BREAKING. M-Net scoops new drama The Newsroom; will start on 6 August at 20:30.

You're reading it here first. 

Breaking news! (and well done.) M-Net has scooped the rights to the brand-new upcoming drama The Newsroom by Aaron Sorkin which I can exclusively reveal, will start on M-Net on Monday 6 August at 20:30.

The Newsroom starts this Sunday in America on HBO - imagine The West Wing, set inside, and behind-the-scenes of a 24 hour news channel such as the eNews Channel, CNN, MSNBC or the Fox News Channel.

Everything starts when the one veteran news anchorWill McAvoy (played by Jeff Daniels) visits a university where his off-hand remark while he rails about the state of the media and news creates instant buzz. Now all eyes are on him and the (fictional) 24 hour news channel, Atlantis Cable News (ACN) and his prime time news show News Night.

And how coincidental: the eNews Channel's prime time daily news broadcast in South Africa with Jeremy Maggs is also called ... News Night.

Clever viewers will hopefully love this drama about the media and news and meta media and media memes.

BREAKING. DStv lifts its self-imposed 'suspension' of Nando's Diversity anti-zenophobia TV commercial after TopTV started showing it yesterday.

MultiChoice's DStv has lifted its self-imposed suspension of Nando's ''Diversity" anti-xenophobia ad after Nando's took its money and its TV commercial to On Digital Media (ODM) earlier this week.


TopTV was willing to broad the TV advert on multiple TV channels and started doing so from yesterday.

MultiChoice yanked Nando's TV commercial off the air three weeks ago, a few days after the SABC refused to broadcast it. e.tv then also declined Nando's ad and the chicken franchise's money.

Now DStv is willing to take Nando's money again after TopTV started broadcasting the Nando's ad since yesterday over multiple TV channels on their pay TV platform.

DStv announced that it has "lifted its suspension" of Nando's TV commercial which is now called "hyperbole and harmless parody". "We will reinstate the flighting of the commercial shortly," says Chris Hitchings, the CEO of DStv Media Sales, MultiChoice's advertising arm for DStv and M-Net, in a statement.

Civil society and public pressure groups blasted South Africa's broadcasters and DStv three weeks ago for its self-imposed sensorship of the Nando's ad.

Great TV promo for M-Net Movies 1, We Tell The Best Stories, wins 10 PromaxDBA awards for M-Net; e.tv wins an award too.

M-Net has scooped 12 awards at this year's 2012 PromaxDBA Promotion, Marketing and Design Awards, and e.tv won as well.

Out of the 12 awards for M-Net, 10 went to the M-Net Movies 1 HD (DStv 175) TV channel in South Africa. Clearwater won two awards - a silver and a bronze for TV promos for the M-Net channel.

South Africa's e.tv won a bronze award for the "e is for everyone" campaign. "We are proud to have a world-class creative team that continues to produce work that gains international recognition," says Monde Twala, e.tv channel head. "The channel is committed to drive content that appeal to all South Africans."

M-Net won gold awards for editing, animation, best directing, best editing, best copywriting and best collaborative effort for the promo We Tell The Best Stories. The same promo won silver awards in the categories for general branding image and art direction & design: program/content.

The promo also won bronze for DMCI Image Spot. Monarchy which produces promos for both M-Net Movies 1 and M-Net Movies 2 also won best creative design team of the year.

South Africa's TV industry can nominate people to serve on South Africa's new Broadcast Production Advisory Body (SABPAB).

The department of communications is now calling for nominations for the new South African Broadcast Production Advisory Body (SABPAB).

I reported last month the minister of communications, Dina Pule, wants to establish to oversee and advise the South African TV industry on local TV content - both in terms of productions and development, as well as quotas, and strategies for the new digital era of TV broadcasting in South Africa.

The plan is for the SABPAB - the acronymn coined by the department of communications - to have 12 members who will be advising South Africa's government on the development, production and broadcast of local TV content in the country.

The SABPAB will have to represent the South African government, thre regulator, civil society, consumer groups and organised labour.

Interestingly the SABPAB, the minister and the department of communications makes zero mention about the inclusion of actual TV critics, TV writers and journalists covering television (who probably wouldn't want to be included anyway due to a possible conflict of interest) but who actually cover and know the medium very well.

Nominations for the South African Broadcast Production Advisory Body (SABPAB) must be made by 20 July. Nominations should be send to: The Minister of Communications, For attention: Ms Sewela Letsoalo, The Department of Communications, P/Bag X860, Pretoria.

Nominations van be emailed to: sewela@doc.gov.za

Nominations can be faxed to: 012 427 8030.

BREAKING. Style Network unveils a brand-new blue logo and slogan of 'Work It. Love It. Style It.'.

