eMedia's Openview adds The Home Channel+ from Arena Holdings as a spinoff home programming TV channel.

by Thinus Ferreira

eMedia Investment's Openview s has added The Home Channel+ from Arena Holdings to its satellite TV service on channel 113.

After it initially ran as a weekend programming block on Summit TV from May 2005, The Home Channel launched in October 2007 on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service with an growing slate of design, décor, food and home-related programming and has been available only on that platform for the past 14 years.

The Home Channel+, packaged as a spinoff channel, will now be on Openview with a lot of the same content that is and has been seen on DStv.

The Home Channel+ branded spinoff channel will show the usual favourites, as well as additional content that will be new to Openview viewers, ranging from local shows like Design for You, The Gardener, SA’s Finest Homes and the Property Game with Proverb, to international series including Grand Designs, Escape to the Country, Property Brothers: Forever Home and Jamie Oliver’s 15 Minute Meals.

"The launch of The Home Channel+ is another step in our relationship with eMedia," says Mzi Malunga, Arena Holdings CEO.

"Our content business Ochre Media makes e.tv's top-rated series Scandal! while our film distribution division Empire supplies titles to the various eMedia movie channels and their eVOD platform."

"We see free-to-air broadcast as a growing business and look forward to exploring additional opportunities together in the future."

Vernon Matzopoulos, Arena's head of broadcast, says: "“We are delighted to bring South Africa's leading lifestyle TV brand to the Openview audience. With nearly 3-million households this significantly increases our reach. We look forward to inspiring a whole new audience to create their dream home space."

May highlights on The Home Channel + include:

All About Property

Covering the local South African property market, various real estate professionals and stakeholders shed valuable insight into all forms of property dealings – from buying and selling, renting and maintenance, to finance, legalities, disputes, technology, and so much more.

Grand Designs UK

Following intrepid home-builders as they pursue their architectural dreams. Designer and writer, Kevin McCloud is on hand to witness the trials and tribulations of those willing to put everything on the line to build homes they hope will transform their lives.

Ten Minute Kitchen

It's dinner time and there are hungry mouths to feed, but you're out of ideas and you only have 10-minutes to conjure up an amazing meal. The impossible is now possible with Ten Minute Kitchen - a celebration of creative, easy, family-friendly meals that anyone can cook at home.

The Gardener

If you're looking for inspirational gardens, practical DIYs and solutions for your garden problems, then join Tanya Visser for a brand-new season of The Gardener. Whether you’re into annuals, looking to maintain the perfect lawn, want to show off with spectacular orchids or garden on a small scale, The Gardener has you covered.

The Home Channel adds The Property Game with Koketso Sylvia Milosevic as a new local weekly series looking at South Africa's property investment market.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Home Channel (DStv 176) has added The Property Game as a new, local weekly series with Koketso Sylvia Milosevic as a co-host on Mondays at 20:30.

The Property Game looks at the world of South African property investment with novice real estate investors who have been successful at getting onto the property ladder who share their stories and show viewers how they did it.

The Property Game features "regular people with regular careers who wanted a piece of the property market for their own, and have achieved that ambition" and who discuss how they went about learning the ropes and equipping themselves, and their trials and tribulations along the way.

Koketso Sylvia Milosevic who was added as a co-host on season 4 of All About Property on The Home Channel, sheds more light on their ventures as a multi-million-rand property investment entrepreneur, mentor and guru.

She shares her insights and helps viewers from an expert point of view, the various property investment strategies with The Property Game that has information for everyone from those who want to get a foot into the property ladder, to those who might want to diversify their existing property portfolio.

The Lebashe Investment Group buys Tiso Blackstar including TV channels like the Home Channel, Ignition and Business Day TV for R1.05 billion.

The Lebashe Investment Group has acquired the media, broadcasting and content group, Tiso Blackstar Holdings for R1.05 billion.

The sale includes its stable of TV channels under its Blackstar TV division like The Home Channel (DStv 176), Ignition (DStv 189) and Business Day TV (DStv 412) that are available on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, as well as its TV production division, Ochre, making TV content for various channels.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals but should become commercially effective by 30 November 2019.

Besides its TV channel assets, Tiso Blackstar with a presence in South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya owns newspapers like The Sunday Times, Business Day and Financial Mail.

