e.tv commissions Isipho as a new local series from HerbVision, supernatural drama will serve as lead-in to Rhythm City.

Production has started on a Gauteng farm of a new e.tv local drama series, Isipho, that is filmed on location in Muldersdrift and that will start on the channel on Monday 1 July at 18:30 taking on SABC1's popular Skeem Saam in the same timeslot.

Isipho, telling a supernatural story, will have four episodes per week from Mondays to Thursdays, and is produced by Herbert Hadebe's HerbVision Multimedia in association with The Ntintili Factory.

Producing Isipho is also a leap of faith for e.tv - HerbVision is the smallest, yet very experienced, independent production company the channel has ever commissioned a prime time series, helping to open up South Africa's TV and film industry.

The channel usually works with strong and renowned local production companies which have always been safe for e.tv, but with Isipho the channel is taking a big leap - and risk - to bring new talent to TV on-screen and behind-the-scenes.

The new series with 208 episodes revolves around a father, Moses Shezi (Nimrod Nkosi), a former academic whose peaceful life takes an unexpected turn when he experiences a telling vision that reveals his daughter’s death.

Desperate to change the course of destiny, he sets out to find the four strangers who appeared in his vision and surrounding his daughter at the time of her death and from his vision, it is clear that these strangers are not in any way ordinary: They have gifts.

Following his vision, Moses together with his psychologist wife and a team of teachers in the spiritual arts, opening an academy for the gifted.

The students all come with baggage of their own and soon after that, Moses and the teachers discover that they not only have to teach the students to harness and control their gifts, but also guide them to be the best versions of themselves.

Isipho's cast includes Thobani Nzuza as Lwandle, Saint Seseli as Pastor Rametsi, Sparky Xulu as Mpendulo, Wandi Chamane as Nomzingeli, Karabo Maseko as Neo, and newcomers Precious Ngidi as Ntombi Shezi and Mbalenhle Mavimbela as Tandzile. Themsie Times portrays Gogo Nqobile.

"e.tv is happy to open up its pool of production companies with HerbVision and the Ntintili Factory producing  their first independent production for the channel," says Ziyanda Mngomezulu, e.tv's head of local content. "We look forward to welcoming back some familiar faces to our screens and introducing new ones."

Asked why Isipho has been scheduled for 18:30, Ziyanda Mngomezulu says "we created the series as a lead-in for Rhythm City".

"Rhythm City hands over audiences to Scandal! So we needed something to kick off prime time viewing before Rhythm City. So Isipho will bring viewers and hand them over to Rhythm City. So hopefully with this, we will see a bump in ratings for Rhythm City and a bump for Scandal!".

Siyaya TV's new Moja Love channel on DStv hopes to lure female viewers with love and relationship programming.

The new Moja Love channel aimed at a black female viewership is starting today, on Valentine's Day at 17:30 with little fanfare on MultiChoice's DStv on channel 157, hoping to make inroads in a highly competitive TV landscape where competitors like Lifetime and Discovery Networks' TLC already exist.

With the obligatory local telenovela - every channel now starts one of these serialised staples - and a flurry of talk show and self help programmes loosely modeled on popular American daytime TV formats, Moja Love, produced and packaged by Siyaya TV, will predominantly focus on women's issues and relationships.

"Moja" meaning good or alright, is packaged for MultiChoice by Siyaya TV that got a pay-TV licence from the broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) but failed to start it's own service, just like eSat that ended up producing eNCA for DStv.

Siyaya TV's Moja Love is made available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact and DStv Family subscribers and will run 24-hours per day with repeat blocks and have 22 shows including several new local productions.

New programmes will be broadcast between 17:00 and 22:30 daily on Moja Love with the rest of the late night and daytime schedule then consisting of repeats.

"For us at MultiChoice, it's important to offer our customers a range of different entertainment options and to provide a platform for local stories to be heard," says Yolisa Phahle, CEO for general entertainment at MultiChoice.

"Moja is a slang word that means 'everything is good' and while love is a universal emotion, Moja Love shall explore love from the unique perspective of the modern South African woman using honest, reflective, hopeful and humorous storytelling," says Jacqui Setai, Moja Love channel head.

New programmes on Moja Love include a new local weekday talk show, similar to The Real in America as a panel discussion show with women talking about female issues. Show Me Love will have KG Moeketsi, Unathi Msengana, Abigail Visagie and Nontobeko Sibisi as part of the panel.

Show Me Love that has been commissioned for 260 episodes will be broadcast on Moja Love on weekdays at 17:30 with a repeat on weekday mornings at 08:00.

"These dynamic hosts meet daily to schwashwata on every topic that concerns women at one time or another. With no topic off limits, the show provides a safe place for women to air any issue, in the company of their sistas," says Moja Love.

The local telenovela Hope with 208 episodes stars Nimrod Nkosi, as Pastor Buthelezi, a well-meaning pastor of a small congregation who is about to go through challenges when a new church opens up across the street. Hope will show on weekdays at 19:00.

"It sets in motion a story of love, deceit and betrayal, which unravels in the exciting world of

churches. As brother is pit against father, church members hide dark secrets, and pastors compete

for the soul of the community, take comfort that there is always hope in a dark world," says Moja Love.

Papgeld on Saturdays at 18:30 is an investigative reality show about children and will track fathers, and in some cases mothers, who are not living up to their parental responsibilities,

A spin-off show Let’s Talk Papgeld, Saturdays at 19:00 will try to help viewers with tips and guidelines from a range of experts and service providers in the social services and child maintenance sector.

