SABC 3, also branded as S3, is a South African

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...

television channel owned by the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

(SABC). Since March 2024, it carries programming in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

only.

History

On 1 January 1982, two television services were introduced: TV2 broadcasting in Zulu and

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

and TV3 broadcasting in

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana *Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an offi ...

and

Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu languages, Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Tswanaland, ...

, both targeted at a Black urban audience. The main network, then called TV1, was divided evenly between English and Afrikaans, as before. In 1986, a new service called TV4 was introduced, carrying sports and entertainment programming, sharing the same television frequency used by TV2 and TV3; the new service started broadcasting at 9.30pm. In 1991, TV2, TV3 and TV4 were merged into a new service called CCV (Contemporary Community Values). A third network was introduced known as TSS, or TopSport Surplus, TopSport being the brand name for the SABC's sport coverage, but this was replaced by NNTV (National Network TV), an educational, non-commercial channel, in 1994. In 1996, the SABC reorganised its three TV channels with the aim of making them more representative of the various language groups. These new channels were called

SABC 1 SABC 1 is a South African public television network operated by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). It broadcasts programming in English and Nguni languages. SABC 1 was established in 1996 following the SABC's restructuring of it ...

SABC 2 SABC 2 is a South African free-to-air television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The channel was createdin its current form on 4 February 1996, due to the restructuring of the three national SABC networks. As ...

and SABC 3. SABC3 inherited many of its programs from TV1, South Africa's

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

-era "white" channel. SABC 3 is targeted at South Africa's affluent English-speaking community; the channel's primary target market is viewers aged 18 to 49. It screens a combination of international programming from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, as well as locally produced

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

s and

drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular su ...

. SABC 3's new format stemmed largely from a 1997 decision to commercialise the broadacaster, reducing the amount of documentary content that it previously broadcast since the days of NNTV. The new line-up was driven by ratings. SABC 3 moved its main news from 8pm to 7pm on 7 April 2003. It was rumoured that the new time was to compete with

e.tv e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. Founded in 1998, the company is headquartered in Cape Town. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the ...

's main bulletin, which was on at the same time, but these rumours were denied by Jimi Matthews, who had moved from the rival broadcaster. The channel's HD broadcasts began on 11 June 2018, in time for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

, alongside

. As of June 2018, the channel started broadcasting in high definition. In April 2021, the channel rebranded and is stylised as S3.

Programming

SABC 3 has deals with studio companies in the US and various television networks in the UK to air some series with a few months' delay from their international airdates.

Soapies, dramas and telenovelas

The channel is known for its longest-running soapie ''

Isidingo ''Isidingo'' was a South African soap opera, with dialogue mostly in English and isiXhosa. The series premiered on SABC 3 in July 1998 and was broadcast evenings on SABC 3 from Monday to Friday at 19:00. Until 2001 it was titled ''Isidingo: The ...

'', and previously aired local dramas such as'' High Rollers'', and popular international soaps ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'' and ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...

'', which SABC 3 stopped airing because of financial constraints. This upset viewers fond of the soapie and started a petition to keep the show running. The channel currently offers international dramas such as ''

Knightfall Knightfall may refer to: Television * ''Knightfall'' (TV series), an American historical fiction drama television series * " Knight Fall", an episode of the sixth season of ''House'' * "Knightfall" (''Once Upon a Time''), an episode of the sevent ...

'', ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a struc ...

'', ''

MotherFatherSon ''MotherFatherSon'' is a British thriller television series starring Richard Gere his first major television role Helen McCrory, Billy Howle, Ciarán Hinds and Elena Anaya. The series broadcast on BBC Two began on 6 March 2019 and ended on 24 A ...

'', ''

Line of Duty ''Line of Duty'' is a British police procedural and serial drama television programme created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It began broadcasting on BBC Two on 26 June 2012. ...

'', ''

El Chapo EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

,'' and ''

Killing Eve ''Killing Eve'' is a British spy thriller television series produced in the United Kingdom by Sid Gentle Films for BBC America and BBC Three (streaming service), BBC Three. The series follows Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), a British intelligence age ...

''. In April 2021, the channel introduced a new local drama '' The Estate'' and new telenovelas '' Orphans Of A Nation'', '' The Bay'' and '' The Red Room''.

