2014 is 2024: SABC plans to dump Afrikaans content from SABC2 with Fokus cancelled, Afrikaans news and other shows moved to smaller SABC3.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African public broadcaster plans to dump Afrikaans from March 2024, with its only Afrikaans actuality magazine show Fokus cancelled, and the Afrikaans TV news bulletin and other Afrikaans shows like Voetspore shunted to SABC3 that has much smaller channel reach.

It's exactly the same plan the SABC had a decade ago in July 2014 to move Afrikaans from SABC2 to the smaller SABC3.

Caroline Phalakatshela, SABC TV publicist, confirmed to Netwerk24 that the SABC has cancelled Fokus since it "no longer fits in" with SABC2 and the broadcaster's plan to move Afrikaans shows to SABC3 from March as part of a strategic decision.

She denied that the SABC plans to get rid of Afrikaans.

According to the SABC, the ratings of the Afrikaans TV news bulletin is below what the SABC wants it to be for SABC2. 

Viewership of the Afrikaans news is down since its lead-in programme 7de Laan was cancelled and replaced with old reruns of Vetkoekpaleis in the timeslot in December 2023 that saw ratings tank.

In November while 7de Laan as lead-in to the Afrikaans TV news still lured 901 668 viewers to SABC2, while the news had 627 845 viewers, the news bulletin fell to 518 355 viewers in December 2023.

Once reruns of Vetkoekpaleis started with 608 320 viewers on SABC2 - shedding 300 000 viewers in that timeslot, it carried a lot fewer Afrikaans viewers to the news following it.

Other shows like the travelogue Voetspore and the environmental show 50/50 are all moving to SABC3 which is the TV channel with the smallest terrestrial footprint with many South Africans and Afrikaans viewers unable to receive the channel.

Several questions around the language content move were put to the SABC and comment will be added here when received. The SABC was also asked what is happening to SABC3 - repositioned a few years ago as a TV channel for millennial viewers - if Afrikaans is now shunted to this channel.

The SABC had a very similar plan to permanently move the Afrikaans TV news and shows from SABC2 to SABC3 a decade ago in July 2014 but cancelled the plan due to public pressure after news of the move leaked.

In 2014 the SABC said that the broadcaster "has not marginalised any language and will not do that in future. The SABC has an obligation as prescribed by the Broadcasting Act to ensure that all languages are treated equally".

In December 2023, SABC3's maximum viewership, which keeps falling, slid to just 436 548 viewers.

ALSO READ: TOLDJA! How the SABC lied - and keeps lying - about moving the Afrikaans TV news away from millions of viewers by shunting it to SABC3.

'Characters all carrying dark secrets': Skemergrond to replace Arendsvlei as new Afrikaans telenovela on kykNET&kie from July.

by Thinus Ferreira

A new telenovela Skemergrond, set in a small Western Cape town will replace the popular Arendsvlei from July on kykNET&kie (DStv 145) with the new Afrikaans show also produced by Penguin Films and filled with characters "all carrying dark secrets".

Once the cancelled Arendsvlei ends, Skemergrond will also broadcast four episodes weekly from Mondays to Thursdays in the 19:30 timeslot on kykNET&kie. Casting that will include veteran actors as well as new faces is still to be announced.

The new telenovela is set in Gemoedsdrif, a small town in the Western Cape where the Louw family has a flower farm. 

The Louw lives are thrown into tumult when guests arrive unexpectedly, threatening to divulge shocking family secrets.

Roxanne Blaise who starred in Sara se Geheim and M-Net's upcoming White Lies is the principal director and also worked as director on Arendsvlei.

"We're ecstatic over this fantastic opportunity," says Roxanne Blaise. "The fresh and exciting cast will bring an epic family saga to television. Skemergrond is set in the rural Western Cape and the flower markets of Cape Town, filled with interesting characters who are all carrying dark secrets".

