As from November, DStv viewers will be able to watch the popular Canadian comedy-drama series Being Erica on the Hallmark Channel (Channel 108). Described as “Ally McBeal meets Bridget Jones”, the show is about 30-something Erica Strange who is given a chance by a mysterious therapist to go back in time, right the wrongs of her past and change her mediocre life.
Being Erica is distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide and is proving to be a key ratings driver globally. The Canadian pilot episode in January this year achieved an overnight audience of 615 000 viewers, confirmed by BBM Nielsen Media Research. In The Netherlands, the premiere achieved 389 000 viewers and a market share of 5,9%.
“We were excited to secure Being Erica for the South African Hallmark Channel as it’s a perfect match for the channel’s audience of 30+ females,” said director of Global Programme Acquisitions for NBC Universal Global Networks Mark Lawrence. “We are also presenting this new series as a territory premiere in South Africa.”
According to Telmar, the Hallmark Channel got its highest ratings in two years during the last quarter, with a market share of 2,79% amongst DStv subscribers aged 16 and over. It also became the 7th most-watched DStv channel in May 2009.
