by Thinus Ferreira
The SABC has quietly cancelled Kids News Room (KNR) after two decades as the only TV news programme specifically dedicated and aimed at young people on the African continent.
KNR which started in 2004 on SABC2 as Kids News with teenage presenters, was shifted to SABC1 in 2006 and then back to SABC2 in June last year.
When the SABC moved KNR, presented in a variety of languages from Sesotho to isiZulu, back to SABC2 in 2023, it said that "SABC2 prides itself on fulfilling its licence mandate of informal knowledge building through crafting content that is relevant and relatable to its multigenerational audience".
KNR targeted kids between seven and 16 "with the aim of reflecting their diversity" and the SABC said that the weekly KNR "is a prime example of how the channel continuously delivers on providing an immersive family viewing experience".
Just under a year later KNR has now been cancelled, with no similar replacement after the last episode was broadcast in May.
Mmoni Seapolelo, SABC spokesperson, confirmed to me that that KNR has been canned.
"The SABC continuously reviews performance of all its content offerings and a decision has been made to discontinue the show Kids News Room (KNR). We can further confirm that the permanent staff members who worked for the programme will be moved to other departments within SABC News".
The South African public broadcaster is technically insolvent, struggling to pay producers and to commission the full volume of local content it is supposed to broadcast in various languages across its three terrestrial TV channels.
The SABC has been on an ongoing trend of cancelling shows and recently decided to end its long-running Venda weekday soap Muvhango after its contract ran out.
After a viewer outcry and contentious negotiations with Word of Mouth Pictures, the SABC and the production company agreed to bring a revamped Muvhango back for a 26th season as a cheaper show which will start on SABC2 with new episodes on 5 August.
