e.tv ends Power-UP! rerun channel on Openview it started as a workaround for Eskom electricity blackouts.

by Thinus Ferreira

Openview and e.tv today removed the Power-UP! TV channel from its satellite TV service channel line-up, a year and a half after Power-UP! was started in January 2023 as a rerun channel to give viewers another chance to see content due to South Africa's crippling Eskom electricity blackouts called "loadshedding".

Openview viewers got no advance warning about Power-UP!'s removal. eMedia started Power-UP! as a linear content repeat channel to give viewers a second windowing opportunity to see a repeat of content they would have missed due to a lack of electricity to keep a TV set on.

In an announcement, e.tv said that "With recent improvements in power stability, Openview announces discontinuing the Power-UP! channel (channel 114 on Openview) from Monday 8 July 2024".

Marlon Davids, managing director of channels, says "We are thankful to our viewers for their ongoing support. Your engagement has been invaluable, and we are excited to bring you an even more thrilling prime-time experience. Our commitment to providing nonstop entertainment has always been unwavering and will continue to be so".

ALSO READ: eMedia's Openview adds Power-UP! as content repeat channel to try combat South Africa's crippling Eskom electricity blackouts.

e.tv drops Days of Our Lives from April, shakes up primetime schedule with new local sex series The Black Door.

Thinus Ferreira

e.tv is dropping Days of Our Lives from 11 April with the red letter broadcaster which is shaking up its primetime schedule with timeslot changes and adding a new local telenovela, The Black Door about a township brothel.

e.tv has not decided not to renew the contract for the American soap Days of Our Lives on its schedule, using the money to invest in making more local content for the channel as well as its eVOD video streaming service.

Days of Our Lives will end on 11 April on e.tv, a few years after e.tv took over the soap from SABC3 that decided to cancel it as well, with e.tv's decision that will likely not go down very well with loyal viewers who switched to e.tv from SABC3 to follow the daily dramas of the American townsfolk of Salem.

"By adding new things to e.tv's schedule and trying to create new content some of the things have to go since there are only so many hours in a day. Days of Our Lives is discontinued from 11 April," says Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels.

From 11 April e.tv will be showing the Clive Morris Productions series Isono that was on Paramount Africa's BET (DStv 129), with e.tv that has acquired the free-to-air rights for its 20:30 timeslot after the channel's English TV news bulletin.

Imbewu which will start its 5th season is moving to21:00 from 11 April, with the new risque local series The Black Door that will be shown Mondays to Fridays in the 21:30 timeslot.

About the schedule change and dropping Days, Marlon Davids says "it's something that's needed for us to structure the schedule to create flow to navigate audience in early primetime and to keep them on e.tv".

e.tv is also dropping the American procedural dramas like the Chicago and NCIS series.

On Sunday nights the 20:00 movie timeslot is moving to 21:00, with the 20:00-timeslot that is going to be filled by local drama series.

The Rewind channel on eMedia's Openview platform is rebranded to Xposed and will add Viceland documentaries and current affairs programming.

The cast of The Black Door which has been commissioned for 260 episodes includes among others Linda Sebezo, Zamani Mbatha, Velaphi Mnisi, Sello Ramalahloane and Gabisile Tshabalala and revolves around township characters - both innocent and jaded - whose lives are intertwined with a secretive brothel run by a ruthless owner where neither clients nor ordinary folk dare cross her. 

Anaconda on e.tv captures another 2.4 million viewers in its latest rebroadcast in 2022.

by Thinus Ferreira

Viewers complained vehemently. Then over 2.4 million tuned in and kept watching when e.tv broadcast Anaconda on 15 January after the red letter channel promised that it would never do so again, ensuring that the horror-schlock film will definitely rate very high on the viewership list of January's most-watched content in South Africa.

e.tv made headlines and angered viewers when the eMedia channel announced that it would again show the 1997-film on 15 January, after it promised 8 years ago that it would never again be showing Anaconda again when it did a "final premiere" of the horror film in June 2014.

At the start of 2022 e.tv had shown Anaconda at least 19 times over the past number of years, not counting the multiple broadcasts of the film on other eMedia TV channels like eMovies, or any of the multiple same-week repeats after an initial reschedule airing, or rebroadcasts.

Similarly, the franchise's sequels like Anaconda: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid never left e.tv and remain in constant high-rotation scheduling, shown annually and multiple times in 2021 on e.tv. 

e.tv didn't respond to a media query about Anaconda's return to the channel's schedule before broadcast.

After the film's broadcast on Saturday night at 20:00, Anaconda starring Ice Cube, Jon Voight and J.Lo, managed to lure over 2.4 million viewers who not only tuned to e.tv but kept watching.  

This week, in an unsolicited statement following its broadcast, e.tv said "The movie is an old favourite, and even though you know that snake is about to strike, you can't stop watching".

Marlon Davids, managing director of the channels, says "Anaconda is an old-time favourite and we know our audiences are hooked on suspense. We will continue to bring the drama, suspense and thrills to viewers".

