After its first news channel failure, the SABC wanted to turn SABC3 into its new TV news channel not knowing it couldn't, reveals former chairperson dr Ben Ngubane.

After the expensive flop and abrupt shuttering of its struggling first TV news channel, SABC News International, the SABC set its sights on SABC3, wanting to turn its struggling and smallest terrestrial TV channel into its new news channel - unaware that it's not allowed to do so because SABC3 has a commercial TV licence.

The former SABC board chairperson, dr Ben Ngubane, now the chairperson of Eskom, revealed to parliament on Friday in the ongoing inquiry into the beleaguered state of affairs at the South African public broadcaster, that after the failure of SABC News International, the SABC wanted to turn SABC3 into its new news channel.

Instead of turning SABC3 into its new news channel, the SABC eventually signed the now controversial MultiChoice deal to supply a new stand-alone TV news channel to DStv, SABC News (DStv 404).

Together with the old rerun channel SABC Encore (DStv 156), the pay-TV operator paid the SABC hundreds of millions of rand for the two SABC packaged channels to be carried on DStv, with exclusive access to the old library titles from the SABC archives shows on SABC Encore.

SABC News International was started in 2007 by the SABC's former head of news, dr Snuki Zikalala at a cost of more than R85 million but abruptly shut down three years later at the end of March 2010.

The massive cash drain of SABC News International - to the tune of over R80 million per year - on the SABC's already precarious operating budget was one of the big crippling factors that brought the SABC to the brink of financial collapse in 2009.

But the SABC was absolutely adamant to have a TV news channel and next looked to transform one of its existing three TV channels in its second attempt to create one: SABC3.

SABC3 is however the SABC's only commercial TV channel, with SABC1 and SABC2 licensed as its public broadcast service (PBS) channels.


'We couldn't use SABC3'
In parliament's special ad hoc committee investigating the SABC, dr Ben Ngubane revealed that the SABC's previous head of news who was also acting SABC CEO, Phil Molefe "went to India to look for partners to start the 24-hour TV news channel".

"Things get started. Phil Molefe wanted the 24-hour news channel, but to use SABC3 as the 24-hour news channel. When he came back, after a long process, we found that in fact we couldn't use SABC3 because it's a commercial TV station in terms of its licence".

Dr Ben Ngubane said "I did not bring the Guptas to SABC".

"I was aware that Phil Molefe had gone to India to meet a broadcasting company. He came back and sought a mission to convert SABC3 into 24-hour news. And we declined that."

Dr Ben Ngubane said Phil Molefe "also went to London on the same quest to turn SABC3 into 24-hour news".

SABC News (DStv 404) was eventually launched in August 2013 on DStv promising "multilingual programming" delivered "to audiences in all 11 South African official languages". In April 2015 the SABC removed all bulletins in other languages and made SABC News an English TV news channel.

BREAKING. SABC says MultiChoice contributing substantially to its new news channel; to launch September on DStv with 6 hours of news daily.

MultiChoice's DStv platform is contributing a substantial amount of money to the SABC's new news channel which will be starting at the beginning of September on DStv with 6 hours of new news coverage per day, looped for 24 hours.

ALSO READ: In March documents leaked according to which MultiChoice would be contributing a once-off R10 million to the news channel to help with start-up costs and pay a further R15 million annually to have the channel on the DStv platform.

The SABC's CEO Lulama Mokhobo said today at the public broadcaster's Auckland Park headquarters at a hastily arranged press conference, that MultiChoice had contributed a substantial amount of money which would be paid to the SABC every month over the nexy 5 years so that the SABC can launch its new 24 hour news channel.

This new news channel from the SABC will replace its failed SABC News International channel which cost the SABC millions and was canned in 2010.

The SABC tried to launch its new news channel on 1 April 2011, then moved it to October 2011, then to April 2012 and now wants to launch it at the beginning of September. It comes as the SABC plans to start the broadcast of its initial new TV channels of its digital terrestrial television (DTT) offeringat the end of September or early October.

Lulama Mokhobo said the SABC "is ready" to launch the new channel which will start with 6 hours of new news per day. This 6 hours will be looped in 4 blocks over the course of every day for a 24 hour cycle. The SABC quickly wants to grow to 24 hours of constantly updated news coverage similar to the eNews Channel (DStv 403) which can also be seen on DStv and which will soon be changing its name.

In a press statement the SABC said that its 24 hour news channel "is expected to be launched by the beginning of September 2012" on MultiChoice's DStv.

