TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 20 October 2020.

 

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:  

■ Almost naked on the ice: ITV signs up a bunch of Britcelebs to take their clothes off and skate, skate, skate over Christmas in a The Real Full Monty on Ice Brit-TV special.

■ Former NBC CNN correspondent Michelle Kosinski who allegedly got pillow-talk state secrets from her UK ambassador lover Kim Darroch in America during their extramarital affair says the reporting is "nonsense" and "incorrect information"; is talking to her lawyers.

■ Netflix had a great 2020. But 2021 could be rough.

Will report its 2020 Q3 earnings and subscriber numbers late on Tuesday.

■ Britain's ITV commercial TV broadcaster announces restructuring; will now focus on digital video-on-demand (VOD) as it starts a new media and entertainment division.

The United Kingdom's version of e.tv says that linear TV channels will be around and still profitable into the future but that ITV urgently needs a video-on-demand business.

- ITV's increased focus on video streaming comes as it shifts away from traditional TV to compete with Disney+ and Netflix.

■ CNN's (DStv 401) chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin suspended by The New Yorker magazine after showing his penis during Zoom staff meeting. Will also no longer appear on CNN while he deals with "personal issues".

- Jeffrey Toobin says "I believed I was not visible on Zoom. I thought no one on the Zoom call could see me".

- Jeffrey Toobin was masturbating says the shocked people who had to witness the Zoom election simulation.

■ Thailand's government censors and suspends Voice TV covering the growing unrest and public protests in that country.

■ Netflix's disappointing Away science fiction drama with Hilary Swank cancelled after a single season.

■ SABC strike looms as talks with unions fail over massive retrenchments at the bloated South African public broadcaster.

Communication Workers Union (CWU) threatens to strike along with Bemawu.

■ After getting rid of 13 workers the SABC says more staffers are getting fired soon who were not properly appointed.

The SABC News Forum says the group is appalled by the decision to fire workers.

■ Mzwanele Manyi is hiding the former ANN7 / Afro Worldview assets liquidators that he got from the Gupta's notorious DStv propaganda TV channel.

High-end studio equipment, three vehicles, financial books and other documents allegedly kept away from liquidators with Mzwanele Manyi and his Lodidox refusing to cooperate with liquidators as creditors are over R5 million.

■ Top TV shows that get sex right according to experts.

■ MultiChoice Nigeria was forced to explain to the country's government that hates the pay-TV company, why it can't offer DStv on the imaginary "pay-as-you-go" basis. Stupid Nigerian media still can't and won't understand and calls MultiChoice Nigeria's explanation "an unacceptable excuse".

■ SABC2's Morning Live presenter Leanne Manas mesmerised by a birthday painting from Rasta that doesn't look like her at all.

■ Fewer than 2% of writers within the British TV industry are black.

■ Why "docusoaps" are the new reality TV.

After 7 months off air, TV news anchor Flo Letoaba returns to the SABC, now anchoring on SABC News.

The TV news reader Flo Letoaba made her return to television and the South African public broadcaster on Saturday afternoon when she reappeared on screens, this time anchoring on SABC News (DStv 404).

Flo Letoaba previously worked as at the SABC, as a news reader for e.tv's eNews and as a news anchor for the eNCA (DStv 403) TV news channel.

She then jumped to Mzwanele Manyi's Afro Worldview (DStv 405) TV news channel that rebranded in April 2018 after he acquired the notorious ANN7 channel from the controversial Gupta family involved in state capture claims.

Flo Letoaba remained at Afro Worldview until it was shut down and removed from MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in August 2018.

After an absence of 7 months, Flo Letoaba is now back on TV screens anchoring the news.

There's been no announcement or press release from the SABC about Flo Letoaba's return and it's not clear whether her addition to SABC News's anchor roster over weekends is a permanent or a temporary arrangement.

Flo Letoaba previously worked at the SABC's first try at a 24-hour TV news channel, SABC News International where she was the presenter of the current affairs show, In-depth News. The costly SABC News International was shut down after just three years in operation at the end of March 2010.

During her time at the SABC Flo Letoaba substituted on SABC2's Morning Live as well as a substitute anchor of the SABC's main English TV news bulletin on SABC3, News @ 7.

Nazeer Noormohamed considering cancelling purchase of former Afrotone Worldview and ANN7 TV building after it gets stripped of assets.

Businessman Nazeer Noormohamed is considering cancelling the purchase of the former Afro Worldview and ANN7 building in Midrand, Johannesburg that he acquired through an auction process after its been stripped of assets that had been ripped out.

The building in Midrand housed the offices of The New Age newspaper and the studio of the controversial ANN7 channel from the now-notorious Gupta family that was broadcast on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

ANN7 was rebranded to Afro Worldview by Mzwanele Manyi, chairperson of Afrotone Media Holdings, who took over the channel from the Guptas, with MultiChoice that made a decision to dump the controversial TV channel from DStv, effectively shuttering the loss-making AfroWorldview and The New Age that got put up for auction in 2018.

