eMedia to shut 'no longer viable' etv News & Sport channel and axe 45 workers.

by Thinus Ferreira

eMedia Investments plans to close down its etv News & Sport channel on its Openview satellite that it says is "no longer viable" and also wants to move the NewsLink timeslot on eNCA (DStv 403), apparently "not aligned to the tone and pace of news" to Johannesburg with over three dozen staff members affected at etv News & Sport, including working for eNCA, with workers who got served with Section 189 retrenchment letters.

eMedia didn't respond to a media query about the shuttering and retrenchment plan of etv News & Sport that could be gone by the end of March 2022 and will leave 45 people out of jobs.

eMedia launched the unique OpenNews, primarily produced from Cape Town, three years ago in November 2018 on its Openview free-to-air satellite TV service on channel 120.

It was South Africa's first free-to-air TV news channel from a commercial company with the aim of bringing viewers across Southern Africa a new additional TV news choice, more views and more diverse news coverage.

A few months after its launch eMedia renamed OpenNews as e News & Sport, and in August 2019 etv News & Sport was also quietly added to the VIU video streaming service as a streaming channel as well.

OpenNews started broadcasting 18 hours for seven days a week but after the format didn't deliver the expected performance and audience share, the broadcast hours and live news were reduced.

The etv News & Sport channel has been doing a half-hour live news bulletin on weekdays (also broadcast on e.tv) at 13:00, a 3.5 hour broadcast on weekday afternoons, a well-watched half-hour live news broadcast at 20:00, and with repeat programming and sports content over weekends.

Distraught staffers who have now been told that e News & Sport is struggling and must be closed down, say speculation is rife inside corridors that eMedia is being pressured by MultiChoice to get rid of the channel that is allegedly seen as being in direct competition with, and contributing to content dilution of, eNCA.

eMedia produces eNCA exclusively to DStv as part of an existing pay-TV channel carriage agreement that is up for renewal every few years.

eMedia has now served almost 4 dozen shocked staff members with Section 189 letters, signed by managing director Marlon Davids, saying the company has "reassessed the positioning of channel 120 in the Openview bouquet".

A staff meeting is set for Wednesday, with staff who will hear why eMedia wants to close down the TV news channel tomorrow afternoon.

The same etv News & Sport production team is also responsible for the NewsLink programming strand on eNCA, with eMedia that now wants to get rid of those workers and make eNCA's Johannesburg office responsible for doing the morning timeslot between 09:00 and 11:00.

eMedia told staff that etv News & Sport "is no longer viable as a news service and therefore no longer supports the operational requirements".  According to eMedia Investments, etv News & Sport is "not a sustainable or effective channel" in the Openview bouquet "and it will not appeal to audiences as a documentary and current affairs channel".

About the NewsLink timeslot with Cape Town co-anchors Annika Larsen and Tapfuma Makina, eMedia management says that after "careful review of the flow of live news on eNCA, the business has determined that NewsLink is the only product that is outsourced and therefore not aligned to the tone and pace of news".

The plan is to move NewsLink to Johannesburg with new anchors and producers "where it is completely integrated into the carefully planned and facilitated rundown that is specifically designed to increase audience and market share" for eNCA.

No final decision on the NewsLink cross-country move has been taken yet.

eMedia says the restructuring "may lead to the operational dismissal of all of the employees in the company" which includes 37 permanent workers and 8 fixed-term contract workers, including everyone from anchors, editors, producers and camera operators to journalists and various other technical staff.

Low morale and staff 'crushed'

"This is the first time that etv News & Sport staff ever heard that the channel is apparently not performing," an insider said. 

"People are utterly crushed. Many are young, like producers in their 20s. They just started working in news and television and journalism."

"People are gutted about the plan to close etv News & Sport and are openly wondering how much the closure has to do with negotiations between eMedia and MultiChoice over the future of eNCA and to get the channel out of the crosshairs so eNCA can remain on DStv." 

"The morale inside corridors has already been so low - now people are hit with something like this."

e.tv's Open News news brand gone and app shut down 9 months after launch, as Open News is folded into existing eNews operations and rebranded e.tv news.

e.tv has ended its Open News brand name and shut down the app just 9 months after launching the TV news channel in November 2018 as a new free-to-air TV news channel in South Africa on its Openview satellite TV platform.

eMedia Investments that also runs the eNCA (DStv 403) TV news channel for MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service has decided to downsize Open News that is being folded into its existing eNews operations, with the separate Open News app that has been shut down and discontinued.

From Monday 5 August Open News changed to e.tv news, brand merging with e.tv's news operations under the new name of "e.tv news". e.tv's eNews bulletin at 20:00 is also name-changed to e.tv news from today, with the eNCA reporter Annika Larsen who will now join as a prime time anchor.

The anchor line-up on e.tv news on channel 120 on Openview will include Naledo Maleo and Koketso Sachane with Inge Isaacs who has been let go after her one-year contract with the news operation wasn't renewed.

On Openview, viewers will be able to watch e.tv news from 16:00 to 19:30 on weekdays on channel 120. e.tv viewers will be able to see e.tv news bulletins at 13:00 and 20:00 on weekdays.

"We are delighted about Open News becoming e.tv news," says e.tv in a statement. "The decision to refresh Open News comes from our desire to be more closely aligned to the e.tv brand."

About the addition of Annika Larsen as prime time anchor, e.tv says "good journalism and the desire to tell South Africa's story is at the heart of e.tv news and we are really excited to bring seasoned journalist Annika Larsen onboard. She is a trusted voice and a familiar face to the e.tv audience."

Content from the France24 TV news channel now available on eMedia's OpenNews channel on Openview during twice-daily broadcast blocks.