Children and education

The channel has local children's content such as Challenge SOS, Talent on Track, Yum.Me and Hectic on 3, along with and international catalogue of kids and teens entertainment from

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

. This includes kids shows such as ''

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'' is an American animated interactive children's television series for preschoolers. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was created by Disney veteran Bobs Gannaway. The series originally aired 125 epi ...

'', ''

Go Jetters ''Go Jetters'' is a British animated television series airing on CBeebies and is also available on BBC iPlayer. A geography-based programme, it was commissioned by CBeebies controller Kay Benbow and is a co-production of CBeebies In-house Pro ...

'' and ''

My Friends Tigger & Pooh ''My Friends Tigger & Pooh'' is an American animated children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel. Inspired by A. A. Milne's ''Winnie-the-Pooh'', the series was developed by Walt Disney Television A ...

'', as well as teen shows such as ''

Victorious ''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around aspi ...

'', ''

iCarly ''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...

'', ''

Wizards of Waverly Place ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wi ...

'', '' Shake It Up'', ''

Cory in the House ''Cory in the House'' is an American television sitcom which aired on the Disney Channel from January 12, 2007, to September 12, 2008, and was a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the Disney Channel series ''That's So Raven''. The show focuses o ...

'', ''

Girl Meets World ''Girl Meets World'' is an American comedy television series created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that premiered on Disney Channel on June 27, 2014. The series ran for three seasons, consisting of 72 episodes, and concluded on January 20 ...

'', ''

Sam & Cat ''Sam & Cat'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider that aired on Nickelodeon from June 8, 2013, to July 17, 2014. It is a spin-off of ''iCarly'' and ''Victorious'', two TV shows that Schneider also created. The series stars Jenne ...

'', ''

Winx Club ''Winx Club'' is an animated television series co-produced by Rainbow S.p.A., Rainbow and, later, Nickelodeon. It was created and directed by Italian animator Iginio Straffi. It premiered on 28January 2004, becoming a ratings success in Ita ...

'', '' Violetta'', ''

Polly Pocket Polly Pocket is a toy line of inch-tall dolls and accessories sold by Mattel. The line was founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 and was first sold to the public in 1989. Between 2012 and 2018, it was not sold in the US in 2012 and decli ...

'', ''

Kuu Kuu Harajuku ''Kuu Kuu Harajuku'' is a Japanese-influenced animated children's television series created by singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani. It is based on her ''Harajuku Lovers'' merchandise brand, and the show doubles as a brand itself, with a line of tie- ...

'', ''

Sanjay and Craig ''Sanjay and Craig'' is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Dirschberger, Jay Howell, and Andreas Trolf for Nickelodeon. Produced by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, the series revolves around Sanjay, voiced by Maulik Pancholy, and his ...

'', ''

Henry Danger ''Henry Danger'' is an American comedy television series created by Dan Schneider and Dana Olsen that aired on Nickelodeon from July 26, 2014 to March 21, 2020. The series stars Jace Norman, Cooper Barnes, Riele Downs, Sean Ryan Fox, Ella ...

'', ''

Nowhere Boys ''Nowhere Boys'' is an Australian teen drama fantasy television series created by Tony Ayres. It was first broadcast on ABC3 (which is now officially named ABC Entertains) on 7 November 2013. The first two series follow the adventures of fo ...

'', '' Noah & Saskia'', '' Spellbinder'', '' Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord'', ''

Mortified ''Mortified'' is an Australian children's television series, co-produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation and Enjoy Entertainment for the Nine Network Australia. The series premiered on 30 June 2006 and ended on 11 April 200 ...

'', ''

Legacy of the Silver Shadow ''Legacy of the Silver Shadow'' is an Australian children's television series that first aired on the Ten Network in 2002. The thirteen-part series follows the story of four children who help a dead superhero. ''Legacy of the Silver Shadow'' ...

'', ''

Crash Zone ''Crash Zone'' is an Australian children's science fiction television series which aired on the Seven Network from 13 February 1999 to 25 August 2001. It was produced by Australian Children's Television Foundation, in association with the Disney ...

'' and ''Hectic on 3''. Unlike its sister channels, SABC 3 has less programming from the SABC Education banner.

Series

SABC 3 used to license and produce local versions of international series like ''

The Apprentice An apprentice is someone who is in training for a trade, profession. The Apprentice or Apprentice may also refer to: Television * ''The Apprentice'' (American TV series), the original reality television series * ''The Apprentice'' (franchise), ...

'', ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...

'', and ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...

''. The South African adaptions of ''The Apprentice'' and ''The Weakest Link'' have been off air and out of production for longer than 10 years. In 2017,

Hlaudi Motsoeneng Hlaudi Motsoeneng is the leader of African Content Movement (ACM) who served as the acting (law), acting Chief operating officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) from 2011 to 2013. Motsoeneng was removed from his position as ...

who was then COO of the SABC, decreed that SABC TV stations should broadcast 90% local content. The decree turned out to be unsuccessful, as the local productions were the least watched on the channel. After some time, their flagship international series returned, such as

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

and

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. ''The Amazing Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselv ...

. The channel currently has reality series such as

Judge Faith '' Faith'' is a syndicated American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Faith Jenkins. The show premiered on September 22, 2014 and ran for 4 seasons until its cancellation on May 21 ...

, Ready for Love and Christina Milian:Turned up. The channel also offers nature documentaries from

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

and

BBC Earth BBC Earth is a brand used by BBC Studios since 2009 to market and distribute the BBC's natural history content to countries other than the United Kingdom. BBC Studios is the commercial arm of the public service broadcaster. BBC Earth commercia ...

. In March 2024, SABC 3 announced a partnership with

BBC Studios BBC Studios Limited is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Wor ...

, under which it would broadcast a nightly

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

on weeknights known as BBC PRIMETIME beginning 1 May, which would feature airings of dramas and factual programmes from its library. The agreement also includes streaming content on SABC+.

Music

The channel also focuses on adult contemporary and urban music and has music specials from local and international artists. Shows like The Mic, Base 3 and Tapestry are aired on the channel. SABC 3 broadcasts Koze Kuse from

from August 2019 to April 2021.

Talk and magazine

SABC 3 has a heavy focus on local and international talk and magazines such as the breakfast show ''Expresso'', '' Afternoon Express'', ''

The Real In continental philosophy, the Real refers to reality in its unmediated form. In Lacanian psychoanalysis, it is an "impossible" category because of its inconceivability and opposition to expression. In depth psychology The Real is the ...

'', ''The Scoop'' and ''

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

''.

Sports

SABC 3 broadcasts All

Cricket South Africa Cricket South Africa aka CSA is the governing body for both professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. In 1991, the separate South African Cricket Union and the South African Cricket Board merged to form the United Cricket Board of South ...

Inbound Tours Of The Proteas Men's Team. It Also Broadcasts The

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

On Weekends,

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

, The Sasol League And The Hollywoodbets Super League. It Also Broadcasts

LFC TV LFCTV (Liverpool F.C. TV) is the dedicated official channel for English football club Liverpool F.C. which launched on 20 September 2007. It was formerly offered as part of the Setanta Sports package, but is currently a stand-alone channel. The ...

On It's Sports Show Sports Arena Including WSB Horseracing,

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is an open-wheel single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The racing series is the highest class of competition for electrically powered single-seater racing cars ...

, FIA WRC,

Extreme E Extreme E was an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that used spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. All racing locations were chosen to raise awaren ...

And Sports Highlights. The Channel Also Provides Overflow Space For

CAF CAF or caf may refer to: Armed forces *Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy *Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force *Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...

Competitions And

Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...

Matches. It recently started broadcasting the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

News and current affairs

SABC 3 serves the bulletin news for

speakers, simulcasting news broadcasts with their SABC NEWS CHANNEL for On Point, Monday to Friday @ 13:00, NEWS @ 8, Monday to Friday @ 20:00 & NEWS In 15 Minutes, Weekends @ 18:00. It also broadcasts

News, Monday to Friday @ 20:30 & Weekends @ 18:15. SABC 3 also broadcast

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

DW News ''DW News'' is a global news TV program broadcast by German public state-owned international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW). The first program aired the summer of 2015. History DW News was launched on 22 June 2015 and replaced DW programs lik ...

all the way from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Movies

The channel provides action, horror, drama, comedy, sci-fi, adventure, thriller, romance and fantasy movies during primetime. SABC 3 is well known for broadcasting popular

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

movies in their original

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

soundtrack.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabc 3 Television stations in South Africa Television channels and stations established in 1996 English-language television stations in South Africa Afrikaans-language television

History

Programming

Soapies, dramas and telenovelas

Children and education

Series

Music

Talk and magazine

Sports

News and current affairs

Movies

See also

References

External links