Janet Smith
Since the 1950s in the United States, television has defined generations, with some programmes becoming objects of special public attention, even fanaticism. It’s no wonder a channel devoted to popular and cult series has finally been created, capitalising on the nostalgia of the television age before the digital generation overtakes it in the 21st century.
M-Net was convinced that the South African public, after two decades of public television and more than 10 years of pay TV, was ready for a dedicated series channel which would cast up good and dubious memories.
When the pay channel launched its youngest satellite service on DStv on April 1, it put faith in viewer research which showed people wanted to revisit the Korea of MASH and fight the bad guys of Thrush with Napoleon Solo, The Man from UNCLE.
Saturated with pop icons, the Series Channel could yet become a favourite destination for our collective memory. After all, long before Bart – the anagram and manifestation of brat – sprung from the woman with a beehive held together by a single bobby-pin in The Simpsons, there were the good, clean and fresh 1960s kids of The Waltons.
And before quasi-mystic cop Dale Cooper ate cherry-pie while contemplating the dark and sexy mystery around Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks, there was Sonny Crockett, Miami Vice’s 1980s man in a jacket with cuffs folded to the elbows.
M-Net hopes to switch us on to cult TV with a line-up including shows that mastered the ratings all over the world – Bob Newhart, Hotel and Hill Street Blues among them – and well-worn American hits like The Planet of the Apes, Land of the Giants and The Dukes of Hazzard which have never been seen in this country.
With the arrival of the Series Channel, M-Net is anticipating a growth in public interest in its entire collection of 24-hour DStv services, including the youth music service Channel O (which has performed particularly well since its launch late last year), Movie Magic, The Soap Channel and the SuperSport channels, all of which thrive on themed programming.
A must, rather than a trend, in cable and satellite TV, themed channels (like DStv’s Carlton Food Network, BET on Jazz and Travel) are designed around niche markets.
Despite the camp appeal of its concept, the Series Channel is going to have to rely on more than a niche market for viewership, however. Since it is nostalgia in which M-Net’s strategists are investing their attention here, it is hard to tell how long the concept can survive.
Will the next generation of adult viewers care for reruns of Friends, Baywatch and Beverly Hills 90210? M-Net believes it will.
The primary selling point of the Series Channel for South African audiences is that it barters three generations of television, from the 1960s to the 1980s, while also taking advantage of the worldwide move away from traditional programming which aimed to span the entertainment spectrum with the emphasis on family viewing.
The Series Channel embraces all classic television genres – action, sagas, comedy, drama, detective stories and cult serials – with a premium programming block from 6pm to midnight daily, offering what could become a genuine alternative to prime-time viewing on domestic channels.
Meanwhile, M-Net says it is constantly researching the national and African television market for gaps, “but not for the sake of filling capacity” – and new satellite channels are expected to emerge out of its continuing research before 2000.