France24 has signed an agreement for English content of France's 24-hour TV news channel to be shown on OpenNews (Openview 120) on eMedia Investment's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

Content from France24 can now be seen twice-daily on OpenNews during morning and afternoon programming blocks.

OpenNews launched on 1 November on Openview and does 6 hours of local TV news content on weekdays between 17:00 and 23:00, with the rest of the day cycle filled with content from international TV news channels.

South African pay-TV subscribers already have access to the linear broadcast of France24 in English on StarSat on channel 261, and on Cell C black on channel 507.

The agreement with OpenNews marks the first time that South African viewers get the ability to watch France24 for free, including viewers in other Southern African countries like Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Namibia and some parts of Botswana who also use buy South African activated Openview set-top boxes (STBs).

France24 in English is now available on OpenNews at the following times in the day's schedule:

> Monday to Friday: 08:00 - 09:00; 16:00 - 17:00 > Saturday: 06:00 - 07:00; 13:00 - 14:00 > Sunday: 06:00 - 07:00; 09:00 - 11:00 and 13:00-14:00

Nisa Allie, Open News boss, on South Africa's new free-to-air TV news channel that will use cellphones to capture content, news anchors who will ad lib and give not just news but opinion, and bring viewers social media content that's trending.

The Open News boss, Nisa Allie, says South Africa's new free-to-air TV news channel from eMedia will use cellphones as the primary tool to capture video content, that on Open News the news anchors will give their opinions and are encouraged to ad lib, and that the channel will bring viewers social media news that's trending.

"The concept behind Open News - you will see that there are some studio crew visible in some shots - we don't want to talk down to people, we want our viewers to feel engaged," said Nisa Allie, Open News managing director.

"We want our staff to be a part of our overall offering, and to give the sense that we are approachable and that people can engage with us."

Nisa Allie spoke at the official Open News launch event at the Cape Town head office of eMedia Investments in Zonnebloem where the Open News studio has been built and that also houses sister operations like e.tv, eNews, eNCA, eNuus and Nuusdag.

Open News will launch on Thursday, 1 November at 17:00 on eMedia's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service on channel 120.

Although not directly, Open News will compete with eNCA (DStv 403), supplied by eMedia to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform, as well as the South African public broadcaster's SABC News (DStv 404), and the to-be-launched Newzroom Afrika that will take the placeof the shuttered Afro Worldview in early-2019.

"Open News is a combination of the old and the new. The old - in that we hold the same ideals as our colleagues in the rest of the media do. The new - in that we've hired a team of young journalists, talented journalists, who are using the latest technology to bring you the news from all of the locations across South Africa that they come from," said Nisa Allie.

"They'll be using cellphones as their primary source to film their content and in doing so, it's changed the way in which we view content."

"I think that while traditionally, we enjoy the beautifully crafted TV news video, the reality is that most of us consume anything that is riveting, regardless of the format it is in."

"The old - our team of editorial staff and our young staff will be guided by people who have been in this industry and who have seen this industry evolve over the years."

"Social media has presented itself as a challenge to our industry. In the traditional space there are discussions around 'Do we break it on Twitter or do we wait for our traditional platform to break the news?' The reality is, it is a form of communication that is not going anywhere."

"At Open News we are taking the challenge, the opportunity, that social media has presented, and we're mixing that with the old-school version of what television news is. We have a dedicated social media area, we have dedicated social media journalists whose job it is to bring viewers the latest news in what is trending," said Nisa Allie.

"As a journalist there are many times that we think we're interested in a debate around something specific. You go onto Twitter and then there is everything else but that." 

"I'm not saying that we should be leading with the latest in entertainment news every single day. But the reality is that there's a conversation taking place there that nobody is giving the attention that it deserves."

"Twitter and social media present itself with risk - there are some crazy people on Twitter. There are all sorts of fake accounts. There are people who are trying to push a particular narrative. The Open News editorial team  - and especially the old guard - we are aware of the risk that is poses. We discuss regularly how to circumnavigate the risk and challenges that it poses," said Nisa Allie.

"The positive aspects of social media is that you can gauge how interested people are in a particular subject, which other question they would prefer be asked and answered. Ultimately we're looking to find a safe middle-ground in the TV and the social media space."

"There is a television audience which is being ignored in this country. I would say that the talk radio space does really well in engaging people to that extent. We believe that that audience is looking for a greater space in which to voice their opinions, in which to engage and we're hoping to offer that."

"In terms of opinion - I know, journalists' eyes would be popping at the idea of opinion. And again, we are aware that 'my opinion is very different to yours'. What is important to us, is surrounding ourselves with people who have differing opinions."

"When we sit in news diary meetings, we want to hear those opinions from each and every single member of our team - and we want to hear those opinions from our news anchors. They're not always right and we don't aim to be right."

"Ultimately the illusion that is created that we do not have opinions are incorrect. We do not want to be controversial. We do not want to be controversial for the sake of being controversial. We want to take the essence of what is being discussed everywhere - be it in a newsroom, be it in parliament, be it at the braai over the weekend - we want to take those and we want to bring them to life. We want South Africans to engage in a television space in regard to those subject matters."

"Our anchors speak to the ethos of what Open News is. They are encouraged to ad lib, they are encouraged to express their opinion. But more than that, they're encouraged to be individuals," said Nisa Allie.

"We do not want to compete with anyone. We want to be unique and true to be who it is that we are. They will be criticised, we will be criticised. We are aware of that. All I want to urge is that you give us the opportunity to prove who we are," said Nisa Allie.

"We need our viewers to be open-minded. Everything that you see, everything that you hear, the story-selection is very far from the 8pm news that we grew up watching. We do believe there is a section of this population that is not being catered to in regards to news."

"It's not just the 6 hours of Open News that makes this channel work. We're on air between 17:00 and 23:00 Mondays to Fridays. Around that time we have partnered with 3 international broadcasters who are providing us with high-quality content - they are TRT World (Turkey), CGTN (China) and France24."

