost Days of Our Lives in September 2017 to rival e.tv.

The Bold and the Beautiful, produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions Inc., is the last remaining American soap opera left on the SABC's channels and has remained a very strong performer on SABC1, as well as with its move to SABC3.

It's not clear whether The Bold and the Beautiful is taking a temporary schedule break due to the SABC's inability to pay for it, or whether Bold is gone from SABC3 permanently. The SABC was asked but hasn't responded with any answers to multiple media enquiries about the future of the show at the SABC.

Despite multiple disastrous timeslot changes in successive do-over relaunches and schedule changes on SABC3, The Bold and the Beautiful has remained a strong performer for the channel over the past three years.

Although it did suffer a knock because of all of the ill-advised moves, it is still one of SABC3's most-watched shows, luring 635 000 viewers in December 2018 as the second most watched TV show on all of SABC3.

The SABC still hyped up local fanfare and gave massive attention and time on both the public broadcaster's radio stations and multiple SABC3 TV shows in September 2018 around the South African visit of The Bold and the Beautiful star Katherine Kelly Lang but now the show is bizarrely gone from the end of this month.

While the SABC would do fawning nationwide campaigns when stars of The Bold and the Beautiful visited South Africa the past two years, the same broadcaster also over the past few years made multiple disparaging public comments about the show in parliament, with previous SABC CEO's infamously calling The Bold and the Beautiful old and "outdated", also saying that the SABC is locked into a so-called "evergreen" contract with Bold that it can't get rid of, and that The Bold and the Beautiful should be taken off of SABC3.

Besides the local weekday talk show Real Talk that has also been cancelled, the SABC appears to weirdly be padding and filling up the March schedule of SABC3 with repeats dusted off from the SABC archives.

Currently, from Monday 4 March, SABC3 plans to repeat SABC2's old local telenovela Keeping Score in the 18:30 timeslot where Bold used to be, preceded by a repeat of another old local comedy series, Taryn & Sharon at 18:00.

Keeping Score will also take over The Bold and the Beautiful's repeat timeslot from Tuesday 5 March at 10:00 on SABC3.

The SABC further plans to replace Real Talk from Monday 4 March at 17:30 with a show titled Democracy Gauge, a probable filler as a politics talk show in the run-up to the national elections that will take place in May.

Meanwhile there's no indication of when NCIS, that the SABC moved from SABC2 to SABC3 with a false start, will actually - if ever - start.

Concern is also growing around stalwart SABC3 titles like Survivor and The Amazing Race.

The SABC was asked what the situation is regarding these legacy American programming and some of the last remaining rating-grabbers on SABC and whether any of these programmes will continue to be shown on SABC3 after March 2019.

The SABC didn't respond with any written answers.

The Bold and the Beautiful is running on EVA (DStv 141) but with episodes that are two years behind SABC3.

Long-running American TV soap, The Bold and the Beautiful, seen on SABC3 celebrates its 8 000th episode with event 'sending shockwaves though the lives of the Forresters'.

JPI Studios Inc.

The long-running American TV soap, The Bold and the Beautiful, seen in South Africa on SABC3 on Friday celebrated the broadcast of its 8 000th episode on television with Bradley P. Bell, the executive producer and head writer who promised in a press release "a story arc around an event so profound, it sends shockwaves throughout the lives of the Forresters, Spencers, Avants, Spectras and Logans for years to come".

The Bold and the Beautiful that had its first episode on American television on 23 March 1987, created by Bradley P. Bell's parents, William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell, still has two of the old original cast members - John McCook playing patriarch and Forrester Creations co-founder Eric Forrester, and of course Katherine Kelly Lang, who portrays Brooke Logan Forrester and who visited South Africa in September 2018 in a terribly botched SABC publicity blitz.

"It's astonishing to look at the script we're working on today and see episode 8 000. We're grateful that you've allowed us into your homes for over 30 years," says Bradley P. Bell.

Produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions, Inc., The Bold and the Beautiful remains the most-watched daytime TV soap in the world.

The Bold and the Beautiful, currently in its 32 season, released the following statistics about the soap on the milestone of its 8 000 episode:

35 million Approximate number of viewers who watch every day in over 100 countries.
4 000 Number of hours of television produced by ‘The Bold and the Beautiful.”
360 000 Number of pages of dialogue memorized by cast members.
19 Number of babies born on-screen.
90 Number of weddings that have taken place.
2 Number of actors who have been on the show since the first episode. John McCook and Katherine Kelly Lang are original cast members!
3 Number of actresses whose real-life babies/children portray their fictional children. Those actresses are Katherine Kelly Lang, Lauren Koslow and Heather Tom.

SABC denies that it's paying for 'Brooke Logan's' flowers, spa treatments or anything else around Katherine Kelly Lang's South African visit while multiple local producers are still owed millions by the broadcaster.

Did Katherine Kelly Lang buy flowers for herself to be handed to her at her airport arrival? The SABC is denying that it's paying for "Brooke Logan's" flowers or anything else around The Bold and the Beautiful actress' South African visit, saying the public broadcaster "did not incur any costs".

It comes amidst the basically bankrupt South African public broadcaster still owing a litany of local production companies millions of rands owed for content, with shows like Uzalo on SABC1 that has completely shut down production with cast and crew that downed tools due to non-payment by the SABC.

The SABC, a R7 billion corporation, has only R26 million left in the back and owes 27 times more - R694 million - to producers and other service providers who haven't been paid as the broadcaster awaits a another possible government bailout.

SABC viewers, the public, actors and producers are now wondering where the SABC gets the money from to participate in the nationwide marketing blitz of the iconic The Bold and the Beautiful actress visiting South Africa this week and next week with the American weekday soap that is broadcast on SABC3.

While SABC TV head publicist Zandile Nkonyeni welcomed Katherine Kelly Lang at the airport with flowers and joined her for spa treatments, Katherine's team or someone else is apparently paying for the flowers and everything else, not the SABC, according to the broadcaster.

Katherine is making several public appearances together with the SABC and banner-headlined by SABC3 in cities around South Africa.

After a game reserve safari and spa treatments this week, Katherine Kelly Lang will appear on SABC3's Real Talk with Azania on Tuesday, film scenes for SABC3's local soap, Isidingo, and do a profile interview insert on Top Billing following a flurry of brunches, radio interviews and viewer meet-and-greets.

Vuyo Ngcukana, an actor in The Queen on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) crystalised the thoughts of many onlookers this week, wondering "who is picking up Brooke Logan's bill for being here, I see she's getting royal treatment with spas and flowers but Uzalo actors are fighting for money they've worked for that hasn't been paid, so who brought and paid for Brooke?"

The SABC says it's not paying a cent for Katherine Kelly Lang's visit.

Quick question, who is picking up Brooke Logan’s bill for being here, I see she’s getting the royal treatment with spas and flowers but Uzalo actors are fighting for money they’ve worked for that hasn’t been paid, so who brought and paid for Brooke?

— Vuyolwethu Ngcukana (@vuyomse) August 28, 2018

Neo Momodu, SABC spokesperson tells TVwithThinus in response to a media enquiry that "the SABC did not pay for, nor sponsor Katherine Kelly Lang’s visit to South Africa."

"The Bold and Beautiful and Katherine paid for the visit as part of long standing plans for Katherine to compete in the 2018 Ironman World Championship taking place in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 1 September. SABC3 piggy-backed on this visit and therefore did not incur any costs."

SABC3 channel head Aisha Mohamed quits as the SABC explains the channel's latest course correction after years of 'schizophrenia', asks producers to return, says that SABC3 is now targeting 'progressive aspirant millennials'.

SABC3 is once again rudderless after Aisha Mohamed quit as SABC3 channel head, with the SABC admitting that the multiple programming shake-ups on the public broadcaster's only commercial TV channel the past few years had failed and explaining the struggling channel's latest course correction to try and regain audiences.