On Sunday the City Press newspaper reported that the building had been stripped of a range of valuable items, ranging from satellite broadcasting hardware to air conditioning units.

"After learning that the assets of the property were being stripped, on behalf of the existing tenant or their representatives, we called the auctioneers, who said that they were not responsible for securing the building," Nazeer Noormohamed is quoted as saying in City Press, who found 15 air-conditioners taken away and loaded onto a truck when he visited the Midrand property.

A large, central cooling system had also been removed from the Midrand building, including 3 large transformers that were bolted to the ground.

Nazeer Noormohamed would still buy the building but only if all the fixed assets are returned and reinstalled, and is demanding that the R8 million deposit he had paid for the building be returned after he bid R29.5 million for the building.

Meanwhile Mzwanele Manyi told City Press that he had "moved on" with  Sifiso Mthethwa, the company's director who said that only moveable assets were removed from the Midrand building.

Nazeer Noormohamed owns a TV channel as well as local newspapers in Pretoria.

Jobless former Afro Worldview workers go to Labour Court, accusing Mzwanele Manyi of flouting procedure; demand notice and severance pay.

Furious fired workers at Mzwanele Manyi's shuttered Afro Worldview channel that was canned from MultiChoice's DStv on Friday filed an urgent application in the Labour Court in Johannesburg, accusing Mzwanele Manyi of not following proper procedure when they were suddenly told not to return to work.

MultiChoice dumped the controversial Afro Worldview (rebranded after Mzwanele Manyi took over the formerly Gupta-owned ANN7 in a "vendor licensing" buy-out) in late-August, after it announced in January that ANN7 will be shut down since MultiChoice decided not to renewed the contract of the controversial channel.

Hundreds of workers now left without jobs are saying that Mzwanele Manyi should have given them more notice.

The workers' legal representative Tasso Anestidis says Mzwanele Manyi knew in January that MultiChoice would be dumping Afro Worlview and that his company should have complied with labour regulations stating that there be 60 days consultative processes before workers are asked to vacate a workplace premises.

Workers now want a declaratory order to compel Mzwanele Manyi's company to pay them what’s legally due to them.

"We want a declaratory order that proper lawful procedures will be followed. All the employees must receive severance pay, at the very least notice pay."

Dumped Afro Worldview channel's staffers won't all get employed by Newzroom Afrika when the new TV news channel launches in early 2019 on MultiChoice's DStv.

The staffers from Mzwanele Manyi's controversial and now shuttered Afro Worldview TV channel on DStv won't all be employed by Newzroom Afrika when the new TV news channel makes its debut in early 2019 on MultiChoice DStv satellite pay-TV service.

Newzroom Afrika will give "special consideration" to former Afro Worldview staffers, but this doesn't mean that they will be hired. Also not all Afro Worldview staff will apply. 

MultiChoice dumped Afro Worldview last week as it said it would at the beginning of 2018, leaving 300 people jobless who were employed at the former Gupta-owned ANN7 that shut down after 5 years mired in allegations of corruption and of being a propaganda channel.

The owners of Newzroom Afrika, Thokozani Nkosi and Thabile Ngwato on Tuesday said they would give "special consideration" to people who have worked at Afro Worldview and who apply for positions - not advertised yet - at Newzroom Afrika.

That however doesn't they will get jobs.

In an email to Afro Worldview staffers, Mzwanele Manyi told them that details about their salaries will be communicated soon. Mzwanele Manyi said there's no further future for Afro Worldview and that operations have to shut down.

Mzwanele Manyi told staffers not to hope that they'll get employed by Newzroom Afrika and to search for other employment opportunities without waiting. Contracts of Afro Worldview staffers are not being formally terminated.

Meanwhile the Communication Workers Union (CWU) wants to meet with Mzwanele Manyi to negotiate severance packages for staffers.

The South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) said it welcomes the commitment by Newzroom Afrika to give "special consideration" to Afr Worldview staffers for possible jobs.

"Sanef notes the fact that the channel is 100% black owned and 50% women owned. We also note MultiChoice and Newzroom Afrika's stated commitment to journalism ethics and independence and the decision to establish an oversight body," said Sanef in a statement.

"We will be carefully watching this space to see if the new channel's commitments are upheld. We also keenly await their announcements in early 2019 about their programming offerings and line-up."

BREAKING. MultiChoice chooses Newzroom Afrika to replace Mzwanele Manyi's dumped Afro Worldview as a new local TV news channel on DStv.

MultiChoice has chosen Newzroom Afrika as the new 24-hour local TV news channel to replace Mzwanele Manyi's dumped Afro Worldview channel on DStv.