ALSO READ: Anaconda is again free on e as South African viewers fume over e.tv's obsession with the poison-pic(k).

e.tv launches its eVOD video streaming service.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv has launched the South African broadcaster's homegrown video streaming service, eVOD (e-Video-On-Demand) as a so-called freemium streamer with over 2 500 hours of content at launch, including different premium subscription tiers for exclusive content.

e.tv plans to spend at least R100 million per year on creating brand-new local content for eVOD that will include 4 eOriginal series and 10 original South African feature films, and the plan is to add the streaming of live linear TV channels on eVOD in the future.

As e.tv is a free-to-air commercial broadcaster, eVOD offers thousands of hours of free library content that is available after a customer registers an eVOD profile.

eVOD also offers daily (R5 for 24 hours), weekly (R15) and monthly (R29.99) subscriptions, giving a viewer access to all content and offering more exclusive content including a first-run eOriginal movie, and access to the next week's 5 episodes of e.tv's top local prime soaps and telenovelas in a functionality called FastForward (FF).

eVOD subscribers can for instance watch the first episode of the new local drama series Is'phindiselo before broadcast, as well as Atlantis, the first eVOD Original movie in which a young woman sets out to find her missing brother involved in a gang and starring Bronte Snel, Maurice Carpede, Chumani Pan, Keenan Arrison and Ettienne Gertse.

eVOD customers can pay with debit or credit cards, airtime or partner billing with e.tv that has partnered with MTN and with MTN customers who register for eVOD who get 4GB data free monthly until 31 January 2022 that can only be used to watch eVOD content.

eVOD is available to download as an app for mobile devices on the Google Play and Apple's App Store, and is online at www.evod.co.za as a browser experience for computers. 

e.tv's existing "e On Demand" website service where people could watch Catch Up episodes of shows, will now redirect users to the eVOD website.

eVOD launches in South Africa just a day before BritBox SA that is launching on 6 August with the country that is adding two new video streaming services in an already crowded video-on-demand space and where the South African public broadcaster plans to launch its own SABC VOD service, modelled on the BBC's Player, before the end of the year.

Besides eVOD and BritBox SA, South African consumers already have access to MultiChoice's Showmax, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ that are all competing with PCCW Media's VIU, Vodacom Video Play and TelkomONE. 

Consumers are still waiting for other global streamers like WarnerMedia's HBO Max, along with Disney+, Paramount+, NBCUniversal's Peacock and Discovery+ to launch locally.

"We decided to meet our audience in places where they will be at - so if not on the TV set, on the mobile, or on the PC, and eventually they will get the eVOD content again on TV," said Khalik Sherrif, eMedia Holdings CEO, the eVOD virtual launch event on Wednesday night.

"We have a huge following in South Africa through e.tv and all the other TV channels and we understand in our business that our customers and audiences are changing on a daily basis these days, getting content through means that we didn't conceive of 10 years ago - the TV has evolved from analogue to DTH to DTT and the last couple of years we went to OTT."

Multiple new eOriginal series, films planned

Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director said that "the investment in the local broadcasting industry will be R100 million per year - that's what our investment is going to be - and it will include at least 4 eOriginal series for eVOD, as well as at least 10 local movies per year".

"Atlantis is available to watch on eVOD and up until the end of March 2022 next year we will launch another 4 movies, and possibly 2 more. In a full financial year there will always be 10 movies that we will launch."

Excluding Atlantis that is already on eVOD, the other eOriginal films will be available on a T-VOD basis on eVOD as a transactional video-on-demand offering.

"This means that eVOD users will pay a to-be-determined once-off fee to watch a movie because it won't be available on TV or in cinemas and will be territory premieres," Marlon Davids said. The price for T-VOD films has not been decided yet.

"A big part of eVOD will be Catch Up, so users will be able to watch last night's episode of series like Durban Gen or House of Zwide or even the Turkish telenovelas dubbed into Afrikaans."

"In that space we know that viewers are obsessed with those shows like Gebroke Harte, so we will also offer FastForward for Elif to see the next 5 episodes that will still be broadcast on the eExtra channel."

"Also some of these Turkish drama series that haven't been on e.tv channels before will now premiere on eVOD even before it goes to one of our linear TV channels."

"After Is'phindiselo our 13-part series that has already been renewed for a second 13-episode season, we will launch another one towards mid-September called Housewives, that is in production."

Plan to move e.tv content to eVOD

e.tv told TVwithThinus that its existing shows like soaps of which Catch Up rights have been licensed to MultiChoice's DStv Now will remain accessible on that pay-TV provider's streaming service but e.tv's content is no longer available on VIU and has been moved to eVOD.

"As our contractual obligations ride themselves out, we're consolidating our content on our OTT service which is the logical thing to do," Khalik Sherrif said.

"We are introducing what is the mass audience of South Africa to content that is now going to be streamed. As data becomes cheaper, the numbers will grow. But we had to be in this business. We had to start somewhere."

The cast and crew of e.tv's canned Rhythm City thought they were called together to be congratulated for their hard work and ratings during Covid-19 - then they were told they're fired during a cold speech.

by Thinus Ferreira

Just before the axe came down on e.tv's canned Rhythm City soap, the cast and crew thought that they were being called together to be congratulated for their hard work and ratings during the Covid-19 pandemic - but then they got fired during a "cold and clinical" speech.

On Friday e.tv shocked South Africa's TV industry when it suddenly announced that after 13 years it's over for its Rhythm City weekday prime time soap produced by Quizzical Pictures. 