"We will also be simulcasting the 13:00 bulletin from our sister channel e.tv. We hope that with that variety, our Openview audience and our Openview market is being catered for, that what they've been asking for for a very long time, that their pleas have not fallen on deaf ears."

"In time to come, who knows where the 6 hours may go."

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Official launch event of eMedia's new Open News free-to-air TV news channel on Openview. 

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Inside the Open News studio in Cape Town of the brand-new South African TV news channel on eMedia's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

ALSO READ: A young group of anchors are the faces of the new South African TV news channel, Open News, on eMedia's Openview service.

ALSO READ: Outgoing eMedia boss Andre van der Veen on Openview's new TV news channel, Open News: 'News today is too careful. Your challenge is going to be to push the boundaries.' 

Outgoing eMedia boss Andre van der Veen on Openview's new TV news channel, Open News: 'News today is too careful. Your challenge is going to be to push the boundaries.'

The outgoing eMedia Investments boss, Andre van der Veen, says the new South African TV news channel Open News launching 1 November at 17:00 on the Openview satellite TV platform will have to ruffle feathers, will have to push the boundaries and will not just bring viewers the news but also opinion.

"The one thing which was missing for a long time on Openview was news," Andre van der Veen, the outgoing eMedia Holdings CEO, said at the official launch event of the new free-to-air TV news channel launch today.

"So when we sat down and talked about the future of the business, the one thing we realised was that what we needed to do was establish a news channel."

"We've got eNCA (DStv 403), which is our pay-TV news platform. And we have eNews on e.tv. But we had nothing to offer our free to-air customers and we realised that we needed to do something on the news side - but we needed to do something different."

"The brief to Nisa Allie, Open News managing director, was firstly, don't be scared to venture an opinion. News today is too careful. And I said to Nisa: 'You need to say on the channel what we all think in our minds".

"The job of Open News firstly is to express what we think, what we want to say," said Andre van der Veen.

"We live in an era of political correctness. Sometimes we have to be brave. You have to push the boundaries. And by pushing the boundaries, you engage with the audience."

"Nisa and the team really took that brief and pushed it to the limit. Your challenge is going to be to stay on brief, because you are going to face criticism. And in an era of political correctness, it's very easy to criticise. It's very easy to say that's inappropriate or it's wrong."

"But you need to stand up and you need to life by those principles, and it's important that you surround yourself with people who will give you honest advice. We all make mistakes, or venture too far but what will make a difference for Open News will be to push the boundaries. And that's the job of you and your team."

"Open News cannot look the same, it cannot be the same because there's a lot of news out there. The success of Open News is going to be your ability to push the boundaries," said Andre van der Veen.

"I'm very proud as the head of eMedia to see what we've been able to do in the news landscape, whether it's what Nisa Allie is going to do at Open News, Mapi Mhlangu running eNCA, what Sally Burdett does at eNews, what we do on eNuus on kykNET (DStv 144) and Nuusdag on eExtra (Openview 105 / DStv 195 / StarSat 489). We've made news part of our DNA."

"Because we've made news part of our DNA, we've made our DNA part of South Africa. And the role we play in South Africa is a role which cannot be ignored and understated. You've got a responsibility in what you do in society."


ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Official launch event of eMedia's new Open News free-to-air TV news channel on Openview. 

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Inside the Open News studio in Cape Town of the brand-new South African TV news channel on eMedia's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

ALSO READ: A young group of anchors are the faces of the new South African TV news channel, Open News, on eMedia's Openview service. 

ALSO READ: Nisa Allie, Open News boss, on South Africa's new free-to-air TV news channel that will use cellphones to capture content, news anchors who will ad lib and give not just news but opinion, and bring viewers social media content that's trending. 

A young group of anchors are the faces of the new South African TV news channel, Open News, on eMedia's Openview service.

A group of young anchors will lead coverage on South Africa's new Open News TV news channel launching on Thursday, 1 November at 17:00 on eMedia Investment's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

Open News will have a different approach to covering the news than the more traditional style of eNCA (DStv 403) that eMedia is supplying to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, and the South African public broadcaster's SABC News (DStv 404).

Newzroom Afrika that will launch in early-2019 on DStv to replace the dumped and shuttered Afro Worldview will also have a heavy social media slant and will very likely look with hawk eyes from this evening at what and how Open News is doing things

The Open News anchors and news readers, as well as the reporters stationed nationwide all throughout South Africa, are young and relatively unknown to a national TV audience - something that hampers credibility.

Part of the matrix in this case though is that Open News doesn't seem to need pre-established credibility at launch since that isn't the mould the channel is coming from.

Open News is targeting a new media demo who scroll, whatsapp and do insta-selfies and who care less about who is bringing them the news, and more about getting it in a real-time, unfiltered (except photos), and in an unending loop.

On Open News Naledi Moleo, Koketso Sachane and Ayanda Dlamini will guide viewers through the day's "trending" news, including the top celebrity and showbiz stories. 

Adrian Botha will anchor Open News' sports coverage, while Inge Isaacs is the weather presenter.

"Our anchors are young, opinionated and sassy. They are informed and ready to engage on a range of topics. Open News has purposefully recruited a team that reflects a new South Africa," says Nisa Allie, OpenNews managing director.

Naledi Moleo has been a TV presenter, producer and radio host. She has worked at the SABC's SAfm where she hosted a number of talk shows.

Koketso Sachane has worked as a radio host, journalist and editor for almost two decades. He hosted The Koketso Sachane Show on CapeTalk for many years.

Ayanda Dlamini is Open News' social media anchor. Having hosted her own Good Hope FM radio show for over a decade, she will be the conduit for the day's viral social media stories.