Newzroom Afrika will launch in early 2019 on DStv and no channel logo is available yet.

When Newzroom Afrika launched early next year, it will take the channel number of 405 on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform, the one where ANN7 that turned into Afro Worldview, launched and was dumped from earlier this month.

Newzroom Afrika, following after eNCA (DStv 403) and SABC News (DStv 404) will be made available to all DStv subscribers, meaning that it will have a wider reach that eMedia Investment's eNCA.

MultiChoice received 111 expressions of interest for a new TV news channel on DStv.

The two directors heading up Newzroom Afrika are Thokozani Nkosi of the production company Eclipse TV, and Thabile Ngwato of Rapid Innovation, the SABC News anchor who left the SABC last week.

Eclipse TV produced shows for the South African public broadcaster like It's Gospel Time and I want to sing Gospel for SABC2 and The Chatroom and Big Up for SABC1.

"Today marks the birth of an exciting new and independent media voice in South Africa," said Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice South Africa CEO.

"We set out to find a quality, new, black-owned, independent news channel to expand the diversity of South African news and enrich our democracy - we're excited by the outcome.

"The Eclipse TV and Rapid Innovation teams have a track record of entrepreneurial success. They will be supported by an editorial team that will deliver independent views of events unfolding in South Africa and around the world, while the owners concentrate on running the business successfully."

"Their bid stood out for its potential to bring a fresh, creative and diversified approach to news reporting, which included an integrated digital strategy, combined with sound audience analysis and appealing on-screen execution".

MultiChoice in a statement says "this new channel will greatly enhance and enrich the news offering on DStv, while at the same time creating a new black-owned entrant in South African news media. It will promote the diversity of voices in media and give all our customers the chance to find a news channel on DStv that resonates with them."

"We were looking for a news channel that is distinctly different from what is currently available‚ and we certainly found it in Newzroom Afrika. We want to drive sustainable transformation in the television industry and to contribute to the diversity of views in our country and our continent."

Thabile Ngwato in a statement on Tuesday said Newzroom Afrika "is committed to provide independent and dependable reporting, and will deliver that through our strong editorial team".

Thokozani Nkosi said "this is a great opportunity for us to bring a fresh perspective to the South African news agenda by building a news channel from scratch. We're excited and raring to go."

MultiChoice and Newzroom Afrika will start negotiations about the channel carriage agreement soon.

Zanele Mthembu who was previously the group head of e.tv's content production division, will head up Newzroom Afrika's broadcasting operation, with Malebo Phage running the newsroom operations. Malebo Phage also previously worked for e.tv.

Joe Thloloe and Dinesh Balliah will be on Newzroom Afrika's editorialethics oversight board.

Newzroom Afrika won't hire all of the Afro Worldview staffers who got fired last week when Afro Worldview got dumped from DStv, if if some of them apply, they will get "special consideration".

"In terms of employees at Afro Worldview, they will certainly be prioritised when it comes to our recruitment process. Each and every person who applies for various positions will be given an opportunity to go through the recruitment process but they will certainly be prioritised," Thabile Ngwato said at a media briefing on Tuesday.

MultiChoice finally switching off Mzwanele Manyi's controversial Afro Worldview on DStv as the channel's last-night discussion revolves around virginity testing and 'A, B and C-grade vaginas'.

Staffers at Mzwanele Manyi's Afro Worldview (DStv 405) were told on Monday to stay home from Tuesday as the day finally arrived that MultiChoice was cutting the channel, previously known as ANN7 and started by the Guptas, after its 5-year contract ran out and wasn't renewed.

Afro Worldview was set to go dark at 23:59 on Monday night as MultiChoice announced in January, with the channel that closed out Monday night, its final broadcasting night on DStv, with a discussion around virginity testing and "A, B and C-grade vaginas".

Employees at Afro Worldview said they were finally informed by Mzwanele Manyi on Monday during a meeting that Afro Worldview is going off the air.

It comes less than a month after the abrupt shutdown of Afro Voice, the newspaper previously known as The New Age that was taken over by Mzwanele Manyi's Afrotone Holdings through a vendor financing deal with the controversial Gupta family.

Mzwanele Manyi's Afrotone Media Holdings in June renamed The New Age as Afro Voice and ANN7 as Afro Worldview in an attempt to create distance from the tarnished brands mired in alleged Gupta corruption scandals as part of an announced "'strategic decision'' to take the media company "to greater heights".

Om Monday Afro Worldview staffers were told that they will be paid at the end of the month as planned.

There's been no statement from Afro Worldview on Monday about its shuttering that comes exactly 5 years after ANN7's utterly disastrous launch on 21 August 2013 on DStv. and that was recently recounted in Rajesh Sundaram's page-turner book, Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said it was disappointed at the way that Afro Worldview handled the channel's demise and that management were not more upfront with workers about what would be happening after Monday.

