It’s rare to be on the receiving end of a South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) headline without groaning out loud. This is one of those golden moments. It’s finally booting out some of the older content (or shuffling it around, at least) to make room for a new two-hour content slot on SABC 3 and filling it with shows from BBC Studios.
That isn’t some eTV after-hours showing you might remember from your youth. We’re talking about real television from the UK’s own British Broadcasting Commission — you know, the folks that got the original The Office greenlit along with the epitome of soap opera television: Eastenders.
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If you’re a regular viewer of SABC 3’s 21:00 to 23:00 slot, that might be changing soon. BBC ‘Primetime’ is a selection of content the SABC reckons was hand-crafted by BBC Studios to “offer [SABC 3] viewers access to globally recognized content.”
This won’t be an immediate changeover. BBC Primtetime is scheduled to slot into the SABC’s line-up sometime in April, and will also be featured on SABC+ — the broadcaster’s half-decent streaming app — in the same 21:00-23:00 schedule.
“The content block will include a range of shows including a psychological crime thriller starring Idris Elba, Luther, intense medical drama, Critical, gripping factual motoring show, Top Gear (season 14-17), and romantic comedy, Cheaters,” the broadcasters said.
If the introduction of such high-quality shows feels a little off-brand for the broadcaster, that’s the idea. The broadcaster said its recent partnership with BBC Studios came out of a necessity to fulfil its commitment to offering international content on its channels, according to programming manager Sane Zondi.
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“We are excited to have access to a vast catalogue from the BBC, and the unlimited world-class entertainment our viewers will be able to enjoy through BBC Primetime on S3,” Zondi said. “The deal allows us to bring back some of the iconic BBC titles to our viewers which formed weekly habitual viewing, with Top Gear being the most notable one.”