Open News will broadcast between 17:00 and 23:00 on channel 120 on Openview, with the rest of the schedule that will be filled with international news content from global TV news channels.


ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Official launch event of eMedia's new Open News free-to-air TV news channel on Openview. 

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Inside the Open News studio in Cape Town of the brand-new South African TV news channel on eMedia's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

ALSO READ: Outgoing eMedia boss Andre van der Veen on Openview's new TV news channel, Open News: 'News today is too careful. Your challenge is going to be to push the boundaries.'

ALSO READ: Nisa Allie, Open News boss, on South Africa's new free-to-air TV news channel that will use cellphones to capture content, news anchors who will ad lib and give not just news but opinion, and bring viewers social media content that's trending. 

IN PHOTOS. Inside the Open News studio in Cape Town of the brand-new South African TV news channel on eMedia's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

This is how the brand-new Open News studio looks inside the Cape Town office of eMedia Investments from where the new South African TV news channel will broadcast from on the Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

Open News will go live on Tuesday at 17:00, with the studio built to BBC specifications and even able to remain on-air during a tremor or light earthquake.

The main colour scheme is red and white, but there's also a "blue corner" on the left, and a more "earthy" orange and green corner on the right.

The third corner of the Open News studio has a desk with a mural depicting social media iconography.

The Open News studio has a large main video wall, as well as a rectangular-positioned screen on the side wall mounted inside a "smartphone casing" where anchors will show, scroll through, and highlight "trending" social media content.

While Open News is targeting its own specific viewership demographic, it will be competition for eMedia Investment's own eNCA (DStv 403) supplied to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform, as well as SABC News (DStv 404), and the new Newzroom Afrika (DStv 405) channel that will be launching in early-2019 to replace the shuttered Afro Worldview.

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Official launch event of eMedia's new Open News free-to-air TV news channel on Openview.

ALSO READ: A young group of anchors are the faces of the new South African TV news channel, Open News, on eMedia's Openview service.

ALSO READ: Outgoing eMedia boss Andre van der Veen on Openview's new TV news channel, Open News: 'News today is too careful. Your challenge is going to be to push the boundaries.'

ALSO READ: Nisa Allie, Open News boss, on South Africa's new free-to-air TV news channel that will use cellphones to capture content, news anchors who will ad lib and give not just news but opinion, and bring viewers social media content that's trending. 

IN PHOTOS. Official launch event of eMedia's new Open News free-to-air TV news channel on Openview.

eMedia held an official launch event for its new Open News TV news channel for press, advertisers and stakeholders at its Cape Town head office where the OpenNews studio is also based.

Open News will be launching today at 17:00 on its free-to-air satellite TV platform in South Africa.

Open News is the second TV news channel from eMedia Investments that also runs eNCA (DStv 403) on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

With a red-and-white colour theme/scheme, the official Open News launch event was peppered with some speeches, as well as the official introduction of the new Open News anchors and news readers.

Guests mingled, sipped champagne and got guided tours of the new Open News studios in Stirling Street in the Zonnebloem suburb.

ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS. Inside the Open News studio in Cape Town of the brand-new South African TV news channel on eMedia's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

ALSO READ: A young group of anchors are the faces of the new South African TV news channel, Open News, on eMedia's Openview service.

ALSO READ: Outgoing eMedia boss Andre van der Veen on Openview's new TV news channel, Open News: 'News today is too careful. Your challenge is going to be to push the boundaries.'

ALSO READ: Nisa Allie, Open News boss, on South Africa's new free-to-air TV news channel that will use cellphones to capture content, news anchors who will ad lib and give not just news but opinion, and bring viewers social media content that's trending.

OpenNews to launch on 1 November on eMedia Investments' OpenView; new local TV news channel infused with social media content will make use of new Cape Town interactive studio.

eMedia Investments will launch its new free-to-air TV news channel OpenNews on 1 November on its Openview satellite service, with the social media infused news channel that will chase news that's trending and going viral.

OpenNews will be done from a new interactive studio in Cape Town just like when e.tv first launched its eNews TV news bulletins in 1999 from its former Longkloof Studios to bring South African viewers an alternative to the television news from the South African public broadcaster.

OpenNews will lean heavily into social media buzz, covering all news, including showbiz and celebrity coverage for its free-to-air audience, and with anchors also sharing their personal opinions about the news.

OpenNews that will go live at 17:00 on Thursday 1 November on Openview channel 120, will broadcast until 23:00 at night and initially for just 6 hours per day.

The rest of the 18 hours will be packaged international news acquired from global broadcasters.

With OpenNews, eMedia Investments is broadening the TV news offering available on Openview with the platform that added the BBC World News channel in 2017 and moved it to channel 121 since 20 August to be on an adjacent channel number of the soon-to-launch OpenNews.

To differentiate from the heavy Johannesburg news bubble of other TV news channels like eNCA (DStv 403), SABC News (DStv 404) and the country's major daily TV news bulletins all done from Johannesburg studios in Hyde Park and Auckland Park, OpenNews will utilise a new Cape Town studio and do the news from the Mother City just like when e.tv launched its eNews brand 19 years ago.

The new interactive studio in Cape Town will see OpenNews anchors draw on content from multiple platforms, and besides coverage of politics, crime and courts, OpenNews will take a keen interest in celebrity and showbiz news.

Although not direct competition since the target audience is different, OpenNews will be a rival for eMedia Investments' own 10-year old eNCA that is produced specifically for MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform as part of an existing channel carriage agreement.

OpenNews will also be competition for SABC News as well as Newzroom Afrika, the new TV news channel that is set to replace Mzwanele Manyi's axed Afro Worldview on DStv in early 2019.

eMedia's plan is to bolster the loss-making Openview's existing content proposition and TV channel offering to attract bigger uptake of this free-to-air satellite TV service under consumers. 