The Fedusa trade union said "we are concerned for the workers, however, it is difficult to ignore the propaganda history of the network and its previous owners".

Sometime on Saturday 18 August Mzwanele Manyi on Twitter posted a staff pic taken in the Afro Worldview studio, and pleaded: "Dear South Africa Please put this innocent team of Bread Winners in your prayers. They NEED their jobs."

MultiChoice on Monday reaffirmed to TVwithThinus what it announced earlier that Afro Worldview will be shut down on DStv on 20 August and said in response to a media enquiry that "our contract with Afro Worldview comes to an end today".

Afro Worldview closed out Monday night with a late-night discussion about virginity testing and talking about "A, B and C-grade vaginas".

"I know the lights are going off at the station but HTF is this allowed to air?" asked viewer Quinton Mtyala.

In a note to DStv subscribers, MultiChoice said it would make an announcement regarding the new TV news channel replacing Afro Worldview on 28 August.

With Afro Worldview’s DStv days numbered, the future of the South African public broadcaster's SABC News is also up in the air.

As MultiChoice gets ready to dump the Afro Worldview channel from its DStv service on 20 August, the SABC News channel could also go dark at the end of this month when that contract expires, with MultiChoice that will have to make announcements about SABC News as well as what channel is replacing Afro Worldview soon.

MultiChoice remains in the process to find and appoint a new channel to replace Afro Worldview - formerly known as the notorious Gupta family's ANN7 channel and belonging to Mzwanele Manyi and his Afrotone Media Holdings.

Afro Worldview is coming to an end on DStv on 20 August exactly five years after its hurried and disastrous launch.

MultiChoice is yet to make an announcement about which group out of the shortlisted candidates that applied earlier this year before the cut-off date at the end of April.

The new TV news channel will be given the opportunity to start a news service in DStv set's of news channels as a new majority black-owned TV news channel, to rival and compete with eMedia Investment's eNCA (DStv 403) as well as the public broadcaster's SABC News as a new local news channel ahead of South Africa's general election in 2019.

MultiChoice has steadfastly refused to divulge the names of shortlisted bidders and consortiums after over 60 groups and individuals applied, although the local TV biz and news industry haven't been shy about gossiping after hours about who might be in the running.

Unconfirmed names and places bandied about to replace Afro Worldview have so far ranged from Justice Malala that abruptly left eNCA earlier this month, to the Tiso Blackstar group, Primedia and MSG Afrika.

In late-June Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice SA CEO, said that Naspers's pay-TV arm wants to make an announcement about the successful bidder replacing Afro Worldview before that channel goes dark on DStv, saying "we are targeting to make an announcement before the expiry of the current contract so that we can give people an opportunity to know exactly what's coming next".

Now MultiChoice, as it told the industry in January, has started to tell DStv subscribers on Afro Worldview's i-plate on DStv that Afro Worldview is being removed with less than two weeks' time remaining for the channel on the operator's channel line-up.

"Dear viewer, please note that Afro Worldview will stop airing on 20 August 2018. You can find local news on eNCA 403) and SABC News (404)," says DStv in the advisory.

Afro Worldview's already low viewership has been on an ongoing ratings slide the past few months, with viewership on DStv that has kept dropping from 9.89% of the total TV news audience in April to 9% in May and 4.22% in June.  

MultiChoice on Monday in response to a media enquiry asking about the new channel replacement process, told TVwithThinus that "the process to appoint the successful bidder for the news channel has not been concluded. Once this process is completed, we will make all necessary announcements".

Future of SABC News channel up in the air

Meanwhile there is a possibility that DStv subscribers and South African viewers could lose more than Afro Worldview, with the SABC and MultiChoice that are yet to conclude a new possible contract agreement for the SABC News channel that could also go dark when its existing contract expires at the end of this month.

SABC News, part of a bundled channels agreement that sees it being provided exclusively to MultiChoice together with the library rerun channel SABC Encore (DStv 156), could go dark if a new contract isn't signed between the MultiChoice and the public broadcaster.

If MultiChoice doesn't extend the channel carriage agreement for SABC News, the channel will presumably have to shutter just like SABC News International, the public broadcaster's first try at a 24-hour TV news channel that bled the corporation dry and was terminated after bleeding millions of rand after just three years at the end of March 2010.

Although a public TV channel and packaged and operated from inside its the South African Broadcasting Corporation's Auckland Park headquarters, the SABC isn't able to keep the expensive SABC News channel running without the hundreds of millions of rand MultiChoice pays the SABC for the channel as part of the controversial channels deal that has given MultiChoice exclusive access to the SABC archives the past few years.

