Joel McHale used the last episode of The Soup on E! Entertainment on DStv to slam E!'s low-brow programming over the years in a funny segment.

Comedian Joel McHale used the last episode of his cancelled show The Soup to slam E! Entertainment (DStv 124) for the low-brow reality content, bad on-air talent and tabloid programming on E! Entertainment.

In a segment in the final episode of the long-running clip show cancelled after 22 seasons, Joel McHale specifically included a look-back at his comments over the years about the low-brow programming of the NBCUniversal Networks International channel that is available on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

"And none of those clips are the reason why we were cancelled," remarked Joel McHale at the end of the segment, in the final The Soup episode that was shown on E! at the end of last month.

"The Soup has delivered countless laughs and unforgettable episodes, and we are grateful to the talented team’s fearless wit and clever approach week after week," said Jeff Olde, the executive vice president of programming and development at E! Entertainment in a statement.

"Joel took the show to new heights for more than a decade, and his irreverent humor and unique brand of comedy as captured so perfectly on The Soup will be missed."

Joel McHale was the host of The Soup on E! for the past 12 years, collected some of the funniest segments over teh years in which he commented on E!'s programming.

The Soup segment he looked back at how he joked over "E!'s development deal with Satan", Denise Richard's failed reality show, Dirty Soap, What Would Ryan Lochte Do?, how the "daring" E! gave a show to "a 65-year old women [Bruce Jenner now Caitlyn Jenner], Kris Jenner, The Girls Next Door, and the "dead behind the eyes" sisters of Kim Kardashian.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 6 July 2015.

True TRASH TV: How rivals SuperSport and StarTimes fought behind the scenes.
- First the truly trashy Sam Keengu Nyamweya, the president of Football Kenya Federation (FKF) signed a sponsorship deal with StarTimes as new media partner, then alleging that StarTimes will now show a soccer match between Kenya and Ethiopia in Nairobi.
- The only problem was that SuperSport had the rights to show it on DStv.
- Yet StarTimes blocked SuperSport from the stadium with armed police, and the former SuperSport executive and now StarTimes sport boss Gary Rathbone blatantly lied and said StarTimes would show the match. Gary Rathbone kept lying on social media to fans. The trashy Chinese StarTimes even bought full-page newspaper ads advertising they will show the match.
- Then SportFive, the sole marketing agent, and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) got involved, blatantly telling StarTimes to back off, since SuperSport has the exclusive broadcasting rights, and threatening Kenya with expulsion from CHAN.
- And finally FKF and StarTimes backed off after having lied to subscribers with a trashy apology of suddenly "the CHAN rights are held by CAF as opposed to FKF".
- Now StarTimes wants to renegotiate its contract with FKF because "the integrity of the partnership is now compromised".

Truly TV trash you can't make up.


Can Frans Matlala, the new SABC CEO, save the SABC?
- "I was a bit worried about hearing media reports of him saying 'yes, we're going to broadcast the truth but we want to balance that'. How do you balance the truth?" Listen to the whole CapeTalk interview here with Kate Skinner from the SOS Coalition.

- Interestingly, the SABC's controversial and famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng is holding the hand of Frans Matlala and is accompanying him to media interviews, asserting his control, like to an interview on 702 radio. Is that really necessary?
- Hlaudi Motsoeneng continues his awkward statements at the SABC's announcement of Frans Matlala as new SABC CEO.


Botched on E! Entertainment (DStv 124) renewed.
The reality series about Hollywood plastic surgeons trying to fix horrific plastic surgery mistakes renewed fir a 3rd season.


It's 25 years since Star Trek The Next Generation's "The Best of Both Worlds" cliffhanger.
A fascinating behind-the-scenes oral history of how the cliffhanger changed the show forever, and other interesting facts you never knew.
And Forbes reveals the intricate shared rights issues and complex rights problems which is keeping a new TV series of Star Trek off the air - while next year will be its 50th anniversary.


The BBC will fire more than 1 000 people.
Dramatic cuts on the cards in massive restructuring at the British public broadcaster.

The TV industry "is hideously middle-class," says British TV producer.
One of Britain's leading TV executives from Endemol Shine laments the lack of diversity.

SACP wants the scrapping of the controversial MultiChoice and SABC archives deal.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) and the ANC political parties are against the "privatisation" of the "country's national archives". Also worrying signs that these political parties want to clamp down on media regulation in South Africa.

M-Net's new Zambezi Magic TV channel on DStv just South African soapies.
The new Southern African DStv channel is so far a channel "for archive South African soapies".
Africa's TV and film industry needs to stop making mediocre productions, says producer, and improve the quality.
South Africa's Connie and Shona Ferguson also went to the Zambezi Magic launch and also said producers need to up their game.


TV isn't dead. It's just evolving.
The consumer is in charge and the TV industry needs to evolve, and the pay-TV business model is changing.

Viacom is having a midlife crisis.
Bloomberg looks at why nobody wants their MTV (DStv 130) anyomore.

Some problem with MultiChoice's set-top boxes in Zambia.
Zambia's broadcasting authority is warning of "sanctions" if the problem with defective decoders isn't solved soon.

New Pay-TV player Siyaya TV and the SAFA fighting.
More sports rights drama behind the scenes as Siyaya TV and the South African Football Association (SAFA) are sparring despite a 10-year Bafana Bafana sports rights deal.

How television won the internet.
The New York Times on how television as a "tired" technology is taking over the internet and how its TV which is making people willing to pay for digital content online.