Openview grows at roughly 35 000 new set-top box (STB) activations per month, but the number of 1.15 million activated STB at the end of March 2018 but Openview still has to almost double its viewership ratings before it can become profitable.

The existence of OpenNews will also create a news channel and news content fall-back fail-safe option for eMedia in the eventuality that the MultiChoice and M-Net contracts for eNCA, and eNuus supplied to kykNET (DStv 144) are not renewed should future channel carriage renegotiations fail and eNCA get dropped and that would otherwise leave eMedia without any news channel.

e.tv earlier this month also added a new hour of Afrikaans TV news and current affairs programming on its eExtra (Openview 105 / DStv 195 / StarSat 489) channel, comprising of the half hour TV news bulletin, Nuusdag, and the half hour studio desk interview show, Nuusdag Perspektief, that also form part of  its broader TV news content expansion plans.

eMedia Investments says OpenNews will keep viewers informed and entertained with "a fast-paced overview of the top local and international news stories" in an on-air style in which anchors will "weigh in on the top stories, share their opinions and engage with viewers in real time."

"OpenNews will offer viewers an entirely new way of experiencing the news," says Nisa Allie, OpenNews managing director, who has been an eNCA assignment editor and news editor in Cape Town.

"Sharing the screen with our anchors is a team of savvy video journalists, who will approach news in a fresh, punchy, fluid and engaging way. Using the latest technology, we are moving away from the traditional format and merging television news with social media." 

Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels, says "As the first local TV news channel on the Openview platform, OpenNews is an exciting addition to our offering".

"It's not just a first for Openview, but also a first for the country. For the first time, free-to-air viewers will truly be able to experience the news in a lively, interactive and unrestrained way."

From Emmanuelle to eNews - e.tv turns 20 years old as South Africa's first (and still only) commercial free-to-air TV channel continues to expand and tackle new challenges.

As it's facing a new set of challenges, e.tv today celebrates a muted 20th anniversary since it launched 1 October 1998, having racked up several achievements and establishing local content brands over the past two decades ranging from Scandal! and Rhythm City to eNews.

Today, 20 years ago, the red letter "be free with e" TV channel, set-up and ran from its Longkloof Studios in Cape Town, made its debut as South Africa's first - and still only - free-to-air commercial TV channel, bringing South Africans more free television content than what was available on the SABC after Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) formed the Midi Consortium and launched e.tv.

Despite struggling in its beginning years and a flurry of reports about the cash-guzzling e.tv's impending demise, e.tv that at the time lost a million rand a day, managed to make a splash, lure viewers and to eventually turn its financials around and become profitable for the first time in 2003.

e.tv that initially broadcast for 6 ours a day from 17:00 to 23:00 until it went 24 hours in 1999, kept expanded its programming, ranging from hits like WWE wrestling to Walker Texas Ranger and Baywatch, to giving Joe Kambule the Phat Joe Show, and Nicky Greenwall's Nightlife (later retiled The Showbiz Report) - to misses like its disastrous first local soap tryout Backstage and its failed and critically panned first morning show attempt, The Toasty Show. 

The channel stole The Oprah Winfrey Show and Felicia Mabusa-Suttle away from the SABC, established Debora Patta and 3rd Degree from 2001 as "no fear, no favour" content and even gave South Africans free-to-air late night erotica in the form of Emmanuelle.  

e.tv turned the Madam and Eve cartoon strip into a local comedy series, and has since continued to grow its local content offering with various drama series and telenovelas, while doing local format adaptations of shows ranging from Fear Factor SA and The Biggest Loser SA to SA's Got Talent.

Local content wise, most notably, over the past two decades e.tv altered the South African TV landscape by introducing and nurturing two now hit local soaps, Scandal! and Rhythm City - both of which are still going strong - and introducing eNews on 17 January 1999 as South Africa's first credible TV news bulletin alternative to the South African public broadcaster.

In fact, the establishment of eNews as a TV news division that spawned the eNews Channel in 2008 and turned into eNCA (that became 10 years old in June), in all probability can be regarded as e.tv's biggest achievement and the biggest positive contribution that e.tv has made to South Africa's media and television landscape.  

While e.tv remains under pressure and the past 2 decades haven't been an easy ride - marked by several restructurings, high-profile executive in-fighting, palace intrigue and oustings, news downsizing, curtailing of e.tv's former African expansion dreams, and the massive and complex challenge of switching to digital terrestrial television broadcasting (DTT) without government help - eMedia Investments keeps forging ahead.

e.tv that launched its Openview free-to-air satellite service to carry its set of DTT channels continues to expand and plans to launch OpenNews as a free-to-air TV news channel on 1 November.

e.tv also keeps investing and making an ever-growing number of local programming with moderate success, despite budget constraints.

The channel also managed to normalise its programme offering that was overly dependent on a few ratings-grabbers like wrestling to a more rounded-out schedule that's a better overall blend of American and local shows and films, local and international soaps, its Craze youth strand, and local telenovelas.

e.tv adds Afrikaans TV news, Nuusdag, and the dubbed Turkish telenovela, Gebroke Harte, to eExtra on Openview.

e.tv is rolling out more Afrikaans content from today in a 2-hour programming block between 19:00 and 21:00 on the eExtra channel in the form of Afrikaans news and a Turkish telenovela dubbed into Afrikaans, before the launch of its new 24-hour TV news channel OpenNews on 1 November.

e.tv will launch its second daily Afrikaans half hour TV news bulletin, Nuusdag om 8, this evening at 20:00 on eExtra (Openview 105 / DStv 195 / StarSat 489) on its Openview free-to-air satellite TV service.

Nuusdag om 8 will be followed by a companion show at 20:30 in the form of a new half hour Afrikaans current affairs show, Nuusdag Perspektief.