The SABC's new news channel which it has been testing by running 4 hour blocks of news coverage, will initially only be available on MultiChoice's DStv, will become available as a free digital terrestrial television channel as part of the SABC's bouquet of 18 TV channels to all viewers over time.

Lulama Mokhobo said the new SABC news TV channel would be multilingual and that the SABC wants to reach Africa. "We see it as a pan African channel which will bring much more regularly news from the rest of the continent that affect South Africa."

"We are hoping we will be able to spread to the rest of the continent and anywhere else where MultiChoice currently operates. We are ready. The team is busy transforming how it operates to fit in with a 24-hour service approach."

"We haven't worked out the quotas because it is important to gauge the appetite for the languages, but part of delivering to regional expectations will be to deliver news in other languages," said Lulama Mokhobo.

The SABC told parliament recently that the broadcaster plans to spend R288,9 million over the next three years on the 24 hour news channel which is to replace the failed SABC News International channel which was launched in July 2007 but ran for less than two and a half years before closing down in March 2010 despite an investment of millions of rands by the broadcaster.

The new 24 hour news channel will cost the SABC at least R80 million per year to operate. MultiChoice plans to make the new SABC news channel available in South Africa but also throughout Southern Africa, including Angola, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The SABC board member Cedric Gina said today that that the SABC is ready to spend big on the news channel and also hoping for advertising income in time from the TV channel. "A proposal is going to be submitted to the National Treasury to enable us to spend - we have made a provision for the channel, a full provision for the channel that will run over five years, but within that provision we're fairly comfortable that we should be able to get advertising revenues."

BREAKING. SABC plans to launch its new 24 hour TV news channel on the 1st of April on DStv with the help of MultiChoice.

The SABC plans to launch its ''new''(as in replacement for SABC News International) 24 hour news channel on 1 April in conjunction with MultiChoice which will be contributing a once-off R10 million to the news channel to help with start-up costs and pay a further R15 million annually to have the channel on the DStv platform.

The SABC tried to launch the new 24 hour news channel on April fools' day last year, didn't make the deadline and moved it to October. The October date came and went and the planned start was moved to 2012. Now 1 April is again the new target date with the SABC which told parliament that the new news channel is seen as a key driver of the transformation and turn-around strategy of the beleaguered public broadcaster.

The SABC is planning to spend R288,9 million over the next three years on the 24 hour news channel which is to replace the failed SABC News International channel which was launched in July 2007 but ran for less than two and a half years before closing down in March 2010 despite an investment of millions of rands by the SABC. The channel will be new competition for e.tv's eNews Channel (DStv 403) which has so far been the only South African 24 hour TV news channel in the country.

The SABC is also planning to spend R732,7 million on setting up a separate SABC Sport TV channel over the next two years. Both the news channel which will launch on MultiChoice, and the eventual sport channel will become free channels as part of the SABC's digital terrestrial television (DTT) offering during the switch-over to digital broadcasting in South Africa.

The new 24 hour news channel will cost the SABC at least R80 million per year to operate. MultiChoice plans to make the new SABC news channel available in South Africa but also throughout Southern Africa, including Angola, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

As opposed to SABC News International which tried to include international news, the new 24 hour channel will have a primary emphasis on local South African news. The channel will also show documentaries, have talk shows and current affair shows as well as some magazine shows geared towards topical interests like health, government and business news.

MultiChoice has set extremely stringent targets for the SABC to provide a TV news channel to the DStv platform again. MultiChoice will keep the news channel on the DStv platform for at least 5 years if the broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) approves the channel application.

According to documents, MultiChoice will pay the SABC a once-off R10 million to help towards the start-up costs and a further R15 million every year in payment as part of the carriage agreement and contribute a further R5 million in broadcasting equipment.

In exchange MultiChoice would be able to cancel the channel with 3 months' notice if, after written notice, MultiChoice tells the SABC that aspects of the channel isn't up to standard or not meeting performance requirements over various criteria.

MultiChoice says ''MultiChoice does not comment on speculation. When we are ready to launch new channels on the DStv platform, we will make the necessary announcement." The SABC's spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says ''the SABC's plans for a 24 hour news channel are in place'' but that the SABC will ''announce all the plans once all the approval processes are finalised. We are not going to entertain rumours that are only trying to derail us and open us op to scrutiny by our competitors''.

BREAKING. SABC sees its planned new 24 hour news channel as a key driver of the public broadcaster's turnaround strategy.

You're reading it here first.

The SABC sees its proposed new 24 hour news channel on MultiChoice's DStv, covering just South African news as opposed to the world with SABC News International previously, as a key driver of the beleaguered public broadcaster's turnaround strategy.