In addition, the cash-strapped SABC that is now playing hardball in negotiations, now wants payment for its SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 channels from MultiChoice as well as a possible "new revenue stream", although the broadcasting regulator, Icasa, under the country's so-called "must-carry" regulations, have mandated that the public broadcaster's terrestrial TV channels must be carried by satellite operators to help with wider availability, but free of charge.

Both the SABC and MultiChoice in response to a media enquiry told TVwithThinus that discussions are ongoing and that SABC News and SABC Encore will stay on the air on DStv for the time being.

"The SABC and MultiChoice are currently in discussions to carry the SABC News and SABC Encore channels on DStv. We will communicate the outcome once the discussions have been finalised. The channels will continue to air on DStv whilst the discussions are ongoing," both said.

Earlier this year the new SABC board told parliament's portfolio committee on communications that it would like to see the SABC News channel continue.

SABC News and SABC Encore - although they're content from and created by the public broadcaster - are not available to other satellite TV platforms like StarSat operated by China's StarTimes, e.tv's Openview or Deukom in the way that SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 are.

Madoda Mxakwe, SABC CEO, told SABC News in a TV interview last week that negotiations around the possible renewal of the SABC News channel carriage agreement is "at a very sensitive stage".

Madoda Mxakwe said the SABC will make an announcement about the future of the SABC News channel before the end of August. He said "we are busy engaging with different partners, including MultiChoice, in terms of ensuring that there is a different revenue stream into the business."

Justice Malala the next eNCA exit as The Justice Factor gets cancelled after nearly 10 years.

Justice Malala is the next high-profile exit from eNCA (DStv 403) with his long-running political interview show The Justice Factor that is cancelled.

eNCA on late Monday afternoon abruptly announced five hours before The Justice Factor that Monday night's edition would be the last episode on the rebranded eNCA.

The channel conspicuously left out the political talk show and Justice Malala when it announced its adjusted programming line-up and talent roster in mid-July a month after the channel's 10th birthday.

Industry insiders have been buzzing for weeks that the well-respected political commentator is in the running and part of the shortlisted candidates to start a new TV news channel to rival eNCA and SABC News to replace Mzwanele Manyi's struggling Afro Worldview (DStv 405), formerly ANN7, that will be shut down on 20 August on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

MultiChoice has however refused to announce the names of the shortlisted candidates for public scrutiny, with MultiChoice SA CEO Calvo Mawela who said the Naspers-owned pay-TV service plans to announce the winning local TV news channel bid before Afro Worldview's termination date.

Justice Malala's eNCA exit after nearly a decade of hosting The Justice Factor with its "Loser of the Week" closer segments, is the latest in a flurry of well-known and respected on- and off-screen news and actuality talent that have left the eMedia Investment's Hyde Park hangout this year - some after having been at e.tv for many years.

eNCA and e.tv defections have continued unabated in 2018, including senior reporter Karyn Maughan, political analyst Angelo Fick, anchors Marc Chase, Joanne Joseph and Ayanda-Allie Paine, eNCA's former head of current affairs, Debbie Meyers, and Phathiswa Magopeni who was eNCA's business and economics editor and head of terrestrial news services at eNCA.

Over the past almost 10 years Justice Malala and The Justice Factor often created buzz-worthy moments with Malala's unrelenting probing of politicians who were willing to do sit-down interviews, as well as trainwreck spectacles with the likes of Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Justice Malala, well-versed in the visual power of television to demonstrate a point more powerfully than words can, in October 2013 drove home the shocking corruption and mismanagement in the South African government when the production crew bought R1 000 of KFC and stacked it on the anchor desk to show the shocking waste of the R53 000 in fast food including KFC that the then Northern Cape premier Sylvia Lucas bought during just 10 weeks in office using her government credit card.

In a statement Justice Malala said "I started my TV career at e.tv and will forever be grateful to have been there 10 years ago to see eNCA being born and grow to become the national treasure it is today. It is a voice that has enriched this democracy and has become a pillar of our society. I have no doubt it will continue to be vigorous and to report without fear or favour. It is a voice that must not be stilled".

Justice Malala will apparently be going overseas with his family for a sabbatical.

Mapi Mhlangu, eNCA editor-in-chief and managing director, said "we would like to thank Justice for so many years of consistently great television. He has made an enormous contribution not only to eNCA but also as a powerful voice in the political landscape of our country. We wish him and his family all the best as they embark on this new adventure".

The future of SABC News channel in doubt, will continue on DStv while discussions between the SABC and MultiChoice continue.

Not only will Afro Worldview disappear on 20 August from MultiChoice's DStv but the future of a second channel in the news block is now in doubt: the South African public broadcaster's SABC News channel could soon be a gonner too since the SABC and MultiChoice haven't signed a new contract.