Nuusdag Perspektief will do interviews with newsmakers and discuss big news stories and issues.

The 20:00 Afrikaans news and current affairs block will be preceded by the hour long Gebroke Harte, a Turkish telenovela dubbed into Afrikaans that will be broadcast on weekdays on eExtra.

Nuusdag om 8
The veteran broadcaster and sports journalist Echbert Boezak has been appointed as Nuusdag news editor who will also do sports reporting.

Nuusdag om 8 will be anchored by Rozanne McKenzie previously from kykNET's Kwêla, Flits! and Nasie in Gesprek, along with the former SABC2 Afrikaans TV news anchor Suzaan Steyn, and the former Pasella presenter Charlene Lackay.

The actress and Mrs Africa Hemisphere, Lorna Greyling will be the Nuusdag om 8 weather presenter.

Nuusdag with its studio done in amber and red tones will not just compete with SABC2's Afrikaans TV news bulletin at 18:30 but also itself - eNuus on kykNET (DStv 144) and kykNET & kie (DStv 145) at 19:00 that is produced for M-Net's Afrikaans TV channels on DStv by eMedia Investments that is also responsible for Nuusdag.

To differentiate from the heavy Johannesburg news bubble of other shows - although the Nuusdag om 8 studio is located in Johannesburg similar to the others - the TV news bulletin will add, beyond a look at international and national South African news, a flavouring of regional reports from some South African provinces, done from Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Bloemfontein and the Northern Cape.

Reporters like Craig-Lee Smith from EWN, Sue Pyler from RSG, Elvin Presslin and others have joined Nuusdag.

"We are committed to producing an independent Afrikaans TV news bulletin that South Africans can really trust," says Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv channels. "We have put together a very talented and experienced team of reporters, producers and anchors and have no doubt that Nuusdag om 8 will keep our Afrikaans-speaking viewers informed".

Gebroke Harte
At 19:00 from today on weekdays, eExtra will play out Gebroke Harte, an Afrikaans dub of the Turkish telenovela, Paramparça (Broken Pieces in English) produced by Endemol Shine Turkey.

Unknown to them, two women Gülseren and Dilara, have had their babies accidentally switched at birth and .

Gülseren (poor) lives with her "daughter" Hazal, and Dilara (rich) lives with her "daughter" Cansu - and then their paths meet again.

South African actors like Carmen Maarman, Marcelle van Heerden, Desiré Gardner and Abdu Adams are part of the voice cast. Gebroke Harte is the first prime-time drama series to be dubbed into Afrikaans in 20 years.

Gebroke Harte will have an omnibus broadcast on eExtra on Sundays at 14:00.

The SABC downsizes its unfunded digital TV dream for DTT from 18 to these 9 TV channels.

The cash-strapped SABC has now further downsized its lofty and over-promised TV channels offering for South Africa's long-stalled switch to digital television, with the South African public broadcaster that is toning down its envisioned TV channels collection from 18 to just a possible 9.

In September 2011 SABC executives and the SABC board told parliament that the SABC's offering for digital terrestrial television (DTT) will consist of 18 TV channels: 17 TV channels (including SABC1, SABC2, SABC3) and one interactive video service channel, as well as 18 SABC radio stations plus Channel Africa.

For DTT the SABC also promised parliament multiple times in the past that new services like closed captioning (on-screen subtitles) in multiple languages that can be accessed by the set top box's remote control, multiple language soundtracks with up to 4 different audio tracks per programme for certain shows, audio description to provide contextual information in programmes, as well as some interactive applications.

After a decade of working towards DTT, out of the SABC's envisioned DTT plans, only SABC News (DStv 404) and SABC Encore (DStv 156) have so far materialised, both carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform as part of an exclusive channels carriage contract with Naspers' pay-TV arm.

On Tuesday the SABC told parliament that the broadcaster that is hovering on the brink of financial collapse, has now downscaled its proposed DTT channels offering to just 9 TV channels.

These envisioned additional new channels don't have any funding yet and won't materialise without cash that will have to come from somewhere and that the SABC hasn't currently budgeted for.

The SABC now wants its DTT channels offering to be SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, SABC News, a SABC Parliamentary channel, SABC Education, SABC Health, SABC Sport and SABC History.

"For the SABC Parliamentary channel our intention isn't to have it as just a feed but we are going to make sure that it has presenters and it is interactive and actually deals with the issues of the day. So the only cost that we anticipate seeing there might be on-air talent," said Nomsa Philiso, the group executive for SABC television.

"For the SABC Education channel we're looking for partnerships and in this instance the conversations have already started with a funder, however we still need to start a conversation with the department of education."

"Similarly, with the SABC Health channel we want to be able to partner with corporate and we are in the process of trying to find out how that can be done," said Nomsa Philiso.

"From a SABC Sport channel point of view this can only be done in the form of a partnership as well."

"Depending on which DTT channel launches first in terms of how we're going to phase this - because if we have SABC Sport as a high definition (HD) channel we may not be able to have the 9th channel but if we have it as a standard definition (SD) channel we may then be able to do another channel - so we are anticipating that we will have a 9th channel which is going to be the SABC History channel."

"SABC History is a channel that will give us the opportunity to really contribute in terms of what are South Africans, who are we and what is our history."


SABC's DTT dream has no funds
Nomsa Philiso said "this dream here is currently unfunded but we do believe that corporate South Africa will rise up and really partner with us in terms of the channels that we would like to see on the digital platform".

A single linear TV channel requires 8 760 hours of content per year.

The SABC's reworked DTT offering plan has now dumped plans for the envisioned regionalised channels SABC4 catering to the north of the country and SABC5 that would have catered for audiences in the south.