On Sunday the City Press newspaper reported that the Rhythm City cast and crew were called together for an e.tv meeting, allegedly under the guise of it being a "meet-and-greet" session, only to be "let down" by the terrible cancellation news.

"The speech was cold and clinical. Everyone just had a look on their faces like: What am I going to do?" Rhythm City insiders at Sasani Studios said.

They thought that the e.tv team was coming to congratulate and to praise them for their perseverance and hard work through the Covid-19 pandemic crisis that even saw the production shut down more than once this year.

"It was a surprise as the show has been doing well. You don't can a successful show," a source said.

e.tv declined to say why it decided to cancel Rhythm City other than to say that it's been axed as "part of a business strategy". Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director, in a statement said that "e.tv continues to look forward to fulfilling its mandate of producing exceptional and relevant local content".

After 13 years Rhythm City, executive produced by Harriet Gavshon, will end with its final episode on 16 July 2021 with e.tv that plans to replace it with another daily drama series.

According to e.tv, Rhythm City's "on-air life cycle" is apparently not good enough for the channel anymore, with e.tv that took the decision to can Rhythm City after having reviewed the show's "on-air life cycle".

e.tv doesn't specifically mention any financial reasons for Rhythm City's cancellation in its surprising press statement, yet it stands to reason that Rhythm City's axing is because the soap is likely no longer profitable for e.tv, or is loss-making, or is no longer making enough money for the commercial free-to-air broadcaster.

A combination of ratings and profitability are the main drivers behind the fate of series and programming on commercial TV channels and Rhythm City is clearly no longer making sense as a "keeper" for e.tv within this matrix.

e.tv that doesn't want to give any specific reasons for Rhythm City's cancellation in its press release for something that is a long-running show, will fuel speculation within South Africa's TV industry and under viewers and fans as to what exactly led to its demise.

Rhythm City, created by Rolie Nikiwe and Neil McCarthy, made its broadcast debut on e.tv on 9 July 2007 and was the replacement for the struggling youth-focused Backstage - it was instantly much more popular and gave e.tv a foot in the door in the production of scripted, local South African prime time content that could pull significant ratings.

Rhythm City peaked at almost 5.2 million viewers in 2020 and has consistently ranked amongst the Top 10 most-watched prime time soap operas in South Africa, with its cancellation catching South Africa's TV industry by surprise.

In October Rhythm City pulled 4.04 million viewers at its monthly highwater mark in its 19:00 timeslot, making it the second most-watched show on the e.tv schedule behind Scandal! with 5.1 million viewers. 

In May this year, Rhythm City won the Best TV Soap award at 2020's 14th South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas).

 

ALSO READ: e.tv cancels Rhythm City after 13 years, Quizzical Pictures produced daily soap opera to end in July 2021 as part of unexplained 'business strategy' and will be replaced by another daily drama series.

e.tv cancels Rhythm City after 13 years, Quizzical Pictures produced daily soap opera to end in July 2021 as part of unexplained 'business strategy' and will be replaced by another daily drama series.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv has cancelled its long-running local weekday soap Rhythm City produced by Quizzical Pictures despite it being one of the red letter broadcaster's most-popular and most-watched shows, giving no explanation for it other than to say it has been done as "part of a business strategy".

After 13 years Rhythm City, executive produced by Harriet Gavshon, will end with its final episode on 16 July 2021 with e.tv that plans to replace it with another daily drama series.

According to e.tv, Rhythm City's "on-air life cycle" isn't good enough for the channel anymore, with e.tv that took the decision to can Rhythm City after having reviewed the show's "on-air life cycle".

e.tv doesn't specifically mention any financial reasons for Rhythm City's cancellation in its surprising press statement, yet it stands to reason that Rhythm City's axing is because the soap is likely no longer profitable for e.tv, or is loss-making, or is no longer making enough money for the commercial free-to-air broadcaster.

A combination of ratings and profitability are the main drivers behind the fate of series and programming on commercial TV channels and Rhythm City is clearly no longer making sense as a "keeper" for e.tv within this matrix.

e.tv that doesn't want to give any specific reasons for Rhythm City's cancellation in its press release, for something that is a long-running show, will fuel speculation within the industry and under viewers and fans as to what exactly led to its demise.

Rhythm City, created by Rolie Nikiwe and Neil McCarthy, made its broadcast debut on e.tv on 9 July 2007 and was the replacement for the struggling youth-focused Backstage - it was instantly much more popular and gave e.tv a foot in the door in the production of scripted, local South African prime time content that could pull significant ratings.

Rhythm City peaked at almost 5.2 million viewers in 2020 and has consistently ranked amongst the Top 10 most-watched prime time soap operas in South Africa, with its cancellation catching South Africa's TV industry by surprise.

e.tv's Rhythm City cancellation will push multiple on-screen talent and crew working behind the scenes at Sasani Studios back into the jobless market looking for their next work opportunity in the maelstrom of the gig economy of South Africa's struggling film and TV industry.

Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director, says that "e.tv continues to look forward to fulfilling its mandate of producing exceptional and relevant local content, and the production has successfully achieved its part of the obligation throughout the past 13 years".