Soon you'll be able to to build your own Game of Thrones.
The fantasy drama series on M-Net Edge (DStv 102) is coming out with its own amazing construction sets - from the Iron Throne room to Attack on the Wall, and even a Mother of Dragons set.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 14 May 2015.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E! Entertainment (DStv 124) exposed.
A fan exposes the so-called reality show for the incredibly inconsistent and badly done continuity errors littering the false show.

The dying American Idol ...
and what the death of the biggest TV hit from before the #hashtag era means for television.

Concern about British TV drama at the BBC.
Outgoing head of drama at the BBC says the BBC's drama department is "at a tipping point" and that he's very concerned - "there will be less drama and fewer jobs".

CSI cancelled after 15 years.
There won't be another season to continue the cliffhanger, but there will be a 2-hour made-for-TV movie to give a final conclusion to what at a time was the most watched TV drama series in the world.

CNN orders Declassified and The Eighties as series.
Will undoubtedly end up being shown on CNN International (DStv 401) as well.

Two more seasons for the British drama series Ripper Street.
Amazon has renewed the drama series for 2 more series after picking it up for a 3rd season. Now there will be a 4th and a 5th Ripper Street which Amazon took over after it was cancelled.

McDeathly: a whopping 25 TV characters have died in American TV shows so fat this season.
Is this the deadliest TV season ever?

Harry Shearer cut from The Simpsons.
The voice of Principal Skinner, Mr Burns and Ned Flanders is gone following a contract dispute and he got fired. He wanted more money and changes to the back-end merchandising part of his contract. The Simpsons, renewed for another 2 seasons will now go on without him.

Bruce Jenner's 'I am a woman' transition picked up by E! Entertainment as 8 episode reality series; will be shown globally from 26 July.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124) has just announced that it will show an 8 episode reality series in which Bruce Jenner, who confirmed on Friday that he is changing from a man to a woman, will look for his "new normal" on the channel from 26 July.

The as-yet-untitled series with hour long episodes will be shown on E! Entertainment in the United States, as well as on E! Entertainment on MultiChoice's DStv in South Africa and across Africa, as well as on all the other international versions of E!.

The reality docuseries will explore how Bruce Jenner, now calling himself a woman and how his transition from man to woman, affects his relationships with all the people in his life, while at the same time attempting to offer a better understanding of his challenges.

The former Olympic gold medal winner is already linked to E! Entertainment through the Keeping Up with the Kardashians reality show over eight seasons and its various spin-offs, and now his own show will look at how he is changing, living and interacting as a transgender woman.

Bruce Jenner will leave Keeping Up with the Kardashians at the end of the current 8th season of the show and appear only in his own show, saying that "the one real, true story in the family was the one I was hiding and nobody knew about".

There's been speculation for months that Bruce Jenner would chronicle his change to a woman in front of the reality cameras, separate from the Kardashian clan who are not all approving of the gender transition.

"Bruce is incredibly courageous and an inspiration, and we are proud to be entrusted with this deeply personal and important story," says Jeff Olde, the executive vice president of programming and development at E!.

"This series will present an unfiltered look as Bruce boldly steps into uncharted territory and is true to himself for the first time". The reality show is produced by Bunim/Murray Productions with Bruce Jenner as one of the executive producers.

On Friday night in a 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer, Bruce Jenner (65) told her that "I am a woman" and that "As of now, I have all the male parts and all that kind of stuff, so in a lot of ways we're different, OK? But we still identify as female".

South African viewers just saw the revelation and start of the transformation of American football Coach Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) in the 3rd episode of the 6th and final season of Glee on VUZU AMP (DStv 114) in which the character revealed that she's been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and will be undergoing imminent surgery to transition and become a man.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 15 April 2015.

Full frontal male nudity demanded on Game of Thrones.
Why has Michiel Huisman for instance not yet shown his sword, asks Decider.

More trash is coming to E! Entertainment (DStv 124).
"Sex enthusiast" Brody Jenner is getting to host his own sex call-in talk show on E!, Sex with Brody. Spare us.

Further evidence of Faith Muthambi, the minister of communications, manipulation of the SABC.
It took Faith as long as a baby grows - 9 months - to notify about the resignation of the SABC board member Thembinkosi Bonakele.

Big Brother Mzansi sex scandal: M-Net going through a lot of footage.
M-Net SA CEO Yolisa Phahle says the production is going through a lot of footage with a very fine tooth comb; report submitted to the South African Police Service on Tuesday evening as allegations of rape swirls around the reality show yet again.

Remember 22, 23, 24 and even 26?
That's how many episodes a season of your favourite TV show had. Now 10 is fast becoming the norm for a season order length - and here's why.

Downton Abbey was supposed to end after the 5th season.
The hit ITV drama series shown on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) was actually supposed to end after the 5th series, Hugh Bonneville says. The upcoming 6th and final season is "a bonus".

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 11 April 2015.

Netflix' master plan is global content licensing.
Netflix wants worldwide licensing rights to all of the content on Netflix, in every country. Meanwhile Netflix is slowly creating the ultra high definition future of television.


Jewish group asks Jon Stewart to dump Trevor Noah over his anti-semitic jokes.
The American Jewish Congress is circulating a petition to get Trevor Noah removed as the new host taking over The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) after his anti-semitic jokes on Twitter.
Meanwhile Jon Stewart implores viewers to give Trevor Noah a chance. Jon Stewart says Trevor Noah will "earn your trust and respect ... or not".
The Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi says Trevor Noah should get off social media altogether. The New York Times reports on Trevor Noah's plagiarism problems and how he has allegedly stolen material from other comedians for years.

