News Broadcasting
Bollywood makes its mark on South African TV
MUMBAI: After the news of US cable outfits offering Bollywood video-on-demand, comes the news that our filmi fare is eagerly lapped up in springbok country too.
Bollywood on 3″, a new slot on SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) commercial channel SABC 3 has gone into the second season of airing Bollywood movies on prime time every weekend.
SABC Regional Manager, Laurence Michelle
SABC regional manager Laurence Michelle, speaking to Indiantelevision.com said, “The Indian diaspora in SA is fairly influential, two things that we follow very closely about India are – the Indian cricket team and Bollywood.”
Here in Mumbai to attend the 2nd India International Film Convention, the exhibition floor of which has been taken up completely by the South African delegation, Laurence in an address to the audience stated, “The South African national broadcaster, SABC through its commercial TV Channel SABC 3 prides itself in its strategy of being locally rooted and globally connected. We aspire to our commitment of being bold trendsetters in broadcasting and offer our viewers appointment viewing. In line with these strategies, Bollywood was recognised as a product that has impacted greatly on Western culture for example, London’s channel 4 has a successful Bollywood slot, then there is the successfulKumars.”
Continuing he said, “The International success of the Bollywood phenomenon prompted the channel to associate itself with the global Bollywood brand and we decided to offer our viewers something completely different on a Saturday night. Bollywood affords viewers around the world an appetite of movies that offer pure escapist value. It takes viewers into a world away from our ordinary daily lives and offers us 2-3 hours of pure fun, glamour and entertainment.”
Talking about how successful Bollywood was in drawing viewership, Laurence told the audience,”The first season of Bollywood on 3 increased viewership in the slot by 30 per cent in the LSM 8-10 audiences, 110 per cent in all adults; 20 per cent in Afrikaans-speaking audiences and 670 per cent in the most popular recent Bollywood titles like Devdas, Baghban, Munnabhai MBBS, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Dil Se. Apart from the overwhelming positive response received from audiences across the board, the media supported the venture incredibly well and continues to do so.”
“This is, of course, great news for you all” added Laurence speaking to the gathering of film producers.
“We have recently launched the second season of Bollywood on 3 and the audience response after the first 3 movies has yet again reflected a phenomenal increase in viewership. We experienced a 30 per cent increase in LSM 8-10, 110 per cent in English-speaking adults and a 770 per cent increase in Indian audiences.” he informed.
“At SABC we are looking forward to working closely with India,” concluded Laurence.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
