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The arts magazine show - which was well-known for blending high art and popular culture - originally ran on ITV1 between 1978 and 2009. It will return with an initial series of six shows on Sky Arts.
Lord Melvyn Bragg said in a statement: "I'm chuffed to bits that The South Bank Show is back in town... I worked with them earlier in the year for the South Bank Sky Arts Awards and the winners' films, and it was a very enjoyable partnership.
"I greatly look forward to working with [Sky Arts director] James Hunt and his team again."
He also told BBC News that he is thinking about retaining the show's iconic original violin theme tune, composed by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The annual South Bank Show Awards moved to Sky Arts earlier this year. Renamed the South Bank Show Sky Arts Awards, they will also be broadcast by the channel in 2012, taking place at London's Dorchester hotel on May 1.
Lord Bragg was presented with the BAFTA Fellowship last year for his contribution to television.
