THE magic of keeping viewers glued to television has started, with many advertisements of new programmes coming on the screens.
MultiChoice has already advertised the coming of the 13th season of much-loved South African Idols which will not have Gareth Smith on the panel of judges.
However, Mwiika Malindima, MultiChoice Zambia public relations manager, seems to have even more captivating news for musical reality show lovers as he has announced that Dreams Zambia will be hitting Zambezi Magic soon.
The Zambian musical reality show which is more like Idols is likely to keep viewers glued to DStv Channel 160 once the show is officially launched.
This platform commented on the last episode of Dreams and how captivating it had become, especially when Cleo the Ice Queen anchored it.
Looking at the last episode and thinking of the input of Zambezi Magic, this platform is confident that the production will be worth watching.
What will make this show really interesting is the panel of judges who should have good knowledge of music and judgment of vocals.
The Zambian Dreams musical reality show will surely make a huge impact on the Zambian viewers and the Southern African region.
“This year we are bringing on Zambezi Magic our very own Zambian production similar to Idols SA so we believe we have the whole year well covered with quality content,” he says.
Still on reality shows, what many Zambians  are eagerly waiting for is a possible announcement of the return of the continent’s biggest and most watched reality show Big Brother Africa.
Last week, this platform received a huge traffic of questions especially from female viewers as regards to when M-Net will bring back BBA.
They say Big Brother Nigeria is not as captivating as the continental version and that they look forward to seeing it back on the screens this year 2017.
But Mwiika says the Nigerian version of Big Brother is interesting and shows commitment by DStv to deliver quality reality shows.
He says the continental version of Big Brother has not been iced and something is being done to bring back the show as soon as possible.
He says Big Brother Nigeria was there to keep viewers entertained while the cable television provider is pondering on when and how it will bring back the continental version of BBA.
Last week I also received a number of calls and mails over a programme on TV2 which, according to this comrade who preferred anonymity was a repeat.
He wrote: “Hi Sam, I was watching a repeat of Explosion hosted by Alick Mugala and Franklin Tembo Jr. it was in the morning around 09:00 when this rebroadcast was being aired.
However what surprised me was the fact that there was nothing on the screen to show the viewers that it was a repeat programme or even a mention of it at the beginning.
Although it is very normal and good to repeat certain programmes to me it sounded funny and deceiving because there was nothing on the screen to show it was a repeat worse still recorded in the evening and played in the morning.
I am sure those who did not watch Explosion way back would be confused. I thank you,”
Thank you, too, for your contribution.
Let me confess that I did not see the programme under discussion and that it would be a little bit tricky for me to give an intelligent opinion on something I did not see.
Nevertheless, from your explanation, you are right that the broadcaster needed to indicate on the screen to show that the programme was a repeat.
But if it is a deliberate programme that showcases old content like Play Circle and was announced that it would be broadcast every week, then there is no need for the ‘Repeat’ tag.
Unless it is a programme like Sunday Interview, Smooth Talk which are usually rebroadcast the following morning or on any other day on that particular week, the ‘Repeat’ tag remains a must.
As we end, let me turn to the world of football where last week I personally expressed my disappointment with Kalusha Bwalya’s unpatriotic voting.
Some of the mail I received shared the same disappointment with the former FAZ president. Here are two opinions that I found interesting.
The first comes from a Mr Sampa from Kitwe who wrote: “Hi Sam, I am equally disappointed with Kalusha Bwalya. The man is trying to solicit for support from Uganda and Zimbabwe in his quest to be on the FIFA executive committee. That’s not a wise move.”
Thanks Mr Sampa for your opinion although I am not in possession of the whole enchilada about the Kalu/ FIFA issue.
The other one came from Mansa where Mr Denis Kabungo wrote:
“Mr Sam, I think it is not right to shoot our hero Kalusha Bwalya in the manner you and others are doing. Kalusha has his own opinion and moreover, even if he had given the five votes to Kalaba, he would not have won still.
Let us just encourage Kalaba to be on top of things if he really needs to win. It is not about Kalusha but himself as a player.
I rest my case.”
Thank you Mr Kabungo for your opinion and I would not say much on your opinion as I have no immediate intention of changing my own opinion on how disappointed I am with the unpatriotic stance Kalu took.
We end here today please send your contribution to 0974372181 or email samphiri77@gmail.com