"Rhythm City has secured its place in e.tv's history books, and a legacy mark has been made. We want to extend our gratitude to the entire production staff, crew, and cast for their incomparable craft."

e.tv says that the channel "would like to unequivocally thank the show's production team Quizzical Pictures, for their unwavering dedication and passion that has gone into the hard work of producing the multi-award-winning drama".

e.tv says the final few months of Rhythm City will "have a strong focus on finalising prominent plot lines, some of which, like the introduction of Suffocates long lost adoptive son Pule, will take fan favourites back into time, to when it all started".

ALSO READ: The cast and crew of e.tv's canned Rhythm City though they were called together to be congratulated for their hard work and ratings during Covid-19 - then they were told they're fired during a cold speech.

Viewers hugely upset after eMedia's Openview abruptly replaces BBC World News after 3 years with France24, says it's sorry for causing viewers 'distress' with the channel swop without warning.

by Thinus Ferreira

Openview decided to switch the BBC World News channel on its satellite pay-TV service for France24 – but Openview viewers are angry and upset, especially because it happened without warning and because they don’t see the French-based TV news channel to be in the same league as the global news reach of the BBC.

Viewers are mostly quiet about so-called “boring” TV news channels and their often seemingly mundane rolling 24-hour TV news coverage. 

But Openview didn’t bargain on just how much viewers actually value, want and watch BBC World News in South Africa and the rest of Southern Africa.

An avalanche of viewers have reacted negatively and with an outpouring of anger after e.tv abruptly replaced the international TV news channel BBC World News with France24 from 1 August 2020 on its Openview free-to-air satellite service without warning.

eMedia Investments added BBC World News on 4 September 2017 to Openview.

At the time, e.tv said in a statement that "BBC World News' reputation for global breaking news is a huge drawcard for us and we're delighted to be able to offer our viewers a window to the world of quality and integrity".

Now BBC World News is abruptly gone and replaced on Openview by the English-language feed of the French TV news channel France24.

Viewers flooded Openview with complaints.

On social media, Openview said "We have seen all your comments about BBC World News and France24.

"Our intention is not to make you unhappy, and we are sorry to have caused you distress. Let's welcome France24 as our new normal and continue getting the best news from around the world".

In response to a media enquiry e.tv says that the BBC World News contract ended and that it decided to go with France24.

 "The carriage agreement between BBC World News and Openview has ended," says Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels.

"In accordance with our mandate to give our audience a range of choices, we’ve brought France24 on board. It’s not new to our platform and fared well when it was carried on our news and sport channel."

Viewers are extremely unhappy with the OpenView channel change that elicited hundreds of angry comments from furious and disappointed Openview viewers.

Richard Ainstley said "this is a real step backwards. France24 is pushing news from a French perspective, whereas BBC World News is a proper international news channel. Please reconsider. Have both if you like but I will not be watching France24".

Steven Hill said "Why don't you admit that BBC World News was no longer going to give it to you for free? France24 is giving it to you for free".

Richard Bamhare said "This is really bad. At least you could have asked us. BBC World News is much better than France24. And add Sky News while at it."

Clive Gumbo said "In terms of news BBC has got quality and world-class standards. The best that you could have done for your fans was to introduce both channels or at least just retained BBC World News".

Isaac Moleleki said "France24 is highly irrelevant to South Africans. I'm contemplating to reconnect my DStv if France24 keeps showing me North and West African pictures".

Moses Mavicks said "In future, give us notice and reasons in advance for removing a channel" and that "BBC World News wasn't the best but much better than this France24".

Rachel Theunissen said "BBC was giving us the real story of what's going on here in South Africa".

Sushil Magoo said "What a great disappointment. What a pity we bought this box. BBC World News is all we watch. Please bring it back now".

Graham Thomas said "Clearly nobody likes France24. If you can no longer broadcast BBC World News, at least go over to one of the other international news stations, for example TRT, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle news, CGTN. You are currently broadcasting on a channel that few or none watch".

Mandy Goettsch said "Openview is a total waste of time. BBC World News was the only reason I got it to start with. France24 has nothing to do with us and half the time we can't understand it either".

Johan Joubert said ""I joined Openview for the reason that BBC World News was the channel I was drawn to watch. Now there is nothing else. France24 definitely does not have the same quality news broadcast. We can just as well just watch one of the SABC news channels - not worth it sorry".

Mark Andrews said "the way the BBC World News channel was removed without warning or consultation with customers will damage the Openview brand going forward. I am fortunate enough that I am able to stream other international news channels but for many Openview customers this is not possible. Hopefully in future Openview will engage in communication with their loyal customers".

Fundiswa Zwane exits e.tv's Imbewu after 2 years, actress walks from Grapevine Productions after pay raise ask is turned down.

by Thinus Ferreira

Actress Fundiswa Zwane has exited and decided she's walking from e.tv's primetime series Imbewu: The Seed after a pay raise negotiation didn't work out, following 2 years of helping to build the Grapevine Productions show into a success.

Twitter and influencers on Tuesday fuelled fake news rumours on social media that Fundiswa Zwane was allegedly "fired" from Imbewu - something that's completely untrue. It's not clear where the rumours started.

Sources close to the show told TVwithThinus on Tuesday afternoon that it was the actress who decided she's out the studio doors after approaching show bosses for a pay raise to get what she felt she's worth and it didn't work out.

