INTERVIEW. SABC3 channel head Aisha Mohamed on the channel's new schedule, The Amazing Race, Real Talk with Anele, Top Billing and Bollywood - and what's happening with the news and Supernatural.

At the beginning of February SABC3 once again changed its schedule, with SABC3 channel head Aisha Mohamed saying the channel's ongoing prime time evolution "is not the beginning nor is it the end. It's definitely the start of much more. It is our journey".

TVwithThinus sat down with Aisha Mohamed, to hear why the new schedule change happened and what it means, why Top Billing moved to Saturdays and why the news and Real Talk with Anele moved to later timeslots.

Aisha explains how SABC3 is trying to catch up with The Amazing Race, those Supernatural episodes that got cut and new seasons coming, what viewers' response are to the Bollywood content and how SABC3's schedule is responding to viewer feedback.




Why did SABC3 decide to change its schedule again from the start of February?
The changes have been coming for a while and we thought it would be really great to start a new year.

The changes are definitely part of our thinking and our strategy and we've spent a lot of time so that the changes we put forward from February are sustainable but also come with longevity. We decided to launch it in February and it can sustain itself to as soon as May when we get new titles in again, and then in the next 3 months again, we get new titles in again. So it made sense for me to start a new year with a new, fresh feeling.

We also had a lot of feedback and time to get feedback from viewers. So we've spent time reading that feedback, researching that feedback, having a look at what people actually want - you know, what are they saying to us.

What is nice about our audience is that they're very vocal. So they will tell you exactly what are the things that they like and that they don't like. And that actually assisted us in this process, with simple things like Real Talk with Anele that we've moved a little bit later. They're very much a part of those decisions, telling us things like "I'm not home when this is on" and SABC3's schedule is very much about those decisions - so we considered all of those things.

The thing is that you're never going to make everybody happy all the time. It's a competitive schedule for us as a channel, so we can compete aggressively but also make our viewers happy in the same vein.

Can you talk a bit about Top Billing and its 25th anniversary and what a show and a brand like that and its longevity means for South Africa and for the SABC and SABC3 and why did you decide to move it to Saturdays at 18:00?
That Top Billing has been on the air for so many years is a testament to the kind of product that it is and the fact that it has such high value. It is regarded in the viewers' mind as something that's really unique.

Top Billing is a very unique property. It encapsulates a little bit of everything. But also we found that in the viewing experience we're moving into a very different age. So as Top Billing is changing and evolving - and you would have seen if you've watched it for the last couple of months - it's definitely moving to a different direction.

It's moving to the direction that SABC3 is moving, but it's also moving in a digital age, it's savvy about how it's responding to it's viewers from a social media perspective, but it's also about ensuring that we give it a home that it can really shine.

And we felt that Thursdays are definitely our home for reality and for drama and that kind of thing. We found from a viewer perspective those people appreciated watching it over the weekend, so it's about giving Top Billing the opportunity tor really shine on a Saturday, and with a repeat on a Sunday. So we're really hoping to see good things in the new timeslot.

The move of the SABC's English TV news bulletin from 18:00 to 21:00, is that to make a less interrupted flow?
That's exactly what it is. So it was about flow and balance, and also allowing our viewers the opportunity to have news and lifestyle strands where they are.

We've got a 2 minute bulletin at 6 o'clock that's you'll still get that's very much the headlines. And then a very detailed bulletin at 9. So it's 2 minutes at 6 and then a very detailed bulletin at 9 encapsulating what's been going on the day.

Also our viewers are very savvy. They're aspirational. They are aware. They are aware of what's happening around them. Often a lot of the news stories, they've seen what's going on around them, they know what's happening. So it's about bringing it all together for a more detailed conversation at 21:00, which I don't think we could have done at 6 o'clock.

And then the rationale for moving the talk shows Afternoon Express and Real Talk with Anele to early prime time, is it to leverage the more viewers that potentially available later?
So definitely, definitely in terms of Real Talk with Anele that has been the feedback from viewers who told us "I have to catch it on YouTube", "I can't believe I missed it again today", "I can't believe I missed so and so" - it's all of that feedback.


So the later timeslot is a testament to the show's success?
Yes. Absolutely. Also, it's a SABC3 production. So we're invested it in. And we want to give it the best possible opportunity to shine. So 6 o'clock makes a lot of sense.

And I hoping that people are comfortably at home then and can enjoy the viewing experience as opposed to being still at work, which is the feedback we got.