Kelly Osbourne calls Giuliana Rancic's actions after the Fashion Police scandal "heartbreaking".
The E! Entertainment (DStv 124) scandal keeps on giving with Kelly Osbourne trashing Giuliana Rancic, says "its heartbreaking to see her behaviour when she did get caught being wrong".

Crimea's last independent TV station has gone off the air.
Russian authorities refused to renew ATR's licence after Russian forces' annexation of Crimea from the Ukraine.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124) renews 3 shows.
#RichKids of Beverly Hills, Total Divas and Christina Milan Turned Up all renewed; WAGS, Stewarts & Hamiltons and Dash Dolls [working title] are planned as 3 new shows.

kykNET (DStv 144) is looking for a new head of programming.
M-Net's Afrikaans language TV channel supplied to MultiChoice's DStv is looking for a TV executive to head up programming.

BET (DStv 129) is doing a Nelson Mandela mini-series.
Madiba will be a 6-part series with Nelson Mandela's grandson Kweku Mandela who will executive produce for Out of Africa, with production set to start later this year in South Africa.

The TV industry has some lessons to learn from Game of Thrones.
No, not to kill your fiercest competitors. Ad Age says massive change (and winter) is coming, that a great story will always attract viewers and that the future belongs to those willing to adapt and evolve.

TV channels targeting black viewers are doing great ...
... in America. Not Orange but apparently BET, TV One, Bounce TV and Oprah Winfrey's OWN are the new black.

Is the character of Fish Mooney getting killed off in Gotham?
After Jada Pinkett Smith said she is leaving the Batman origin show on M-Net (DStv 101), TV Guide is trying to work out if the character will just exit or be killed off.

No wonder I feel overwhelmed. There's 352 scripted TV shows on television now.
And that just American. How about adding the South African shows. You can basically watch a different TV show every day day of the year. But every show has multiple episodes. Impossible to keep up.

Several American drama series are facing actors leaving.
Nina Dobrev gone from The Vampire Diairies is only the beginning of a cast exit across several shows where main actor's multi-year contracts are running out - from Castle, Bones to Criminal Minds, CSI and The Middle.

Fired Jeremy Clarkson hints that he and the former Top Gear team may have a future away from the BBC.
Former BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) star says at a charity event "we could be back somewhere else".

The FOX News Channel (StarSat 261) could be moving to a new home.
The New York Times reports that News Corp., 21st Century Fox could be moving to Manhattan's World Trade Center.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 19 March 2015

"The meteor that never fell to Earth".
The New York Times covers the astounding rise of Empire on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131).

Top Gear inquiry starts.
The BBC investigative panel listens to the evidence of Jeremy Clarkson and the producer in the scandalous "fracas" which erupted around the BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) car show.
Meanwhile the international Top Gear shows - including in South Africa - will continue as announced, and The New York Times says Top Gear has "hit rock bottom".

Cosatu condemns the ongoing mismanagement of the SABC.
Trade federation demands that the people involved in the scandalous decision to give MultiChoice exclusive access to the SABC archives all resign.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124) now turns to RuPaul.
After the Fashion Police fiasco E! now hopes Good Work - commenting on the plastic surgery in Hollywood - works.

Nigerians wonder what the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is doing over MultiChoice's DStv price hike.
Is the "exploitative" 1 April DStv price hike "the beginning of the end of the road" for DStv in many Nigerian homes?

Meanwhile the petition against MultiChoice Zambia dominates the media.
In Zambia, MultiChoice is hiking the price for DStv subscriptions from 1 April by a staggering 21% for DStv Premium and a massive 22% for DStv Compact, while DStv Access is rising with an astronomical 30%.

Game of Thrones has its first ever European media premiere event.
South African and African viewers on M-Net (DStv 101) will see episodes of the new 5th season even before Sky subscribers will who will be 19 hours behind (although there were no South African press at the massive press launch in London at the Tower of London).


MUST READ: Your TV study article of the day.
If you really want to understand and learn and know pay-TV better and how the whole system works, take the time to read this great new article how it started and the changing structure of the pay-TV business.

New research into global TV viewership.
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) looks at how global TV viewers are redefining their relationship with television.

Watch SABC3's Presenter Search on 3 reality show.
Didn't know that you could watch the entire episodes of Presenter Search on 3 online, did you?

Foxtel Arts to launch in Australia on 28 March as a new TV channel.
Maybe one day MultiChoice's DStv or On Digital Media's StarSat will have a real South African arts TV channel too.

How Wendy Williams became talk TV's unlikely survivor.
Why the American TV talk show seen in South Africa on BET (DStv 135 / StarSat 167) became a hit dishing on pop culture and celebrities.

Abrupt ouster of Marcel Golding and Bronwyn Keene Young exit damaged e.tv
Remgro admits the scandalous has affected the TV channel's business - it has in fact "hurt" the company" over which Remgro refused to talk about last year.

Hungary's embarrassing TV fail.
Restart of Hungary's state TV channel leaves viewers with black screens on the first day due to technical problems.

Jon Cryer on Charlie Sheen and what really happened.
The Hollywood Reporter has a fascinating extract from Jon Cryer's new book So That Happened detailing what happened behind-the-scenes during Charlie Sheen's infamous meltdown.

Viewership for Keeping Up with the Kardashians falls to record low.
Ratings plunge for the new 10th season on E! Entertainment (DStv 124); premiere episode marks an all-time ratings low. Meanwhile eNews' Giuliana Rancic thinks its better to be "under-prepared" for live TV.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 18 March 2015

"Top Gear doesn't need Jeremy Clarkson."
Former Stig driver Ben Carson says the presenter on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) didn't back him in a clash with the BBC, didn't support him and he hasn't spoken with him since.
Meanwhile Jeremy Clarkson will be back on the BBC in May - because he's presenting another panel discussion show.


