Another prime time line-up rejig on CNN International from 10 September as Christiane Amanpour goes an hour and Julia Chatterley's business show, First Move, makes its debut.

CNN is overhauling its programming line-up for CNN International (DStv 401) in South Africa as well as the rest of the African continent and the Middle East, that will kick in from 10 September when Christiane Amanpour's reformatted hour-long show makes its debut.

The latest CNN schedule shuffle however still has no dedicated African news programme during prime time for African viewers in the way that other global news channels like BBC World News (DStv 400 / StarSat 256 / Openview 112 / Cell C black 501) has the daily Focus on Africa at 19:30, or CGTN (DStv 409 / StarSat 266 ) has the daily Africa Live at 19:00, covering Africa during prime time.

CNN that has agreed to a simulcast of Christiane Amanpour's current affairs programme in the United States on the PBS channel, decided to use the programme's expansion to an hour long show in America and the addition of contributors, to rejig and rebuild the programming schedule of CNN International around it.

From 10 September when the half hour Amanpour changes its name to Amanpour & Company in the United States, the hour long show will now start on weekdays at 19:00 on CNN International - an hour earlier.

As TVwithThinus previously reported, Amanpour & Company will add the four journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan as contributors, and will feature wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports".

This will be followed by Hala Gorani Tonight that from 10 September will move to an earlier timeslot of 20:00 instead of 21:00 on weekdays on CNN International.

Richard Quest's Quest Means Business is also moving an hour earlier from 10 September and will now run at 21:00 instead of 22:00 on weekdays, continuing with its often-irreverent analysis and interviews of the day's global and American business news.

The news channel from Turner Broadcasting that often abruptly interrupted scheduled shows on CNN International with The Lead with Jake Tapper is now giving the show a fixed timeslot on CNN International from 10 September and will be shown at 22:00.

The Lead with Jake Tapper will do commentary and analysis of the day's headlines from the United States, a show that doesn't really so much resonate with African viewers.

CNN Today, co-anchored by Amara Walker and Michael Holmes, is also moving an hour earlier and instead of midnight, will now start at 23:00 on CNN International from 10 September - still covering the day's global headlines from around the world.

State of America, the weekday talk show about Donald Trump's day that was recently dumped from the schedule and replaced by a nightly repeat of CNN Talk with Max Foster, will return as a weekly show on Fridays from 14 September, again anchored by the preppy Kate Bolduan, and now closing out the week at 23:00 on CNN International.

CNN International says CNN World Sport will break into programming with bulletins across the schedule".

The Africa-focused programming strands, Marketplace Africa, African Voices and Inside Africa remain on the schedule and will continue to be part of CNN International's schedule across the week, with news from across the African continent that will continue to feature in CNN International's main shows as and when it happens.

During the day on CNN International, CNN Talk with Max Foster will remain in its usual midday timeslot of 13:00.

In the afternoon on CNN International there will also be two changes. As previously reported, Bloomberg Television's Julia Chatterley is joining CNN International and her new business news show, First Move with Julia Chatterley, will now be seen at 15:00 in the afternoon.

Julia Chatterley will report from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and will cover the latest market moves in the United States and around the world.

Julia Chatterley will also appear in the recently introduced Quest Express with Richard Quest that remains in its 18:00 timeslot, but is apparently changing its programme title to The Express.

"With new shows and expanded programming, these changes will benefit our audiences enormously," says Mike McCarthy, the senior vice president and general manager of CNN International.

"Across business, current affairs, politics, culture and sport, CNN International viewers will get the complete picture, from around the world, in one place."


CNN International programme/timeslot changes from 10 September:
Now                                                                          10 September
15:00 CNN Money with Maggie Lake                     15:00 First Move with Julia Chatterley
16:00 International Desk
17:00 Connect the World with Becky Anderson
18:00 Quest Express                                                   18:00 The Express
19:00 Wolf                                                                     19:00 Amanpour
20:00 Amanpour / CNN Talk                                   20:00 Hala Gorani Tonight
21:00 Hala Gorani Tonight                                        21:00 Quest Means Business
22:00 Quest Means Business                                    22:00 The Lead with Jake Tapper
23:00 Amanpour (repeat)                                          23:00 CNN Today

CNN International rebrands The World Right Now with Hala Gorani to Hala Gorani Tonight. And here's the big question ...