The other director on Skemergrond is Marissa Drummond who starred in kykNET series like Suidooster and Spoorloos: Die eiland. Bobby Stuurman who did director training on Arendsvlei is the dialogue coach and apprentice director on the new show. 

The Skemergrond writers' room consists of Jo-Ann Scholtz, Johann Davis, Alyzzander Fourie, Margaret Goldsmid, Meesha Aboo, Kanya Viljoen, Lauren Scholtz, Henry Cloete and Tristam Atkins.

Skemergrond's creative producers are veteran producer Roberta Durrant and Andrea Frankson-Titus.

"We've brought together an exceptional cast and a brilliant crew behind the scenes to tell a multi-faceted story filled with secrets, love and revenge," says Roberta Durrant. "Viewers will be captivated and surprised by all of the emotional twists and turns."

CWU notifies SABC of strike in wage dispute, demands investigation into secret Discover Digital profit-sharing deal for SABC+.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Communications Workers' Union (CWU) has warned the beleaguered South African public broadcaster that its members will strike and demanding a swift investigation into the broadcaster's secret profit-sharing deal with Discover Digital running its SABC+ video streaming service.

The CWU's ongoing wage dispute and planned strike could have serious consequences for the broadcaster in a national election year with any strike action or labour issues that could impact the SABC's election news coverage.

While the Bemawu trade union has accepted a 6% wage increase offer, the CWU is holding out for its initial 9% wage increase, backdated to 1 April 2023. The SABC which made yet another R1.13 billion loss last year, has said it cannot do salary increases.

The CWU plans to go to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to get clarity on the picketing regulations for its planned SABC strike.

Nathan Bowers, CWU bargaining coordinator, in a statement, says the CWU is also demanding an investigation following the suspension of SABC COO Ian Plaatjes and head of video entertainment Merlin Naicker and the resignation of sales boss Reginald Nxumalo after revelations of a secretive 7.5% profit-sharing deal with Discover Digital that runs the broadcaster's SABC+ video streaming service.

The CWU says it demands "for the investigation to be expedited and serious consequences to follow".

"The revelation comes as workers who are members of CWU are in deadlock over the salary increase. The SABC continues to plead poverty while allegations of concealing profit are out there in the media."

"Workers have not had a salary increase for over three years and every time there are financial losses or financial crisis, workers have to become the scapegoat and bear the brunt through no salary increases," Bowers says.

"The plundering of the financial resources of the SABC through shady contracts and unaccounted fruitless and wasteful expenditure every financial year cannot continue and used as an excuse not to give workers a salary increase and their backdated pay. As CWU we will still continue to defend our public broadcaster by keeping an eye on all these questionable deals from all angles."

"While CWU welcomes the suspension of the two executives, we are further calling on the SABC to also place the chief financial officer Yolande Van Biljon on precautionary suspension."

Nathan Bowers says Van Biljon "also has to answer during the investigation as the person who holds the purse of the SABC. As CWU we want to know how the 7.5% slipped through her fingers in this digital deal".

ALSO READ: SABC COO Ian Plaatjes and TV boss Merlin Naicker suspended, ad boss Reginald Nxumalo resigns over undisclosed 7.5% profit-share deal with Discover Digital running SABC+.

SABC warns over 2024's first fake SABC TV Licence email.

by Thinus Ferreira

The SABC is warning about yet another fake TV Licence email that is circulating and trying to steal people's money, with the South African public broadcaster saying it will never threaten anyone with a warrant of arrest.

The first fake SABC TV Licence spam email for 2024 tries to trick people into downloading a "statement" file through a phishing attack, threatening people that a warrant for their arrest will be issued and that they need to pay the amount on the statement.

A whopping 87% of South African TV households on the SABC's TV Licence register no longer bother to pay their annual SABC TV Licence fee of R265, with the South African government and the department of communications and digital technologies that have been stalling for years to get rid of it and to replace it with a better system.