Tshepo Mahloele, Lebashe Investment chairperson, says in a statement "We believe that Lebashe provides a compelling growth opportunity for the media, broadcasting and content businesses in the Tiso Blackstar stable".

"Our combination of specialist Pan-African expertise, technological and financial acumen, make us the ideal partner to take this business to the next level."

"As long-term investors, we are quite excited about this transaction which complements our current portfolio and growth trajectory. We anticipate that our newly acquired media assets will play a critical role in our ambition to create a significant investment company on the continent."

"Whilst the media industry, in general, is undergoing disruption, we believe that the assets we are acquiring are generating sustainable revenues to withstand the change in the medium term."

"Moreover, we are acquiring leading brands supported by a good team. It is our plan to support the editorial team with an advisory council made up of eminent local and international persons. Our long-term approach to investing will also enable us to focus on the growth of quality journalism which should add to the positive experience of our customers and the country in general," said Tshepo Mahloele.

"We look forward to working with the management team to take the business to the next level in this highly competitive media landscape. We are cognisant of the fact that we are acquiring mature, but quality media assets with a rich heritage built on the back of quality journalism supported by discerning and loyal readers."

"We plan to maintain and enhance the distinctive value proposition offered by these various platforms to the readers and advertisers, as we explore new growth areas for the business including creating a Pan-African wide media platform using technology as an enabler."

 Andrew Bonamour, Tiso Blackstar CEO, says "This is a perfect opportunity for a new owner to take it to greater heights".

Discovery and MultiChoice to add the American home and garden TV channel, HGTV, to DStv from 15 July.

Discovery and MultiChoice will add the HGTV channel to its DStv satellite pay-TV service from mid-July, bringing DStv subscribers a new TV channel with fresh content about home improvement, do-it-yourself house renovations, design, real estate and gardening.

TVwithThinus can reveal that HGTV will launch on 15 July on DStv and will be available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus and DStv Compact subscribers in South Africa.

It's not yet known whether HGTV, that originally stood for "Home and Garden Television" when it started in 1994, will launch as a high-definition (HD) channel on DStv in South Africa.

HGTV ended 2018 as the 4th most watched pay-TV channel in the United States where it is the leading home and lifestyle channel and often gets cited by pay-TV subscribers as one of the "must-keep channels" and one of the reasons why viewers pay for subscription television.

In November 2017 MultiChoice did a 3-week marketing research tryout of HGTV on DStv, when the channel was run as a prime time content block on the Travel Channel during weekdays and over weekends. It led to a hugely favourable response from DStv subscribers.

Besides America, HGTV is already available in Canada, the Caribbean, Asia and Australia and will also launch in Germany in June, marking the channel's first European rollout since Discovery completed its takeover of Scripps Networks Interactive in 2018.

Former Scripps sister channels - now all belonging to Discovery like the Travel Channel (DStv 179 / Cell C black 255), the Food Network (DStv 175) and Fine Living (Cell C black 251 / StarSat 281) - are already available in South Africa and throughout the continent on various pay-TV services.

Yet the addition of HGTV makes it Discovery Inc.'s first channel brand from what was Scripps, to be launched in South Africa and Africa as Discovery realigns and scales its expanded collection of lifestyle channels in the territory.

HGTV's content covers 6 basic pillars, ranging from buying and selling property, home renovation, investing in improving property to sell it for a profit (flipping), home improvement and dream homes.

HGTV will launch in mid-July on DStv with a wide slate of home interest programming, with many of the shows on the schedule during South African prime time that have never been seen here on television before or are first-to-market episodes.

The home improvement and aspirational property programming on HGTV will aim to help DStv subscribers with inspiration, instruction about renovations and the selling and buying of homes, as well as providing entertainment, fresh ideas, the latest trends, and access to celebrity homes and sought-after real estate listings across the globe.

"HGTV shows were placed on the Travel Channel in late-2017 and the content flew. HGTV is now going to launch on 15 July on DStv and we're very, very excited about the content on the channel," says Henry Windridge, the head of brand at Discovery Inc. for the Africa and Middle East region.

"It's very much focused on the genres that we know work very well in the United States. Renovation shows, for instance, are such a core part of HGTV; it's so important. It's not about decorating."