Fundiswa Zwane, who plays the character of Ka-MaDonsela, will have her last on-screen appearance on 29 July 2020 after she joined Inbewu since its inception two years ago in 2018. It's not clear whether the character is getting killed off or being recast.  

While e.tv issued the obligatory "e.tv wishes Fundi well, in all her future endeavours" in a press statement on Tuesday which often happens when talent and production separate, sources tell me that everything isn't as flowery behind-the-scenes.

e.tv says that "Fundi has been a tremendous pleasure to watch. She brilliantly epitomized the role of Ka-Madonsela, a wife whose roots are deeply set in her culture. The past two years have served as a true testament to who Fundi is, a strong talent in the South African TV industry. She has navigated her time at Imbewu with unmatched professionalism".

e.tv says nothing in the press statement about the remuneration issue between the actress and the production that is the reason that led to the actress' exit from Inbewu.

"We will miss her big personality, dedication to her craft, and sense of adventure. e.tv and the cast and crew of Imbewu will always treasure the time spent with Fundi," says Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director, in the prepared statement.

Fundiswa Zwane, in the prepared statement, says "I  am proud of what meaningful business and artistic collaboration has been able to achieve over the past 2 years. I echo Marlon’s sentiments, the past 2 years have bred beautiful relationships".

"It has been a great journey travelled and I, like millions of South Africans, am so excited with what Imbewu will continue to achieve through this beautiful story that so many enjoy."

Coronavirus: The Morning Show returns to e.tv for its third iteration now with William Lehong and Nelisiwe Nxumalo fronting the virtual blue screen show as co-anchors after backstage production shake-up.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv's The Morning Show returned to the airwaves this morning for its third iteration, a month and a half after the struggling breakfast show shuttered production because of the Covid-19 coronavirus, losing presenters and behind-the-scenes crew, now opting for a virtual set and with William Lehong and Nelisiwe Nxumalo as co-anchors.

The former anchors Tumelo Mothotoane and Clement Manyathela are gone.

On Monday morning neither William Lehong nor Nelisiwe Nxumalo explained the rebrand, the absence of any of the former presenters or any of the behind-the-scenes drama, but did mention the new virtual set and that the show is glad to be back after the easing of Covid-19 lockdown regulations.

The Cheeky Media produced morning show shuttered for a combination of movies and kids morning programming on e.tv over the past 6 weeks.

SABC News and SABC2's breakfast show and the country's most-watched morning show, Morning Live that is produced in-house by the South African public broadcaster, as well as Expresso on SABC3 produced by the external production company Cardova Productions, both remained on-air.

In March after e.tv pulled The Morning Show off the air following the South African government's regulations surrounding the country's Covid-19 national lockdown period, Cheeky Media told the crew of the Johannesburg-based The Morning Show that they were out of jobs and were told to apply for unemployment at the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).

"We're facing trying times, with our key clients having cancelled campaigns and cut down spend as they too are unsure of what the next couple of months will entail," Cheeky Media told staffers in a letter in late-March letting them go.

"We write to you to, our loyal and trusted staff, with the sole objective to provide transparency in these unclear times. Please take note that based on the feedback from e.tv today [26 March 2020], Cheeky Media will, with immediate effect, suspend all business activities until further notice."

"As of today, Cheeky Media will specifically terminate all permanent and fixed-term contracts, as well as services rendered by independent contractors. Any payment due to you will be pro-rated for the month of March, up to and including 26 March. This is a tough decision for us and all businesses alike, to make."

Now The Morning Show has been reconstituted and is once again on-air between 06:00 and 08:00 but once again with noticeable differences in the latest relaunch since it replaced Sunrise two years ago.

It's the third iteration of The Morning Show, now using a virtual desk and digitally super-imposed backdrop with William Lehong and Nelisiwe Nxumalo who are back and now the co-anchors of the blue screen show. Cheeky Media plans to make further appointments as the show gears up production again.

"The Morning Show has been a stellar performing production, and we look forward to its return," says Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director, in a prepared statement. "We believe that with the lockdown still in place, our viewers will appreciate the fresh current affairs, lifestyle, and topical discussion content that will be on offer this coming week."

Yusuf Stevens, Cheeky Media managing director, in the statement says "Being home during the lockdown gave us a much-needed refresh and allowed us to strategise remotely as a team - we’ve never had this amount of time for pre-production".

"We naturally still have quite a bit of constraint in terms of producing and what we are allowed to do, but this won’t stop us from shaking things up within the confines of the rules. We cannot wait for you to see the 'new' Morning Show."

ALSO READ: Coronavirus: e.tv’s The Morning Show off-air, crew and presenters of the Cheeky Media produced show all axed over Covid-19 national shutdown.

Coronavirus: e.tv adds a third daily TV news bulletin with e.tv news Covid-19 Update at 6:30pm.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's free-to-air commercial TV channel e.tv has added a third daily e.tv news TV news bulletin at 18:30 as a direct result of the spread of the Covid-19 virus in South Africa and the growing global novel coronavirus pandemic.

e.tv keeps its TV news bulletins at 13:00 and 20:00 on weekdays, and 19:00 on weekends and has added the e.tv news - Covid-19 Update half-hour TV news bulletin at 18:30.

e.tv says in a statement that the broadcaster is "committed to delivering factual news coverage and reporting to its viewers and with the advent of Covid-19 the channel has seen the importance of factual reporting around the disease and its impact".

