Former SABC TV PR manager Zandile Nkonyeni resurfaces as head of media relations for Amazon Prime Video Africa based in Cape Town.

by Thinus Ferreira

The former SABC public relations manager Zandile Nkonyeni has been appointed as Amazon Prime Video's head of PR for Africa to oversee the streaming service's media communication for its TV shows and films, as Amazon gears up to create local content from South Africa and Nigeria.

The PR position was advertised in April together with a string of other Amazon Prime Video jobs in South Africa.

The PR position is based in Cape Town, where Amazon is pushing ahead with plans to create its new African headquarters and where Amazon is in the process of a hiring spree for marketing, social media and other positions, as well as experienced TV executives, primarily based in Cape Town.

Amazon Prime Video's expanding African team will commission and promote new African-produced content from South Africa and Nigeria as Prime Video competes with streaming services like Netflix SA, Apple TV+, Disney+ and MultiChoice's Showmax.

Zandile Nkonyeni whose former work experience includes being a publicist at the Total Exposure PR agency and Ster-Kinekor Films, was the former SABC2 publicity manager who got upped to head publicist for the SABC's three TV channels in October 2013.

She held this position for seven years until March 2021 when the South African public broadcaster retrenched over 600 staffers including all of the SABC's publicists, and rehired just one.

Zandile Nkonyeni joins MultiChoice's former Showmax content boss Candice Fangueiro who jumped to Amazon Prime Video Africa, as well as Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu who was the regional director of M-Net West Africa and who is now Amazon Prime Video's head of Nigerian Originals in Africa.

In her new PR role Zandile Nkonyeni will have to develop and execute the public relations strategy for the South African and macro-Africa region, and lead local PR campaigns for Amazon Originals, exclusive content, the Amazon Prime Video service and Amazon Studios.

'Wholesale burndown': Concerns growing over the South African public broadcaster's 'quite short-sighted' and 'arrogantly clueless' plan to get rid of all SABC TV channels' publicists in its retrenchment plan.

by Thinus Ferreira

Concerns are growing inside the SABC, as well as with media outside, about the South African public broadcaster's apparently "quite short-sighted", "wholly misguided" and uninformed plan - labelled a "wholesale burndown" - to get rid of all publicists across all of the SABC's TV channels as part of its latest retrenchment plan. 

Multiple of the institution's divisions and enterprises across the entire SABC have been affected by the section 189 process to downsize the over-staffed SABC's personnel costs, with some like SABC News that quickly itself became the news last month when redundancy notices were handed out.

While the South African public and media last month saw SABC News anchor and reporter Chriselda Lewis chastise apparently clueless and uninformed SABC top execs like COO Ian Plaatjes in videos that quickly went viral, many more SABC staffers in many other divisions are extremely unhappy as well.

While they are dealing with the same issues, they haven't spoken out about their plight, trying to keep up a dignified front despite tears, anxiety and fear about their futures behind-the-scenes.

According to sources, these staffers - from SABC Radio to commercial enterprises and many other divisions - are bearing the brunt of over-zealous bosses who are "cutting down to make numbers".

At the SABC's Northern Cape-based radio station, XKFM, all 11 staffers for instance got retrenchment letters, with staff openly wondering how the broadcaster will possibly be able to continue to broadcast in the !Xu and !Khwe San languages if they're all gone.

On top of so-described "cold retrenchment letters", rank-and-file SABC staffers are now dealing with their own fears, resentment and anger, as well as what they claim is top executives and their line managers' alleged uninformed cookie-cutter approach to "cutting down numbers on spreadsheets" in various divisions simply to "reach the desired headcount".

Staffers say that instead of knowing what workers are really doing, finding out what their real job descriptions entail and listening as to why certain jobs are actually essential to the SABC, "we're willy-nilly put in the expendable category so they [managers] can keep their jobs safe".

One such "division" facing complete annihilation within the SABC's broad-based retrenchment plan is the SABC's coterie of publicists - the PR people at SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3.

These SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 publicists are the ones who deal with media enquiries about programming, issue schedules and programming highlights and updates, write and send out the press releases about programmes, and who liaise with media about interviews with talent.

They handle stills and photo request ("high res please") and is the first port of call and often the stopgap frontline receivers of the unending barrage of media requests that neither programming managers at the SABC's TV channels nor anybody else wants to directly deal with.

Inexplicably, the SABC has given all of these publicists their marching orders.

The move has caused the media at newspapers, magazines and online media who depend on publicists as the go-between, to openly wonder who is actually going to do the work and take over the thankless task of dealing with the myriad of important, and less important, media enquiries that constantly stream in and that would quickly overwhelm the SABC's corporate affairs communications team.

Instead of axing all of its programming publicists at the SABC, the broadcaster in fact needs to have and do much, much more in this field.

Over just the past 5 years the SABC, ensconced in a seeming isolated bubble of its own, has been vastly outstripped and outpaced when it comes to the issuing of programming highlights, the availability of basic publicity material for shows, press events, season-related photography and proper media engagement and liaison.

The SABC doesn't even have a press portal where media can log in to download imagery, episode synopsis, schedules, logos or related press materials that have all become a basic de facto must for international and other TV channels, as well as streaming services like Netflix.

Long-forgotten at the SABC are set visits, while competing TV channels fill journalists' diaries with real-world, on-set junkets, and during 2020, with a never-ending stream of local and international virtual media engagement and set visits.

While local and global TV channels as well as streamers soak up the available attention and time and inundate journalists' inboxes with links to digital screeners of new and upcoming programming and series in order for them to watch and review shows before broadcast, the SABC does nothing.

As video streaming services like Netflix SA, Showmax, Amazon Prime Video and others started to flourish in South Africa - alongside pay-TV channels from BBC Studios to NBCUniversal, HBO and many others that are repping directly into South Africa with their overseas PR teams or have appointed dedicated locally-based PR companies - the SABC keeps fallen further and further behind when it comes to putting actual resources behind programming publicity for SABC1, SABC2, SABC3 and SABC News.

The public broadcaster has failed and not kept pace with bolstering, building out and smart-tuning its various TV channel publicity teams or strategies with its severely eroded group of publicists - in number the smallest they have ever been in 2 decades since the glory days of Suzette Pretorius - currently overseen by Zandile Nkonyeni as head of PR for SABC TV channels.