The SABC has also quietly shelved its plan announced in April 2016 for 3 language based DTT TV channels - a channel for Afrikaans viewers, a Sotho channel catering for Sesotho, Setswana and Sepedi languages; and a Nguni focused channel catering to Zulu, Xhosa, Siswati and Ndebele viewers.


SABC 'revitalizing' sliding SABC2, SABC3 as e.tv readies OpenNews
The SABC that is under pressure to maintain its TV audience share, told parliament that the existing SABC2 and SABC3 channels have seen their audiences and share continue to slide the past year but that SABC2 - that has gone through 6 big schedule changes since 2014 - is looking at revitalizing some prime time shows that is showing audience erosion to lure viewers back.

The SABC is also yet again repositioning SABC3 this year, this time in the "premium space" and will focus on reality, drama, emotainment magazine shows and talk shows for the "mobile audience" that is perceived to be DStv viewers but who would watch SABC3.

Meanwhile the SABC's free-to-air rival e.tv is forging ahead with its DTT plans, with eMedia Investments' rebranded direct-to-home (DTH) and free-to-air satellite TV service Openview launching its new 2-hour block of Afrikaans content on its eExtra channel on 1 October.

This will include the new daily half hour Afrikaans TV news bulletin Nuusdag that will also launch on 1 October and that will be available to DStv and StarSat subscribers since the eExtra channel is carried on both of these platforms.

Meanwhile OpenNews as a new DTT free-to-air TV news channel and e.tv's own in-house rival to eNCA (DStv 403) supplied to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform is set to launch on 1 November on the Openview platform.

e.tv launching its second daily Afrikaans TV news bulletin, Nuusdag om 8, on 1 October on Openview's eExtra channel.

e.tv will launch it's second Afrikaans TV news bulletin, Nuusdag om 8, on 1 October on Openview's eExtra channel, as part of a 2-hour block of new daily Afrikaans content.

Meanwhile e.tv's second TV news channel, OpenNews, starting on its Openview free-to-air satellite is apparently also looking at a 1 October launch according to insiders, although that couldn't be independently confirmed.

OpenNews will be a direct rival to e.tv's own eNCA (DStv 403) channel supplied to MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform and is created to boost and expand Openview's existing channels offering but to also serve as a new TV news channel brand back-up in case future channel carriage negotiations between MultiChoice and eMedia Investments for eNCA don't work out and eNCA is removed from DStv.

eMedia Investments hired staffers and reporters for Nuusdag om 8 - or Nuusdag (Newsday) for short - and the daily news show will be broadcast on e.tv's eExtra channel from 1 October on channel 105.

Besides being on Openview, the eExtra channel is also available to all DStv subscribers on channel 195, and to StarSat subscribers on channel 489.

Nuusdag scheduled at 20:00 will not just be competition for SABC2's Afrikaans TV news bulletin at 18:30, but ironically also for eNuus on kykNET (DStv 144) and kykNET & kie (DStv 145) at 19:00 with eNuus that is produced for M-Net's Afrikaans TV channels on DStv by e.tv's news division.

Although still covering news nationally and presumably using the same eNews footage archive, according to insiders Nuusdag and OpenNews will be predominantly done from e.tv's Cape Town building in Zonnebloem to somewhat counter eNCA on DStv that is predominantly produced from e.tv's Hyde Park headquarters in Johannesburg.

Other Afrikaans content on eExtra starting on 1 October in the dedicated 2-hour Afrikaans programming block will include the hour-long drama series Gebroke Harte at 19:00, followed by the half-hour Nuusdag at 20:00.

After that eExtra will show series like Nisboere with presenters Anrich Herbst, Chris de Clerq and Simonia Magardie that's been shown on Media24's VIA (DStv 147) channel on DStv.

Last week Openview held retail workshops for satellite TV installers and previewed the new programming under the theme of "Kuiertyd".

e.tv's marketing communications manager, Makatseng Mokome, didn't respond to media requests this week seeking clarity around Nuusdag and OpenNews and more programming information.

eMedia Investment's Openview free-to-air satellite TV service finally launches its first PVR capability with an Open PVR USB.

e.tv's satellite TV service has launched its first personal video recorder (PVR) decoder functionality, the Open PVR, making it possible for users in South Africa and neighbouring countries to now also record and store free-to-air content shown on e.tv and the SABC's channels to watch later.

The Open PVR, activated through inserting an Openview PVR USB into the latest NA9200 Openview decoder model, allows viewers to record and store content, as well as pausing a live linear TV channel for up to 15 minutes, and then unpause and continue.

Viewers can also record one TV channel while watching another TV channel on Openview's channels offering.

The Openview PVR USB is sold in two sizes - 32 GB that can record up to 8 hours of high definition (HD) content, and a 64GB USB that can record up to 18 hours of HD content.

Openview - formerly known as OpenView HD (OVHD) that eMedia Investments originally launched in October 2013 under its Platco Digital hub - has quietly been rebranded by eMedia Holdings with a new red logo doing away with the pink and purple, and dropping the "HD" moniker.

Vasili Vass, eMedia Investment's group head of corporate affairs, and e.tv publicist Michael Pocock didn't respond to media enquiries about Openview.

Patrick Conroy who took over from Maxwell Nonge in March 2016 as Openview's managing director has since left, with e.tv not responding when asked who took over this year in running its Openview platform business.

eMedia that is now pushing the new PVR functionality of the Openview set-top box (STB) to market is following StarSat operated by China's StarTimes Media SA and On Digital Media (ODM), that finally launched its first PVR capable decoder in June 2017 in South Africa.


Openview: Small audience but big plans
Openview remains a loss-making operation with about 35 000 new STB activations monthly.

It attracts only a meagre 3.5% of the total television audience in South Africa but although it incurred an operating loss of R255 million for the financial year that ended March 2018, eMedia Holdings said it remains focused on funneling money into the service to drive it to success.