HGTV's programming slate
HGTV's programming launch line-up on DStv during prime time between 20:00 and 22:00 will be stratified according to days of the week that will each have a soft theme.

Viewers will be able to see property buying and selling shows on Mondays, renovation shows on Tuesdays, property seeking shows on Wednesdays, property flipping shows on Thursdays, renovation and flipping shows on Fridays, "tiny" home shows on Saturdays, and ending with aspirational and dream home shows on Sundays.

On Mondays DStv subscribers will be able to watch shows like My Lottery Dream Home and Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation; Good Bones and Home Town on Tuesdays; House Hunters USA and House Hunters Renovations on Wednesdays; and Flip or Flop Nashville and Boise Boys on Thursdays.

Flip or Flop Atlanta and Lakefront Bargain Hunt Renovation will be shown on Fridays; Tiny House, Big Living and Tiny Paradise on Saturdays; and with Sundays belonging to Beachfront Bargain Hunt and Mediterranean Life.

House Hunters International will remain on the Travel Channel.


Competition for The Home Channel
The addition of HGTV from mid-July to DStv will be direct competition - its first - for the 11-year old The Home Channel that launched on MultiChoice's platform as a stand-alone channel in October 2007.

The Home Channel (DStv 176) from the Tiso Blackstar Group, has ironically been acquiring and showing a broad slate of programming from what was Scripps and produced by its HGTV channel for years, like the popular Property Brothers fronted by the twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott.

None of these HGTV shows are available or will be sold to The Home Channel anymore, with existing international licensing broadcasting rights that won't be renewed once they run out.

It means that The Home Channel will have to find new content elsewhere in the months ahead - either through searching and secure new international content for its schedule to replace the gaps, or by ramping up its quota of locally produced shows in South Africa.

TVwithThinus asked Discovery about the change of keeping original HGTV programming back for HGTV, since the channel will now have its own presence and space in the South African TV market.

"Scripps had a very different idea, they were really into content sales, whereas with Discovery our view is that it's our content, it's on our channels and we're quite jealous about it. So all of those deals will have to cease; none of them will be renewed," said Amanda Turnbull, the vice president and general manager for Discovery Inc. in Africa and the Middle East.

"We have and will honour existing deals but as soon as those are finished the content will come to our channels because what we do is build channel brands and for us it's really important."

His former female make-up artist says Carter Oosterhouse forced her to give him multiple blowjobs during episode shoots, ejaculated on her face; feared losing her job.

His former make-up artist Kailey Kaminsky says the home renovating TV presenter Carter Oosterhouse forced her to give him multiple blowjobs and would ejaculate on her face, while Carter Oosterhouse insists it was "an intimate relationship" that was "100 percent mutual".

The lesbian Kailey Kaminsky has come forward claiming that she gave in to Carter Oosterhouse's demands for oral sex because she, 34 at the time, feared losing her job, while Carter Oosterhouse in a statement claims that it was never "indicated to me in any way that Kailey was uncomfortable".

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the story, with Carter Oosterhouse saying "the reality is that I knew it was consensual because she initiated it the first time and many of the 15 or so times we had oral sex thereafter".

Carter Oosterhouse is the star of shows like Carter Can on The Home Channel (DStv 176) and a judge on The Great Christmas Light Fight on M-Net (DStv 101).

Kailey Kaminsky is according to Carter Oosterhouse the only person working on the same show as him where he is the star, that he had sex with.

According to Kailey, Carter Oosterhouse persistently harassed her, saying "You know what would be a good idea? If you went down on me". " I made it clear that I did not think it would be fun," she says, noting that Carter Oosterhouse was "determined to get a blow job".

He allegedly kept pestering her until she gave in, fearing that she might get fired. After the first time, Kailey gave Carter Oosterhouse oral sex several more times, typically in the middle of episode shoots.

"When he would assault me, he insisted on finishing on my face - every time - knowing that I had to go back out and work. I asked him about that. He said, 'It's just what I wanted to do".

Kailey Kaminsky told two female producers working on Carter Can during the production about what was happening and one producer confirmed that Kailey had spoken with her.

Kailey eventually lost her job on Carter Can and is no longer a professional make-up artist.