Quarterly press previews for SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 that used to be de rigueur for years have all but disappeared half a decade ago with SABC3 that used to be the lone holdout of a once proud and effective media engagement tradition until that channel also folded the informative practice.

Meanwhile, SABC3 is down to just one publicist for an entire channel, SABC1 struggles with juniorisation of staff where publicity materials are often late, irrelevant or mistake-filled and where just 2 publicists try to answer media requests of the SABC's biggest TV channel; while SABC2 publicists would be told external PR companies are handling certain properties who would then fail to deliver or to actually properly liaise with media.

According to SABC insiders - people with knowledge of some of the plans and sentiments expressed inside the SABC but who are not directly involved and who are speaking on condition of anonymity - Merlin Naicker, the SABC's latest head of SABC Television, apparently wants "publicity" and marketing for all of the SABC's individual TV channels to shift to reside inside the corporate communications team headed up by Gugu Ntuli, the SABC's head of corporate affairs and marketing.

Here, other insiders who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told TVwithThinus that there is "in a bizarre way no place" for any of the existing publicists at SABC1, SABC2 or SABC3 within the envisioned structure.

While none of these publicists have been approached or asked about this for this report, the understanding is that there would only be 2 media relations positions and a general, so-called "communications manager" or a job description to that effect, in Gugu Ntuli's proposed restructured division.

This makes it extremely unlikely that any of the SABC1, SABC2 or SABC3 publicists currently on "death-row" have any realistic chance of being kept on post the SABC's retrenchment process. 

It also makes it extremely unlikely that the SABC in-house will be able to do any kind of half-decent programming publicity effort for these channels' content - something that the SABC is already struggling to do properly because of a lack of staff and resources.

Outsourcing it to one or more external PR companies would mean hat publicists with no history or knowledge of brands or shows would be in charge, and likely also cost more to drum up earned media exposure for SABC shows - again defeating the purpose of a retrenchment exercise.

Ironically while the SABC needs to do much more publicity for its TV channels and their content line-ups, it is deliberately choosing to downsize a crucial job within the broadcaster to less.

"It's quite short-sighted" and "wholly misguided" said one source, with another longtime executive who described it as "a wholesale burndown of the last of what is left of publicity for TV if you can still call it that, here".

The SABC this week on Tuesday held a virtual media engagement through Microsoft Teams to unveil a new "SABC Tours" video.

Afterwards, during the Q&A session, TVwithThinus posed a question and asked why the SABC is apparently fine to completely do away with publicists at all of its TV channels, why the SABC no longer considers the crucial job of TV channel publicist as important, and how the SABC thinks that it would be able to keep the press properly and effectively informed about what it is showing on television without actual programming publicists.

"The current processes underway are exploring all options and I'm very certain that whatever has been tabled will be duly considered and the right structures will come into effect," said Gugu Ntuli in response to the question.

ALSO READ: SABC retrenchment plan to eliminate the broadcaster's corps of TV channel publicists who communicate about its content, job to be centralised under a marketing manager and few brand managers.

This is why the SABC decided to cancel Top Billing on SABC3 after 27 years - and why it decided to keep the axing secret.

The struggling SABC has axed its longrunning Top Billing magazine show on SABC3 - which did well in the TV ratings given the channel it was on - but has an expensive production budget that the cash-strapped public broadcaster can no longer afford.

Viewers as well as South Africa's TV industry have expressed their shock and bewilderment that the SABC has deteriorated to such a state that it can no longer "afford" to keep a legacy and premium brand like Top Billing on its airwaves which bring the viewers that most advertisers crave.

On Thursday evening TVwithThinus spoke to over 20 local producers, showrunners, bosses of production companies and TV executives who all said that they're gobsmacked and shocked at the SABC's decision and struggle to fathom how the SABC could have failed to keep a brand like Top Billing going and failed to leverage it to make money on its only commercial TV channel.

Top Billing is the latest show getting axed in a shock decision as far as the SABC3 schedule is concerned.

So far the ongoing SABC3 bloodletting has seen it get rid of basically all of its iconic and longrunning legacy programming that for decades drew viewers to the SABC, with SABC3 that in succession ended Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, as well  as local shows like High Rollers, 3Talk and even its replacement Real Talk.

The final legacy show on SABC3 remains its longrunning weekday soap Isidingo that is struggling in the ratings.

Although the SABC said that Top Billing has not been fairing well ratings-wise, it doesn't paint an accurate picture.

The Tswelopele Productions show survived and thrived through multiple, often jarring, timeslot and day changes over many years, drawing and building new audiences wherever the SABC decided to place it on the schedule next.

While the show has a set production budget and a cost that the SABC buys it at, the show itself is not responsible for selling the actual ad space on the SABC's only commercial TV channel during the weekly hour that it's broadcast.

That is the task and responsibility of the SABC's advertising sales division where sales reps must sell the inventory of 30 second spots at such prices that the content firstly makes the money back that the SABC paid for it, as well as then make money for the SABC.

As a blue-chip on-air and lifestyle brand - one of the very last remaining on the SABC - the escapist and aspirational show was one of less than a handful media properties in South Africa that weekly painted a positive picture through profiles of local South Africans, their lives and lifestyles, and what success, achievement and even local weddings could look like.

While SABC3 is the terrestrial TV channel with the smallest geographical broadcast footprint and therefore the channel with the smallest overall possible audience - coupled with SABC3's overall and ongoing sinking ratings, Top Billing remained a top-rated show.

In September 2019 Top Billing was the 8th most-watched show on SABC3 with 438 847 viewers (1.23 ARs), up from August when it was also the 8th most-watched show on SABC3 with 421 690 viewers (1.18 ARs).

"The SABC's decision to bring Top Billing to an end has not been an entirely easy one," says Zandile Nkonyeni, SABC spokesperson in response to TVwithThinus' media enquiry asking for the rationale for the show's axing.

"Like any programme on our schedule, the show is ultimately based on its performance and market relevance and to that end it has not been faring well against set targets and in light of the review processes actioned within the last two years."

"With a quarter of a century on our television screens, we all agreed that the show has had a good run," Nkonyeni says.


Great but too expensive for the SABC
"Secondly, Top Billing is a premium production which documents and represents a high-end lifestyle. That, combined with the expensive travel and crew capacity required, does need a considerable investment directed into that show," the SABC said.