"We aim to broaden access to breaking news and accurate information to the broadest possible audience," says Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director.

"We want to fight the spread of fake news by giving our viewers the facts and enabling them to make informed choices at a time when the entire world is concerned about the spread of the disease."

Publicist Hendrik Tolomo at PR company Meropa was asked on Wednesday morning when e.tv added the e.tv news - Covid-19 Update but there was no response by the time of publication.


UPDATE Wednesday 8 April 2020 21:25 - Meropa says that the etv news - Covid-19 Update bulletin started on 24 March 2020.

e.tv cancels local drama series Isipho after 5 months following dismal ratings.

e.tv has cancelled its local drama series Isipho that won't return in 2020 following extremely dismal ratings.

The local supernatural drama series produced by Herbvision Multimedia and The Ntintili Factory pulled a meagre audience during its 5 and a half months on-air and failed to make the top 20 most watched shows on e.tv during any time or any month of its short run.

The last episode of Isipho was broadcast on e.tv on 19 December 2019 which turned out to be the series finale.

Isipho that started in July 2019 on the channel in the hugely competitive timeslot against SABC1's popular Skeem Saam, was supposed to run until at least June 2020.

e.tv didn't explain why Isipho, filmed on Mulderdrift in Gauteng, was cancelled but Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director says it was a "mutual decision" between e.tv and the producers to can the show.

"It is with sincere regret that we end a locally produced drama series; however, following lengthy discussions with our partners, the decision was made to end the series. e.tv continues to look forward to fulfilling its mandate of producing exceptional and relevant local content," says Marlon Davids.

Herbert Hadebe and Busisiwe Ntintili, Isipho co-executive producers, say in a prepared statement that "This has been an amazing and breath-taking journey for us as independent local producers. The opportunity to tell stories that uplift South African audiences and create employment for South African families is our mission".

"This fantastic experience has given us, as young companies, great courage to continue with the vision of upskilling our people and contributing to the growth of our film and television industry."

South Africa's e.tv adds NBA coverage in new multi-year deal after implosion of Econet's Kwesé Free Sports.

e.tv has signed a new multi-year deal to add sports coverage of America's National Basketball Association (NBA) to its channel as well as on its Openview free-to-air satellite service.

The new NBA coverage deal comes after the implosion of Econet pay-TV division, Kwesé and its Kwesé Free Sports channel that abruptly went dark in July 2019 and was subsequently removed from Openview.

Through Kwesé and Kwesé Free Sports South African saw some NBA coverage on South African community TV stations like SowetoTV thanks to sub-licensing deals which ended because of the debt-riddled Econet's financial problems.

NBA coverage on e.tv will start this Saturday and Sunday 9 and 10 November on e.tv and Openview with the broadcast of the game between San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics that will be broadcast live on e.tv at midnight, with a repeat on Sunday at 17:00 on Openview's News & Sport channel.

Two NBA games will be broadcast per week on News & Sport (Openview 120), including one live game and one shown on a delayed basis.

"South Africa has an insatiable sporting appetite, and our partnership with the NBA will most certainly appeal to that," says Marlon Davids, e.tv managing director.

"Over the past few years, we have been implementing strategic growth plans that will ensure that our sports content offering across our platforms is worthwhile for our viewers.  We are ecstatic about this announcement and we greatly look forward to a fruitful run with the NBA."

Amadou Gallo Fall, NBA Africa managing director and Basketball Africa league president, says "We have always strived to make the game of basketball more accessible to our fans through participation in our sport and exposure, and we are thrilled to partner with e.tv in South Africa".

"We have seen growing interest and look forward to reaching more fans in South Africa through live games and additional programming."

Openview adds comedy pop-up channel, 21 Days of Comedy, for September.

Openview has added a pop-up comedy channel, 21 Days of Comedy, on the free-to-air satellite-TV service that started on Monday 9 September and that will run until 29 September 2019.

21 Days of Comedy is available on Openview channel 111 and replaced the eForce action films pop-up channel.

The 21 Days of Comedy channel has films like TrainWreck, Bean, Cheaper by the Dozen, Couples Retreat, Ice Age, Tooth Fairy, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Evan Almighty and Date Night.

e.tv says that Openview has officially surpassed 1.7 million household activations.

"Our overall marketing efforts are proving to be fruitful for South African viewers who are in search of alternative viewing experiences," says Marlon Davids, managing director of e channels.

"We look forward to the Spring season and our viewers feeling light on their feet and knowing that there is a channel available for them to completely unwind."

e.tv adds the eForce action films pop-up channel to Openview for a second time for August 2019.

e.tv is adding the eForce pop-up channel top eMedia Investments' Openview free-to-air satellite TV service for a second time, with eForce that will go live on Openview on channel 111 from Friday 2 August and run until 1 September 2019.

e.tv previously ran eForce during December 2018. As before the channel will contain action entertainment content in the form of uninterrupted international movies.