The new 24 hour news channel that the SABC wanted to launch on 1 April 2011 (as I broke the news RIGHT HERE in early February) - had its starting date confirmed this afternoon by a promotional video clip about the news channel that was played in parliament today that showed 1 April 2011 as it's now come-and-gone starting date. The new 24 hour news channel that the SABC wants to start on MultiChoice as a satellite channel but as part of the public bouquet, will replace the SABC News International channel that's no longer broadcasting as a stand-alone TV channel.

The 24 hour news channel will eventually become one of the free additional digital channels that the SABC broadcast after the switch-over to digital terrestrial television (DTT). ''When we've been talking about a 24 news channel,'' the SABC's acting group CEO Robin Nicholson said in parliament, ''it really is the repositioning of SABC News into the digital age.''

BREAKING. SABC News International cost SABC over R80 million per year.

You're reading it here first.

As I've told you RIGHT HERE on Wednesday the SABC is pulling the plug on its loss making and embattled SABC News International TV channel at the end of March which was launched with big fanfare in 2007.

The SABC plans to replace SABC News International with a new 24 hour TV news channel focusing on South African news which I told you about first RIGHT HERE. But just how much did SABC News International cost the public broadcaster?

Well, I can exclusively reveal that SABC News International was financially, an operational burden on the SABC to the tune of just over R6,5 million per month, or just over R80 million per year. SABC News International was started in 2007 at a start-up cost of R85 million.

BREAKING. SABC pulling the plug on SABC News International at the end of March.

You're reading it here first.

You are reading it right here first that the SABC is bringing down the axe on SABC News International which will cease all operations and its TV broadcast in exactly three weeks at the end of March 2010  - which will also leave several workers without jobs.

The beleaguered SABC News International was started as a TV channel in 2007 by the SABC's former head of news, dr. Snuki Zikalala at a cost of more than R85 million. Together with several international news bureaus the channel created a massive drain on the SABC's annual operational budget.

Now the SABC - which already closed down several SABC News International news bureaus at the end of last year - is ending the doomed experiment and closing down the entire operations of SABC News International. Last month signal distributor Sentech also didn't renew the contract to broadcast SABC News International on the limited Vivid satellite TV platform.

The closure of SABC News International will leave several people out of jobs. There is however the plan of the SABC to - as I wrote about RIGHT HERE, start a brand new TV news channel focusing on South African news.

''The SABC regrets that we will not be able to renew the contracts of a significant number of employees of SABC News International who are contractors, at the end of this fiscus, at the end of this month, due to the decision to scale down the operations of SABC News International,'' says Solly Mokoetle, the SABC's group CEO.

SABC News International is NOT closing down.

You're reading it here first.

SABC News International, the SABC's 24 hour news channel, is NOT closing down. Despite the beleaguered SABC News International that was started with millions of rand and is burning a deep monthly hole as part of the SABC's huge monthly expenditure, the channel is not going to disappear.

SABC News International has been removed from the Vivid TV platform (operated by Sentech) and can now be seen only intermittedly on SABC2 and SABC3 during a 24 hour day. However, no decision about the fate of the channel has yet been taken, the SABC tell me.

''At the moment we are looking at all the options surrounding SABC News International,'' Kaizer Kganyago, SABC spokesperson, tells me.

''At the moment SABC News International doesn't have it's own TV platform and can only be seen at times on SABC2 and SABC2 during the day. But at the same time parliament this week was told to keep DTT (digital terrestrial migration) in mind which is coming. When the SABC moves over to digital TV broadcasting, SABC News International will be a valuable asset and have a platform. There is no truth to rumours that SABC News International is closing down.''

BREAKING. SABC News International now broadcasting on DStv!

You're reading it here first.

SABC News International has quietly slipped onto DStv and can now be seen as a free to air channel on the satellite broadcaster! The public broadcaster's local 24 hour news TV channel that could previously only be seen on Sentech's limited Vivid decoder platform, can now be seen as a free channel as part of MultiChoice's DStv platform.

The beleaguered SABC News International which had a limited reach and audience because of the limited amount of Vivid decoders that had been sold, will now have a much wider potential audience and reach. SABC News International now broadcasts free, and can be seen 24 hours a day on channel 43, on the Public Bouquet channel grouping on DStv.

I immediately asked the SABC this morning why the switch, how it happened and when. The STUNNED SABC didn't know about it, and didn't have any official answer. When I get one, you'll get one here, FIRST.