"The broadcaster was always able to afford this investment so long as there were healthy returns against that investment. Of late, the production return on investment had declined significantly, thus making us operate at a loss. Hence a part of the decision to decommission the show," says Zandile Nkonyeni.


Very little warning - and no goodbye
Asked why viewers and the industry were only officially told that Top Billing is cancelled after 27 years and will have its final original episode on Saturday just two days before it airs, the SABC said that SABC3 and Tswelopele Productions decided to do it that way jointly.

Although cancelled months ago Saturday's final Top Billing episode will contain no goodbye, nostalgic lookback or tribute clips and SABC3 will now pad the schedule with Top Billing rerun episodes until March 2020 until it finds a replacement for the timeslot.

"After careful consideration between both SABC3 and Tswelopele Productions, a decision was taken to inform the loyal title and platform viewers at the penultimate episode and for the farewell statement to be issued in the week of the finale episode."

"In light of this, an on-air promo was scheduled for this past week to air on SABC3," the broadcaster says.


ALSO READ: SABC cans Top Billing after 27 years as broke public broadcaster can no longer afford to keep one of its last top legacy brands on the air.

TV CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK. Brooke, Brooke! As the SABC fawned over American soap star Katherine Kelly Lang, spare a thought for the local talent the public broadcaster can't bother to give the same media exposure to.

When her alter-ego Brooke strutted into the Flames Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel in Johannesburg's Westcliff last week as she soaked up the adoration by the bold and the beautiful, Katherine Kelly Lang had no inkling of how the South African public broadcaster's fêted fawning over her as an American soap star once again etched a sharp contrast with how little similar effort the SABC actually puts in for local talent media exposure.

From Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg, from Soweto to Cape Town, the SABC fell over its feet to create and shape public and media exposure opportunities for the American actress Katherine Kelly Lang, better known as Brooke in BBL's The Bold and the Beautiful soap on SABC3.

Not to take anything away from Katherine Kelly Lang, but it was sad and disappointing to to see the past two weeks how she got whisked from Umhlobo Wenene to being given a walk-on guest appearance on SABC3's Isidingo; went from sitting down on #WTFTumi, to interviews with Good Hope FM and given a Top Billing insert.

Between interviews on Real Talk with Azania, Radio 2000, Metro FM, 5FM, Expresso, Maponya Mall and Menlyn Mall meet-and-greets, as well as a special media dinner, two thoughts kept re-occuring in my mind.

Firstly, why is the SABC going with a play-and-spray approach, foisting Katherine Kelly Lang onto every conceivable SABC media platform it can, as if she's of importance and has relevance for apparently every audience under the SABC sun?

What the point of having so many different SABC media platforms if they're all the same and if Katherine Kelly Lang is just perfect for all of them irrespective of target audience? (Of course they're not.)

Secondly - and much more importantly - why is the SABC giving such an unbelievable lot of exposure to just one woman, on just SABC on-air properties, who is a soap star on a American TV production, in a show that the South African public broadcaster didn't really even want anymore and did it best the past three years to undercut, destroy its ratings with insane timeslot changes, and get rid of?

It makes no sense.

Not even for Safta winners of SABC shows or its biggest stars from shows like Uzalo or Generations or Skeem Saam, or Muvhango and Isidingo for their 20th birthdays, or Top Billing for its 25th birthday has the SABC ever given even half the publicity blitz on SABC platforms it gave to Katherine Kelly Lang in just the past two weeks - and that is actually shameful.

Why is the SABC - and again, not taking anything away from Brooke - able to mount such an obsessed publicity effort with Katherine Kelly Lang and giving her so many opportunities to speak to and to be seen by SABC audiences, when the public broadcaster cannot do the same for big local stars?

Where are the same effort and SABC opportunities by the SABC for worthy TV show's local moments and local stars when they rightly deserve to shine in the spotlight? Where are their flowers? Where are their mall "activations" to meet the adoring crowds?

With Katherine Kelly Lang and the SABC's TV head publicist Zandile Nkonyeni hovering around on her national publicity tour, the SABC through its optics, once again showed its unhealthy and unbalanced reverence for American shows and stars above local ones.

When last did the SABC invite media to the Four Seasons Hotel in Westcliff to meet lets say a Leleti Khumalo when she returned to television for Uzalo?

Or to toast the presenters of Top Billing celebrating a quarter of a century on the SABC at the moment as the broadcaster's longest running TV show?

Of course the answer is never.

Why are they not interviewed on every SABC radio station, making appearances on every SABC show, and being showcased at the Maponya Mall?

It's tragic that the SABC still jumps - and jumps higher - for America's blond, bold and beautiful, than for South Africa's local brilliant on-screen talent.

What's even worse is the (wrong) non-spoken message the SABC is communicating to everyone who saw this: When it comes down to it, an American soap star is more important, and deserving of more effort, of the coverage, of the fawning, and of opportunities to be on SABC shows and being interviewed on radio than South Africans.

Can the SABC name one local talent it's ever given even half in a week of what the SABC gave Katherine Kelly Lang?

Someone once said it's not what I say is important to me that is important, but what I do and who and what I give my time to, that truly reveals what is really important to me.

It's not a problem, or wrong, to fawn over Katherine Kelly Lang or an American star who happens to be in South Africa. A lot of them are here often and they get interviewed and do media appearances.

Other broadcasters like M-Net and other channels or MultiChoice's DStv like FOX are used to it, experienced and well-versed in it, and behave normally without going overboard.

What is wrong however, is the level of total ga-ga fixation the SABC displayed when it showed how much coverage on SABC platforms it's willing to give (and can actually give) to an American on-screen talent on the public broadcaster - something that makes you wonder why the SABC isn't doing this, and hasn't been doing this, for our own.

New SABC reality TV low as SABC3 The Intern winner Kuena Moshoeshoe is dumped by David Tlale and her prizes given to the runner-up.

South African reality TV reached a new low point when the long over due prizes promised to the proper winner of The Intern, Kuena Moshoeshoe and who had already waited more than 3 months, have now suddenly been given to runner-up Keletso Moraba by fashion designer David Tlale and the SABC.

Three weeks ago the SABC in an official statement still promised that "the SABC will ensure that the delivery of prizes to the winner will be honoured".

