I am a big fan of TV and enjoy my evenings watching a little programming before heading to bed. So of course before the move to South Africa I had to inquire about their tv programming. I was pretty pleased with what I was told but knew there would be shows I would have to live without.
There are tv packages here much like in the US. We have a package with 135 program channels and 70 music channels, I was pretty surprised South Africa had that many options. Of those 135 channels, several are movie channels that play uninterrupted. I would say about 90% of the programs are in English and are US programs, other than the news and sports. Channels include: Discovery, Comedy Central, E!, Fox, MTV, CBS, TCM, AME, TLC, Style, Travel, NatGeo, Animal Planet, History, Disney, Disney Junior, Nickelodean, CNN, CNBC-Africa, and the weather channel. There is a food network type channel and a HGTV type channel that play some of their programming but mixes in South Africa's own programming too.
Mark is a huge sports fan but sadly for him there are very few American football games on tv over here and they seem to come on only in the middle of the night. But if he learns to love cricket, rugby or soccer then the choices are endless.
I was pretty sad to find out that the channel Bravo is not available over here. And even more sad to figure out that www.Bravotv.com will not allow me to watch their full episodes as I don't have a US IP address. This is true for many of the US tv networks. I don't understand why they would not want people around the world to enjoy their programs. So I find what I can get on Youtube and what re-runs there might be on another channel here, though the shows are all several seasons old.
Most of the programs on over here are a season or months behind. For instance, we are now just finishing the last season of Keeping up with the Kardashians and Glee. The E! news comes on a day behind and when the anchors talk about release dates for movies/albums/etc. it will normally be blurred or muted as of course it will not come out on that date here in South Africa.
Most channels hardly have any commercials and are normally breaking up their programming by showing promos for upcoming programming. I have seen George Clooney on a coffee commercial for Nescafe, depicting himself of course. Most of the commercials are for products in SA but some are for US products that you can get over here. I love not having many commercials and some shows are uninterrupted all together.
Some shows you will find on tv here include: The Bachelor, The Biggest Loser, The Simpsons, The Talk, The Ellen Degeneres Show, 30 Rock, The Mentalist, NCIS, Two and a Half Men, American Idol, Friends, Modern Family, Wipe Out, Fashion Star, Hawaii 5-0 and NYPD. Some shows have regular air times but otherwise programming just seems to be sporadic in what is on and when. I am thankful we have DVR capabilities and the devise hold quite a bit of shows.
South Africa also has it's own programs based on shows in the US. Such as Top Chef SA, Idol SA, and Dancing with the Stars SA. Some have different names but it is the same format. Then there are US programs that come on in another language. Some mornings we can catch Elmo's World in a tribal language, which Adalyn will watch just as intently as the US version. I will have to say that Elmo's voice is much easier to take in another language, not as grating on the ears.
There are several news channels such as CNN and Bloomberg that will give quite a bit of US news, but turning to the internet is the best option I have found. The local news is just as depressing over here as back in the US. It is interesting to watch the international news channels as their point of views can be quite different on topics concerning the US.
Censorship is different in South Africa as well. I have heard less cussing but seen more nudity. I think when a movie comes on and there is a rated R version and an uncut version, it always seems to be the uncut version that is played. The use of "God" or "Jesus" or any other religious reference will be muted if used in a derogatory way. Children of celebrities will often have their faces blurred on programs such as E! News. Quite often a warning will show up before a program starts warning those with epilepsy of flashing images for news channels.
I have been quite pleased with the tv programming in South Africa and find myself watching it less than I did back in the US since programming is irregular. Probably a good habit to get into. I am guessing that when we come back to the US my knowledge of what is going on in the country, news and pop culture will be lacking.
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