The SABC in a statement is now warning the public again about the latest scam TV Licence email, saying that the "email correspondence purports to be that of the SABC, threatening the public that they will be issued with a warrant of arrest for non-payment of TV Licence fees".

"The public is advised to ignore the contents of a correspondence coming from an email address jjim@mega.* [TV Licence board]. This is not an SABC email address and the corporation will at no point threaten anyone with a warrant of arrest."

The SABC warns the public "not to download any statement from this fake email as instructed" and says the SABC TV Licence division can be reached by calling 011 330 9555 or the email of tvlic.info@sabc.co.za or get statements at www.tvlic.co.za which is the legitimate website.

MultiChoice appoints Emma Gichonge as Showmax's first-ever general operations manager for East Africa.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice has appointed Emma Gichonge as the first-ever general manager for operations for East Africa for its Showmax video streaming service, overseeing its East African market.

MultiChoice and Showmax just relaunched the streaming service in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal's Peacock and Sky.

"With our ambition to be Africa's number one streamer we're happy to welcome Emma, whose wealth of experience will serve our customers in the key East African market," says Joe Heshu, Showmax chief operating officer, in a statement.

Emma Gichonge joins MultiChoice's Showmax after previous roles at the startup Yutap and the telecoms giant Safaricom.

She holds a masters degree in IT management and a BA science degree in information technology. Most recently she as MultiChoice Malawi's managing director.

"Showmax is a bold business and is in an exciting stage of its story - moving onto the globally-scaled Peacock platform, increasing its loved local content slate and introducing affordable new plans," Emma Gichonge says in a prepared statement.

"With my passion for innovation and for East Africa, I'm looking forward to building the business with the Kenyan Showmax team. We're already hard at work with our partner Safaricom to re-integrate in-app M-PESA payments with our new technology."

Africa's animal abundance on display in third season of Planet Earth.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's wildlife - specifically seals who band together to outwit a great white shark - once again feature prominently in the third season of Planet Earth that starts on Monday 19 February at 20:00 on BBC Earth (DStv 184) with astonishing BBC cinematography of the natural world.

Sir David Attenborough is once again the narrator of the third season of this landmark BBC series, which was filmed over five years and includes several segments filmed across South Africa for the eight episodes.

"In this new series of Planet Earth, we travel to the most astonishing wild places, see mysterious creatures, witness rare, spectacular wonders, and reveal breath-taking animal dramas," says Sir David Attenborough.

"The natural world continues to surprise us, but since Darwin's time, it has changed beyond recognition, being transformed by a powerful force – us."

"We will see how animals are adapting in extraordinary ways, to survive the new challenges they face. At this crucial time in our history, we must now look at the world through a new lens."

Nearly two decades since the original season of Planet Earth, the natural history documentary series once again goes on a journey from remote jungles to scorching deserts and from the darkest caves to the depths of the ocean.

The new season highlights several places and animals and their unique wildlife adaptations and survival strategies in Africa - from the Kalahari Desert to the wildebeest migration in the Kruger National Park across vast grasslands, the unique flora and fauna found at the Drakensberg Mountains' high altitudes, and the aquatic life of the Okavango Delta. 

Delving into the heart of South Africa's waters, the first episode entitled "Coasts", reveals the struggle for survival on South Africa's Robberg Peninsula, where thousands of Cape fur seals face off against the world's most notorious predator, the great white shark.

Nick Easton, producer and director of this episode, says "The struggle between the Cape fur seals and the great white shark has been a developing story on the South African coast for the last few years".

"The sharks' increased presence on this stretch of coast is still poorly understood, as is their behaviour generally. And, of course, they are notoriously dangerous predators. The crew had to capture this nail-biting scene over four years." 

The show also captured footage of the first lions to return to Namibia's coast in 40 years, a remarkable event filmed at night using cutting-edge thermal imaging technology.

The series also features two orphan lion sisters whose lives have consisted of scavenging for food.