Debate of no confidence in president Jacob Zuma not shown on DStv's Parliamentary TV (DStv 408).
With Parliamentary TV channel not showing the debate, MultiChoice says it doesn't have control over the TV channel broadcasting on its DStv platform.

NFVF buckling under resignations, violations of good governance.
Film funding crisis at the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) as questions are being asked about dodgy film deals, five star overseas trips for officials and the alleged violation of corporate governance.

Oprah auctioning off 500 items from her Chicago high rise apartment.
Money will be used to fund her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation - and there's some nice stuff.

South African DStv subscribers are paying less than Zambia.
MultiChoice Zambia holds a press conference following Zambia's uproar and calls for a boycott over the 20% hike in DStv subscriptions from 1 April and MultiChoice Zambia's general manager Simon Bota says South African DStv subscribers pay less than people in other countries in the region.

Simon Bota accuses the 3 000 DStv subscribers in Zambia who have signed the petition of misleading other DStv subscribers which is having an impact on DStv's subscriber base. Meanwhile Zambia's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) says MultiChoice Zambia needs more pay-TV competition.


The SABC is NOT a public broadcaster.
So says South Africa's confused minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, who says the SABC is a state-owned enterprise, with her, Faith Muthambi, as its sole and only government shareholder representative.
Meanwhile the disarray at the SABC is of big concern to the SACP political party. Faith Muthambi is also defending SABC secrecy and says there is nothing wrong with keeping policies secret.


E! Entertainment (DStv 124) takes Fashion Police off TV until September.
E! previously said the show would be back on 30 March but is now changing course as an E! executive talks about the ongoing scandal surrounding the show. E! Entertainment (DStv 124) has no plans of letting of Fashion Police despite all of the toxicity around the flopped reboot, and executives are looking for new panelists.

The Only Way is Essex will continue until at least 2016.
The British ITV reality show seen on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) has been renewed.

A+E Studios looking to do vampire drama Let the Right One In.
Wants the Teen Wolf writers to create a TV show based on the Swedish book in which a girl vampire meets a boy.

iNsane.
Empire's Terrence Howard on FOX's (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) hit drama wants TV to use the "N" word.

The illegal immigrants who robbed SABC's Vuyo Mvoko won't apply for bail.
The illegal aliens from Zimbabwe who are in South Africa without proper documentation, Alfred  Thongamedi and Clement Mncube have appeared in court and can't apply for bail.
They appeared with Pascal Junior from Mozambique and Modin Modin from Bangladesh after attacking and mugging a SABC crew. All four needed interpreters since none can speak English.

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 17 March 2015.

Two cruel judges from X Factor New Zealand immediately fired.
Disgusting Natalia Kills and Willy Moon sacked by TV3 for their vicious filth and "destructive tirades".
Pathetic Natalia Kills told contestant she is "embarrassed to be sitting here in your presence having to dignify you with my opinion". Now she's the trash that was taken away.


Zambia's government summons MultiChoice over dramatic 20% DStv price hike from April.
Zambia says it doesn't want to introduce price controls but businesses need to be fair.

Jeremy Clarkson to give his first full account since his attack on Top Gear producer.
BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) star to appear before BBC director as investigation starts.


Kathy Griffin says she left Fashion Police because it "didn't work out".
Says she didn't know viewers were so invested with the E! Entertainment (DStv 124) show - and she doesn't really feel it was my best work". She further slams E! Entertainment and the show in another interview and says Fashion Police "was a dog pile".
Meanwhile Giuliana Rancic's insecure diva demands ruined Fashion Police as she had her entourage around her all the time and apparently constantly seeks external validation.
E! executives plan to quietly cancel Fashion Police soon since Melissa Rivers "is a producer; not a leader, she can't get control of the situation".


The new Twin Peaks is running into trouble.
There is suddenly "contract complications" which means a new Twin Peaks isn't a sure thing.


Empire is now a big draw for international broadcasters.
The "Black Dynasty" on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) has broadcasters around the world vying for it. Meanwhile Empire is part of the new "blockbusterisation of TV" - the show has taken over from The Walking Dead as the most Tweeted TV show.
And, will the TV industry learn these 5 things from Empire's success?


Spock is dead ...
but a reflection in The Guardian of how Star Trek has and continues to influence popular culture.

Australian TV viewers are over American TV shows.
Some USA shows perform solidly but Aussie viewers now prefer to watch local Australian dramas.

There's now a massive ... 1 294 satellite TV channels in the Arab world.
Broadcasting in multiple languages and genres.


Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes slams the BBC.
Apparently clueless and oblivious that Downton Abbey is shown by BBC Worldwide on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) around the world - although it is shown on ITV in the United Kingdom - the show's creator says "we wouldn’t have been able to make the show as we wanted to make it" if it was on the BBC.

Apple TV plans to launch an online TV service.
The Wall Street Journal reports that by September, Apple wants to have 25 TV channels as part of a basic TV service on Apple TV, iPads and iPhones.

BREAKING. Kelly Osbourne leaving Fashion Police on E! Entertainment amidst backstage in-fighting and Zendaya racism comment scandal.

Purple coiffed Kelly Osbourne is leaving Fashion Police! on E! Entertainment (DStv 124) immediately - the troubled show mired in scandal with backstage in-fighting and tension following a racist joke about Hollywood starlet Zendaya's hair.

"Kelly Osbourne is departing E!s Fashion Police to pursue other opportunities," says E! Entertainment in a terse statement.