The struggling and cash-strapped SABC doesn't have the money to fund and run SABC News (DStv 404) on its own although it is supposed to be one of the SABC's envisioned, freely available TV channels for digital terrestrial television (DTT).

If MultiChoice doesn't extend the contract for SABC News, the channel will presumably have to shutter just like SABC News International, the public broadcaster's first try at a 24-hour TV news channel that bled the corporation dry and was terminated after bleeding millions of rand after just three years at the end of March 2010.

Ironically the fate of a public broadcasting TV news channel lies squarely in the hands of a commercial company, in this case Naspers' pay-TV arm, MultiChoice.

According to insider sources who asked for anonymity because they're not allowed to speak directly to media, SABC managers allegedly had a meeting with fixed-term producers for the SABC News channel on Monday, informing them that the SABC has not reached an agreement with MultiChoice for the renewal of SABC News.

There's now growing buzz that producers will apparently receive letters this week informing them that production on SABC News will stop, although producer contracts allegedly still run until the end of August.

The SABC was asked whether this is accurate and whether the broadcaster can confirm a meeting with producers in which they were told that the channel won't be continuing, but the SABC declined to answer the question.

The SABC and MultiChoice were both asked, separately, about the future of the SABC News channel and whether it's accurate that the channel on DStv channel 404 will not be renewed and end during July.

Both the SABC and MultiChoice responded on Tuesday afternoon at 16:00 within minutes of each other, and with the exact same holding statement, saying that discussions are ongoing and that SABC News and SABC Encore will stay on the air on DStv for the time being.

"The SABC and MultiChoice are currently in discussions to carry the SABC News and SABC Encore channels on DStv. We will communicate the outcome once the discussions have been finalised. The channels will continue to air on DStv whilst the discussions are ongoing," said the SABC and MultiChoice.

Earlier this year the new SABC board told parliament's portfolio committee on communications that it would like to see the SABC News channel continue.

The SABC started SABC News (DStv 404) in August 2013, along with SABC Encore (DStv 156) as a placeholder rerun channel in May 2015. Both channels were part of an exclusive two-channel packaged deal with MultiChoice. In May 2015 the footprint of the SABC News channel was extended beyond South Africa into several other African countries on DStv.

These two channels - although they're content from and created by the public broadcaster - are however not available to other satellite TV platforms like StarSat, e.tv's Openview or Deukom in the way that SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 are.

In November 2017 explosive, leaked meeting transcripts between MultiChoice and the SABC, as well as #GuptaLeaks contracts between MultiChoice and the controversial ANN7 (DStv 405) channel, now renamed Afro Worldview, became public, showing massive payments from MultiChoice to the Guptas.

These payments not only raised multiple serious questions over possible corporate impropriety, but also over TV news channel carriage deals and payments for these channels, as well as raising eyebrows over a private pay-TV company's possible undue influence in the country's switch from analogue to digital TV broadcasting.

MultiChoice told the SABC it would pay the broadcaster R100 million for the SABC News channel but but only on the strict must-have contract clause condition that the SABC must support MultiChoice's stance on conditional access (CA) for digital television.

MultiChoice also dramatically upped its payments from R50 million per year to R100 million per year and then R141 million per year, as well as a questionable, additional R25 million payment to the Guptas for the low-rated, mistake-filled and often criticised ANN7.

It means that MultiChoice has been paying ANN7, now Afro Worldview owned by Mzwanele Manyi, more money despite its very low ratings than what MultiChoice has been paying eNCA (DStv 403) that has more than 50% of the overall TV news audience share on DStv. eMedia Investments will now start a second TV news channel, OpenNews, within months on its own Openview platform as a backup if eNCA were to discontinue on DStv.

Since November 2017 the SABC is aware of how much more money MultiChoice is paying Afro Worldview, although the SABC in May 2018 had 25.23% of the overall TV news channel audience share, compared to Afro Worldview's paltry and sliding 9%.

Meanwhile MultiChoice is finalising the shortlist for a new black-owned local TV news channel to replace Afro Worldview with 24 applications from various consortiums that were received.

MultiChoice doesn't want to announce any of the names of the applicants for public scrutiny and will only communicate who the successful TV news channel bidder is after a new channel carriage contract has been signed.

BREAKING. TV coverage of testimonies in the Verulam rape case cut off for all broadcasters after trashy Afro Worldview shockingly goes against magistrate's specific orders and broadcast court proceedings live on DStv and YouTube.

The Afro Worldview (DStv 405) TV channel owned by Mzwanele Manyi on Tuesday caused all South African TV viewers to lose broadcast coverage of the Verulam rape court case after the dubious and trashy channel ignored the magistrate's warning and went ahead to broadcast sensitive court proceedings live on DStv and on YouTube.

In the shocking court case, a 43-year old man stands accused of alleged horrific sex crimes on his 10-year old stepdaughter for the past 5 years.