In a statement Carter Oosterhouse says "I had an intimate relationship with Kailey 9 years ago and it was 100% mutual and consensual. In no way did I ever feel, nor was it ever indicated to me, that Kailey was uncomfortable during our intimate relationship."

"I would have never done anything that I was not sure was mutually agreeable."

"The reality is that I knew it was consensual because she initiated it the first time and many of the 15 or so times we had relations thereafter."

Tiso Blackstar Group takes full ownership of the Times Media Group; acquires 22.9% stake in Kagiso Tiso Holdings.

Tiso Blackstar Group SE, renamed from Blackstar Group SE from today, has taken over the Times Media Group (TMG) with full ownership of the South African media, publication and TV company.

The full ownership now gives Tiso Blackstar, listen on London's AIM and Johannesburg's Altx market full control over the Times Media Group which includes newspapers like The Sunday Times of South Africa, Sowetan, The Times, Financial Mail and Business Day and some radio stations.

The Times Media Group's (previously Avusa) TV assets include TV channels like Business Day TV (DStv 412) and The Home Channel (DStv 176) on MultiChoice's DStv, production company Ochre Media, various TV stations elsewhere in Africa like Ghana and Kenya, as well  as the video-on-demand (VOD) service VIDI which launched in late 2014.

Tiso Blackstar also acquired a 22.9% equity stake in Kagiso Tiso Holdings (KTH), one of South Africa's large black-controlled investment companies.

KTH holds Kagiso Media, which has several radio stations and the Glow TV channel (DStv 167 / OVHD 108) available on DStv and Platco Digital's OpenView HD.

Andrew Bonamour is the CEO of Tiso Blackstar Group.

"Tiso Blackstar brings together many of sub-Saharan Africa's most exciting media businesses into one group," says Andrew Bonamour.

"The digital and mobile opportunities in these markets are only just beginning, and we have the talented people, relationships and experience to make the most of them.

e.tv picks up Life with La Toya for eKasi+ on OpenView HD; Home Channel on DStv grabs Secrets of a Restaurant Chef.

e.tv has picked up the second season of 23 episodes of the reality series Life with La Toya with La Toya Jackson for the eKasi+ channel on Platco Digital's OpenView HD (OVHD) from Passion Distribution.

Meanwhile, also from Passion Distribution, The Home Channel on MultiChoice's DStv secured the broadcasting rights to 119 episodes of the half hour show Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, 20 episodes of the half hour series Fresh Food with Emeril Lagasse and 15 episodes of the half hour series Britain's Worst Driver.

A NEW DSTV BOUQUET. The Arrangement on The Home Channel a new reality show weeding out florist failures from fantastiques.

It's beautiful television, its inventive and it's amazing - The Arrangement is a brand-new reality show starting on The Home Channel (DStv 176) on Monday 22 April at 18:00.

Ten of the most innovative floral designers in America come together to compete and test their creativity and skill to see who is the best florist of them all.

While the overused reality coda is that of a group of contestants, contestants getting challenges, contestants eliminated one by one, The Arrangement actually brings new life to the stale format since the show brings real creativity, real beauty (flowers!) and real skill to a TV show.

Watch as floral designers create amazing creations as they race against time, with different flowers and petals and that green sponge things you stick Chrysanthemums and Strelitzias into.

Gigi Levangie Grazer and the celebrity floray arranger Eric Buterbaugh are the presenters and judges.

It's not just The Arrangement's name which is good. The bad contestants are eliminated in the "Weedout Challenge", every week the contestants square off in a "Seedling Challenge".

Watch the beauty, real creativity, originality and amazing skill when it comes to flower arranging and working with flowers in this wonderful new reality show on The Home Channel.

Summer Sizzle with Hilary Biller is the next brand-new show coming to The Home Channel from Monday 5 November for 13 episodes.

The Home Channel (DStv 176) keeps investing in producing local television content and the latest brand-new TV show is Summer Sizzle with Hilary Biller, set to start on The Home Channel on Monday 5 November at 14:00.

Summer Sizzle will run for 13 weeks. In this new foodie show, the food editor and author Hilary Biller will be showing viewers how to make delicious gourmet grills as Hilary Biller reinvents the South African weekend rituals of braais.