"We would like to thank her for her many contributions to the series over the past five years, during which time the show became a hit with viewers," says E! Entertainment.

E! Entertainment and Fashion Police announced no replacement for Kelly Osbourne.

There won't be any formal proper on-air goodbye, reflecting clip show or any of the usual proper farewells when an on-air TV talent leaves - indicative of the rancour and bitterness behind the Fashion Police scenes.

According to TMZ, citing multiple sources Kelly Osbourne has been wanting to get off Fashion Police since the reset without Joan Rivers and that tension started from the first episode of the "new" Fashion Police with Brad Goreski and Kathy Griffin and without Joan Rivers and George Kotsiopoulos in January.

According to multiple sources Kelly Osbourne was unhappy with how Fashion Police was being produced since 2015, and the E! Entertainment show's producers were equally unhappy with Kelly Osbourne's on-set attitude.

Kelly Osbourne's abrupt departure leaves the severely compromised Giuliana Rancic as the only remaining original member on the struggling fashion critique comedy show following her highly offense comments earlier the week.

Earlier the week Kelly Osbourne threatened to quit the show following Giuliana Rancic's racist comments and has now made good on her threat to dump Fashion Police, hurling ultimatums and saying "I'm giving everyone involved 24 hours to make it right or the world will hear how I really feel. Contractually I'm not allowed to speak!"

Kelly Osbourne tweeted that "I'm seriously questioning staying on the show!"

The backstage atmosphere at E! Entertainment's Fashion Police, produced by the late Joan Rivers' daughter Melissa Rivers, has been fraught with tension and scandal since Giuliana Rancic on Monday called Zendaya's dreadlocks looking like "she smells like patchouli oil" or "weed".

Giuliana Rancic, who is also the anchor of eNews on E! Entertainment damaged her credibility and reputation although she did apologise on Tuesday on eNews for her controversial remarks.

An insider told publication Us Weekly on Saturday that "Kelly hasn't been happy at the show for a while," and that "this whole situation solidified her decision to move on. It was time for her to go. She had five great years there, and the relationship she had with Joan there changed her life."

E! Entertainment's racist Giuliana Rancic sorry for remarks over Zendaya's deadlocks; Kelly Osbourne threatens to quit Fashion Police.

E! Entertainment’s (DStv 124) E! News anchor and Fashion Police panelist Giuliana Rancic is apologising for her racist comments after saying the 18-year old actress Zendaya's dreadlocked hair at the Oscars "probaly smells like patchouli oil or weed", now saying "something I said last night did cross the line".

On Tuesday night's E! News, Giuliana Rancic who always does red carpet duty for E! and wants celebrities to trust her enough to talk to her, apologised.

"I want to apologize for a comment I made on last night's Fashion Police about Zendaya's hair," said Giuliana Rancic.

"As you know, Fashion Police is a show that pokes fun at celebrities in good spirit, but I do understand that something I said last night did cross the line. I just want everyone to know, I didn't intend to hurt anybody."

"But I've learned it's not my intent that matters, it's the result, and the result is that people are offended, including Zendaya, and that is not okay. Therefore, I want to say to Zendaya, and anyone else out there that I have hurt, that I am so, so sincerely sorry. This really has been a learning experience for me."

Kelly wants to quit

Meanwhile Fashion Police panelist Kelly Osbourne has threatened to quit the struggling fashion commenting show on E! Entertainment which has derailed in tone and enjoyment since the death of Joan Rivers and the addition of Kathy Griffin and Brad Goreski.

"I'm seriously questioning staying on the show," said Kelly Osbourne on Twitter, noting that she gave "everyone involved 24 hours to make it right or the world will hear how I really feel. Contractually I’m not allowed to speak!"

The 87th Academy Awards: 2015 Oscars coverage on M-Net, E!, CNN International, FOX News; Facebook; ceremony on M-Net Movies Premiere.

The 87th Academy Awards with host Neil Patrick Harris will be broadcast in South Africa on M-Net , with red carpet coverage leading up to the 2015 Oscars broadcast on E! Entertainment (DStv 124).

For the first time in a few years M-Net has also secured the official red carpet coverage run-up to the Oscars again, which is usually done as an additional add-on package by whatever American broadcaster which has the broadcasting rights to the awards show. 

This year it's ABC with the 2015 Oscars official red carpet arrivals show, called Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live From the Red Carpet starting on M-Net Movies Premiere (DStv 103) at 00:00 until 02:00, followed by Oscars Red Carpet Live from 02:00 to 03:46.

The presenters are Robin Roberts, Lara Spencer and Michael Strahan.

CNN International (DStv 401) also has an 2015 Oscars special entitled And the Winner Is... presented by Don Lemon from 01:30 until 02:00 from inside Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel.

FOX News Channel (StarSat 261) also has 2015 Oscars coverage starting at 03:00 on Monday morning with entertainment correspondent Michael Tammero.

E! Entertainment will be doing the usual red carpet coverage with Live From the Red Carpet: The 2015 Academy Awards starting at 00:30 (South African time) on Sunday night until 03:30 Monday morning. 

Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic will present from the red carpet.

E!'s 2015 Oscars coverage will be repeated on Monday at 11:00 and 18:00.

The 87th Academy Awards will start at 03:46 until around 07:15 on Monday morning on M-Net Movies Premiere. It will then be shown, packaged, Monday night on M-Net (DStv 101) from 19:31 to 23:00.

Viewers will be able to watch what happens behind the scenes at the 87th Academy Awards through a "Director's Cut" live feed streamed on Facebook.

