by Thinus Ferreira
e.tv's The Morning Show returned to the airwaves this morning for its third iteration, a month and a half after the struggling breakfast show shuttered production because of the Covid-19 coronavirus, losing presenters and behind-the-scenes crew, now opting for a virtual set and with William Lehong and Nelisiwe Nxumalo as co-anchors.
The former anchors Tumelo Mothotoane and Clement Manyathela are gone.
On Monday morning neither William Lehong nor Nelisiwe Nxumalo explained the rebrand, the absence of any of the former presenters or any of the behind-the-scenes drama, but did mention the new virtual set and that the show is glad to be back after the easing of Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
The Cheeky Media produced morning show shuttered for a combination of movies and kids morning programming on e.tv over the past 6 weeks.
SABC News and SABC2's breakfast show and the country's most-watched morning show, Morning Live that is produced in-house by the South African public broadcaster, as well as Expresso on SABC3 produced by the external production company Cardova Productions, both remained on-air.
In March after e.tv pulled The Morning Show off the air following the South African government's regulations surrounding the country's Covid-19 national lockdown period, Cheeky Media told the crew of the Johannesburg-based The Morning Show that they were out of jobs and were told to apply for unemployment at the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
"We're facing trying times, with our key clients having cancelled campaigns and cut down spend as they too are unsure of what the next couple of months will entail," Cheeky Media told staffers in a letter in late-March letting them go.
"We write to you to, our loyal and trusted staff, with the sole objective to provide transparency in these unclear times. Please take note that based on the feedback from e.tv today [26 March 2020], Cheeky Media will, with immediate effect, suspend all business activities until further notice."
"As of today, Cheeky Media will specifically terminate all permanent and fixed-term contracts, as well as services rendered by independent contractors. Any payment due to you will be pro-rated for the month of March, up to and including 26 March. This is a tough decision for us and all businesses alike, to make."
Now The Morning Show has been reconstituted and is once again on-air between 06:00 and 08:00 but once again with noticeable differences in the latest relaunch since it replaced Sunrise two years ago.
It's the third iteration of The Morning Show, now using a virtual desk and digitally super-imposed backdrop with William Lehong and Nelisiwe Nxumalo who are back and now the co-anchors of the blue screen show. Cheeky Media plans to make further appointments as the show gears up production again.
"The Morning Show has been a stellar performing production, and we look forward to its return," says Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director, in a prepared statement. "We believe that with the lockdown still in place, our viewers will appreciate the fresh current affairs, lifestyle, and topical discussion content that will be on offer this coming week."
Yusuf Stevens, Cheeky Media managing director, in the statement says "Being home during the lockdown gave us a much-needed refresh and allowed us to strategise remotely as a team - we’ve never had this amount of time for pre-production".
"We naturally still have quite a bit of constraint in terms of producing and what we are allowed to do, but this won’t stop us from shaking things up within the confines of the rules. We cannot wait for you to see the 'new' Morning Show."
ALSO READ: Coronavirus: e.tv’s The Morning Show off-air, crew and presenters of the Cheeky Media produced show all axed over Covid-19 national shutdown.
