The prestigious Miss South Africa beauty pageant made its memorable return to the public broadcaster, after 23 years, through its Video Entertainment channel S3 broadcasting the event live!
Broadcast on Sunday 13 August, it was presented by multi-talented media personality and businessperson Ms. Bonang Matheba and the excellent broadcast had South Africans enthralled, as it topped the trends poll on social media.
We spoke to Mr. David Makubyane, the Head of Video Entertainment Platforms, to understand why it was important for this property to return to SABC screens.
- QUESTION
Firstly, congratulations on a spectacular broadcast production of the Miss South Africa 2023 pageant. For the SABC, what was the thinking behind collaborating with the Miss South Africa organisation, after last having broadcast the pageant 23 years ago?
ANSWER: Miss South Africa is a key event of national importance that sits well on the Public Broadcaster. Not only is it aligned to the S3 brand positioning as a prestigious event, but it’s also aligned to the channel strategy of 2023/4. We believe that for the SABC, it is an imperative that the South African public have access to such an important event, where the person who is going to represent them internationally is selected.
The Miss South Africa title carries with it a lot of hope, aspirations and most importantly, it enables young women from all backgrounds to showcase the power of what one can achieve with the right opportunities and platform. In addition, women empowerment is also a critical social imperative, which the SABC will continuously drive, and therefore we will fully support and collaborate with events of this nature.
- QUESTION
As part of the build up to the finale of Miss South Africa, S3 presented a realty series called ‘Crown Chasers’ which showcased the journey the contestants took to reach the final stage. How do you think the programme fared and did it resonate with viewers?
ANSWER: The Crown Chasers did well for the channel, increasing the performance of the channel’s weekend ratings. It was a collaborate objective to bring something new and fresh in a form of a five (5) part reality series, where those competing for the crown will be placed in real life Miss South Africa scenarios, including several challenges, based on the four pillars of Miss South Africa – Duty, Championship, Empowerment and Beauty.
- QUESTION
Will there be a rebroadcast of the finale and can viewers expect the pageant to be broadcast by the SABC again next year?
ANSWER: The finale will repeated on S3 on 28 August 2023 at 21:00. In addition, The Crown Chasers together with the Awards will also be broadcast on SABC+.
- QUESTION
Lastly, what other exciting content in terms of events or awards can the public look forward to on the Video Entertainment network in the coming months?
ANSWER: We are excited to have the 17th South African Film and Television Awards next month, the South African Music Awards, later on in the year, The Crown Gospel Awards, the South African Traditional Music Awards, as well as the Basadi in Music Awards 2023. We are certainly the home of spectacular local live broadcast events!
By: Vuyo Mthembu (Manager: Media Relations)