Three channels of live video feeds from over 20 cameras throughout the Dolby Theater will be streamed on www.facebook.com/oscars.

Video clips of the most memorable moments of the awards show – including all musical performances – will be posted almost immediately after they air to oscar.com/video, with a selection of those also being shared on the Oscar's Facebook page.

E! Entertainment has another special episode of Fashion Police on Wednesday, 25 February at 22:00 with Kathy Griffin, Brad Goreski, Kelly Osbourne and Giuliana Rancic to look back at the 2015 Oscars fashion hits and misses.

BREAKING. Khanye West trashes E! Entertainment after the Grammy Awards, force E! reporters to remove E! logo from their microphones.

Artist Kanye West went on a rant against E! Entertainment (DStv 124) on Sunday night, dissing E! Entertainment on E! about being distasteful and forced E!'s red carpet reporters to remove the E! logo from their mics after the 57th Grammy Awards.

Kanye West, married to Kim Kardashian, star of the Keeping Up with the Kardashians reality show on E! Entertainment, appeared on the entertainment news and reality TV channel after the conclusion of the 2015 Grammy Awards and scolded E! Entertainment for their branded E! mics during its E! After Party Grammy Awards coverage.

"Who designed these mics? I took the E! off my mic. Okay, we know, it's gonna be E! already! It's gonna be E! at the bottom of the screen right here," Kanye West said motioning to the camera.

"We need to step up the taste level across the board on all networks," he said as he slammed E! Entertainment.

At the Grammy Awards afterparty Kanye West forced E! Entertainment's eNews presenter Terrence Jenkins, as well as Christina Milian, Zanna Roberts Rassi and even Kloe Kardashian to remove the E! logo from their mics.

"Take these off! Take these off right now!" screamed Kanye West.

Terrence Jenkins initially didn't want to but then sheepishly relented. "E! cuts my cheque, let me keep mine, let me keep mine," the eNews reporter said before removing his mic's E! logo.

"They need you! Y'all are the personalities! E! needs y'all! The Kardashians have a percentage of E! That's what I'm saying, they need y'all!" said Kanye West.

FASHION FAIL: E! Entertainment's 'new' Fashion Police with Kathy Griffin on DStv a TV disaster; pretending to be what it can never be again.

"This could have been a disaster," quipped the purple coiffed Kelly in the return of Fashion Police on E! Entertainment (DStv 124) following the sudden-shocking death of Joan Rivers in 2014, commenting on a 2015 Golden Globe actress' wearables.

Instead of "could have been" she should have used the word "is".

The "new" Fashion Police on E! Entertainment is a television disaster just like SABC1's "new" Generations - The Legacy.

Kathy Griffin replacing Joan Rivers and Brad Goreski (who likes to tell us he is gay) in the place of the dumped George Kotsiopoulos is now soulless TV trash, trying to emulate the spirit of something it can't, and pretending to be something it no longer is.

The production values visibly took a nosedive - why E! Entertainment and the producers felt the need to change the opening title graphics and package of Fashion Police from the vibey, colourful and pumping opener to a shockingly dated 80s CNN Style with Elsa Klench mix-up is anyone's guess.

It looks old. It looks tired. It looks dark. Everything the fashion world, which Fashion Police purportedly tries to comment on, abhors.

The new Fashion Police set: Green and black and dark - as if Melissa Rivers or someone who should know better, forgot to cover up some actual studio green screen.

The seating arrangements started off wrong. Giuliana Rancic and Kelly Osbourne who are still on the show no longer sat together for the new Fashion Police debut. That dynamic brought laughs previously as they used to lunge, grab and hold on to each other during certain really crazy jokes.

Now they worked together, subtly, to undermine Kathy Griffin from opposite sides and their common target and "enemy" Kathy Griffin in the middle. Why Brad Goreski (who likes to tell us he is gay) is on the show is anyone's guess. Tell Gargamel there's an obnoxious Smurf he never knew about.

By the second episode Fashion Police thankfully placed Giuliana Rancic and Kelly Osbourne next to each other again on the left side (although they've now switched seats; Giuliana is closer to the middle to anchor the show). One production point to the better for Griffin-dor!

Viewers can feel the subtle disses towards Kathy Griffin on the new Fashion Police after just two episodes.

You realise that you're no longer watching four friends chatting and joking and having fun. You're watching two friends (Giuliana Rancic and Kelly Osbourne), a stylist (who likes to tell us he is gay over and over) and comedian Kathy Griffin who is stilted and short on actual funny jokes and keeps repeating the same hammed lines.

It's not that viewers don't like change and won't accept the new Fashion Police. It's that the new Fashion Police is worse production wise that the original.

It's a given that Kathy Griffin would have been very nervous stepping into Joan Rivers' chair. But didn't they do a dry-run? And why is everything and everyone still so awkward after the second episode of Fashion Police?

Giuliana Rancic has taken over as unofficial master of ceremonies (she even says "ladies and gentlemen"),making it even more awkward, in addition to Kathy Griffin no longer being the final arbiter of best and worse dressed.

It's awkward having to listen to Kathy Griffin just going with a denounced "okay", "okay" after the rest of the trio have chimed in with their opinions - emotionally and visibly seceding in perceived "power" from the dominant role Joan Rivers held.

Yes. Kathy Griffin is not Joan Rivers. And isn't trying to be.

But then E! Entertainment should perhaps not have continued Fashion Police after her death.

The "new" Fashion Police is not fun and not funny. It's not fun to watch. It's not insightful.

The foursome now try to do filthy jokes but without proper context and which isn't about the actual outfits and clothes and how it looks on the stars like during the tenure of Joan Rivers - which in itself makes the jokes and them, and watching them, feel even more awkward.

