Four new BBC-branded themed channels will debut on MultiChoice Africa’s DStv bouquet of satellite channels as from September. The channels replace BBC Prime and BBC Food, currently on DStv, and have been specially created for the African market, following 18 months of research by BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC.
“Our research has shown that African television audiences have a strong connection to the BBC brand,’ said Dean Possenniskie, GM of BBC Worldwide Channels for the Europe Middle East Africa region, at the Johannesburg launch on 10 June. “Research also revealed that audiences want more fresh programming from BBC. With the four new channels we will unleash 2,500 hours of new programmes over the first year. Some 700 hours of this will be comprise completely new programming.’
The four new channels are BBC Entertainment (the best comedy, drama and light entertainment programming from the BBC and other UK production houses); BBC Lifestyle (food, home and design, fashion and style, health, parenting and personal development); BBC Knowledge (factual and non-fiction); and the pre-school channel CBeebies. The channels will be more user friendly than BBC Prime and BBC Food, as they will be in clear navigation zones.
BBC Worldwide’s “local content’ strategy is divided into three phases. The first is acquiring programming from the BBC archives which is suitable for the African market, followed by scrutinising existing formats to see which could translate to South Africa and Africa. Thirdly, BBC Worldwide is connecting with the local production community regarding the possibility of commissioning programmes. In the past some South African-produced programmes were commissioned for the BBC Food channel.
Director of Programming for BBC Worldwide Channels John Taite revealed that following the launch he was meeting with local producers and personalities to discuss the possibility of producing food programmes. “However, we are obviously open to all genres and could well be commissioning drama from South Africa sometime in the future. But first we have to see what is resonating in the market. We’re always looking for fresh ideas and local formats and want to be popular in African homes, with programmes that target all age groups.’
Taite noted that BBC Worldwide does not really tap into the reality genre. “We have shows like The Apprentice and Dancing With The Stars, but we consider them light entertainment and not reality. The key to multichannel success is to be very precise, so that means not having too many genres. We specialise in drama, comedy and light entertainment.’
In October fully localised websites for the channels will be launched. Future plans are to deliver channels via IPTV, mobile and video on demand (VOD).
BBC Worldwide is equipped to deliver the channels on high definition (HD) and will do so when required by MultiChoice. Head of Content at MultiChoice Aletta Alberts noted that DStv will launch a single DStv channel in August devoted to coverage of the Beijing Olympics. “Thereafter the HD channel will become an M-Net channel with a range of entertainment programming. MultiChoice will of course launch more HD channels once more transponders are in place, as HD uses up three times as much bandwidth as a standard definition (SD) channel.’
Some of the programmes viewers can look forward to on BBC Entertainment (DStv Channel 120) are Torchwood, Doctor Who, Spooks, Hotel Babylon, My Family and Gavin and Stacey. BBC Lifestyle (DStv Channel 180) offers What Not to Wear, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Honey We’re Killing the Kids and How to find a Husband, as well as cooking shows with Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson and a host of new chefs.
BBC Knowledge (DStv Channel 251) comprises five strands: The World (audiences can delve into new cultures); Science & Technology; People (explores fascinating aspects of the human body and mind); and Business, which highlights what it takes to stay on top in today’s challenging business world.
CBeebies (DStv Channel 306) is aimed at children aged six years and under with a programme schedule that has an emphasis on educational entertainment.
All BBC channels will be available on the DStv Premium package.
