by Thinus Ferreira
eMedia's Openview free-to-air satellite service has decided to dump People's Planet and to replace it from 1 September 2026 with an in-house channel in the form of a self-packaged channel it calls eXplore.
e.tv gave no reason for dumping People's Planet on Openview channel 115.
People's Planet was originally called People's Weather when it was added to Openview in November 2020. The channel rebranded in mid-2024 to People's Planet.
Two years ago with the rebrand, People's Planet CEO Stephan le Roux said People's Planet decided to "partner exclusively with Openview, owned by the eMedia group as it is a rapidly growing platform that shares the vision for sustainability and growth, making it the perfect partner to help us reach and inspire a broader audience".
Now, by September 2026 there's not a word from People's Planet or Openview about what failed in its "exclusive partnership" as People's Planet is replaced by eXplore.
According to e.tv "eXplore will replace People's Planet and offer a broader mix of
real-world stories based on the premise that our everyday world is
stranger than we imagine".
"The programming moves between the natural world, life-or-death stories
of survival and the darker side of human behaviour. Viewers can expect
wildlife and conservation titles alongside documentaries,
real-life mysteries and true-crime investigations."
e.tv notes that "Adding eXplore reflects Openview’s continued focus on bringing greater variety to viewers. The launch-day evening line-up begins with wildlife and conservation
titles before moving into true crime and investigations of real events."
"It includes
Cheetah Diaries at 18:00, Chameleons of the World at 18:25, Kalahari Meerkats
at 19:20, Endangered with Michaela Strachan at 19:45, Evil Unmasked: The Station Strangler at 20:10 and A Mother's Madness
at 21:00."