Style (DStv 183) is doing away with its pink dotted circle and is unveiling a brand-new channel logo and image with the slogan "Work It. Love It. Style It."

It's not known when the new logo and look will into effect on South African TV screens. Asked when the change of the channel would affect Style in South Africa, Style said "there are no confirmed plans yet".

Discovery Science on TopTV and TLC on TopTV and Dstv are two recent examples of TV channels where the on-screen change happened in South Africa long after the look of the channels already changed overseas.

The Style makeover comes shortly on the heels of the makeover of E! Entertainment (DStv 124) which unveiled that sister channel's new look in May and which will come into effect in July in America and in September in South Africa.

The Style Network will change its logo and appearance in America on 25 June with the aim of differentiating the channel more from competitors and which is not well know for its genre specific programming mostly catering to women.

BREAKING. Is the eNews Channel changing its name when it changes its look, to simply the ENC or ENCA?

You're reading it here first. 

I can exclusively break the news that the News Channel (DStv 403) is considering changing the 24 hour South African TV news channel's name to simply an abbreviation - either ENC or ENCA - at least according to what insiders are telling me, when the eNews Channel unveils and launches its new look soon.

The eNews Channel also plans to launch its new online website at www.enca.com before the end of the year.

e.tv which I asked about it all and the possible name change more than 24 hours ago, didn't respond to my media enquiry.

In May I broke the news RIGHT HERE that the eNews Channel is working on a new on-air look and logo althought the colour scheme of black, white and blue would likely remain. Preliminary ideas first surfaced in April.

In July last year I broke the news RIGHT HERE that e.tv and the eNews Channel are ready to start an online presence and an online news division and expanding the eNews Channel into cyberspace. The plan is to present news online similar to the way Sky News and other 24 hour news channels such as CNN do.

All of this is now coming together at www.enca.com - standing for the eNews Channel and what will be its new website. The www.enewschannel.co.za which also previously only redirected to e.tv's normal website is now also active. 

"The rebranding is underway," a source told me yesterday. Another said: "It won't be the eNews Channel anymore but ENC or ENCA which stands for eNews Channel Africa. At least that is what people are saying."

Meanwhile the eNews Channel has also been having dealings with the British broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, I was alerted by a source. It seems that the eNews Channel as ENC Africa or ENCA has been granted a licence to broadcast within the United Kingdom. Is e.Sat, e.tv and the eNews Channel planning to expand their local news channel into Britain as a TV channel where only a daily news shows has so far been seen?

I asked e.tv and the eNews Channel about this separate development last week. "We've been broadcasting into the United Kingdom for months on TAC, and all other options where we have been seeking distribution are not finalised," Patrick Conroy, the eNews Channel head told TV with Thinus in a statement.

BREAKING. Special 39th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards coverage on Showbiz Tonight on Star! on Friday.

You're reading it here first. 

The Daytime Emmy Awards are still not being seen in South Africa but the country is getting closer - South African TV viewers will be able to watch special 39th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards coverage in a special episode of Showbiz Tonight on Star! (TopTV 179) on Friday at 17:00.

This week Showbiz Tonight's AJ Hammer has been talking to various soap stars like Deidre Hall who plays Marlena on Days of Our Lives.

Showbiz Tonight will also have special coverage next week after the 39th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards taking place in America on Saturday.

Disney bringing The 7D as a new animation series to Disney Junior from 2014.

The Walt Disney Company is updating and and bringing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Disney Junior  (DStv 309) in a new animated TV series entitled The 7D.

The 7D (for the 7 dwarfs of course) will start in 2014 and is described as a "comedic take on the world of the Seven Dwarfs, set in a contemporary storybook world".

The 7D takes place in Jollywood where Queen Delightful relies on the 7D - Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey, Grumpy and Doc - to do things for her and to keep order.

The evil villains are Grim and Hildy Gloom who constantly plot to try and steal the secret jewels hidden in the seven dwarfs' mine. Tom Ruegger is the executive producer.

Programming note: Winning Post becomes a fixed new monthly horse racing show on CNN International.

Winning Post, the special programming horse racing show on CNN International (DStv 401) will now become a regular new monthly show on the global news channel with Francesca Cumani as the presenter.

Winning Post started on CNN International last year as a series of specials, but is now expanding to become a regular show.

"Winning Post presents an insiders' view of racing not seen before on an international scale; from the refined thoroughbreds to the logistics involved with training, feeding and transporting these magnificent athletes all over the world," says Jamie Donald, the director for CNN International Productions.

"We are delighted that a flat racing show now joins CNN's growing sports portfolio alongside Living Golf, MainSail, Open Court and The Circuit."

Francesca Cumani will be doing the first monthly Winning Post focusing on two of the most glamorous events in horse racing: the Prix de Diane and the Royal Ascot.