Because of Afro Worldview's trash broadcast conduct on Tuesday, no further testimonies will be broadcast on television since TV cameras were ordered to be turned off by the magistrate following Afro Worldview's serious transgression.

In June magistrate Irfaan Khalil allowed eNCA (DStv 403) and Afro Worldview, previously known as ANN7, to broadcast the proceedings from the Verulam Family Court, but with certain strict very conditions, including barring any broadcasters from showing or identifying the accused or broadcasting any information regarding the identity of the victim.

When the bail application of the accused continued on Tuesday, warrant officer Nevarge Lutchminarain was halfway through his testimony when magistrate Irfaan Khalil stopped the proceedings and wanted to know why the court case is being broadcast live on Afro Worldview on MultiChoice's DStv and streamed on Afro Worldview on YouTube, saying he has just been given notice that the case is being broadcast live.

Magistrate Irfaan Khalil then revoked all broadcast permission, meaning that the inept Afro Worldview caused TV viewers to lose broadcast access to the court case.

Earlier the eNCA reporter in Durban, Dasen Thathiah told magistrate Irfaan Khalil that eNCA is recording the court case footage and editing it later to ensure that nobody is identified.

Magistrate Irfaan Khalil said "This is a sensitive case in which the identities and rights of the alleged victim, the accused and their legal representatives must be protected."

Magistrate Irfaan Khalil called on the Afro Worldview reporter in court and wanted to know from her why Afro Worldview is broadcasting the court proceedings live after he expressly told TV channels to be careful not to identify people.

TV channels will now only be allowed to broadcast arguments from legal representatives and no longer from anybody testifying in the case due to Afro Worldview's serious transgression.

MultiChoice SA CEO Calvo Mawela on why DStv subscribers can't pick the TV channels they want: 'The model just doesn't work'.

Individual DStv subscribers can't each just pick their own TV channels as they choose because the model doesn't work, says MultiChoice South Africa CEO, Calvo Mawela.

In an interview on SABC News Calvo Mawela explained why DStv subscribers in South Africa and across Africa can’'t each pick only the TV channels each one of them want, and why MultiChoice bundles TV channels in a few bouquets.

"The model doesn't work. The model just doesn’t work," said Calvo Mawela.

He cited Canada that "went through a very rigorous, time-consuming regulation change in Canada where they insisted that pay-TV operators need to do a la carte. Guess what? Today there is no uptake because consumers end up paying more for the same number of TV channels that they're getting today".

"So it came up to a zero-zero sum where they went through this whole process. What consumers don't understand is that we look at our research across the market and then what we do is that we bring everybody together with different tastes of content."

"In that way we attract a much larger audience and then prices come down. That's how we do our packaging in order to ensure that we keep prices down, that will attract a bigger audience because we've got children, we've got sport, you've got movies and all other content that we have."

Calvo Mawela said that "consumers – probably because they're not exposed to other markets that are trying this type of thing where it's failing horribly, like in Canada that just introduced this" are not aware of how pay-TV works.

In August MultiChoice will be dumping the former Gupta-owned ANN7 from DStv that recently changed its name to Afro Worldview and changed ownership hands to Mzwanele Manyi, with MultiChoice that says it hopes to announce the new local TV news channel replacing Afro Worldview before then.

"We are targeting to make sure that we make an announcement before the expiry of the current contract so that we can people an opportunity to know exactly what's coming next," said Calvo Mawela.

Angry protesters besiege Afro Worldview after owner Mzwanele Manyi abruptly cancels Prophet Mboro's shortlived Incredible Happenings show.

Despite a name change, public protests keep happening at the Midrand headquarters of what was ANN7 and is now called Afro Worldview (DStv 405) since Monday, the beleaguered former "Guptanews" channel embroiled in scandal with MultiChoice and that's now belonging to Mzwanele Manyi.

The first public protest at the Midrand premises now branded Afro Worldview happened on Thursday when protesters voiced their anger at Mzwanele Manyi for yanking off the air the short-lived and cancelled show, Incredible Happenings, of Paseka Motsoeneng, known as Prophet Mboro.

Incredible Happenings was supposed to start in March on ANN7 but failed with Paseka Motsoeneng slamming ANN7 and the channel for allegedly still being involved with the notorious and controversial Gupta family.

Then Mzwanele Manyi said it is "committed to continue working on the project".

A month later it's over and nothing came of it, with followers of the Incredible Happenings Ministries who are furious over the cancellation of the religion show before it even started on ANN7, now Afro Worldview, who failed to communicate anything about the show's cancellation to the press.

On Thursday the protesters, many of the from Cosas (the Congress of South African Students) handed a memorandum of demand to Mzawanele Manyi.