"Aisha Mohamed has left us and very soon we will announce a replacement," said the SABC.

The "quality shows" SABC3 - once sought out by viewers as the free-to-air "freemium" competitor to M-Net - will now once again be charting yet another new programmatic and scheduling course to try and restore its erstwhile luster.

The well-respected and well-liked Aisha Mohamed joined SABC3 as the channel boss in March 2014 from 5FM where she was station manager. She inherited a channel mired in a financial, management and identity crisis four years ago that she tried her best to rebuild.

Unfortunately the SABC's former chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng made it all but impossible, with unilateral decrees over banishing international content and demands for more cheaply-produced local content.

It led to a flurry of widely panned and low-budget content on the once-prestige channel symbolised by programming like Divas of Jozi, haphazardly introduced and badly unplanned, as part of the notorious "80/20" rule that was introduced from July 2016 on SABC3 and that saw even more viewers flee.

Internal SABC havoc saw SABC3 lose Days of Our Lives to e.tv, ratings plunge for The Bold and the Beautiful after multiple timeslot moves and viewership tumble for the SABC's flagship news broadcast, the English news bulletin, that was once the most watched in the country.

SABC3 also shocked the local TV production industry and damaged relationships with brutal and abrupt moves like cancelling multiple-award winning series like High Rollers mid-second season despite a signed contract and without explaining why. It made producers reluctant to work with SABC3.

The past few years saw SABC3 lose signature shows like Strictly Come Dancing SA and Ultimate Braaimaster to rivals like M-Net and e.tv and would announce programme acquisitions like Come Dine with Me SA and Expedition Impossible only to embarrassingly backtrack and see those shows start on BBC Brit (Dstv 120) and M-Net (DStv 101)instead. 

During Aisha Mohamed's tenure she oversaw two SABC3 channel rebrands, steered and implemented multiple programming line-up changes to try and revive SABC3's lackluster ratings, and had to weather multiple scandals - the last one being the controversy in January with Real Talk that eventually saw the departure of talk show host Anele Mdoda when it was revealed that the SABC engaged in pay-for-play after a government department paid for a minister to do a 2-episode interview on the channel.

While SABC3 is supposed to be the money-spinner to cross-fund the SABC's public mandate channels SABC1 and SABC2, the opposite has been happening the past few years with the public channels keeping SABC3 afloat. It led to speculation, that the SABC denied, that SABC3 should be spin-off and sold so the public broadcaster can concentrate its available resources on SABC and SABC2. 

According to sources who spoke to TVwithThinus, Aisha Mohamed has left for Sony Music. Her last day was last week Thursday. 

David Makubyane, general manager for TV channels looking after the SABC's three channels, will be acting SABC3 channel head for the time being until a replacement can be found.

'The problem with SABC3'

"In the past few years we've had challenges with the channel really changing too many times," said David Makubyane.

"There was this 80/20-rule where there was an introduction of local content for the channel. Once again the schedule had to change. At the time Aisha Mohamed was the head of SABC3. The issue with SABC3 a lot of the times has been the schizophrenia around the channel - people are saying what does it stand for?" said David Makubyane.

"Even if SABC3 stands for a certain position, when you switch on, you find that the content doesn't quite reflect what you're talking about. And one of the things that we want to do is to change that perception - and we want to do that with content that actually says that."

"So we don't want to say verbally, we want SABC3 to speak for itself. When I joined the SABC at the beginning of this year, I went through the whole content with the team, looking at what does it mean when we talk about 'The stage is yours' [SABC3's current slogan], looking at the content on this channel."

"What do we do to actually make sure that the content actually speaks to what the proposition of this channel is? And I found actually, that when we went through the research, and looked at the target audience that SABC3 wants to speak to, that target audience is there."

