BREAKING. SABC3 dumps its 18:30 comedy slot and News @ 7; SABC3's news bulletin to start at 18:30 and become an hour long from 1 April.

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I can exclusively break the news and reveal that SABC3 is dumping it's failed 18:30 comedy slot as well as the public broadcaster's flagship daily news bulletin, News @ 7 from April - the news on SABC3 will now be starting at 18:30 on SABC3 from Monday 1 April.

SABC3 and the SABC's television news division prepares to increase the South African public broadcaster's flagship news bulletin on television to an hour on weekdays - the first time in decades that the SABC will have a TV news bulletin spanning 60 minutes again.

There's been no official word from the broadcaster or SABC3 about the major change which forms part of a  majorly rejigged broadcasting schedule coming into effect from April for the channel, but insiders are buzzing to me about the changes.

SABC3's failed 18:30 comedy slot gets banished from April, with the news which will now be starting at 18:30 and last an hour on weekdays from Monday 1 April.

The News in 60 Seconds at 20:59 on SABC3 - the minute long news recap on weekdays - is also getting cancelled from April and will no longer exist.

The SABC's television news division and SABC3 is trying to claw back viewers and news viewers who've migrated to e.tv's eNews Prime Time and NewsNight on eNCA (DStv 403) as the subscriber growth of the DStv Compact bouquet continue to surge.

"The comedy slot wasn't working," says an informed insider. "SABC3 is now going to be, and focus on, 'bringing you the news first' - therefore 18:30 when everyone else is at 19:00," says another well-connected source.

SABC3 was wasting money on stale library title comedies such as The Cosby Show which wasn't bringing in the viewers but still cost money, says a source. The new move is now to rather invest in news which the SABC is doing in-house anyway, and to expand on bring viewers more of the day's news and showcase that before they see it elsewhere, says the SABC source.

SABC MOVING MOUNTAINS. SABC3 drops the Langeberg Mountains near Swellendam on Cape Town's Table Mountain.

The SABC seems to be clueless as to where the Langeberg Mountains is and that Table Mountain is actually in Cape Town, with the public broadcaster moving mountains and placing the Langeberg Mountains where Table Mountain actually is.

SABC3's main news bulletin the News @ 7 on Sunday 15 January moved the Langeberg Mountains - actually supposed to be where it showed Swellendam on its South African map - to the Cape Town peninsula where Table Mountain resides.

Viewers noted the mistake on the graphic map.


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BREAKING. Complete revamp coming for SABC3's primetime news bulletin, News @ 7, to give it ''a more sophisticated, international'' look.

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I can reveal that SABC3 and the public broadcaster's news division SABC News is working hard at a total makeover and overhaul of the commercial TV channel's primetime daily news bulletin at 19:00, planning a complete revamp for the News @ 7 that includes a new set and graphics, as well as the way in which the news content is shown within the daily half hour bulletin.

SABC3 gave no specific date for the relaunch of SABC3's News @ 7 but its pegged for close to October this year when SABC3 plans to relaunch with a complete new look, on-air graphics and a more refined scheduling structure.

''We've fallen behind. Our viewers are more sophisticated and they've told us they need a refreshed, better news bulletin,'' says Ed Worster, acting channel head of SABC3. ''SABC News is working on the way the news for the News @ 7 with a complete revamp coming. We're working on giving it a more sophisticated, international look to look more what people have come to expect from international news bulletins both in the look and style and the quality of the content.''

With the News @ 7 revamp SABC3 will try to gain back market share and woo back viewers who've deserted the News @ 7 in droves over the past three years with the viewership of bulletin continuing to slide while e.tv's eNews Prime Time news bulletin at 19:00 keeps growing.

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The SABC News @ 7 . . . but going out at twenty minutes to seven with no warning.

The nightly News @ 7 on SABC3 isn't at 19:00 but at 18:40, a full 20 minutes before it's actually scheduled, meaning that viewers who will tune in for the public broadcaster's main flagship TV news bulletin of the day at 19:00 will only catch the tail end of it.

With today's cricket play ending early SABC3 had 20 minutes to fill. Of course, instead of finding 20 minutes of filler material so that the News @ 7 can start at its normal time - with lets say Survivor Gabon contestant interviews or music videos - the channel decided to rather start the news earlier.

SABC3 gave no warning on its website or Facebook page, nor sent our any kind of press advisory, and has given no indication of how the rest of the night's schedule will look given that cricket was supposed to be broadcast until 22:30.

UPDATE 19:36 - A reader of TV with Thinus weighed in just now to tell me that the News @ 7 was actually scheduled for 18:30 tonight and that because of the cricket coverage SABC3 scheduled Isidingo for 18:00 and the News @ 7 for 18:30. Because the cricket went over by 10 minutes I'm told, Isidingo started at 18:10 and the News @ 7 at 18:40. ''I think the reason they showed the News @ 7 at 18:40 and not at 19:00 was so that the cricket broadcast could resume as soon as possible (dinner break is usually at 18:00 and lasts around 45 minutes.''

I humbly apologize for missing that, I think this explanation makes perfect sense, and I think TV with Thinus readers are obviously some of the savviest there is. Thanks for helping me getting it correct, W! 

SABC3's flagship news bulletin, the News @ 7, now has double news anchors. But for how long?

SABC3's daily flagship news bulletin, the News @ 7 is back with a double anchor duo and no indication of how long this throwback to the eighties double news reader presenting experiment will last.

The News @ 7 now has dual women anchors in the evening like Janet Whitton and Mapaseka Makoti, but often also go out with ''mixed doubles'': a man and woman reading the news together like Thabiso Sithole and Mapaseka Makoti (below). The SABC did away with dual anchors 15 years ago, citing production costs.

I've made several enquiries to the SABC's TV news division and the head of TV news, Amrit Manga (who haven't responded yet) to find out whether the doubling up will only be for the duration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, or whether its a permanent news presentation style change for this particular SABC TV news bulletin on the public broadcaster's only commercial TV channel.