Also Afternoon Express has sustained itself over time. It came on as a new show, we weren't sure how it was going to do, and it really has improved our schedule tremendously.

A lot of viewers have been scared about the possibility of Survivor and The Amazing Race disappearing from SABC3's schedule?
We've kept Mondays as adventure, so our reality and adventure on Mondays sustain itself. So Survivor is definitely still on a Monday.

We chose to put The Amazing Race on a Wednesday because we want to bring our seasons forward. So we're looking at what's happening with how many seasons there are and where we are at, and to bring things forward so that we can give viewers the next season sooner rather than later.

So we've got season 25 of The Amazing Race on Wednesdays and then we've got Survivor coming in shortly. And we've got further seasons actually. So there'll be a one and then a break and then another one. But again, just to make sure that we maintain interest and make it relevant, because we find that the gaps otherwise are a bit too far apart.


Will SABC3 ever show the last four episodes of Supernatural's stopped season?
We are still playing the last 4 episodes out. In the schedule change one of the shows that were affected was Supernatural on a Sunday night.

Unfortunately it is a little bit later, so it's not in the same timeslot that it was at, but we are most definitely showing it a bit later, so we are finishing the season. And it's nice that we also have the next seasons of Supernatural coming.

Do you know which ones?
I think its 11 and 12. So they're coming in and will come in on a drama slot on a Wednesday.


What has been the feedback in terms of the Bollywood content and will there be more of that?
So we're very excited about that. The viewer feedback has been well around Bollywood, also the pairing of Mela and Bollywood together was also very much in favour. The movies feedback was really great. So we got a lot of feedback around the types of movies.

We've also got really good titles, and we've got a good combination of for instance Hindi, Tamil and how we can pair them together and can ensure that both communities can enjoy that equally. So it is a bit of a touchy area sometimes. So we are very careful how we schedule them; so that we ensure we have enough titles, pair them nicely.

Also we try to get latest movies, we've just acquired a lot of new ones with some new titles coming on as well. I think we acquired 20 or 25 new ones.

Producer Donald Clarke joins Rapid Blue as commercial director and executive producer.

Producer Donald Clarke has joined production company Rapid Blue as commercial director and an executive producer.

Donald Clarke who started the production company Lucky Bean in 2007, and produced shows ranging from Survivor South Africa and MasterChef South Africa for M-Net to Fear Factor and several others, is jumping to Rapid Blue.

"We are delighted that Donald Clarke has agreed to join us at Rapid Blue as he brings deep experience of producing award-winning content in South Africa and across the continent, including some of the world’s most-recognisable formats as well as compelling, original shows and branded entertainment," says Duncan Irvine, Rapid Blue CEO.

"Donald’s first job out of university was with Rapid Blue and so we have a long-established relationship with him. I can think of very few people other than Donald that I would like to have alongside me as we go out into the market to secure new projects and explore exciting new markets with clients who are looking to produce innovative content across Africa," says Duncan Irvine.

Donald Clarke says "For over 25 years, Rapid Blue consistently produced compelling content of a world-class standard. I was fortunate to spend my formative years at the company and thoroughly enjoyed the work and the company culture."

"In deciding to take up the position I am acutely aware that the world of production is rapidly changing. It is a topic I have discussed at length with Duncan and Kee-Leen Irvine and we have a shared vision for television and content in Africa."

Rapid Blue is currently producing Dancing with the Stars South Africa for M-Net, did a new season of Come Dine with Me South Africa for BBC Worldwide South Africa, and does SA's Got Talent for e.tv

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) orders SABC to remove its sexist Only Your Man Can Pay Your SABC TV licence advert (because women can't manage).

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered the SABC to immediately take a sexist (Only Your Man Can) Pay Your SABC TV licence advert off the air that suggests that only men can pay SABC TV licence fees since women apparently can't manage.

Jesse Kaplain complained to the ASA about a SABC TV Licence commercial on the public broadcaster's commercial radio station 5FM that she found extremely sexist.

The ad told listeners that "Luckily you now no longer have to subject the man in your life to the horrors of a shopping mall when TV licence payment time comes around. The new site let him pay from cellphone, tablet or laptop wherever he may be even from the comfort of the couch, while you get to follow the sound of those heels calling your name. Seems fair‚ doesn't it? The new TV licence website - quick‚ convenient‚ secure".

Kaplan told the ASA in her complaints that women are self-sufficient, can pay their own bills and that men are not needed to do that.