CNN International (DStv 401) has rebranded The World Right Now with Hala Gorani to Hala Gorani Tonight starting on Monday night.

Turner Broadcasting's CNN International didn't bother to issue any programming advisory or statement about the change to CNN International's line-up on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service to media and journalists through its South African PR agency.

It's not clear why the show is changing or why it's changing now; as I've said, there's been nothing from CNN International to Africa's press where Hala Gorani's show is part of the prime time line-up.

The big question is how many nights Hala Gorani Tonight will actually be running.

Over the past two months, although the channel's name and focus is CNN International, CNN has very often, often for several weeknights in a row, abruptly and badly switched its feed from CNN International to the CNN feed in America.

CNN did and does it to give rolling coverage - ranging from hurricanes to opinion-makers speculating about Donald Trump's presidency - which is something that it think South African and African viewers want to see or should see.

It's however not. The past two months I've caught myself flicking down to BBC World News or up to Sky News just in order to actually get some coverage of what stories are making international news.

Since September CNN International very often gets interrupted, and programmes shelved, when the CNN International feed is killed for the CNN America feed to cover mass shootings, White House press briefings, Donald Trump speeches, breaking news about Donald Trump tweets, Donald Trump firings and Donald Trump Russia collusion speculation.

MultiChoice's was interestingly also not told about the change by CNN International.

On Monday night MultiChoice still listed The World Right Now with Hala Gorani starting at 22:00 on weekdays on the out-of-date DStv electronic programme guide (EPG) with the old name appearing for the entire week.

It looked unprofessional since Hala Gorani on Friday already told CNN International viewers that that day was the last episode, and CNN International has been running promos for the new show for a while.

Do the people who do the DStv EPG actually watch CNN International?

Hala Gorani tonight at 22:00 is where Quest Means Business used to be broadcast - a programme that is now at 23:00 since last week, due to the daylight saving time adjustment.

The past two and a half months there's been multiple, multiple nights where Quest Means Business at 22:00 was simply pre-empted without the slightest advisory or warning to viewers.

If the unabated Donald Trump coverage continues (do African viewers like and care for this much reality-news Don drama?) as it has been, there will clearly be nights where Hala Gorani Tonight will simply be swept away just like The World Right Now has been.

It means that viewers tuned to CNN International won't be getting the broad overview of international news but just American president, American hurricane, American mass shooting or American twitter storm stories.

The World Right Now with Hala Gorani to start on Monday, 23 June, at 21:00 on CNN International.

The World Right Now with Hala Gorani will start this coming Monday, 23 June at 21:00 (South African time).

Although it doesn't appear yet on the electronic programme guide (EPG) for MultiChoice's DStv, The World Right Now with Hala Gorani is the new show I reported on back in May.

The show will be done live and is the new new programme for which Hala Gorani relocated back to London in the United Kingdom for, where the new show will be done from.

The World Right Now with Hala Gorani will replace the CNN Newsroom currently in the 21:00 timeslot.

CNN International adding new show, The World Right Now with Hala Gorani, from June, correspondent Ivan Watson moving to Hong Kong.

CNN International (DStv 401) is getting ready to add Hala Gorani's new hour long show which will start this month which will be called The World Right Now with Hala Gorani, done from London.

CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is also relocating to Hong Kong.

CNN International says it will be "doubling" its live news programming for viewers in Africa, the Middle East and Europe during the breakfast hours from the third quarter of 2014, from CNN Center in Atlanta.

CNN says it is evolving CNN World Sport into "a more frequent bulletin to better capture the needs of audiences across the 24-hour programming cycle".