Kathy Griffin is not in control of the show. Neither is Giuliana Rancic who tries to either "help" or "undermine" or "step in and save" - none of which is effectively working and all of which is making it worse. It makes the "new" Fashion Police strange and uncomfortable to watch.

Fashion Police on E! Entertainment used to be like fresh champagne while Joan Rivers was still alive. It was effervescent pop culture - with spot-on zingers and timeous, relevant commentary.

Now like a glamorous party where the waiters carry around champagne on silver trays - still in flute glasses but the drinks now devoid of bubbles after its been poured and left standing for too long - Fashion Police is still there but not sparkling.

Perhaps the time has come for Fashion Police to gracefully call it a night, and for E! Entertainment as the host to open a brand new bottle.

E! Entertainment delays The Royals for DStv; E! first scripted TV drama set to only start months later for South African viewers.

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South African DStv subscribers and those in the rest of Africa are in for a shock when they will discover in two months time that E! Entertainment's (DStv 124) hyped first new scripted drama, The Royals, won't be starting close to or at the same time in March as in America but months later at the end of the year.

Universal Networks International (UNI) risks alienating DStv subscribers in Africa and South Africa when The Royals starts on 15 March on E! Entertainment in the rest of the world but won't be shown here - for almost a year. 

TV with Thinus asked and was told that The Royals is only expected to premiere on E! Entertainment - the UK's version of E! beamed to Africa and the Middle East - sometime in the 4th quarter of 2015. 

UNI says nothing has been confirmed as of yet - meaning South African viewers are going to lose out on the big-buzz drama which got renewed for a 2nd season on E! Entertainment last week before The Royals' first season has even started yet.

While other channels supplied by BBC Worldwide and Discovery Networks have started to follow M-Net's lead in getting and broadcasting global content quickly, Universal Networks International seriously risks dropping the ball by not bringing South African viewers and DStv subscribers The Royals close to 15 March as well.

Since The Royals is an E! show, once again viewers will see the show and coverage of it like cast interviews and set visits elsewhere on E! on such daily shows as E! News. 

Yet viewers in South Africa and Africa will not being able to partake, fully understand or being able to share fully since they're able to actually see the show - instead ending up with a schizophrenic fill-in-the-blanks experience until the actual drama starts at the end of the year.

Given the early second season renewal for its very first scripted drama, it suggests that E! is proud of The Royals' early produced episodes and feels like it has enough of an upcoming new hit on its hands. 

Yet E! isn't appearing to want to build, cash in on the hype and ride the wave of interest there will be in The Royals when it starts in March for a global audience, opting to give South African viewers once again the stale, been-there-it's-now-over leftovers at the back-end of 2015.

In The Royals, filmed in London and revolving around a present day fictional royal family, Elizabeth Hurley is Queen Helena, with Joan Collins as the queen's mother.

Queen Helena has twins, Princess Eleanor and Prince Liam.

While its the scheming Joan Collins' character who is really ruling the kingdom and palace in Dynasty style behind the scenes, the young Princess Eleanor is the party animal like Windsor's Prince Harry with the resultant tabloid dramas.

Meanwhile Prince Liam is having a secret relationship with the daughter of one of the bodyguards.

Mark Schwahn who did One Tree Hill is the executive producer, with Lionsgate as the production company.

E! Entertainment orders a brand-new weekly talk show hosted by YouTube star Grace Helbig for 2015.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124) is ordering a talk show for 2015 hosted by newcomer Grace Helbig which will start on E! in April in America and which will presumably be seen on E! in South Africa and Africa shortly thereafter.

Grace Helbig's talk show will help to fill the void after the departure of Chelsea Handler last year who ended her late night talk show in August 2014 and called E! Entertainment "a sad,  sad place to live" and that "they don't know what they're doing".

The Grace Helbig talker which will be a weekly show doesn't have an official title yet but is called "The Grace Helbig Project" and will bring the YouTube star who has 2 million subscribers to her YouTube channel to international television.

"This show is a fresh take on the conventional talk show with a very unconventional host who has already captured an enormous fan base of young viewers on the web," says Jeff Olde, E!'s executive vice president for original programming and development in a statement.

"Congratulations to E! for giving an internet-obsessed introvert a talk show," says Grace Helbig who will also be one of the executive producers. "I'm looking forward to working with humans".

M-Net to show 72nd Golden Globe Awards live on M-Net Movies Premiere on DStv; E! does red carpet coverage as Fashion Police returns.

South African viewers will be able to watch Sunday's upcoming 72nd Golden Globe Awards again as a live broadcast early on Monday morning, as well as during primetime on Monday night as a recorded broadcast, with pay-TV broadcaster M-Net which secured the broadcasting rights.

While MultiChoice's DStv electronic programme guide (EPG) and the M-Net Movies channels don't indicate the 2015 Golden Globe Awards on any of the DStv TV channels and while M-Net hasn't made any announcements, sources confirmed to TV with Thinus on Monday that the 72nd Golden Globe Awards will be broadcast live this coming Monday morning, 12 January, on the M-Net Movies Premiere (DStv 103) channel at 03:00.

The 2015 Golden Globes - with hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler back for their third consecutive year - will then again be broadcast on Monday night on M-Net (DStv 101) as a recorded broadcast at 21:30 during primetime.

The annual red carpet ceremony is taking place at The Grand Budapest Hotel Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles this Sunday night and will this year be  shown in 160 countries.

The 2015 Golden Globe Awards has jumped to a much earlier date this year to get ahead of the pack.