Judge Khambule on Saturdays at 18:00 is a sitcom set in a courtroom that features characters caught up in various legal issues. Judge Khambule is played by Thenjiwe Mosley.

Other shows on Moja Love include Highly Inappropriate with Phat Joe, a reality beauty makeover show Beat, the sex advice show Thrills with Dr T, presented by sexologist Dr Tlaleng on Wednesdays at 21:00, and Sofa Slahlane, with the presenter and veteran journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika on Thursdays at 17:00.

Moja Love will also broadcast Sisters in Law, Food Police, Nairobi Diaries, Direct Flight, Amagugu, Curvy Girls and Nomakanji.

MultiChoice adds Moja Love as a new DStv channel; packaged by Siyaya TV and targeting black female viewers it will launch on Valentines Day with new locally produced shows.

MultiChoice is adding a channel, Moja Love, targeting a black female viewership from 14 February to its satellite pay-TV platform on DStv channel 157.

"Moja" meaning good or alright, is packaged for MultiChoice by Siyaya TV that got a pay-TV licence from the broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) but failed to start it's own service, just like eSat that ended up producing eNCA for DStv.

Siyaya TV that secured exclusive soccer rights but resold it to the SABC, is now creating Moja Love that MultiChoice will make available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact and DStv Family subscribers from Valentines Day on 14 February.

The Sunday tabloid newspaper Sunday World first reported the launch of Moja Love. MultiChoice didn't respond to a media enquiry made about Moja Love on Sunday afternoon.

Moja Love will run 24-hours per day with repeat blocks and have 22 shows including several new local productions.

"For us at MultiChoice, it's important to offer our customers a range of different entertainment options and to provide a platform for local stories to be heard," says Yolisa Phahle, CEO for general entertainment at MultiChoice.

"Moja is a slang word that means 'everything is good' and while love is a universal emotion, Moja Love shall explore love from the unique perspective of the modern South African woman using honest, reflective, hopeful and humorous storytelling," says Jacqui Setai, Moja Love channel head.

New programmes on Moja Love include a new local weekday talk show, similar to The View in America as a panel discussion show with women talking about female issues. Show Me Love will have KG Moeketsi, Unathi Msengana, Abigail Visagie and Nontobeko Sibisi as part of the panel.

Show Me Love will be broadcast on Moja Love on weekdays at 17:00.

Phat Joe will be the presenter of Highly Inappropriate.

Bonang Matheba's former make-up artists Muzi Zuma will present a reality beauty show entitled Beat and a new telenovela Hope that will run Mondays to Wednesdays at 19:00 will star Nimrod Nkosi and Charmaine Mtinta.

Moja Love is also trying a sitcom in the form of Judge Khambule with Thenjuwe Mosley.

The investigative journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika will be the presenter of a new show on Show Me Love entitled Sofa Slahlane.

Zola abrupty gone from Mzansi Magic's Utatakho as presenter; Nimrod Nkosi awkwardly in as new presenter of the lurid paternity testing reality show.

Hit with production disruption, Mzansi Magic's (DStv 161) new Utatakho reality series testing dads for paternity suddenly got rid of presenter Zola, with Nimrod Nkosi awkwardly stepping in to take over from the original presenter mired in a maintenance scandal.

Mzansi Magic confirms that Bonginkosi Dlamini, better known as Zola is out and Nimrod Nkosi is in in a highly embarrassing and unprofessional presenter switch for the already tawdry show.

Mzansi Magic isn't saying why presenters who sign contracts for full seasons are allowed to leave, but Nimrod Nkosi is now taking over for Bonginkosi Dlamini who filmed only 8 episodes after no longer being involved.

Mzansi Magic says Zola is "stepping down as presenter due to his increasingly busy schedule" although its strange that Mzansi Magic signed the embattled artist before making sure his "busy schedule" can accomodate the new series doing DNA testing across the country.

Zola, mired in a maintenance scandal, recently told Move! magazine he's stopped paying child support for his children since the mother allegedly neglects the kids and isn't allowing him to see them.

Zola apparently has a "demanding scale" of commitments "including his musical career and philantrophy work" and is dumping Utatakho "to put his full weight behind these commitments".

Nimrod Nkosi meanwhile says he bring his "unique brand of hosting talent to the show," which does DNA testing on Tuesdays at 20:00 on Mzansi Magic similar to the low-brow American talk show Maury and previously also on the cancelled Montel Williams and Trisha on The Sony Channel (DStv 127).

"Utatakho is a docu-reality series that focuses on resolving issues of paternity with the help of DNA testing," says Mzansi Magic. Nimrod Nkosi helps with "the important task of helping South Africans answer some questions with regards to their parentage and identity."

O HALLELU! One Gospel adds a gospel game show hosted by Nimrod Nkosi; one other new show.

You're reading it here first.

The former Lotto TV host Nimrod Nkosi returns to television this coming Monday night at 21:00 as the presenter of a brand-new local production on One Gospel (DStv 331) - a gospel game show entitled Ivangeli Game Show.

The Ivangeli Game Show will test contestants' knowledge about gospel music and in one of the competition categories contestants will have to sing their favourite gospel songs and hymns. Contestants will win gospel CD's and DVD's as well as hampers.

One Gospel has a second new show starting with I Just Wanna Praise that kicks off this coming Tuesday at 17:00 on the channel and is a phone-in and dedication music video show. Viewers across Africa would be able to ''send a special message'' when they call +27 (0) 83 913 33 331 and request a gospel music video.