Summer Sizzle will have several weekly repeats (Wednesdays at 18:00, Thursday at 23:00, Friday at 10:00, Saturdays at 08:30 and 17:30 and Sundays at 12:30 and 09:30).

Hilary Biller will create wonderful dishes from succulent fillet to African lamb and Asian pork kebabs, and in her quest for the ultimate braai, viewers will be taken through all the steps from preparation to cooking and presentation. The show will advise on the best cuts for specific dishes and which rubs and marinades to use for maximum flavour.

BREAKING. The Home Channel snags the great Australian renovation reality show, homeMADE, starting on 29 December at 21:00.

You're reading it here first.

Renovation shows are a dime a dozen but this is a really great one - and after The Home Channel (DStv 182) issued their December schedule which I perused I can spill first that the awesome home MADE is coming to the channel, set to start on Thursday 29 December at 21:00.

home MADE is a great renovation reality show with David Heimann as presenter, pitting 10 designer from across Australia against each other in the biggest home renovation competition ever attempted in that country.

With echoes from Australia's The Block, which also had local seasons on M-Net, the two telegenic groups quickly starts to froth at the mouth as they have to completely make over two family homes in just five days, before they have to move on to the next challenge. Over the course of the 16 episodes the masks quickly come off and there's tears and lots of drama.

From property to winter gardens, crafts, cooking, and even glass, The Home Channel has several new local shows starting in June and July.

The Home Channel (DStv 182) is bringing 3 new local shows in June and July for viewers, including Talking Property with Kura Chihota, Sheer Design with Candace Woodward, and In the Kitchen with Sasha Zambetti.

ALSO READ: Doing quality local shows in tiny budgets, The Home Channel is a model of what niche South African television can be.
 

Talking Property with Kura Chihota starting on Tuesday, 14 June for 13 episodes on The Home Channel will be looking at property choices - from buying a first home to a holiday flat. He's assisted by rotating panel of experts from the financial, property and design sectors who tackle a variety of topics each week.

Sheer Design with Candace Woodward and Hugh Fraser starting on Monday, 13 June for 10 or 13 episodes on The Home Channel is a brand-new home makeover show. Candace Woodward revamps her home using glass and if you love what you see when it comes to windows, mirrors, screens and decorative art that makes use of this age-old material, you'll love this show.

In My Kitchen with Sasha Zambetti (pictured) (the editor of the food magazine Avocado) starting on Wednesday, 6 July for 13 episodes on The Home Channel invites some chefs into the kitchen to share some of their favourite recipes and tips for family meals. Together they combine their cooking expertise with practical know-how to make prepare great family meals.


A returning local show is the 9th season of The Gardener with Tanya Visser starting on The Home Channel for a winter season from 19 July for 8 episodes. In this season Tanya Visser will be visiting gardens around South Africa for practical ideas and tips to guide viewers to have more beautiful winter gardens.


Another returning local show on The Home Channel is Show Me How with Gloria Bastos thats back from Wednesday, 15 June for 13 episodes plus a special highlights episode. The craft maven is back with more fresh ideas and techniques for arts and crafts.

SHOWING THEM HOW. Doing quality local shows on tiny budgets, The Home Channel is a model of what niche South African TV can be.

Show Me How isn't just the title of a quality local TV show (decoupage! pewter! engraving and more, with South African craft expert Gloria Bastos) on The Home Channel (DStv 182).
It could very well be the model mantra for how consistent, local South African television production of a high standard (and done with little money) is possible even if you're a niche TV channel.

Show Me How returns to The Home Channel on Wednesday 6 July at 21:30 for a new season, along with several brand-new local and international shows during the first week of July. Two of these brand-new local productions on The Home Channel still need titles, but one will be on property and the other a brand-new cooking show with Sasha Zambetti, the editor of Avocado magazine.

With its continued perseverance and dedication to develop, commission and produce a few local television shows on a consistent basis, The Home Channel has unquestionably grown to become the best model example for all niche TV channels available to South African TV viewers  - not just of what is possible for local TV production done on a shoestring budget, but that it is indeed possible in the first place.
This Avusa TV channel (its run under the African Business Channel unit together with sister channels, the local business channel Summit and local car channel IgnitionTV) is quietly and with dogged determination winning fans, growing viewership and proving that even though its difficult, that local and quality TV shows that speak to a specific target audience can indeed be made if the resolute will is there.