CNN International readying a new hour long show starting in June with Hala Gorani back in London.

CNN International (DStv 401) is readying a new hour long show starting in June with Hala Gorani.

Hala Gorani has returned to London from CNN headquarters in Atlanta and will do the show from there.

Hala Gorani anchors International Desk and sat in for Amanpour last week.

'Very bad taste' Tropika Island of Treasure 5 Jamaica of SABC1 covered on CNN International; described as 'not helpful at all'.

Tropika Island of Treasure 5: Jamaica on SABC1 produced by Stimulii has now made it as a story onto CNN International (DStv 401) with the global 24-hour news channel saying that people are describing it as being "in very bad taste".

Tropika Island of Treasure 5: Jamaica features the dead model Reeva Steenkamp who was shot in the head and killed in the early hours of Thursday morning by the Olympic and paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius. A case of premeditated murder has been brought against Oscar Pistorius.

Hala Gorani talked with CNN International's South African correspondent Robyn Curnow about Tropika Island of Treasure 5: Jamaica on SABC1, noting that "some people are upset that it's airing at all".

"Reeva participated in this reality show and producers decided to air it after her death. What has been the reaction overall?" asked Hala Gorani.

"People are saying this is in very bad taste and really is not at all helpful," reported Robyn Curnow.

"On the other hand the producers and many South Africans tuned in. They wanted to see what she was like, what she sounded like. She's very pretty. A lot of people said it amplified even more how caring she seemed; what kind of a loss it was," said Robyn Curnow.

"It also depends on as we go on. She's going to be appearing every weekend until she is so-called evicted from this reality show. It is a bit strange for many people," said Robyn Curnow.

"Well you hear somebody speaking after their death; almost speaking from another world. It is strange I'll admit," said Hala Gorani.

ALSO READ: Killer runner Oscar Pistorius and reality star Reeva Steenkamp the main lead story on the NBC Nightly News on America on Sunday evening.
ALSO READ: "Eery", "shock to many" as Tropika Island of Treasure 5 makes the main news in America on NBC Nightly News and the CBS Evening News on Saturday.
ALSO READ: eNCA will try to do live coverage of the Oscar Pistorius court trial and judgement.
ALSO READ: Outside Eye on eNCA on Wednesday to look at Oscar Pistorius and how the international media is covering the murder case and South Africa.
ALSO READ: Charge of $3000 per foreign broadcaster to use clips of Reeva Steenkamp in Tropika Island of Treasure 5, reports The Independent.

BREAKING. CNN International's brand new prime time line-up

You're reading it here first. CNN International (DStv 401) has a great new primetime schedule for news junkies (like me). TWO BRAND NEW SHOWS are also set to start soon, World One and Amanpour - which I'll tell you about tomorrow.

But back to the schedule and I'll start with the show I personally watch and like the most:



International Desk
Presenter: Hala Gorani
Why it's cool: Hala is funny. She also doesn't really go with a script. The show is pacey, it's TRULY interactive and the hourly show every day immerses you in the news. She makes jokes, she covers really interesting stuff. Hala also has her own blog entitled Today at the IDesk which you can find here: www.cnn.com/idesk
Catch it: Weekdays, 18:00



Quest Means Business
Presenter: Richard Quest
Why it's cool: He visited South Africa earlier this year but MultiChoice and DStv didn't tell me about it, didn't invite me and didn't want me to talk to him. He had some lovely and choice words for SAA though while he visited to do some stories about South Africa's preparations for next year's World Cup Soccer. The tad eccentric Richard breaks down the facts and figures of the business world into easy to understand stories.
Catch it: Weekdays, 20:00



Connect the World with Becky Anderson
Presenter: Becky Anderson
Why it's cool: It's kinda ''connect the dots'' but on a global scale. With the news. Becky takes seemingly unrelated global stories and explores how and event or some news thing has an impact on something seemingly unrelated, yet connected. Very interesting.
Catch it: Weekdays, 22:00