The eForce channel will show blockbuster American action films ranging from The Expendables 1, 2 and 3, Maximum Conviction, Die Hard, and G.I. Jane to Timecop. 

Viewers will be able to watch American action stars like Bruce Willis, Steven Seagal, Dolph Lundgren, Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham.

"World-class entertainment has formed a strong part of the e.tv brand ethos and we consistently strive to provide our audience with exceptionally unmatched viewing content," says Marlon Davids, e.tv's managing director.

"The eForce channel performed well during last year’s festive season and its return has been imminent. We look forward to the channels return and the great entertainment value that it provides to our audience."

e.tv dumps its local youth programming content block, Craz-e, after a decade; replaced with international and animation shows.

e.tv has dumped its long-running local youth programming content block Craz-e, after a decade that it used to broadcast on weekdays afternoons at 15:55, doing away with the entire group of local youth presenters and the local content the channel offered for years produced by Red Pepper.

e.tv launched Craz-e in 1998 2008 and after 10 years it's over.

e.tv decided to now fill afternoons with international youth shows and animation.

As rumoured, e.tv dropped Craz-e at the end of March but didn't make any announcement beforehand.

e.tv was asked Tuesday why it didn't announce the end of Craz-e but the eMedia Investments channel didn't answer the question. There's also no explanation as for why e.tv decided to do away with Craz-e's various local content strands.

In response to a media enquiry from TVwithThinus on Tuesday, e.tv confirmed that the channel has ended its Craz-e local youth programming block at the end of March 2019.

On 2 April e.tv said that from 1 April its programming line-up "will feature a mix of local and international shows, including Supa Strikas, Zafari, Turbo FAST, Zak Storm and Trollhunter: Tales of Arcadia".

"Television is always evolving, and we are constantly reviewing and refreshing our lineup to make sure that we are catering to the needs of our viewers," says Marlon Davids, head of e.tv channels.

"It has been a fantastic journey, and we are ending this era of youth programming on a high note."

"We would like to thank the presenters and our producing partners at Red Pepper for all their creativity and hard work over the years. They have produced thousands of hours of great entertainment, and we are incredibly proud of the positive contribution they have made to e.tv and South Africa's youth."

It's not clear how e.tv plans to adhere to its annual content quotas for local youth programming mandated by the broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

e.tv was asked how e.tv foresee to do and include local youth programming going forward but didn't specifically answer that question either.

e.tv in a statement says that "Over the years, Craz-e's high energy youth programming, which has included standalone shows like Sistahood, Shiz Niz, and Craz-e World Live, has been a source of information, inspiration and entertainment for millions of young South Africans."

e.tv ends unsuccessful eBella channel on Openview and DStv a year after launch, telenovelas folded into eExtra from April.

e.tv is ending its unsuccessful eBella channel it created a year after its launch and that was carried on its own Openview satellite platform and MultiChoice's DStv, with the existing, dubbed telenovelas that will be folded into the eExtra channel from April.

eBella launched in March 2018 on eMedia Investments' free-to-air satellite TV platform and MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform, targeting female viewers with a mixed of dubbed-into-English foreign telenovelas and reality shows.

etv and Openview however did little to promote and publicise any of the programming in the press over the past year with viewers and the media not knowing what was really shown on it after it launched, which in turn impacted on ratings.

At launch e.tv described eBella as "a strong addition to DStv and we know that our viewers will enjoy the channel’s mix of speciality shows and telenovelas that empower and celebrate the female market".

Now eBella is being axed from the end of March and its programming shunted to eExtra (Openview 109 / DStv 195 / StarSat 489) with the telenovelas that used to be on eBella that will create "a weekday guilty pleasure afternoon block" according to e.tv.

The Spanish telenovelas from Latin America, Indian and Turkey ranging from The Girl Named Feriha, Caribbean Flower and Naagin will now be seen on eExtra.

This will be followed by the court room reality series, Hot Bench; the Afrikaans programming block on eExtra consisting of dubbed-into-Afrikaans telenovelas Bittersoet, Nuusdag om 8 and Die Wiel Draai; followed by international series and comedies and local drama series like Umlilo and Traffic.

The daily Nuusdag Perspektief that followed after Nuusdag om 8 was quietly cancelled as a weekday show and will now be a weekly show with one episode on Sundays only, starting from this Sunday 17 March, with the kykNET Afrikaans drama series filmed in the Western Cape, Vallei van Sluiers that has also been added to eExtra on Sundays.

"eBella built a loyal following over the last year and gave us the opportunity to showcase and test new content that celebrates the lives of women around the world," says Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels.

"Following the success of eBella, we are excited to incorporate our viewers' most-loved telenovelas and series into our main schedule on eExtra. This move will give us the opportunity to provide eExtra viewers with a bigger and bolder content offering throughout the day, with all their favourite shows in one place."

e.tv drops its midday eNews bulletin at 1pm from March and replacing it with a new simulcast bulletin from Open News that will start earlier with local news at 4pm.

e.tv is dropping its midday eNews bulletin at 13:00 on weekdays and will be replacing it from Monday 4 March with a new simulcast bulletin from its Open News channel op Openview that will be added for that channel and also be shown on e.tv.

At the same time Open News will start its daily local news coverage from an hour earlier, now starting at 16:00 instead of 17:00 when it launched a few months ago.