The Home Channel started as a weekend programming block on Summit in 2005 and became its own fully-fledged TV channel two years later in October 2007. Now, five years later, The Home Channel reaches a unique weekly TV audience of around 750 000 people across Southern Africa with its really splendid programming mix of lifestyle, design, decor, DIY and property shows. Besides constantly stretching with infusing its schedule with local, well-produced shows, its clear that the channel is also keeping up with only the lastest shows and seasons of international (both American and British) TV fare.

Besides the new local shows starting in July, The Home Channel's schedule for the month brims with eclectic imports that's clearly well-chosen.




















 The Party Garden (Monday, 4 July, 18:00), Rachel's Favorite Food at Home (Thursday, 7 July, 18:00), Relocation, Relocation (Friday, 8 July, 20:00), Candice Tells All (Tuesday, 12 July, 19:00), Carter Can with Carter Oosterhouse (pictured) (Wednesday, 13 July, 19:00), Challenge Tommy Walsh (Thursday, 14 July, 19:30), Get Growing (Saturday, 16 July, 10:00), How Clean Is Your House (Wednesday, 20 July, 18:30), Alter Eco (Thursday 21 July, 21:00) and Property Ladder UK (Friday 22 July, 21:00) are just some of the new shows and shows with new seasons starting in July.

As a niche channel The Home Channel doesn't have a massive budget or big resources, yet it manages on several levels to do and get right where major satellite channels and broadcasters fail. It's local shows are few but well-chosen, well conceptualized and executed.

Viewers of The Home Channel also seemingly don't mind the repeats as much as the number of complaints to other similar channels. It's because the rebroadcast structure of The Home Channel is thoughtful and the repeat timeslots worked out and done clearly to serve the viewer. A part of the slowly-but-surely growing success of the channel can directly be ascribed to its steady and unwavering intention: to be great for what it is.
Besides what The Home Channel shows, its how it makes viewers feel when you watch it: there is a sense that there's attention to detail, attention to scheduling, attention to getting the best few international shows the budget affords - and of making the best chunk of local television it's able to.

Like the interior decorating advice espoused on it, The Home Channel cleverly followed and consistently keeps following its own rule and is through that blazing an exemplary trail for the South African television community: A small space can be a great space if you think carefully about it and really work hard at it with everything you've got.

KITCHEN NIGHTMARE? Is a big food battle brewing between The Food Network and The Home Channel adding a new food slot?

Is a food fight looming? The kitchen knives could be coming out in a food fight for viewers between the newly added Food Network (DStv 185) and The Home Channel (DStv 182) both on MultiChoice's DStv platform that will be targeting the same viewers: the food lovers' market.

I broke the news RIGHT HERE earlier the month that caterer extraordinaire Vicky Crease is getting her own food show on The Home Channel. The show is part of The Home Channel's bigger plan which has been working hard at dishing up a new menu: a dedicated home cooking slot. And The Home Channel is planning even more. That means that The Home Channel will be trying to reach viewers who are also interested in the newly launched Food Network that just got a place at the DStv table.

The Home Channel even acquired programming that was/is part of The Food Network stable in the form of chef Emeril Green and his self-named show Emeril Green that promises to be ''the ultimate guide to green cooking with a gourmet touch''. Besides Emeril Green The Home Channel is dishing up Fresh & Simple with Vicky Crease, and the New Zealand production The Free Range Cook with Annabel Langbein - a sumptuous show about wholesome food and which is shot at her lakeside home. Five Ingredient Fix is presented by Claire Robinson preparing dishes using only 5 ingredients.

''For our viewers, food is at the heart of the home,'' says Vernon Matzopoulos, The Home Channel's managing director. ''It's about family and friends. Homely, fresh and simple.'' Vernon Matzopoulos says viewers can ''look out for lots more shows about real food, for real people.''

ALSO READ: Caterer extraordinaire Vicky Crease to get cooking on The Home Channel.

BREAKING. Vicky Crease gets her own cooking show, Fresh and Simple with Vicky Crease on The Home Channel from April.

You're reading it here first.