UPDATE (Monday 28 Dec 2009, 16:30) -  I just heard back from the SABC regarding this issue:

''I've checked and there is no contract between the SABC and DStv,'' Kaizer Kganyago, SABC spokesman, tells me. Mmmm.

BREAKING. SABC News demands TV presenters take a 60% pay cut!

You're reading it here first. An update with all the news regarding my blog post of earlier this morning that you can read here.

TV presenters at the SABC are in uproar about a horrible news meeting that took place yesterday afternoon.

In the meeting lasting about 2 hours and in which - according to a myriad of insiders within the news division as well as throughout the whole SABC who all spoke to me - the acting head of news, Phil Molefe went off on TV news presenters, threatening them to take a 60% pay cut while they have to sign new contracts.

''He rabled om for 2 hours,'' more than one source told me.

''Unethical. Illegal. And blatantly arrogant,'' said another one.

''You have to sign it [the contract now]. Not your priest, not Zuma are going to be able to help you know,'' is what Phil allegedly said to them, another well placed source told me.

At issue is that Phil Molefe as acting head of SABC news wants TV presenters to basically take a pay cut of a MASSIVE 60% in terms of what they are earning now, and are threatened that they will be let go if they don't.

I have asked the SABC yesterday for comment on the matter as soon as i was simply INUNDATED with SABC sources from both within the corporation, as well as from inside the meeting, who was completely shocked and horrified with what they were told, as well as the way in which they were told they have to sign new contracts.

As soon as I get a response from the SABC, I will post it here.

BREAKING. SABC News has workers fuming mad after shocking staff meeting!

You're reading it here first. I will spill ALL later today but let me just say there is BIG things going down at the SABC's TV news division. And i mean BIG, like in BIG.

And people are . . . NOT HAPPY!

And they were told . . . NOT to talk to the media. But of course they all talk to me. In fact, they couldn't WAIT to immediately tell me.

Multiple sources within the SABC News division are SUPER VERY UNHAPPY with a major meeting that took place at SABC News yesterday and with super shockers they were told yesterday.

This happened of course with the presence of Phil Molefe, acting head of TV news at the SABC.

The SABC told me yesterday - called me personally actually - to tell me that the broadcaster would only be able to respond today. I said I'd hold off on the story until I get a response on this sensitive matter that has multiple SABC workers COMPLETELY FUMING!

BREAKING. E.tv working on a new spinoff news channel for Africa, eNews Africa.

You're reading it here first. I've known for months and today I'm breaking the news that e.tv, who already owns and runs the eNews Channel (DStv 403) is working on a new spinoff news channel for the rest of the continent, called eNews Africa.

E.tv is planning a brand-new satellite news channel, similar to eNews, but that will cater to the rest of Africa, outside of South Africa. This comes as e.tv is setting up shop in Ghana by establishing a broadcasting studio there and as the SABC's interim board is seriously considering the SABC's languishing own money draining news operation, SABC News International.

eNews Africa will in essence be a news service for the continent, although e.tv is still working out how the news will be delivered and what platform and shape it will take.

The aim is to provide Africa with as much news as possible about Africa itself.  eNews Africa with some similarities and some unique features, will be a sister service to the eNews Channel - which after just more than a year and a bit on air, is now the MOST WATCHED NEWS SERVICE TV channel on the DStv bouquet.

BREAKING. SABC immediately starts to close another 5 international news bureaus

You're reading it here first. The SABC just gave the order to close five more of it's international news bureaus TODAY!! The SABC is scaling back its international news operations around the world and across Africa.

The closing of five more bureas follows an announcement earlier this year by die SABC to immediately start closing four other news bureaus.

The ones that will start to close down IMMEDIATELY are:

Beijing, China

Dakar, Senegal

Brussels, Belgium

Sao Paolo, Brazil

One office in New York (leaving just the one at the United Nations)

The SABC will still have correspondents in Harare (Zimbabwe), Lagos (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenia), London (United Kingdom) and in New York at the United Nations (America).

These journalists are NO LONGER ALLOWED to just cover the cities they are based in and are now RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WHOLE REGION.

Why close? The SABC's budget for news bureaus this year is R37 million.

It's on track to surpass R60 million.

Irene Charnley, the interim chairperson of the SABC board is swinging the axe to bring the SABC's tremendous overspending back in line.

The closing of these bureaus will save the broadcaster R7 million this year and R32 million in the next financial year.

CHECK BACK LATER - I will have even more NEWS as well ANALYSIS of what this all means, how it works, why it's necessary, the future of the SABC's SABC News International channel and MORE.