The coast provides a veritable feast for the tiny pride in the form of roosting seabirds, allowing the sisters to specialise in hunting these flocks, perhaps saving them from starvation.

Using a military-grade thermal camera to film the sequence enabled the crew to capture footage of lions hunting cormorants at night, a behaviour these sisters had to teach themselves as they lost their mother when they were young.

Across the episodes, DStv subscribers will see animals survival strategies in the Kalahari desert, the biodiversity found at high altitudes in South Africa in the Drakensberg Mountains, how wildebeest migrate across the grasslands of the Kruger National Park, and the rich and diverse ecosystems of Southern Africa's freshwater habitats like the Okovango Delta's aquatic life.

There is an ostrich family in the Namib desert and the poignant journey as she tries to raise her chicks in one of the world's most extreme environments, as well as desert baboons' relentless search for water in an arid landscape.

The hunting tactics of Southern African leopards are also on display in Planet Earth III, demonstrating unique hunting tactics by leaping from treetops, showcasing their impressive adaptability. 

In the Zakouma National Park the show follows one of the world's most spectacular elephant herd in Chad which has become a beacon of hope for conservation in central Africa.

"The local scenes are a testament to the rich natural heritage of South Africa and the broader African continent," the BBC says. 

 "They serve as a reminder of the importance of conservation efforts to protect these unique environments for future generations. By featuring these local stories, Planet Earth III aims to inspire South African viewers to take a closer interest in the natural world, its conservation challenges, and what can happen if we help protect these precious ecosystems."

Streamer race: Showmax will be second in Africa by 2029.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice's relaunched Showmax video streaming service is set to be second most-used across Africa by 2029, according to the latest consumer research projections, eclipsed by Netflix and followed by Amazon Prime Video in third place.

Sub-Saharan Africa will have 16 million subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) consumers by 2029 -7 million more than last year - according to the latest estimated projections from Digital TV Research, with South Africa and Nigeria as the two biggest streamer markets on the continent jointly contributing 59% (9.4 million) of this 16 million total.

According to Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, Africa's video streaming penetration will actually still be low by 2029, with only 7.1% of TV households paying for at least one video streamer subscription five years from now, although it will be up 4.7% compared to the end of 2023.

Netflix is set to remain Africa's SVOD market leader, with 6.9 million projected subscribers by 2029.

MultiChoice's Showmax, which has relaunched in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal's Peacock and Sky, is projected to have 3.7 million paying subscribers five years from now. 

Amazon Prime Video will grow to 2.97 million subscribers across sub-Saharan Africa by 2029 and be in third place but the latest projection doesn't take into account Amazon's shocking announcement last month that Amazon MGMG Studios has abruptly axed spending on any new local African productions.

Amazon is set to launch its local marketplace in South Africa within months and will offer its Amazon Prime subscription delivery service – something which includes Amazon Prime Video as part of a bundled offering. This will likely boost the usage of this streaming service. 

Disney+ which seems as if it will remain limited in its availability in sub-Saharan Africa to South Africa only, will be in fourth place in the streamers race by 2029 with only 905 000 subscribers.

Apple TV+ will have around 245 000 subscribers by 2029.

"SVOD is a battle between Netflix and regional player Showmax," says Simon Murray. 

"Rich in local content and sports rights, Showmax now has access to NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures and HBO content. Showmax’s parent MultiChoice recently rejected a takeover bid from Canal+".

TV show 'lunch': Background actors on Durban-filmed production fed a shock box of corn and carrots, Stained Glass Pictures denies it's Uzalo.

by Thinus Ferreira

A lump of cold rice, a few centimetres of corn on the cob and a few carrot pieces - thrown into a foamalite box - is what background actors allege they've been served on Tuesday last week as craft lunch in Durban on the set of a South Africa TV show.

While a newspaper report said it's on the set of SABC1 and South Africa's biggest TV show, Uzalo, Stained Glass Pictures denies that this food, in this way, was served by this production which is also filmed in Durban.