It came after the controversial fashion designer and the reality show failed to give Kuena Moshoeshoe her prizes as promised by SABC3's The Intern that ended in October 2017.

The 13-episode show that has since been marred by multiple shocking revelations and damaged the SABC, SABC3, David Tlale as well as sponsors' brands, yielded further cautionary tales that South African reality TV glitter is far from gold. 

The fashion designer wannabe contestants who took part in the reality show previously spoke out about the allegedly horrific conditions during filming of The Intern, claiming that David Tlale failed to give them the R3 000 S&T they were meant to get while being a part of the show and saying "he didn’t give us a cent. We were suffering, we didn’t have food at the apartment and we had no toiletries”.

Contestants who said they felt betrayed, slammed David Tlale as "horrible" and "rude". Some of the interns who have been living in David Tlale's flat in Johannesburg have also been fired and evicted.

In yet another shock revelation never disclosed to SABC3 viewers, it also recently came to light that Kuena Moshoeshoe actually interned for David Tlale before the show, that they knew each other and that he asked her to enter. She worked for him for 4 months in 2015. David Tlale said he didn't see it as a conflict of interest.

The Intern on SABC3 that struggled with bad production values and a rushed production schedule promised the winner beforehand more than R1 million in prizes, including a new Mercedez Benz CLA, R200 000 in cash, studio equipment to the value of R250 000, and a chance to be an assistant designer for David Tlale for one year.

Kuena Moshoeshoe, originally from Lesotho, spoke up about not getting her prizes and over the excuse being given that she doesn't have a valid work permit, saying that she's always had a work permit and was "tired of being treated like shit" by David Tlale.

Now David Tlale has revoked Kuena Moshoeshoe's prizes and it's being given to runner-up Keletso Moraba of Burgersfort, Limpopo, who has been "crowned" as the new The Intern winner.


'Proceeding with the alternative process'
The SABC, after it promised the winner would get her prizes, responded on Friday when asked what is going in the matter and why a new person is suddenly being announced as the winner by the designer.

Zandile Nkonyeni, SABC TV head publicist, says SABC3 met with David Tlale and thereafter reached out to Kuena Moshoeshoe for her side of the story.

"The conclusion was that Kuena needed to sign the winner's contract that stipulate the terms and conditions of her one year employment with David Tlale in order for the prizes to be handed over to her."

"A part of the prize package is for her to work with David for a year. She also needed to apply for a working permit as she is based in Lesotho. Subsequent to the back and forth telephone and written communication between SABC3 and Kuena, she agreed that she will respond to us with her final decision to inform us whether she will sign the contract or nor. However she decided not to communicate further with us nor respond to our emails."

"The communication took place between the months of December 2017 and the end of January 2018. Since then, both David Tlale and SABC3 made numerous attempts to reach out to Kuena in an attempt to complete the prize contractual process and for her to submit the signed copy. Kuena did not reply nor contact David or SABC3's emails," says Zandile Nkonyeni.

"SABC3 took the decision to allow David Tlale to proceed with the alternative process as prescribed in The Intern's contract signed by all the contestants. The contract stipulated and legally allowed David to evoke the win and hand over the prizes to the runner-up of the competition should the winner not honour the contractual agreements."

TVwithThinus asked has The Intern damaged the SABC's image regarding reality shows and the trust that viewers can or should have in terms of entering, that they will get what is being promised as prizes. The SABC didn't want to answer the question.

SABC1 to broadcast Cassper Nyovest's first two 'Fill Up' performances on Saturdays, starting with Fill Up the Dome on Saturday 18 November.

While rapper Cassper Nyovest is attempting to fill up the FNB Stadium with an upcoming performance, the SABC's SABC1 channel has announced that it will broadcast two of the rapper's previous "Fill Up" performances on Saturdays. 

SABC1 will broadcast Cassper Nyovest's Fill Up The Dome concert on Saturday 18 November at 20:00.

SABC1 will broadcast Fill Up Orlando Stadium, that took place in 2016, on Saturday 25 November at 20:00.

"SABC1 as a channel that prides itself with supporting youth development took a bold decision to partner with Cassper Nyovest’s Fill Up Orlando Stadium in 2016. It was through this particular partnership that the channel also attained licence rights to broadcast the two previous events starting with the first one, Fill Up The Dome on Saturday 18 November".

"For us, it is not only for the purpose of viewer entertainment but to encourage every South African child to dream beyond their fear and challenges and to work hard to achieve those dreams," says Zandile Nkonyeni, SABC TV head publicist.

SABC3 does a silent night as The Amazing Race is turned into amazing grace; no-show reality show replaced by gospel show in prime time.

The SABC once again left viewers shocked, bewildered and angry after SABC3 on Monday night turned what was supposed to be the start of the new The Amazing Race into amazing grace when the reality show failed to start and viewers were shown a gospel music programme due to non-delivery of the series from the overseas distributor.

Last night's scheduled start of the 25th season of The Amazing Race was supposed to mark the first time that SABC3 would be showing both Survivor and The Amazing Race concurrently on the channel, instead of alternating the hit American reality TV shows.

SABC3 viewers were however left flabbergasted when instead of the advertised, scheduled and promoted The Amazing Race, SABC3 suddenly showed an unscheduled gospel music programme at 19:30 in the middle of prime time on the SABC's only commercial TV channel.

The struggling and severely ratings-challenged SABC3 will once again have to pay back all advertising revenue and do "make goods" to advertisers who bought TV ad spots during the 19:30 hour for programming and a viewer demographic that didn't materialise and wasn't what they were promised.

The SABC that still promoted The Amazing Race on Monday in early prime time and on social media, failed to tell viewers what is going on when The Amazing Race didn't start, resulting in flummoxed SABC3 viewers tuning out and away to TV fare on other channels.

According to SABC sources, the public broadcaster on Friday discovered that the season's tapes didn't arrive from the foreign distributor Disney Media Distribution (DMD) with the SABC that decided to broadcast a gospel show during the Monday evening timeslot instead.

The SABC will decide today or tomorrow whether to push The Amazing Race out or not.

Zandile Nkonyeni, head publicist for SABC TV channels, didn't respond to a media enquiry on Tuesday morning about The Amazing Race no-show, why the show didn't start, when viewers can expect to see the show and what the SABC wants to communicate to its viewers.