The ASA agreed with the complainant and said "in essence, the complainant found the advertising sexist and gender stereotyping", saying that the commercial "makes reference to men hating malls, but now the men can stay at home and can pay while a woman just goes shopping for pretty shoes. Because clearly she has nothing else to do and he's the bread winner and makes all the important decisions and payments in life."

The ASA ruled that "The storyline of the commercial is reliant on an assumption that the man has to pay the TV licence. Previously, he would have had to go to the mall to do so, and his female partner would have had to persuade him to do this."

"Now, he can sit on the couch and pay it. But either way, the man has to pay the TV licence. The idea that the woman could have simply paid the licence while she was at the mall is not entertained. The communication is, as the complainant highlights, dependent on an assumption that women are financially or mentally incapable of paying the TV licence if a man is around to do the job."

The ASA that that what it finds "untenable is not the humorous stereotyping of the genders, but the underlying assumptions regarding the role and ability of each gender."

The ASA ordered the SABC to withdrew its SABC TV licence fee ad with immediate effect and not to use it again in future.

Former CNN International correspondent Diana Magnay joins Sky News; meanwhile Sky's technology correspondent Tom Cheshire moving to Beijing as new Asia correspondent.

The former CNN International (DStv 401) correspondent Diana Magnay has joined Sky News (DStv 402) as Moscow correspondent while Sky News; technology correspondent Tom Cheshire has been appointed as Sky News' Asia correspondent.

Tom Cheshire (right) will be based in Beijing, China.

Diana Magnay is replacing John Sparks who is Sky News' new Africa correspondent replacing Alex Crawford who is moving to Istanbul, Turkey to set up a new news bureau for Sky News there.

21st Century Fox that still wants all of Sky, says it would put up 'firewalls' to prevent Fox meddling in Sky News and would continue to keep the loss-making Sky News on the air for at least 5 years after a Sky takeover.

21st Century Fox continues to work towards trying to acquire Sky News (DStv 402) and is offering up more guarantees to try and secure backing for its takeover of Britain's pay-TV operator Sky, including "firewall" guarantees and saying that it would continue to keep the loss-making Sky News on the air for at least 5 years after a takeover.

Britain's competition regulator in January ruled that Fox' plan to buy the 61% of Sky that it doesn't yet own, should be blocked and prevented.

Interestingly Sky has told the regulator that if it blocks the Fox deal, Sky might shut down Sky News completely because it's loss-making anyway and no longer an important part of Sky's future going forward.

"The combined effect of the Proposed Firewall Remedies is that there could be no circumstances in which, post-transaction, the MFT (Murdoch family trust) or members of the Murdoch family could influence, whether directly or indirectly, the editorial line or policy of Sky News," says 21st Century Fox.

It suggested the possibility of creating a fully independent board to oversee Sky News, including the appointment of the head of Sky News who would be"sole responsibility for setting editorial strategy and direction for Sky News’ digital, television and radio output, including the appointment and dismissal of senior Sky News employees".

Fox also promised that it would keep the loss-making Sky News around for at least 5 years if it took over Sky, and keep investing in it.

Fox says "no Fox employee or member of the board would "influence or attempt to influence" editorial choices at Sky News.

Andi Mack on The Disney Channel, that DStv won't show in Africa or South Africa because Kenya banned it, renewed for a 3rd season.

Disney has renewed its hit tween series, Andi Mack, banned from MultiChoice's DStv in Africa and Africa, for a 3rd season.

Episodes of the third season of Andi Mack with Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Lilan Bowden, Joshua Rush, Sofia Wylie and Asher Angel will be broadcast later in 2018 in America.

Filming on the 3rd season, produced by Horizon Productions, will start soon in Salt Lake City in America.

Disney says Andi Mack tells the heartwarming, diverse coming-of-age story about the most important things in any young person’s life - life and friends, and the journey of self-discovery.

"A series about a girl discovering that her sister is really her mother was new territory for Disney Channel, but Terri’s honest, authentic storytelling allowed our audience to connect deeply to these characters and their journeys of self-discovery," says Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide.

"What she has crafted stands as a high-water benchmark for kids and family storytelling around the world."

That's of course not true for Africa where Andi Mack is banned from being broadcast with MultiChoice that rolled over for the Kenya censorship board and is going along with its misguided decree to ban the show in Kenya and across Africa on The Disney Channel (DStv 303).

Africa's censorship problem of TV and film keeps expanding and growing due to the lack of public push-back against misguided African censorship boards who have become more and more emboldened in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa as they ban more and more content from being seen, instead of simply classifying it with proper parental guidance advisories.