A shocking image, taken by a background actor of the food they were served as part of a TV show's craft service, came to light last week - with the barely-there "lunch" looking like the scandalous lunch box that festival-goers received at the disastrous Fyre Festival in April 2017 in the Bahamas.

Background actors have now come forward to share and show what they got to eat, claiming that the "meals" they have been served for lunch differed from those given to the show's main actors and crew. 

It's standard in South African craft and catering services that all cast and crew eat together and are served the same food on a production, without any delineation between main and other on-call or guest actors, and crew.

While even on big-production, big-budget shows the craft service is never five-star food since cast and crew are not on-set to eat, it is an included production budget expense line-item with decent portions, bulk-prepared but properly made and served, and often with the option for a second helping.

After the image was shared on social media last week, Jack Devnarain, chairperson of the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA) shared another image of "breakfast" given to background actors in Durban. 

It's unclear what Durban-based production this "breakfast" - also in a foamalite box comprising a hard-boiled egg, a vienna, and a piece of bacon on top of a few baked beans - is from.

Jack Devnarain noted "It's an absolute disgrace and an insult to both the background actors and to the industry itself. The worst part is that its now become the new normal. This pic [is] from background actors in Durban - this is breakfast apparently".

The Sunday World newspaper quoted Uzalo production insiders and background actors who claim they were ordered not to even ask for water or juice since that "is reserved for the main crew of actors, video editors and lightning guys". 

Background actors say Uzalo main cast members get to eat "better food" like salads, beef and chicken.

"The shabby treatment started last week," a background actor said. "I thought it was a temporary thing but it has gone on until this week. I was expecting a better service since Uzalo is one of the big productions in the country".

"At Stained Glass TV, we take such matters seriously and are committed to ensuring the well-being and satisfaction of all individuals involved in our productions," King David Mukwevho, Uzalo series producer told TVwithThinus in response to a media query.

"We also consulted with the catering team to conduct thorough investigations, and we are certain that the referenced image does not belong to our production."

"Whenever we are serving food, there is always enough for everyone. This could be another production that shoots here in Durban. Our priority is to provide a comfortable and nourishing environment for everyone on set."

South Africa's Stage 6 electricity blackouts too much for MultiChoice and M-Net's Big Brother Mzansi that's back on DStv after suffering 12 hour transmission break due to Eskom load shedding.

by Thinus Ferreira

After a break of almost 12 hours, the latest season of Big Brother Mzansi flickered back on TV sets on Sunday morning just after 11:00 after a transmission blackout because of South Africa's Stage 6 electricity blackouts.

Eskom's latest round of debilitating Stage 6 load shedding which hit South Africa on Saturday morning, and was downgraded to Stage 5 on Sunday afternoon, was so severe that even the backup emergency power in place for use by the Red Pepper Pictures produced show for MultiChoice and M-Net's Mzansi Magic TV channel couldn't cope anymore and failed.

The loss of electricity led to a break in transmission from the Big Brother Mzansi studio in Johannesburg which is in 4th season under the Big Brother Mzansi moniker and is the 10th season overall of Big Brother done by M-Net in South Africa according to the Banijay format.

Big Brother Mzansi went off the air on Saturday night around midnight and only managed to be restored almost 12 hours later at 11:45 on Sunday morning. 

According to insiders, despite normal precautionary measures and backup power generation, the weekend's incessant bouts of electricity cuts under Eskom's Stage 6 proved too much for the electricity demands of the camera-filled Red Pepper Pictures reality show. 

A spokesperson told TVwithThinus on Sunday that Mzansi Magic was immediately aware of the loss in transmission on DStv's channel 198.

"Due to Stage 6 load shedding, backup power generation was affected and the production team worked hard to get more backup generators for the show to resume transmission."

"We would like to assure viewers that extra security measures were put in place to ensure that housemates are safe and they remained under the watchful eye of Big Brother."