In July SABC3 infuriated viewers when it abruptly cut and self-edited the debut episode of the new Survivor season, Survivor Worlds Apart into two, showing only half an hour of the first episode and the rest the following week with no on-screen advisory, apology or explainer of what happened.

The start of the preceding Survivor season on SABC3, Survivor San Juan Del Sur on 4 April met a similarly botched fate with the programme that didn't start after SABC3 became embroiled in unexplained technical problems. The no-show disrupted SABC3 entire prime time schedule line-up from 19:30 for over three hours.

On Monday SABC viewers vented as SABC3 again did a silent night and left viewers in the dark about unexplained programming changes.

"Where is Amazing Race?" asked Mr Dee. "You just change your line-up and don't inform us."

Marcus Danzel said "No Amazing Race. No explanation? No nothing?" while Humaira Rangiah said "Soul Sunday was yesterday".

@SABC3 where Is amazing race?You just change your line up and don’t inform us views?

— Mr Dee! (@derailed_gp) September 25, 2017

#sabc3 No Amazing Race? No explanation? No nothing? Yerr

— Marcus Danzel (@KLEEBO1) September 25, 2017

So what's going on with the no show of the promised Amazing Race? Why no explanation? The usual incompetence, no surprise really

— FireflyTheTravelGuy (@FireflyAfrica) September 25, 2017

@SABC3 guess who has made a blunder again! What has happened to amazing race!!!

— Gary Piater (@Garypiater) September 25, 2017

What happens to The Amazing Race? Soul Sunday was yesterday 🙄

— Humaira Rangiah (@humaira_gp) September 25, 2017

Donovan Goliath steps in as replacement of Phat Joe as permanent new co-host on SABC1's The Real Goboza.

After a guest stint try-out the comedian Donovan Goliath has been roped in as the new permanent presenter of The Real Goboza on SABC1 after the sudden exit of Phat Joe.

Phat Joe (real name Majota Khambule) and the SABC first said his break from RGB would be temporary as he jumped to pay-TV to present M-Net's Take Me Out Mzansi dating game show on VUZU AMP (DStv 103). The show is the revived Take Me Out South Africa format show from Rapid Blue that used to be on SABC1.

The temporary break from SABC1's Saturday evening lifestyle and entertainment magazine show however became a permanent exit as the SABC and Phat Joe, who had presented RGB for 7 years, publicly announced a week and a half ago that the presenter is leaving by "mutual decision" and won't be back.

Donovan Goliath is now joining co-presenter Sinazo Yolwa on RGB after a stint on the short-lived TV guide show The 101 on M-Net.

"I'm really looking forward to bringing my own unique style and a new energy to the show. Aweh!," says Donovan Goliath in a statement.

"We're thrilled to We’re thrilled to officially welcome Donovan to the RGB family and we believe that he will use his talent to ensure RGB reaches new heights," says Sydney Mekgwe-Sitsila, producer of the Urban Brew Studios' show.

"I'm looking forward to seeing an already outstanding presenter continue to grow and develop."

Zandile Nkonyeni, SABC TV head publicist, says the public broadcaster is "excited to have Donovan joining the RGB and the SABC1 family. We are confident that he will elevate the show with his unique ability to connect with guests and resonate with viewers through his humour, insight and charisma".

SABC worlds apart after shocking and confusing viewers as SABC3 only shows the first half hour of new Survivor season.

The SABC is once again silent after yet another disastrous and botched start to a new season of Survivor after SABC3 on Tuesday night shocked and perplexed viewers when the channel kicked off the 30th season, subtitled Worlds Apart, by only showing the first half hour and then cutting to commercials and filler.

On the SABC3 schedule, Survivor Worlds Apart was supposed to run until 20:20 but only half an hour ended up being broadcast.

The SABC offered up no explanation to viewers about why it only showed the first half of the first episode of Survivor Worlds Apart - the first time that ever happened - with no on-screen advisory or apology on SABC3.

The struggling SABC3 is a TV channel that remains in an ongoing ratings freefall with programming mistakes like Tuesday aggravating and chasing away more viewers.

SABC3's Survivor Worlds Apart blunder comes just three months after the SABC's only commercial TV channel also botched the beginning of the previous season's start, when Survivor San Juan Del Sur, set for 5 April, was suddenly a no-show and caused the channel's entire primetime schedule to collapse in unplanned chaos due to an unexplained technical problems.

The SABC was asked what steps, if any, the public broadcaster took with specifically Survivor to prevent a repeat occurence of possible problems with the show - distributed by CBS Studios International - but didn't respond to a media enquiry.

Besides embarrassment and confused viewers, SABC3's Survivor Worlds Apart bungle will also end up costing the SABC money and lost revenue yet again for one of the SABC's last remaining premium international TV series on its programming grid.

The SABC will have to pay back all of the money to commercial advertisers who booked spots during the second half hour of the unaired show when commercials were not shown in the programming advertisers bought airtime for to reach the specific demos Survivor attract to SABC3.

It's not clear what led to SABC3's cut short Survivor Worlds Apart on Tuesday night.

On social media the SABC failed to interact with viewers wondering what's going on.

On Wednesday morning SABC3 on Twitter said that Survivor Worlds Apart will continue next week  "for the usual full hour" as "episode 1 continues".

The bulk of viewers who tuned in on Tuesday night won't know that and it remains to be seen how exactly SABC3 wants to broadcast the next chunk of the show without any lead-in, cold open or proper context.

Zandile Nkonyeni, head publicist for SABC TV channels, didn't respond to a media enquiry made Tuesday night about Survivor, asking what happened, why the SABC didn't communicate on-screen with viewers, and why only half an hour was shown of what is supposed to be a longer episode.

On Twitter on Tuesday night, a viewer expected something to go wrong, with one noting before the episode started that "It might happen that SABC3 can't find the Survivor tape like last time with the last season".

It might happen that @SABC3 can't find the survivor tape like last time with the last season

— I AM JEFFREY 👑🔮👑 (@jeffdaddy_mb) July 18, 2017

After SABC3's abrupt half hour Survivor cut, confused and angry viewers were quick to comment.

"BrigM said "SABC3 only 30 minutes Survivor and then rubbish to fill time? Seriously? The stage is not yours", with Tallic saying "Another Survivor cut and paste debut SABC3 what an upset". "What just happened to survivor cause the last time I checked its an hour show," asked Papirazzi.

