by Thinus Ferreira
eNCA (DStv 403) on Monday morning, 2 August, finally switched to broadcasting from eMedia Investments' new building in Johannesburg and from new studio space within this building, featuring a wall-to-ceiling window behind the anchor desk, showing how it looks outside and with plans to install the biggest video wall in Africa with 3 to 4 months here.
The move to a new eNCA studio from e.tv's Hyde Park headquarters in Johannesburg has been a long time coming, with eNCA that told TVwithThinus three years ago in July 2019 that the TV news channel plans to move to a new Johannesburg location.
Copying CNN and its iconic James Earl Jones tagline, eNCA also added a male announcer voice-over at the top of the hour, saying "This is eNCA".
eNCA's implementation of new studio space - with the new building that is located very close to the previous 5 Summit Road building in Hyde Park and studio 102 where eNCA used to broadcast from until this past Friday - comes after the rival South African TV news channel Newzroom Afrika (DStv 405) introduced its new studio space in March this year after a 4-month revamp.
The new eMedia Investments building is in Albury Road, right next door to 5 Summit Road, where the so-called "west block" building was redeveloped.
The new eNCA studio-look immediately suffered two very evident problems: dirty windows and glare. Viewers could see that eNCA forgot to clean the windows properly.
The studio also suffers from a reflection problem.
Viewers can see what's behind the eNCA cameras, as well as "offside" to the sides since the windows behind the anchor desk reflect back - like a mirror from certain angles and depending on darkness and light - various things like doors, the desk and studio, monitors and even the ceilings lights that create more on-air clutter than is necessary.
Besides eNCA staffers, the building also houses e.tv, eMedia Sales, Openview and YFM radio station employees.
Norman Munzhelele, eNCA managing director, in an interview at 8:30 on Monday morning on the channel, said that "it's been a long journey because of Covid" getting to move to and broadcasting from the new building.
"We've got the biggest video wall in Africa, this building will enable us to use that video wall to the maximum," he said, with eNCA that will still move to a bigger studio space within the building within months.
"We had to move fast from 5 Summit Road to here. But I think in the next 3 to 4o months we will be in that studio where we will have the biggest studio in Africa."
eNCA celebrated the first broadcast from the new building on Monday with a silver and white cake.