What's cooking at The Home Channel (DStv 182)? Mmm. I can exclusively reveal that possible the best caterer in South Africa is coming to television when our own Rachael Ray is getting her own TV show. True! I can spill that a brand-new cooking show, Fresh and Simple with Vicky Crease will debut on The Home Channel on Wednesday, 6 April at 18:00.

This brand-new local show (that will repeat on Thursdays at 11:00; Fridays at 10:00 and Saturdays at 08:30 and 17:30) will have the uber ''celebration chef'' whipping up a myriad of awesome meals in the kitchen and showing viewers how to do it themselves.

The award-winning Vicky Crease who has serious foodie cred is the go-to caterer for the glitterati and now she's coming to television in Fresh and Simple with Vicky Crease. The cooking and home entertaining show will use easy to find and fresh ingredients, and then Vicky Crease will show viewers some of her magic in conjuring up delicious and mouthwatering meals.

The first episode of Fresh and Simple with Vicky Crease will for instance find the cook and caterer extraordinaire whipping up a stunning summer dinner for two (baked Salmon with lemon Pistachio butter, asparagus and mustard mash) and a chocolate tart for dessert with roasted hazelnuts and mixed berries. Food porn delight people.

The Home Channel: ''On DStv Compact The Home Channel rules the roost ahead of BBC Lifestyle and The Style Network.''

The Home Channel (DStv 182) rules the roost, ahead of BBC Lifestyle (DStv 180) and The Style Network (DStv 183), says the locally produced lifestyle channel.

The Home Channel is none too happy about this errand comment by BBC Worldwide touting BBC Lifestyle to be more popular that The Style Network and The Home Channel in the lifestyle channel genre.

''What the BBC didn't tell you is that on the DStv Compact bouquet - that's the fastest growing part of DStv, The Home Channel rules the roost ahead of BBC Lifestyle and The Style Network,'' says Vernon Matzopoulos, managing director of The Home Channel that is available on DStv Compact.

''That excites us because DStv Compact is the future of DStv – from zero to nearly a million subscribers in just three years,'' he says, touting DStv Compact's phenomela growth. ''These are largely black subscribers who have grown up on a rich diet of local content - and expect it from their TV channels. Clearly they find that the home-grown décor, DIY, gardening and food content on The Home Channel speaks to them.''

''That's always going to be the challenge for global TV channels: Can your programmes connect consistently at a local level?''

BREAKING. Michelle and Riaan Garforth-Venter's new TV project: building an eco friendly home!

You're reading it here first. She's pregnant, he's the father, but they're making more than just a baby. They're building a new eco-tastic house!
South Africa's eco-couple Michelle and Riaan Garforth-Venter has a brand-new show in the works, Love & Mortar that will start on The Home Channel (DStv 182) on Tuesday, 12 January at 19:30.

This 30 part half hour reality/documentary show will follow the two in their quest to build their ultimate green home. In a South African television FIRST, the couple will allow viewers into their lives, revealing how they juggle their busy careers and schedules with the daunting task of building and furnishing their first bio-climatic family home.

Love & Mortar is produced by Setsebi Productions. Riaan is known from his DIY skein DIY with Riaan on SABC2 and Michelle did Bush Radar and Wild Ltd. also for SABC2.

BREAKING. Debbie Travis coming to South Africa!

You're reading it here first. Debbie Travis, the biggest personality on The Home Channel (DStv 182) is coming to South Africa to do some workshops here.

The self-taught interior designer and former fashion model is known for her popular interior makeover and decorating shows.

Debbie will be in South Africa to talk with fans and do some workshops on the following dates:

26 Oct: Cape Town - One & Only Resort & Span

27 Oct: Durban - One on One Gateway Events Centre

20 Oct: Johannesburg - Wanderers

Tickets are R500 and includes a breakfast and a buffet lunch.

If you want to attend you can email Daniela at daniela@dwcs.co.za or phone her at 011 804 1485.

You can catch Debbie on The Home Channel during September:

Debbie Travis Facelift, Tuesdays at 18:00

(repeats: Wednesdays 11:00, Thursdays 10:00, Fridays 14:00)

Debbie Travis Painted House

September 12, 15:30 & 22:30

September 13, 09:30 & 17:30