All local series produced for South African pay-TV broadcaster M-Net will now be piloted as a means of testing content before series go into production. In other firsts, the broadcaster is to issue commissioning briefs for its Series and Action channels and focus strongly on development.
Newly appointed head of Local Development & Production Helen Smit emphasises the importance of the development element. “We’re really keen to develop our own formats in all genres. As a broadcaster we want to perform on all platforms and to do that you need to own all rights. However, we wouldn’t necessarily exclude co-productions.”
It’s no secret that local content performs well in South Africa and M-Net’s locally produced shows are no exception. “Local content, which accounts for about 18% of the M-Net schedule, really works for us. As long as we tell stories that are relevant and that people can relate to, they will resonate with the audience and generate good ARs. We always set AR targets for each local show and that target is tied to the time slot and to the record for that time slot. Carte Blanche, for example, performs remarkably well for an actuality show because of its quality and what the show stands for.”
Read more in the May 2009 issue of Screen Africa