"The problem with SABC3 is that for many years I think that SABC3 had a hole because the industry wasn't that big. Ten years ago we had SABC1, SABC2, we had e.tv and DStv and now the likes of Mzansi Magic, we've got Netflix, we've got over-the-to (OTT) platforms. The competition at the time was not that big," said David Makubyane.

"So SABC3 could afford to have international programmes, first-run programmes and have an audience that doesn't have pay-TV but will be able to access it."

"But as time went on, around 2010, there was the unbundling of bouquets from MultiChoice, Randburg's acquisition of local sports, so that's when SABC3 I think started to almost lose identity. A lot of audiences that SABC3 was targeting could now afford pay-TV and in this day and age we now have people even moving from pay-TV and getting into the likes of the Showmax and Netflix and so on."

SABC3 now for 'progressive aspirant' millennials

"So currently what we're saying with SABC3, based on the research, is that there is an audience. There's an audience that we are not catering for on SABC1 that's a youth channel. There's an audience we cater for on SABC2 that's the family. But then on SABC3 there are these new millennials - there are these South Africans that are trying to also get content, quality content, that's original."

"They also don't want to watch a programme for the same of 'bubblegum-dance' and so on. They want to engage with the content and they also don't necessarily want to spend too much money. There is an audience as well that is aspirational, that's progressive."

"That's why we say SABC3 is now for the progressive aspirant - that's the target audience. And it's not necessarily based on race. It's not necessarily gender or colour."

"We need to grow with our audiences, move to a stage where we no longer just talk about black or white. We've got this millennial, but not an international millennial. So we go into the psychographics of what does this individual want."

"They want to grow, they're concerned about themselves, they're concerned about their family. They're quintessentially South African, they're proud to be South African but they're very globally inclined. They're globally in touch."

"So what drives them is new technology, lifestyle. They aspire to travel. So it's all of these things that will inform the content that you will see on SABC3 as we move forward, and we would like to talk to that audience."

"The SABC3 audience epicentre is around 30," said David Makubyane. "We're talking to the person who believe that they can achieve whatever."

SABC3 to production companies: Come back to us

"We want to reset the agenda on this channel and move South Africa to the next stage and move away from the typical box and ghetto-ising of audiences. When we say 'the stage is yours' we're saying to production companies, we're saying to those who have licensed products - we're saying to everyone who's got content - we're saying this is also your stage," said David Makubyane.

"Over and above it being a public broadcaster, we really need to make it your stage. So we're going to look at ways of and models of getting content on SABC3 that are not standard. So the pre-sale models, sponsorships - we want to sell out blocks to commercial entities."

"We want to be able to say when we say 'the stage is yours' it needs to be real. You can literally come on SABC3 and own a piece of the channel and feel reflected but within that aspirational, progressive, lifestyle type."

More international content on SABC3 again

'With the financial situation we are in, we need to balance our SABC3 schedule - and that's just the reality - especially SABC3," said David Makubyane.

"So we will be pushing international content slightly up but that's not forever, that's just to make sure that we build back our audiences. As time goes on we really want quality content that is the line to the international content."

"We need to be able to have the budget that will speak to that type of [quality local content]."

"Moving forward we're also going to try and retain the timeslots, just so we can grow habitual viewing on SABC3."

"So we don't want to change the schedule for at least the next two years. Yes, we want to introduce new programmes, but we want to make sure that our 19:30 slot remains stripped for reality, 20:30 is magazine. We've got our 21:30 Thursday night, Friday night - those are the dramas."

"Top Billing is still on. Survivor [Cambodia] is coming back. We've also got a new Top Gear. So there's great content that's coming on SABC3. We really want to make sure that we deliver to this proposition and this is just the beginning."

"By the end of next year - when Aisha left I said to her - it's such a pity because I believe that 12 months from now, SABC3 will be complete and all the slots should be speaking to this type of audience and should be speaking to a South African."

"We want someone to say 'I can tune to SABC3 and get the latest local and international content at the quality that you can get on any other platform in South Africa," said David Makubyane.