We were chatting in the office the other day about the TV shows we watched as kids.

Back in the day, before streaming and multi-channel services like DStv, you had to plan your week around when your favourite show was on.

The one thing you could always count on was the Sunday night movie on M-Net. Fast forward to 2019, and DStv and M-Net have kept this tradition alive, with many people still counting on it.

You know the weekend has come to an end when you hear the music from Carte Blanche.

That’s your cue to wind down and mentally prepare for the workweek. Once you’ve despaired for a while at the state of South Africa, you’re rewarded with a film that provides an hour or two of escapism before bedtime.

MyBroadband notes that even though streaming services like Netflix have changed the way we watch TV, they still haven’t found a way to compete with the Sunday night movie.

The Sunday night movie has been around almost as long as M-Net, and has remained popular since its launch in 1988.

DStv screened Carte Blanche at 19:00 and the film at 20:00 on M-Net for decades, but recently changed this time slot to accommodate its new Trackers series, which it said has proven very popular.

M-Net channels director Jan du Plessis talks about the tradition:

“The Sunday night movie remains to be a firm favourite among M-Net 101 viewers and the combo of Carte Blanche attracts the channel’s biggest viewership,” du Plessis said.

“What has changed is that viewers can now opt to watch the movie on linear television or Catch Up and that our viewership figures are based on both.”

Speaking of catching up, check out Carte Blanche on the ‘turmoil in the DA’. 

When asked whether South Africans still religiously watched the Sunday night movie despite the growth of Netflix and other OTT platforms in South Africa, du Plessis said that the time slot was viewed as eagerly as ever by DStv subscribers…

“‘Sunday Night Movie on M-Net’ is a tradition like Mrs Ball’s Chutney… one of the things you miss about South Africa when you travel!”

I’m not sure I would go that far (Have you ever seen a London care package? It’s Ouma rusks and Mrs Balls all the way), but that Sunday night movie slot is definitely here to stay.

[source:mybroadband]