International Networks Commemorate Life of Nelson Mandela

NEW YORK: Broadcasters around the world have planned special programming to mark the passing of Nelson Mandela, including Discovery, which has prepared the hour-long documentary The Making of Mandela to air in 224 countries. 

The Making of Mandela, which comes from Darlow Smithson Productions, will air tonight on Discovery Channel UK at 8 p.m. It will begin rolling out across 224 countries globally starting tomorrow. The special will air on Discovery Channel South Africa and Discovery Channel U.S. on Sunday, December 8. The doc is narrated by British star David Harewood, and features interviews that are supplemented by Mandela’s own recordings for his book, A Long Walk to Freedom.

HISTORY has planned a worldwide broadcast for Miracle Rising: South Africa, a two-hour special produced by Combined Artists. Airing in markets from the U.S., Canada and Latin America to the U.K., India, Australia, Japan, Africa and all across Europe, the feature tells the story South Africa's political transformation that culminated in the country's first democratic elections.

In South Africa, public broadcaster SABC has shelved all programs for 48 hours to pay tribute to the former president. The pubcaster has stationed special news teams throughout the country to document how the country is dealing with his passing, and will continue to present live coverage of events over the next two weeks. SABC has also been live streaming its coverage on YouTube.

In Australia, TEN Eyewitness News is paying tribute to Mandela with the one-hour special Nelson Mandela: The Struggle Is My Life. The program, which will air tonight at 7:30 p.m. on TEN, features archival footage, including Mandela's first recorded interview in 1960, and exclusive interviews with key figures from his life, among them Desmond Tutu and F.W. de Klerk.

News networks in the U.S. broke regularly scheduled programming yesterday with special reports on his passing. The African-American entertainment network TV One is commemorating Mandela's life and achievements with the airing of the documentaries Nelson Mandela: One Man and Music for Mandela, along with ongoing coverage on the daily live morning news program News One Now. CBS has scheduled a 48 Hours Presents special, Nelson Mandela: Father of a Nation, which features original reporting from CBS News journalists who have covered Mandela's life firsthand. The special is set to air Saturday, December 7, at 9 p.m. on CBS.

In the U.K., a British columnist has attacked the BBC for its extensive cover of Mandela's passing. "For Christ's sake BBC, give it a bloody break for five minutes, will you?” wrote Rod Liddle, a columnist for Britain's Spectator magazine who is no stranger to controversy. The comments spurred a social media backlash. The BBC continues with its coverage of the anti-apartheid icon. Today at 3 p.m., BBC Parliament will show a 40-minute program, A Tribute to Nelson Mandela, which will present Mandela's historic 1996 address to Parliament and his 2007 speech at the unveiling of his statue in Parliament Square. ITV is replacing its previously scheduled movie broadcast this evening with Nelson Mandela: His Life and Legacy, and will follow that up with South Africa 28 Up, which traces the lives of a group of children who lived through Mandela's release from prison and his election as president.

Canada's CBC has slated a special presentation during tonight's Doc Zone at 9 p.m., with Madiba: The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela. Doc Zone's updated consideration of the special includes interviews with Mandela and dozens of key figures in his nation's history. CBC News Network's The Passionate Eye presents The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela, a two-hour special documentary, on Saturday at 10 p.m.

Mandela passed away yesterday at the age of 95 following a long illness.