Outgoing eMedia boss Andre van der Veen on Openview's new TV news channel, Open News: 'News today is too careful. Your challenge is going to be to push the boundaries.'

The outgoing eMedia Investments boss, Andre van der Veen, says the new South African TV news channel Open News launching 1 November at 17:00 on the Openview satellite TV platform will have to ruffle feathers, will have to push the boundaries and will not just bring viewers the news but also opinion.

"The one thing which was missing for a long time on Openview was news," Andre van der Veen, the outgoing eMedia Holdings CEO, said at the official launch event of the new free-to-air TV news channel launch today.

"So when we sat down and talked about the future of the business, the one thing we realised was that what we needed to do was establish a news channel."

"We've got eNCA (DStv 403), which is our pay-TV news platform. And we have eNews on e.tv. But we had nothing to offer our free to-air customers and we realised that we needed to do something on the news side - but we needed to do something different."

"The brief to Nisa Allie, Open News managing director, was firstly, don't be scared to venture an opinion. News today is too careful. And I said to Nisa: 'You need to say on the channel what we all think in our minds".

"The job of Open News firstly is to express what we think, what we want to say," said Andre van der Veen.

"We live in an era of political correctness. Sometimes we have to be brave. You have to push the boundaries. And by pushing the boundaries, you engage with the audience."

"Nisa and the team really took that brief and pushed it to the limit. Your challenge is going to be to stay on brief, because you are going to face criticism. And in an era of political correctness, it's very easy to criticise. It's very easy to say that's inappropriate or it's wrong."

"But you need to stand up and you need to life by those principles, and it's important that you surround yourself with people who will give you honest advice. We all make mistakes, or venture too far but what will make a difference for Open News will be to push the boundaries. And that's the job of you and your team."

"Open News cannot look the same, it cannot be the same because there's a lot of news out there. The success of Open News is going to be your ability to push the boundaries," said Andre van der Veen.

"I'm very proud as the head of eMedia to see what we've been able to do in the news landscape, whether it's what Nisa Allie is going to do at Open News, Mapi Mhlangu running eNCA, what Sally Burdett does at eNews, what we do on eNuus on kykNET (DStv 144) and Nuusdag on eExtra (Openview 105 / DStv 195 / StarSat 489). We've made news part of our DNA."

"Because we've made news part of our DNA, we've made our DNA part of South Africa. And the role we play in South Africa is a role which cannot be ignored and understated. You've got a responsibility in what you do in society."


ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Official launch event of eMedia's new Open News free-to-air TV news channel on Openview. 

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Inside the Open News studio in Cape Town of the brand-new South African TV news channel on eMedia's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

ALSO READ: A young group of anchors are the faces of the new South African TV news channel, Open News, on eMedia's Openview service. 

ALSO READ: Nisa Allie, Open News boss, on South Africa's new free-to-air TV news channel that will use cellphones to capture content, news anchors who will ad lib and give not just news but opinion, and bring viewers social media content that's trending. 

Andre van der Veen quits as eMedia Holdings CEO after just a year, replaced by Khalik Sheriff.

Andre van der Veen is out as eMedia Holdings CEO after just a year, with the executive who had resigned effective from 20 November.

Andre van der Veen was appointed eMedia Holdings CEO from November 2017 and eMedia Holdings didn't bother to give any reason for his resignation.

Andre van der Veen will be replaced by Khalik Sherriff who has been deputy CEO.

eMedia Holdings that is listed on the JSE, owns 67.7% of eMedia Investments.

eMedia Investments runs broadcaster e.tv, the TV news channel eNCA (DStv 403) on MultiChoice's DStv satellite platform, the struggling and still unprofitable Openview free-to-air satellite platform that recorded a net operating loss of R367 million in the financial year to 31 March 2018, and the YFM radio station.

Trying to put a positive spin on Andre van der Veen's quitting and Khalik Sheriff's appointment, eMedia says in a statement that Khalik Sheriff "has worked in the media industry for more than 25 years".

"He is the most experienced television executive within eMedia Holdings, having been with the group for more than 15 years and has been responsible for revenue and the success of the company’s dynamic sales team".

"Khalik’s extensive knowledge of the changing South African media industry will continue to be of immense value as he takes over the reins from Andre," says eMedia Holdings in its statement.

e.tv struggling over SABC's 'subsidised' TV soaps as eMedia plunges to R1.599 billion; writes off R69 million in purchased film licensing as the loss-making Openview still needs to almost double its viewership to reach profitability.

eMedia Holdings that owns e.tv, eNCA and the satellite TV platform service Openview plunged into a loss of R1.599 billion for its financial year ending 31 March 2018, from a profit of R112 million the year before, blaming the "subsidised" SABC for having TV programming that's watched more, and writing off R68.8million in purchased films due to bad content acquisition management, and writing off R31 million of subsidiary Coleske Artists.

Meanwhile the loss-making Openview still has to almost double its viewership ratings before it can become profitable.

eMedia Holdings has a 67.69% interest in eMedia Investments, the company that owns e.tv, eNCA and Openview. Despite the loss, eMedia showed a 5% increase in advertising revenue from R1 505 million to R1 573 million.

eMedia says its results were negatively impacted by its new channels carriage agreement with MultiChoice, with license revenue fees that was cut substantially. Meanwhile eMedia continues to invest heavily in its own free-to-air Openview satellite TV service that continues to be loss-making.

Andre van der Veen, eMedia CEO, says "e.tv's share of broadcast audience remains under pressure, mostly due to the popularity of local dramas commissioned by the SABC. The group has implemented various schedule changes, including the launch of an additional local drama in April 2018".

According to eMedia "while the SABC commissions a substantial amount of local programming, at much higher cost than equivalent international content, our ability to commission additional local drama is limited by our production budget and profitability."

"Our schedule will remain under pressure while the SABC continues to operate under a subsidized regime, however we are confident that our current schedule should arrest any significant decline."

e.tv wrote off R68.8 million in acquired films that was wasted, blaming "reduced movie slots".

"The reduction in the movie slots, and a detailed analysis of the movie inventory, necessitated a once-off write-down of the movie inventory of R68.8 million," says eMedia, noting that "this is included in programming costs and other cost of sales which has shown an 11% increase year-on-year."

"A new revenue and content acquisition system was implemented to ensure better content acquisition in future."

Openview meanwhile incurred operating costs of R255 million, with eMedia saying that Openview set-top box activations continue to grow at around 35 000 per month.

"At the end of the period, a total of 1 149 217 [778 493 in 2017] boxes have been activated, and a total of R74 million has been spent on retail subsidies."

"The group will increase its content investment in the Openview platform during 2019 and recently announced that it will launch a news channel on Openview (OpenNews) during the last quarter of 2018. In addition an Afrikaans block of programming, including news and current affairs, will also be launched during this time."

"While these programmes and channels will be loss-making in the beginning, they are part of the content that is required to promote set-top box uptake and viewership. Openview currently attracts about 3.5% of the television audience in South Africa and break-even is estimated to be in the region of 6%".

"eNCA (DStv 403) continues to be the most watched 24-hour news channel in the country with over 50% of the market share. As mentioned the amount received from MultiChoice has reduced this year, however costs are being well controlled in this entity."

In the past year eMedia sold the company Silverline Three Sixty and finalised the sale of its interests in Lalela Music, e.Botswana and e.tv Botswana. The office bulding in Umhlanga, Durban was sold for R25 million.