After it's been in cinemas for weeks already in South Africa, South Africa's misguided Film and Publication Board (FPB) suddenly reclassified the film Inxeba as X18 last week - the same as hardcore pornography, although it contains none - without giving any reasons.

The FPB, funded by South African tax payers' money, now refuses to answer specific media enquiries about the exact reasons why the award-winning film suddenly got given a new classification months after it was given another one.

The multiple award-winning film that has a gay storyline - South Africa's official entry to the 90th Academy Awards and that made the top 9 shortlist in the Best Foreign Film category - has now effectively been banned from being shown in cinemas.

Inxeba can't even be shown with that classification on channels like M-Net (DStv 101), e.tv or the SABC during its pay-TV window licensing and free-to-air broadcast run.

So far in 2018 no further additional TV shows have been banned in Africa but Kenya's dictatorial government did shut down several entire TV channels who were slapped with a censorship blackout before they could broadcast the symbolic inauguration ceremony of opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Fox Networks Group Africa's new deal with 20th Century Fox Television Distribution brings shows like The Gifted, The Resident and Ghosted to South African viewers - although with a big gap.

FOX Networks Group Africa (FNG Africa) and 20th Century Fox Television Distribution signed a new contract for exclusive TV series as well as regional premieres to broadcast on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131 / Cell C black 201) in South Africa and Africa.

FNG Africa was asked for the period of the deal but Fox Networks Group Africa told TVwithThinus it's confidential - although deal duration is usually announced in these types of agreements and the value is kept under wraps.

"The timing of the conclusion of this deal could not have been more perfect, having just launched the second season of Lee Daniels’ Star on the FOX schedule on Thursday nights," says Tracey Gilchrist, FOX Africa programming director.

"Empire season 4 Part B returns in March, filling the schedule with absolutely the best in class from 20th Century Fox Television content and we are thrilled to be able to bring to our fans this variety of content to ensure there’s something for every taste on the schedule and a thrilling start to 2018."

New shows that will be rolled out on FOX include The Gifted, Ghosted and The Resident, although FNG Africa is quite far behind America with all of these shows.

The Gifted that started in October 2017 already finished its entire 13-episode first season on FOX in America.  A year ago in February 2017, FOX Africa announced that FOX will have The Gifted and that it would be a Express from the US title that never happened.

The Gifted, set in the X-Men universe, will now start on FOX on 23 April at 21:00. A family who has children with supernatural abilities, go on the run.

The new series Ghosted will also be on FOX as part of the new deal but this show too will be old.

Ghosted with Craig Robinson and Adam Scott already started on 1 October 2017 on FOX in America and will start on 14 April 2018 at 20:25 on FOX in South Africa and Africa - half a year later.

Ghosted is a single-camera comedy and revolves around a cynical skeptic and a genius “true believer” in the paranormal who are recruited by a secret government agency, known as The Bureau Underground, to save the human race from aliens.

The 3rd new series won't have such a big lag between episodes shown in America and in South Africa.

The Resident is a new medical drama series that started on 21 January on FOX in America and will start 2 months later in South Africa on 27 March  at 21:00 on FOX. Matt Czuchry (The Good Wife), Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Shaunette Renée Wilson (Billions), Melina Kanakaredes (CSI: NY) and Merrin Dungey (Big Little Lies) are some of the stars in this series following doctors' drama.

The animation shows Family Guy and American Dad are part of the 20th Century Fox Television Distribution deal and FOX will now play these two shows out starting with The Simpsons, stripped daily, from 18:00.

What FNG Africa is doing very well currently is showing episodes of the very good drama series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story on FOX, within 24-hours after the US premiere on Fridays at 03:00, and available for DStv subscribers an hour after broadcast on DStv Catch-Up.

The latest and final season of The X-Files, is also on FOX.

Atmosphere Communications takes over the publicity contract of BBC Worldwide South Africa's BBC channels from Total Exposure.

Atmosphere Communications has taken over the PR account of BBC Worldwide South Africa's set of BBC branded pay-TV channels and content from today, from Total Exposure.

Atmosphere Communications is now responsible for communicating to the media regarding BBC Worldwide Africa's channels - BBC First, BBC Brit, BBC Earth, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies - and the BBC Worldwide brand.

The BBC Worldwide South Africa switch to Atmosphere Communications from Total Exposure is noteworthy in that within South Africa's TV industry the BBC's PR representation by Total Exposure was a record.

While various TV channels, shows, even streaming services like Netflix South Africa, as well as pay-TV channels are repped by different external PR agencies and boutique publicists across South Africa, the set of BBC channels made use of Total Exposure for the longest time.