Openview reached 1.1 million activated decoders by the end of March 2018. It means that eMedia Holdings still has to almost double the Openview audience (6%) to reach its projected break-even point. At the current Openview growth rate, that will take another 4 years.

Interestingly, while Openview is only meant for South Africa, activated STBs taken outside of the country's borders, are also being sold, although illegally, in neighbouring Southern African countries, giving viewers in places like Zimbabwe, Swaziland and elsewhere access to e.tv, SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 that they find to be much better content that their own censorship-heavy state broadcaster offerings.

Within months eMedia Investments plans to launch OpenNews as an in-house sister channel on Openview.

OpenNews will also serve as a rival TV news channel to its existing eNCA (DStv 403) news channel that eMedia supplies to MultiChoice's DStv. The plan is also to do an additional daily Afrikaans TV news bulletin on Openview's eExtra channel, including new local Afrikaans TV shows.

eMedia's plan with this is not just to bolster the existing Openview content proposition and to attract bigger uptake, but also to create a content fallback fail-safe in the possible eventuality that the MultiChoice and M-Net contracts for eNCA, and eNuus supplied to kykNET (DStv 144), are not renewed should channel carriage renegotiations at some point in the future fail and eNCA get dropped.

The future of SABC News channel in doubt, will continue on DStv while discussions between the SABC and MultiChoice continue.

Not only will Afro Worldview disappear on 20 August from MultiChoice's DStv but the future of a second channel in the news block is now in doubt: the South African public broadcaster's SABC News channel could soon be a gonner too since the SABC and MultiChoice haven't signed a new contract.

The struggling and cash-strapped SABC doesn't have the money to fund and run SABC News (DStv 404) on its own although it is supposed to be one of the SABC's envisioned, freely available TV channels for digital terrestrial television (DTT).

If MultiChoice doesn't extend the contract for SABC News, the channel will presumably have to shutter just like SABC News International, the public broadcaster's first try at a 24-hour TV news channel that bled the corporation dry and was terminated after bleeding millions of rand after just three years at the end of March 2010.

Ironically the fate of a public broadcasting TV news channel lies squarely in the hands of a commercial company, in this case Naspers' pay-TV arm, MultiChoice.

According to insider sources who asked for anonymity because they're not allowed to speak directly to media, SABC managers allegedly had a meeting with fixed-term producers for the SABC News channel on Monday, informing them that the SABC has not reached an agreement with MultiChoice for the renewal of SABC News.

There's now growing buzz that producers will apparently receive letters this week informing them that production on SABC News will stop, although producer contracts allegedly still run until the end of August.

The SABC was asked whether this is accurate and whether the broadcaster can confirm a meeting with producers in which they were told that the channel won't be continuing, but the SABC declined to answer the question.

The SABC and MultiChoice were both asked, separately, about the future of the SABC News channel and whether it's accurate that the channel on DStv channel 404 will not be renewed and end during July.

Both the SABC and MultiChoice responded on Tuesday afternoon at 16:00 within minutes of each other, and with the exact same holding statement, saying that discussions are ongoing and that SABC News and SABC Encore will stay on the air on DStv for the time being.

"The SABC and MultiChoice are currently in discussions to carry the SABC News and SABC Encore channels on DStv. We will communicate the outcome once the discussions have been finalised. The channels will continue to air on DStv whilst the discussions are ongoing," said the SABC and MultiChoice.

Earlier this year the new SABC board told parliament's portfolio committee on communications that it would like to see the SABC News channel continue.

The SABC started SABC News (DStv 404) in August 2013, along with SABC Encore (DStv 156) as a placeholder rerun channel in May 2015. Both channels were part of an exclusive two-channel packaged deal with MultiChoice. In May 2015 the footprint of the SABC News channel was extended beyond South Africa into several other African countries on DStv.

These two channels - although they're content from and created by the public broadcaster - are however not available to other satellite TV platforms like StarSat, e.tv's Openview or Deukom in the way that SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 are.

In November 2017 explosive, leaked meeting transcripts between MultiChoice and the SABC, as well as #GuptaLeaks contracts between MultiChoice and the controversial ANN7 (DStv 405) channel, now renamed Afro Worldview, became public, showing massive payments from MultiChoice to the Guptas.

These payments not only raised multiple serious questions over possible corporate impropriety, but also over TV news channel carriage deals and payments for these channels, as well as raising eyebrows over a private pay-TV company's possible undue influence in the country's switch from analogue to digital TV broadcasting.

MultiChoice told the SABC it would pay the broadcaster R100 million for the SABC News channel but but only on the strict must-have contract clause condition that the SABC must support MultiChoice's stance on conditional access (CA) for digital television.

MultiChoice also dramatically upped its payments from R50 million per year to R100 million per year and then R141 million per year, as well as a questionable, additional R25 million payment to the Guptas for the low-rated, mistake-filled and often criticised ANN7.

It means that MultiChoice has been paying ANN7, now Afro Worldview owned by Mzwanele Manyi, more money despite its very low ratings than what MultiChoice has been paying eNCA (DStv 403) that has more than 50% of the overall TV news audience share on DStv. eMedia Investments will now start a second TV news channel, OpenNews, within months on its own Openview platform as a backup if eNCA were to discontinue on DStv.

Since November 2017 the SABC is aware of how much more money MultiChoice is paying Afro Worldview, although the SABC in May 2018 had 25.23% of the overall TV news channel audience share, compared to Afro Worldview's paltry and sliding 9%.

Meanwhile MultiChoice is finalising the shortlist for a new black-owned local TV news channel to replace Afro Worldview with 24 applications from various consortiums that were received.

MultiChoice doesn't want to announce any of the names of the applicants for public scrutiny and will only communicate who the successful TV news channel bidder is after a new channel carriage contract has been signed.