"Open News has been viewer-driven from the onset. We have always told our audience that their views make our news. They asked us to start broadcasting earlier, and we are happy to oblige," says Nisa Allie, managing director of Open News.

"We're also taking this opportunity to tweak our line-up and introduce new features, to ensure that we are on the pulse of what our viewers really want, in terms of news and current affairs."

Open News is starting a localised 13:00 TV news bulletin on Openview on channel 120 from Monday. This localised bulletin will replace eNews on e.tv in the 13:00 timeslot and will provide a marketing opportunity for the eMedia Investments channel to have its content offering sampled by a wider audience.

"We're looking forward to welcoming Open News to e.tv's daytime schedule," says Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels.

"Open News's fast-paced, interactive take on what is happening locally and around the world is exactly what our viewers are looking for when it comes to lunchtime news."

Open News will now broadcast live local news for four and a half hours each day. During the rest of the day, the station has partnered with international television news channels, TRT World, CGTN and France 24 to bring viewers news and analysis from around the world.

e.tv acquires the former M-Net soap, The Wild, for an early prime time, free-to-air run on weekdays.

e.tv has acquired the M-Net soap, The Wild, for a free-to-air broadcast run, stripping the M-Net Magic Factory produced series that ended in mid-2013 for a weekday slot at 18:00 from Monday 21 January.

The costly The Wild was mired in ongoing behind-the-scenes production turmoil for its two seasons from its start in April 2011 until its eventual cancellation in March 2013.

Interestingly e.tv is slotting The Wild for the same 18:00 timeslot that M-Net originally had The Wild in before it was moved to 19:00.

The Wild, set at the fictitious 5-star Dinaledi Game Lodge, focuses on three families who are connected through the land. The Tladis, the Lebones and the Van Reenens all have a vested interest in the place and try to work through past conflicts and rifts.

The tensions between the families are further complicated by the lodge's staff and guests.

The Wild's cast features Connie Ferguson and husband Shona Ferguson, Ian Roberts, Clemetine Mosimane, Tumisho Masha, Khabonina Qubeka, Gail Mabalane, Faye Peters and Minnie Dlamini in some of the lead roles.

"We are constantly looking for the best local and international programming for our viewers, and The Wild is no exception," says Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels.

"e.tv is looking forward to bringing this award-winning drama series to free-to-air television for the first time so that even more viewers can enjoy its gripping plot."

e.tv adds its first pop-up channel, eFORCE, to Openview; the action-adventure channel will run for a month featuring American action heroes from Jason Statham and Bruce Willis to Jean-Claude Van Damme and Gerard Butler.

e.tv is adding the very first pop-up channel, an action-adventure film channel called eFORCE, to its Openview free-to-air satellite TV service for a month.

eFORCE that will show a slew of American action films, will run from 7 December until 6 January 2019 on Openview on channel 111 with films that will start at 12:00 daily.

eMedia Investments' first limited period pop-up TV channel follows the similar strategy that MultiChoice has been employing for its DStv pay-TV satellite service the past few years,with Openview that leapfrogs China's StarTimes and its StarSat pay-TV platform that hasn't yet done any pop-up channels for viewers.

e.tv says eFORCE "is all about fast cars, insane fight scenes, earth-shattering explosions and special effects. For one month only, everything red-blooded action addicts love about movies will be available in one place".

Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels says "we know how much our Openview viewers love action movies, so we have put together a pop-up channel dedicated to a great selection of uninterrupted action films, just in time for the festive season break".

"We have packed the schedule with everything from cult classics and kung fu, to big Hollywood blockbusters starring huge action stars."

the eFORCE schedule will include films like Terminator Salvation, Taken, Olympus Has Fallen, The Expendables and others, with action stars like Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Steven Segal.

e.tv adds new self-packaged eReality channel for its Openview platform.

eMedia Investments is starting its self-packaged eReality channel on Monday, 19 November on its free-to-air Openview satellite TV service.

eReality will run on channel 108 on Openview, and will broadcast reality shows featuring real-life stories, fascinating personalities and human emotion in its rawest form and include shows themed around crime, paranormal activity, nature, adventure, medical anomalies, outrageous obsessions and bizarre behaviour.

Some of the channel's programmes include Little Women: LA, Cheaters, Hoarding: Buried Alive, Pawn Stars, Botched! and Myth Busters.

Shows like Border Security: America’s Frontline and Untold Stories of the ER will show viewers the worlds of law enforcement and emergency medicine, while fans of extreme adventure reality will be able to tune in for Python Hunters and Running Wild with Bear Grylls. 

eReality's launch line-up also includes shows like Dating Naked and My Strange Addiction.

eReality will also cater to true crime fans with a number of international crime documentaries and series, including Aaron Hernandez Uncovered, The Case Of Caylee Anthony, The Disappearance of Natalie Holloway, Unspeakable Crime: The Killing Of Jessica Chambers, #killerpost and Buried In The Backyard.

"Reality television shows continue to grow in popularity around the world, and we are thrilled to bring Openview viewers a standalone channel dedicated to showcasing some of the best reality content available," says Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels.

"We have paid careful attention to the mix of programming on the channel to make sure that there is something special for all reality TV fans and have no doubt that our viewers will love this channel."