"As an organisation, we had our slot in the show that was going to be a reflection of the good work the prophet has done for both our organisation and our schools," Cosas Gauteng said in a statement.

Mzwanele Manyi said Incredible Happenings doesn't meet Afro Worldview editorial policy standards or the regulations set out by the South African broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

"We tried to make the show work but it was impossible for it to continue because if we had continued with it, it would have meant that MultiChoice must remove us from the platform with immediate effect".

Mzwanele Manyi has been given a 7-day ultimatum to go and address the Incredible Happenings community on why ANN7 and now Afro Worldview failed them.

They also demand a refund for money that was allegedly paid for the no-show programme to air that didn't.

ANN7 changes to Afro Worldview on MultiChoice's DStv with Richard Nta and Flo Letoaba as new morning co-anchors, will no longer report that anyone 'died' since people only 'pass on', says owner Mzwanele Manyi.

On Monday morning the brand-damaged ANN7 (DStv 405) rolled out its new look as Afro Worldview on the same channel number and with the same set, but a new logo on DStv - with owner Mzwanele Manyi who said he won't interfere with the "new" channel's editorial decisions but then said it was decided that henceforth Afro Worldview in its news reporting won't say someone died but always use passed on.

Although name-changed to try and distance itself from its disastrous, often-mocked and blooper-filled on-air image, as well as its history of bias and links with the now-notorious Gupta family, MultiChoice will still dump Afro Worldview on 20 August from its DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

With a set design that's now incongruent to its new logo and colours, the gold-and-black themed Afro Worldview launched with new morning co-anchors Richard Nta and Flo Letoaba who both previously worked for the competing TV-news channel eNCA (DStv 403).

Afro Worldview that according to its contract with MultiChoice is supposed to supply publicity material and talent photos, schedule information and programming updates to both the pay-TV operator and the press, didn't issue any press releases about anchor, line-up or programming block changes to the media ahead of today's rebranding exercise.

Mzwanele Manyi, the Afrotone Media Holdings chairperson, on Monday morning in an appearance on Afro Worldview, said that the channel will have a new editorial policy "and it's going to be a major shift from all the criticism that we've been receiving from a whole range of people".

He said Afro Worldview wants to be "the trusted voice of Africa".

Mzwanele Manyi said the rebrand from ANN7 to Afro Worldview is part of a plan to steer the TV news channel in a new direction with around 500 people working in the news group "whose jobs are going to go if this channel shuts down."

"So all of this fanfare and everything is an effort to say to South Africa, this channel cannot shut down. We have done everything that needs to be done to make sure that this channel does not shut down. We have cut a clean break with the Guptas. We don't owe any Guptas anything."

Following eNCA's lead where Mapi Mhlangu is the managing director and editor-in-chief, Mzwanele Manyi announced that the channel will have "a black, an African, and a woman who is going to be the new editor of the channel".

About Afro Worldview Mzwanele Manyi said "I'm just the owner. So I don't want to get involved in editorial policies. That's one of the major decisions. We're going to draw a strong line between owners and editors."

Mzwanele Manyi later in the same interview then announced as owner an editorial policy change, saying that "one of the things that you will never hear again, ever, in this channel, is when a person has passed on, you hear 'a person died'. With us as Africans, a person does not die, a person passes on."

"So let it be clear to everyone, even if you say I'm interfering with the editorial policy, but here, because we are Africans, we must never say a person died. A person passes on; an animal died. That kind of a thing."

ANN7 changing its name to Afro Worldview from 30 April, still getting dumped from MultiChoice's DStv on 20 August in 4 months' time.

ANN7 (DStv 405) is rebranding the controversial channel to Afro Worldview from 30 April although MultiChoice will still dump the channel in August in four month's time despite the cosmetic name and logo change.

Trying to get away from its disastrous, often-mocked and blooper-filled on-air image, history of bias and links with the now-notorious Gupta family, the Mzawanele Manyi owned Afrotone Media Holdings will rebrand ANN7 from 30 April as Afro Worldview.

The "new" ANN7 will still be a so-called TV news channel channel but will be terminated on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform on 20 August.

Meanwhile Afrotone Media Holdings applied in the bidding process for MultiChoice looking to replace ANN7 with a new South African 24-hour TV news channel alongside eNCA (DStv 403) and the public broadcaster's SABC News (DStv 404).

Mzwanele Manyi in a statement says the switch from ANN7 to Afro Worldview "is a a strategic decision to break away from the past of the previous channel ANN7 and give viewers a fresh outlook on the news. As part of the group strategy, The New Age newspaper will also be rebranded as Afro Voice and its editorial policy will be in line with the press code."

Mzwanele Manyi says "Afro Worldview’s vision is to be the trusted voice of Africa. They strive to be the most representative voice of the country and the continent, that would also ensure that the plight of the poor and marginalised is brought to the fore".