Colleen Ranck wondered "where is the rest of Survivor? Since when is it only 30 minutes?" "Went off to make a cuppa, tuned in and just like that - poof - Survivor ended," remarked Debra Schonknecht.

@SABC3 only 30 minute survivor and then rubbish to fill time? Seriously? The stage is not yours

— BrigM (@BrigMinne) July 18, 2017

another survivor cut & paste debut @SABC3 wt an upset😞

— TALLIC. (@Tallic_SA) July 18, 2017

What just happened to #Survivor cause last time i checked its an hour show 😭 @SABC3

— #FillUpParkingLot3 (@Papirazzi_) July 18, 2017

@SABC3 WHERE IS THE REST OF SURVIVOR???? SINCE WHEN IS IT ONLY 30 MINUTES WFT

— Colleen Ranck (@RanckColleen) July 18, 2017

very confused with the first airing of the new survivor series it ended abruptly.

— Ronwyn G (@GautengWizard) July 18, 2017

Went off to make a cuppa, tuned in and just like that...*poof* survivor ended lol

— Debrà Schonknecht (@dsch61) July 18, 2017

NO APRIL FOOL'S JOKE. SABC3 in yet another massive schedule shake-up as the channel's line-up is rejigged for the 3rd time in a year from April.

 In a desperate attempt to lift ratings, stem its ongoing viewership slide and slow its cash drains the SABC will announce yet another very dramatic schedule shake-up for its loss-making SABC3 channel that will come into effect from 1 April.

It’s no SABC April Fool's joke: SABC3's latest upcoming schedule shake-up will be the SABC's third for the struggling and loss-making channel in just a year.

SABC3's shake-up follows sister channel SABC2's latest big schedule change that was introduced in February and that angered a large number of viewers – SABC2's sixth big schedule shake-up since mid-2014.

Just as with currency fluctuations in an economy, public and commercial transport commuter timetables, and even a family's nightly dinner time, stability and predictability over time of a broadcaster's TV schedule – or the lack of it – is a strong indicator and signal to the organisational and systemic health or chaos behind the scenes.

Constant and erratic TV schedule changes – the SABC for instance again disrupted all three of its TV channel's schedules in January for Afcon 2017 coverage – confuse viewers who are creatures of habit and who struggle to find their shows and what they want to watch.

With every major TV schedule change of the SABC, some viewers sample competitor channels and programming, find new favourites, form new habits and never return.

SABC3 saw its ratings tank the past nine months following the SABC’s controversial former chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng's abrupt decree of 80% local content that was haphazardly introduced on the channel since July 2016. The badly implemented move saw viewers flee, viewership fall and then advertisers leaving.

The SABC introduced big schedule changes for SABC3 in April 2016, followed by yet another dramatic schedule shake-up just three months later in July 2016 – with a new SABC3 logo and-on air look.

That was also when Motsoeneng – now still currently employed by the SABC but ordered to stay at home with no job title – wreaked havoc on the cash-strapped SABC3 by abruptly ordering a decree of 80% local content for the SABC's only commercial TV channel.

Not a single one of the new and mostly badly produced local shows introduced on SABC3 since July 2016, except for a new season of Neill Anthony Private Chef, managed to lure enough viewers to crack SABC3's most watched month-on-month ratings list.

With disastrous AR's (audience ratings) in prime time for the batch of new content, the SABC still had to splash the cash to produce the ratings-failed content that viewers flipped the switch on.

The new SABC3 schedule shake-up is the first under SABC TV boss, Nomsa Philiso. 

She was appointed as the SABC's new head of television in August 2016 to replace the veteran Verona Duwarkah who was abruptly fired for refusing Hlaudi Motsoeneng's allegedly irregular content orders and dubious production contracts and reportedly accused him of of harassment and gross mismanagement.

There's growing buzz that the SABC could perhaps be shuttering the beleaguered SABC3 before the end of the year, while insiders are wondering how the SABC wants to programme and run its promised five additional new TV channels for digital terrestrial television (DTT) if it is struggling to keep the three existing channels on the air and just three schedule line-ups filled that's already stuffed with repeats.

Zandile Nkonyeni, SABC TV publicist, was asked about talk that SABC3 might be shutting down, what the situation is around SABC3's future, and what assurance there is from the SABC to viewers about the channel, but she didn't respond. 

Major programming moves

Now the SABC is again tinkering with SABC3's schedule in another big shake-up.

According to insiders, SABC3 will announce that it is switching a large number of its shows' timeslots with viewers who will once again have to adjust their viewing patterns.

SABC3 will introduce yet another new swathe of local content – some with dubious public broadcasting value – as it also gets ready to dump late night and overnight repeats to cut back on rebroadcast fees, cancels long-running programming like Interface and even moves its news bulletin, The Bold and the Beautiful, Top Billing, Special Assignment and other shows yet again to new times and days.

Zandile Nkonyeni was asked why SABC3 is doing yet another big schedule change again and what prompted the latest shake-up. She failed to comment.

SABC3's latest schedule do-over stretches from the very early morning to late night.

SABC3 will cut its breakfast show Expresso back by half an hour, with the morning show that will move from 06:00 to a new starting time of 6:30 in mid-April. SABC3 is also slowly moving the beloved American soap Days of Our Lives back from its midnight banishment to an earlier timeslot.

Here’s what’s happening on SABC3 from April

Major coming SABC3 changes from April include:

 ■ Expresso is being reduced again, back to two and a half hours, after its timeslot was increased in July 2016 to three hours. From Monday 17 April Expresso is set to start half an hour later at 6:30 to make space for a half hour of kids programming at 6:00 on weekdays.

■ The existing line-up of SABC3's 09:00 hour of repeats is dumped for repeats on weekdays of Real Talk with Anele from Monday 3 April.

■ After taking away the Venda-language soap Muvhango repeat on SABC3 in July 2016, it is suddenly back – at 11:30 on weekdays.

■ The weekday chatter, Afternoon Express that was moved from 16:00 to 17:00 in July 2016 as part of a failed experiment, will move back to 16:00 from Monday 3 April.