As more and more award shows honouring film and television are added every year to the calendar, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) decided to get out in front of the growing number of red carpet ceremonies cluttering the calendar.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124) will do the usual red carpet arrivals coverage from 01:00 on Monday 12 January for the 2 hours leading up to the ceremony with Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic as the main presenters of Live from the Red Carpet: The 2015 Golden Globe Awards (with repeats on Monday at 16:00, 18:00 and 20:00).

Fashion Police returns to E! Entertainment on Wednesday 14 January at 22:00 to look at the 2015 Golden Globes after the unexpected death of host Joan Rivers last year, with the weekly programme which will now only be broadcast as E! specials, following big red carpet award shows.

Kathy Griffin replaces Joan Rivers as host and Hollywood stylist Brad Goreski replaces George Kotsiopoulos. Kelly Osbourne and Giuliana Rancic remain to round out the feared fashion foursome.

BREAKING. Suzanne Kolb out as president of E! Entertainment after just 3 years; Adam Stotsky named E! new general manager.

Suzanne Kolb is out as president of E! Entertainment (DStv 124) after just over three years, telling staff in an internal email that "all good things must come to an end and so must my time at E!".

Adam Stotsky has been named the new general manager for E! Entertainment.

Suzanne Kolb who've been at E! Entertainment for a decade writes to staff that "I know the future for E! shines bright and I look forward to cheering you on as you reach new heights".

During the past year the viewership for Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been falling to lows, Joan Rivers died who powered Fashion Police, several new reality shows were cancelled after just one season each, and Chelsea Handler ended her long-running talk show Chelsea Lately after blasting E! Entertainment as "a sad, sad place to live" and that they "don't know what they're doing".

Suzanne Kolb replaced Ted Harbert in July 2011 at the NBCUniversal pay-TV channel.

BREAKING. E! Entertainment to honour Joan Rivers with 90 minute Fashion Police Special on 20 September followed by all day marathon.

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E! Entertainment (DStv 124) will be celebrating the life of comedienne and caustic fashion critic Joan Rivers with a special 90 minute Fashion Police special programme on Saturday 20 September at 21:00 entitled Fashion Police: Celebrating Joan, followed by an all day Fashion Police marathon on the channel on DStv.

The 90 minute Fashion Police special will be recorded from the home of daughter, Melissa Rivers, with the Fashion Police panel - Kelly Osbourne, Giuliana Rancic and George Kotsiopoulos - all appearing and telling funny stories and sharing behind-the-scenes gossip.

The special will show the most hilarious and most outrageous moments caught on camera over the years the show has been running on E! Entertainment.

The panel will share personal stories, behind-the-scenes special footage, as well as never-before-aired segments in which viewers can see how Joan often candidly joked with the cast as well as with the studio audience.

The 90 minute Fashion Police special will be followed by an all day marathon of Fashion Police episodes with the best jokes from Joan Rivers, including the episodes which celebrated her 80th birthday, and the very last one she did covering this year's MTV Video Music Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards.

The future of Fashion Police on E! Entertainment uncertain and unclear after the death of Joan Rivers at 81.

The immediate future of Fashion Police on E! Entertainment (DStv 124) is unclear, and the ongoing future of the weekly show uncertain, following the death of American comedienne Joan Rivers who was the host of the show since it started in 2010.

Joan Rivers died today, aged 81, when her daughter Melissa Rivers took her off of life support in the New York hospital where she was taken to, after she stopped breathing and suffered cardiac arrest following a minor throat operation last week.

Earlier today E! Entertainment issued an advisory saying there won't be any further Fashion Police episodes due to Joan Rivers' hospitalisation and that  "we will not be producing a Fashion Police this week or next week as we await Joan and Melissa's return in front and behind the camera".

Melissa Rivers who made frequent appearances on the show with the panel consisting of Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne and George Kotsiopoulos, was the executive producer.

Advertised on E! the past week, the entertainment channel said E! Entertainment would be producing two E! From Fashion Week TV specials covering New York Fashion Week which started today.

The long term future of the highly rated and popular show is also uncertain, since Joan Rivers and her acerbic commentary was the driving force of Fashion Police as the panelist mostly reacted to her weekly fashion zingers instead of trying to be funny themselves.

Following Joan Rivers' death E! Entertainment issued another advisory regarding Fashion Police, the second one today, saying the future of Fashion Police is now uncertain.

"Right now we are mourning our beloved Joan. We will respond at a later date with programming updates".

George Kotsiopoulos tweeted: "Rest in peace Joan Rivers. Thank you for changing my life. I will miss you so much.

Kelly Osbourne, also in hospital with pneumonia, called Joan Rivers "the only grandmother I ever knew".

"I'm completely heartbroken by the loss of my beloved Joan. Not only was she my boss, she was and will always be my teacher, therapist, closest friend, inspiration and the only grandmother I ever knew. She was family and I will never forget her".

"I love you with all my heart Joan Rivers. My life will never be the same without you!"

"Joan, thank you for taking me in and loving me as a daughter. I will miss you deeply and will always hear your voice in my head saying 'my darling get out there and be you!"

Giuliana Rancic in New York said in a statement "It is almost impossible to describe how much I adored Joan and how much she has meant to me".

"She was not only the funniest woman I have ever met but was incredibly loving, honest, and lived her life with no regrets. Working with her for the last 13 years has been one of the true joys of my life. She could put a smile on your face, instantly, no matter how hard your day was."

"My life is so much fuller and happier because I got to share it with this beautiful person, a true genius. I woke up today unable to grasp what the world will be like without her and at the same time feel so privileged to have called her my friend."