No other TV channel, show or channels set with a presence inside South Africa had been continuously represented by the same external publicity agency for such a long time as what Total Exposure had the BBC contract.

Now it has switched to Atmosphere Communications.

"We are excited to partner with a significant global brand such as BBC Worldwide and look forward to keeping local audiences updated on all the exciting British television content coming their way," says Megann Outram, atmosphere regional director: Johannesburg, in a statement, announcing the BBC contract switch from Total Exposure to Atmosphere.

"With choices like Come Dine with Me South Africa, brand new Top Gear as well as a range of popular drama’s and of course the phenomenal Blue Planet II voiced over by Sir David Attenborough, and much more, viewers will continue to be spoilt for choice".

Atmosphere Communications, a partner firm of PROI Worldwide, has offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg and says it is "the most awarded public relations consultancy in the country".

BBC Worldwide Africa's office in South Africa is headed up by Joel Churcher, the general manager and vice president, BBC Worldwide Africa.

Besides its content being accessible on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, BBC Worldwide shows are also licensed to Cell C black's where a raft of titles are available on an on demand basis, as well as Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, Showmax.

BBC Worldwide formats are also being produced in South Africa like Dancing with the Stars SA currently on M-Net (DStv 101), while BBC Worldwide Africa is also producing local content from other formats holders like Come Dine with Me SA from ITV Studios, and Great South African Bake Off from Love Productions. 

M-Net is switching off its analogue signal to M-Net decoders at the end of March - if you're one of these M-Net subscribers who haven't yet switched, here's what you need to do right now.

Pay-TV broadcaster M-Net is switching off its analogue M-Net signal to its M-Net decoders by the end of March.

Many M-Net subscribers have not yet switched to a specially customised M-Net GOtv package and a new digital decoder, and these longtime M-Net viewers are going to completely lose their signal in just over a month's time. 

People still watching M-Net through a M-Net decoder must call DStv extremely urgently on the specially dedicated number of 011 289 2270.

These M-Net subscribers will be helped so that they can be switched to either a special M-Net GO package of GOtv that includes the M-Net channel, or the DStv satellite service.

Many of these mostly older and Afrikaans speaking M-Net subscribers are not aware that they're going to lose their service, or have simply not bothered to switch to a digital M-Net channel version.

M-Net can no longer continue to keep its obsolete analogue M-Net decoders going and has to switch these subscribers over as part of the overall South African TV industry's change from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT), a process called digital migration.

It's however been difficult to get a hold of all of these legacy M-Net analogue subscribers, and M-Net and MultiChoice haven't had a ready-made like-for-like package available to switch these subscribers to.

MultiChoice South Africa's DTT pay-TV service GOtv doesn't have the premium M-Net channel included, but MultiChoice and M-Net did now create a special M-Net GO package that does have the M-Net channel included and is only available for existing M-Net analogue subscribers.

MultiChoice says that it has has been talking to our M-Net analogue customers for the last 3 years about digital migration.

If an existing M-Net analogue subscriber is in the growing GOtv DTT reception area where the digital signal can be received, they get a GOtv installation with M-Net GO.

MultiChoice says this "is a special package we created just for them which has M-Net and CSN included with free-to-air channels and costs the same as their current M-Net analogue."

"If they are not in the DTT reception area, they get a DStv satellite installation with M-Net GO."

MultiChoice is footing the bill of the switch-over and M-Net analogue subscribers don't have to be scared that it will cost them anything,or that they will lose out, or lose access to M-Net.

"To assist these long-time loyal customers, we pay for the decoder, the installation set-up and arrange for an accredited installer to come out at our expense."

"We’ve tried, unsuccessfully, to get hold of many of our M-Net analogue customers, so are now playing out a ticker tape across their screens asking them to contact us on 011 289 2270 so we can assist them."

"There is a variety of different options, depending on the current set up the customer has," says MultiChoice.

"Some M-Net analogue customers already have a DStv set up, while others just have their M-Net analogue. That is why it’s important that customers get in touch with us, so we can give them the offer that applies to them."

"M-Net analogue customers will get a much better viewing experience once they migrate – they’ll have clearer picture and sharper sound quality. They’ll also, for the first time, get access to the electronic programme guide (EPG) so they can see what is currently showing and what is up next."

"We’re committed to help our M-Net analogue customers to migrate in the next month or two. As we’ll be switching off this service at the end of March, it is important that customers act immediately," says MultiChoice.