■ Real Talk with Anele gets upgraded and moves from 16:00 to 17:00. Basically Afternoon Express and Real Talk with Anele are switching timeslots, with SABC3 now believing that Real Talk – that constantly attracts more buzz – has more potential to lure a bigger actual audience.

■ The SABC is once again moving the public broadcaster's flagship daily TV news bulletin on SABC3 that's been hammered in the ratings and that shed tens of thousands of viewers over the past few months.

The news at 18:30 on SABC3 is once again becoming News @ 6 from April – a simulcast of the news done on DStv's SABC News (DStv 404) channel with anchors Peter Ndoro and Francis Herd.

■ That knock-on effect means that the American soap The Bold and the Beautiful is also once again shifting timeslots – from 18:00 to 18:30 on weekdays on SABC3 from Monday 3 April.

■ The hugely popular The Bold and the Beautiful, perennially the most watched show on SABC3, will now serve as the lead-in for the struggling local soap Isidingo that stays put at 19:00. SABC3 hopes that Bold’s buoyant viewership will filter through to the Endemol Shine Africa produced Isidingo.

■ The local talker Trending South Africa that started in daytime on SABC3, switched to night time and then got a 12:00 weekday repeat, is getting cut down from five days to four episodes per week, losing the Friday episode.

Trending SA will also no longer get any daytime repeat on SABC3 from April but will see its broadcast timeslot move half an hour earlier from 22:00 to 21:30.

■ From Thursday 6 April Top Billing sees yet another timeslot change in the glam magazine show long broadcast history – moving from 20:00 to 20:30.

■ SABC3's investigative magazine show Special Assignment is once again moving in April – this time from Wednesdays at 21:30 to Mondays at 21:00.

■ SABC3's long running Sunday night current affairs interview show Interface at 21:30 is apparently abruptly getting axed. Interface's last episode will be on Sunday 2 April, thereafter replaced by a celebrity-driven type profile show entitled Celebuville in the same timeslot from Sunday 8 April.

  

Flurry of unknown new local content

Instead of phasing individual new shows in over time to help them gain viewer recognition and support, SABC3 is unleasing a next new wave of unknown local content from April as part of the latest schedule shake-up.

This programming will all compete at the same time for viewers' attention, battling each other to stand out in a crowded nightly 19:30 to 21:30 timeslot.

The previously announced channel switch from SABC1 to SABC3 of Clover's latest season of the advertiser-funded production (AFP), Tropika Island of Treasure Seychelles will start on SABC3 on Monday 27 March at 19:30.

While TVwithThinus saw it already and this show's production values look much improved, the same can't be said for new and unknown SABC3 shows like the female presented car maintenance and driving test show Driving in Heels starting Tuesday 4 April at 21:00, Hostess with Lorna Maseko starting Tuesday 4 April at 20:30, and the food competition reality show Dinner Date set to start on Wednesday 5 April at 19:30.

After several pushbacks the delayed Uyanda It’s On that was originally scheduled for 2016 is finally set to start on SABC3 on Wednesday 5 April at 21:00. 

The reality show follows the former SABC1 publicist and socialite Uyanda Mbuli and her various worldwide luxury indulgences captured on video for public broadcasting consuption.

Friday 7 April will finally see the start of the new SABC3 half hour sitcom Soap on a Rope at 19:30 that was also originally supposed to start in August 2016 on the channel. The comedy stars Luthuli Dlamini, Melanie du Bois, Alfred Ntombela and Sonia Sedibe and is set on a fictitious TV show's set.

Publicist Zandile Nkonyeni was asked why SABC3 is introducing another batch of new local programming in a burst and what the programming strategy is behind the move but she failed to respond.

Late night changes

Days of Our Lives on SABC3 is moving from midnight to an earlier timeslot of 22:30 from 3 April.

The late night Isidingo and The Bold and the Beautiful repeats are both dumped in favour of the German TV news service Deutsche Welle that will now start at 23:30 and run until 02:00 in the morning.

From 02:00 the SABC’s feed of the SABC News channel on DStv will be simulcast overnight with the repeat of American TV series that used to be at 03:30 that's all getting axed in the latest shake-up.

SABC2's latest strange scheduling moves are again set to irritate viewers - coming just 7 months after the previous changes.

The latest scheduling moves for SABC2 coming into effect from this coming Monday is set to confuse and irritate viewers as the SABC once again moves programming like the Afrikaans soap 7de Laan and the Afrikaans news to new timeslots following timeslot changes to these and other shows just months ago.

Exactly as TVwithThinus reported last week will happen, SABC2 announced on Wednesday all of the channel's latest new permanent scheduling changes coming into effect from Monday 6 February after the broadcaster's AFCON 2017 coverage.

Last week SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the new set of changes, like 7de Laan moving, is (still) part of the AFCON 2017 coverage changes.

Viewers commuting and not home yet, old age residents eating dinner and working families preparing dinner will now have to watch 7de Laan in the inconvenient and now its third new timeslot of 18:00 after the the 18:30 soap produced by Danie Odendaal Productions was moved in July 2016 to 19:00.

As TVwithThinus reported, viewers of the SABC's daily Setswana and Sotho TV news bulletin will now have to watch it no longer at 18:00 but at 20:00 on SABC2 opposite the SABC1 soap Generations, while the Afrikaans TV news that's seen several timeslot changes the past two years is once again moving – this time to 18:30, now opposite e.tv's eNews Direct and SABC3's English TV news bulletin.

SABC TV head publicist Zandile Nkonyeni didn't respond to media enquiries asking about the programming changes and the reasons for shows that are moving. SABC2 has seen ongoing viewership declines for shows like 7de Laan, the Afrikaans news and the Sesotho news the past few months with falling ratings.

The SABC said "SABC2 is stepping up to the needs of our ever-evolving world with brand new shows, new seasons and new timeslots". 

In a new official and public promo that contains mistakes, SABC2 struggles to keep its new shows separate, for instance saying Tumi Morake and Rocco de Villiers are in a show together as presenters [they're not]. 

Fighting on 3

In another programming change, the SABC signed a multi-year agreement with Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) to broadcast mixed martial arts (MMA) on Saturday nights on SABC3, starting 11 February at 21:00. 

This content will be repeated on Mondays at 14:00 replacing the local kids time slot Fun-Natix where the fighting contact sport content might be in breach of the broadcasting code.

