From Emmanuelle to eNews - e.tv turns 20 years old as South Africa's first (and still only) commercial free-to-air TV channel continues to expand and tackle new challenges.

As it's facing a new set of challenges, e.tv today celebrates a muted 20th anniversary since it launched 1 October 1998, having racked up several achievements and establishing local content brands over the past two decades ranging from Scandal! and Rhythm City to eNews.

Today, 20 years ago, the red letter "be free with e" TV channel, set-up and ran from its Longkloof Studios in Cape Town, made its debut as South Africa's first - and still only - free-to-air commercial TV channel, bringing South Africans more free television content than what was available on the SABC after Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) formed the Midi Consortium and launched e.tv.

Despite struggling in its beginning years and a flurry of reports about the cash-guzzling e.tv's impending demise, e.tv that at the time lost a million rand a day, managed to make a splash, lure viewers and to eventually turn its financials around and become profitable for the first time in 2003.

e.tv that initially broadcast for 6 ours a day from 17:00 to 23:00 until it went 24 hours in 1999, kept expanded its programming, ranging from hits like WWE wrestling to Walker Texas Ranger and Baywatch, to giving Joe Kambule the Phat Joe Show, and Nicky Greenwall's Nightlife (later retiled The Showbiz Report) - to misses like its disastrous first local soap tryout Backstage and its failed and critically panned first morning show attempt, The Toasty Show. 

The channel stole The Oprah Winfrey Show and Felicia Mabusa-Suttle away from the SABC, established Debora Patta and 3rd Degree from 2001 as "no fear, no favour" content and even gave South Africans free-to-air late night erotica in the form of Emmanuelle.  

e.tv turned the Madam and Eve cartoon strip into a local comedy series, and has since continued to grow its local content offering with various drama series and telenovelas, while doing local format adaptations of shows ranging from Fear Factor SA and The Biggest Loser SA to SA's Got Talent.

Local content wise, most notably, over the past two decades e.tv altered the South African TV landscape by introducing and nurturing two now hit local soaps, Scandal! and Rhythm City - both of which are still going strong - and introducing eNews on 17 January 1999 as South Africa's first credible TV news bulletin alternative to the South African public broadcaster.

In fact, the establishment of eNews as a TV news division that spawned the eNews Channel in 2008 and turned into eNCA (that became 10 years old in June), in all probability can be regarded as e.tv's biggest achievement and the biggest positive contribution that e.tv has made to South Africa's media and television landscape.  

While e.tv remains under pressure and the past 2 decades haven't been an easy ride - marked by several restructurings, high-profile executive in-fighting, palace intrigue and oustings, news downsizing, curtailing of e.tv's former African expansion dreams, and the massive and complex challenge of switching to digital terrestrial television broadcasting (DTT) without government help - eMedia Investments keeps forging ahead.

e.tv that launched its Openview free-to-air satellite service to carry its set of DTT channels continues to expand and plans to launch OpenNews as a free-to-air TV news channel on 1 November.

e.tv also keeps investing and making an ever-growing number of local programming with moderate success, despite budget constraints.

The channel also managed to normalise its programme offering that was overly dependent on a few ratings-grabbers like wrestling to a more rounded-out schedule that's a better overall blend of American and local shows and films, local and international soaps, its Craze youth strand, and local telenovelas.

Muvhango turns 20: 'We will continue dishing authentic stories that talk to communities,' says executive producer Duma Ndlovu as the Venda soap celebrates 2 decades on SABC2.

The SABC's Muvhango and SABC2's most-watched show celebrates 20 years on the air today since Duma Ndlovu's Venda soap aired its first episode on 7 April 1997.

Starting off with one episode per week and eventually growing to three days for over half a decade, the Word of Mouth production was finally slotted for 5 days a week after two false starts, since March 2014 and enjoys huge success Mondays to Fridays at 21:00 on SABC2.

While little will likely come now that he's gone as controversial chief operating officer (COO), from Hlaudi Motsoeneng's plan to move Muvhango's actual production to Thohoyandou in Limpopo, the soap continues to enjoy tremendous success in terms of viewership on SABC2 with its blend of Venda inspired intrigue, drama and edutainment.

Since it started as a limited-series of 13 episodes, SABC2 viewers continue to be spellbound by the family feuds between the Mukwevho and Mokoena families and their ongoing battle for power since Muvhango first launched that was set in the city of Johannesburg and the Thathe village in Venda.

"It all started as a concept in the quest to bridge the cultural divide between black communities and also the language superiority," says Duma Ndlovu, Muvhango's executive producer, as he celebrates the show's two decade milestone, admitting that it wasn't always a smooth ride.

"I feel extremely excited to be celebrating this milestone. Starting from a 13 episode drama broadcast once a week back in 1997 and now broadcasting 5 days a week fills me with pride and joy."

"It hasn't been smooth sailing as we have gone through difficult challenges, but we have managed to pull through and still continues."

"We will continue dishing authentic stories that talk to communities, which will create talk ability and interaction among our viewers who happen to be the lifeline of the soapie's success," says Duma Ndlovu.

Despite numerous payment issues for the cast and crew in the past and ongoing wrangling with the SABC over longer contracts for actors, Duma Ndlovu also has appreciation for the cast.

"Also gratitude goes out to everyone who has graced Muvhango with their presence from day one to date," he says. "These actors have made a huge contribution to the success that is Muvhango."

Sindy Dlathu who plays Thandaza says"honestly if someone had told me this would be me 20 years later, I wouldn't have believed them."

"But there are things you find in yourself as you grow with the character and the symbiosis is unbreakable."

"I have grown with Thandaza, I have cried, I have laughed and I have danced with her."

"It's hard to point out my most favourite stories but I have enjoyed shooting the weddings, I'm a big romantic at heart. I have learnt a lot of TshiVenda," she says.

"I haven't enjoyed the fighting scenes for obvious reasons and that's when you have to let your ego make way for your character and all these lessons have come through years spent shooting Muvhango."

"I think the production has done very well to have pulled through the many changes,first once a week, to three and finalle five times a week. Also, I look at the cast compliment and I stand amazed at the talent and the co-relation that exists between production and cast."

"It has been a wonderful 20 years and I salute our executive producer Duma Ndlovu."