Other changes include SABC2's breakfast show Morning Live that will from this Monday onwards show the additional hour that until now had been broadcast between 08:00 to 09:00 on SABC News (DStv 404) only. The programming change will will effectively extend Morning Live to three hours on SABC2 from 06:00 to 09:00.

Talk show Motswako gets moved to Wednesdays at 20:30. Local sitcom Skwizas is moved to Sundays at 20:30. A new season of environmental magazine show 50/50 will start on Sunday 9 April at19:00.

More details have been released about the shows that TVwithThinus last week reported is being added to the SABC2 schedule.

The former SABC2 continuity presenter Derrick Gardner and SABC radio station RSG presenter is returning to television as presenter of the new Afrikaans music show Kliphard from Monday at 19:30.

Tumi Morake and Alan Committee will host the talk show Red Cake, starting Friday 10 February at 19:30. 

Thami Ngubeni will host a new lifestyle talk show on Saturdays on SABC2, Life with Thami, starting on Saturday 11 February at 18:00. Music show Soul’d Out Sessions will start on Sunday 12 February at 14:00.

While the SABC2 schedule remains peppered with old content and rebroadcasts that's years old like Afrikaans sitcom Vetkoekpaleis starting yet another rerun on Monday at 19:00, SABC2 says it wants producers to bring the channel quality shows and new ideas.

The SABC's latest schedule shuffle from 6 February: SABC2's 7de Laan to 18:00, Sesotho news to 20:00, a new Afrikaans timeslot at 19:00; SABC1's Uzalo goes 5 days.

Timeslot-fatigued SABC viewers are in for yet another new round of programme shuffling from February - most notably on SABC2 - that will see Afrikaans soap 7de Laan shunted to 18:00, the Sotho news to 20:00, and the introduction of a new stripped, , hour long, 4-day a week Afrikaans timeslot at 19:00 in an attempt to try and lure back viewers.

The South African public broadcaster will announce yet another dramatic round of show changes to its channels like SABC1 and SABC2 soon.

The new changes will follow the latest temporary disruption of it channels' programming line-ups due to AFCON 2017 soccer tournament coverage,what the SABC calls its "transversal strategy".

The new SABC TV line-up will mark the SABC's 3rd big TV schedules change in a year, not counting the temporary AFCON 2017 schedule disruption.

The SABC's ongoing scheduling changes continue to worry the South African TV and advertising industry, concerned about the erratic nature and ongoing scheduling instability at the public broadcaster that impacts its viewership and ratings, and ultimately its ad income - a big source of the broadcaster's revenue.

After every SABC schedule change viewers struggle to find where shows have moved to. In the past year several shows on SABC2 and SABC3 have showed ongoing monthly viewership drop-offs after certain programmes were moved to timeslot where it struggles to maintain audiences as viewers fled.

The SABC announced dramatic schedule changes to SABC1, SABC2 and SABC2 in February, only to announce schedule changes again just four months later in June. AFCON 2017 is currently upending the SABC's schedules with the broadcaster that is set to announce yet another round of schedule changes that will come into effect from 6 February.

After moving the timeslot of the stalwart Afrikaans soap 7de Laan on SABC2 for the first time ever in its 15 year history in July 2016 from 18:30 to 19:00, the SABC is set to move 7de Laan again after just 7 months to 18:00 from Monday 6 February after the conclusion of AFCON 2017.


An even tougher time finding viewers?
The ratings-battered weekday soap will likely have an ever tougher time finding viewers on SABC2 in the early prime time slot when a lot of its audience - commuting working-class viewers are not home yet.

The fictional Hillside set 7de Laan will now be competing with the Cape Town based Afrikaans soap Suidooster on kykNET (DStv 144) and kykNET&kie (DStv 145).

The Danie Odendaal Productions that also publicly announced the 18:00 timeslot move from February to viewers says the change is "unfortunately outside of our control. The SABC is making these changes".

The SABC will also move its daily Setswana/Sesotho TV news bulletin from 6 February from 18:00 to 20:00 daily.

The Sesotho news on SABC2 will now compete directly with Generations on SABC1 at 20:00, programmes that fight for part of the same audience on the public broadcaster and with many viewers who would like to watch both.

The Sesotho news bulletin that was moved, suffered a viewership drop since its move to the 18:00 timeslot the past few months and completely dropped out of SABC2's top 20 most watched shows since November 2016 - the very timeslot 7de Laan is now going to be moved to.


New Afrikaans timeslot block
In addition to the 7de Laan and Sesotho news changes, a new stripped, hour long Afrikaans timeslot is set to be introduced on SABC2 from Monday 6 February at 19:00.

This new timeslot block will run from Monday to Thursday as SABC2 tries to court and lure back Afrikaans viewers.

Trying to create better ongoing scheduling flow and to get viewers to stay tuned in for longer instead of flipping the channel's hotch-potch "language mosaic programming", SABC2 channel head Gerhard Pretorius and scheduling executive Thulisile Nhlapo is essentially creating a 2-hour Afrikaans TV block from 6 February that will effectively stretch from 18:00 to 20:00.

SABC2's latest February schedule from 6 February will start with 7de Laan at 18:00, Afrikaans news at 18:30, and then shows at 19:00 like Vetkoekpaleis and Kliphard (Monday), Fees van die Ongenooides (Tuesday), Geure van die Vallei and Authentiek (Wednesday), and Beter Assie Bure (Thursday).

The Afrikaans entertainment magazine show Pasella will start again on 22 February, now on a Wednesday at 19:30.

Zandile Nkonyeni, SABC TV head publicist, didn't respond to a media enquiry on Thursday morning seeking comment about the changes and was asked why SABC2 decided to move 7de Laan, the Sesotho news and introduce the Afrikaans block at 19:00.

She was asked if SABC2 doesn't consider the 7de Laan timeslot to be too early and why the Sesotho TV news bulletin is made to compete against Generations on SABC1 for an audience, but didn't respond at the time of publication.

As previously reported in December 2016 already, the SABC will also extend the SABC1 prime time soap Uzalo's run from the week starting 6 February from 4 to 5 days per week, adding a Friday episode of the soap in the same timeslot of 20:30 from the start of its third season.

SABC1 publicist Philip Mabitsela didn't respond to a media enquiry on Thursday morning seeking comment about the KwaMashu set soap from Stained Glass Productions being extended to 5 days a week.