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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

e.tv gives reporter Tanya Nefdt her own weekly showbiz TV show; The Spotlight from 5 May on eNCA, e.tv and eBella will cover the arts and entertainment industry.

e.tv is giving reporter Tanya Nefdt her own TV show with The Spotlight that will cover arts and entertainment on a weekly basis from 5 May.

It's the red letter channel's first foray back into a dedicated entertainment news strand since the end of Nicky Greenwall's longrunning The Showbiz Report.

With hundreds of human interest and personality profile stories over the years, and a dedicated slot reporting on film and showbiz on eNCA on weekends since mid-2017, the hard-working Tanya Nefdt carved out a niche speciality area for herself with e.tv that is finally giving her a showbiz show.

The Spotlight will focus on the movie, TV, theatre and arts spheres in South Africa as well as internationally, with a round-up of weekly showbiz news and interviews with on-air, on-stage and on-screen talent, as well as some of the movers and shakers behind the scenes of the local industrial entertainment complex.

Tanya Nefdt will interview rising stars and profile established players, and will talk about major topics bubbling up within the showbiz world.

"The Spotlight’s got glamour, glitter and maybe just a bit of gossip, but importantly it will have grit as well," says Tanya Nefdt. "The arts industry is facing many challenges so we open these discussions with our viewers who we want to engage with."

The Spotlight will debut on eNCA (DStv 403) on 5 May on a weekly basis, and will thereafter also be broadcast on e.tv as well as on the eBella channel on OpenView HD (OVHD) and DStv.

TOLDJA! e.tv self-packaged eBella channel targeting women with telenovelas and reality shows coming to Platco Digital's OpenView HD and MultiChoice's DStv from 5 March.

Exactly as TVwithThinus reported a week and a half ago already, MultiChoice and e.tv today put out individual statements, issued separately, confirming that the eBella channel will start on 5 March on DStv on channel 159 and on Platco Digital's OpenView HD (OVHD) on channel 109 on 5 March. 

Hilariously MultiChoice has been running promos for eBella on its DStv guide channel 100 but when asked about it and what MultiChoice is showing viewers, didn't want to talk about it.

TVwithThinus on Friday asked MultiChoice about eBella and was told as usual that when there's an announcement to be made about a new TV channel, it will happen.

On Monday afternoon MultiChoice issued a general statement about eBella to all press, not first to those journalists who actually made effort, showed interest and asked.

MultiChoice's statement, tailored to MultiChoice's DStv audience and completely ignoring eBella being available on OpenView HD as a free-to-air satellite TV platform, said the female-centered channel - as reported before - will be targeting a female audience.

"e.tv celebrates women through campaigns and programming and now we can extend this messaging into an entirely new channel," says Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv in the MultiChoice statement.

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

"Our focus is to offer our customers on all packages new and fresh entertainment – giving them access to the stories they want to hear. eBella is all about women and celebrating our influence on the global landscape as empowered and bold individuals," says Yolisa Phahle, CEO for general entertainment at MultiChoice.

On MultiChoice satellite pay-TV offering eBella will be available to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact, DStv Family and DStv Access subscribers within South Africa - just not DStv EasyView although e.tv's other freely available channels like eExtra and eToonz+ are. 


Three and a half hours after MultiChoice, e.tv issued their statement about eBella at 15:20 on Monday afternoon, tailored to e.tv and OpenView HD's audience and completely ignoring eBella being available on MultiChoice's DStv as a satellite pay-TV service.

e.tv says "OpenView HD continues to bring quality entertainment to over one million homes, with an additional channel being added to the bouquet" and that "eBella, the new member of the eFamily of channels, will premiere on Monday, 5 March 2018. Viewers can expect a wide array of inspirational content that reflects the lives and stories of women from around the world."

"eBella is all about women and celebrating their prominent influence in the global landscape. The choice selection of the channel's premium local and international content offering reflects women in today's society as empowered and bold individuals."

"Whether it's an award-winning series, indulgent lifestyle show or a ground-breaking movie, everything on eBella will satisfy viewers with a dose of guilt-free entertainment."

In e.tv's statement Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv, says, "the new channel will bolster the eFamily of channels' impressive offering. e.tv has always celebrated our supreme women through campaigns and programming and now we can extend this messaging into an entirely new channel."

"eBella is a strong addition to the OpenView HD platform, and we know that our viewers are going to indulge and enjoy the content immediately," says Marlon Davids. 

e.tv says OpenView HD will be "growing its unique content offering with the addition of more channels in the near future, catering to viewer demands for more quality television viewing".


eBella will show telenovelas from around the world like including So Much Love (the Spanish telenovela Tanto Amor that's been on the EVA channel on DStv), an Indian Muslim soap opera called Qubool Hai, and a Turkish telenovela Fatmagul.

eBella will also show lifestyle and reality shows catering to a female audience including Secret Guide To Fabulous, Princess, The Dog Whisperer and Beverley’s Full House.

The launch of eBella is the first new channel being added to OpenView HD in a while with the platform that has scrapped a number of non-owned channels over the past few months.

eBella is also an e.tv-packaged channel meaning that e.tv has direct and full control over the channel's content and schedule, as well as full responsibility for its performance ratings wise.

The addition of eBella comes shortly after the launch of Moja Love on DStv on Valentine's Day this month, targeting a black female audience with locally produced programming centred around love and relationships.

New eBella TV channel targeting women to be added to Platco Digital's OpenView HD and MultiChoice's Dstv from 5 March.

A new TV channel also targeting female viewers, eBella, is set to be added to OpenView HD (OVHD) and DStv from around 5 March.

eBella comes from Platco Digital that runs OpenView HD.

Besides packaging the channel for the OpenView HD free-to-air satellite platform, eBella will also be provided to DStv subscribers as part of the packaged channels deal that MultiChoice has for the set of additional e-branded channels.

The official announcement regarding eBella will be made soon with all the details about the programming that will be on the channel.

The launch of eBella is the first new channel being added to OpenView HD in a while that has scrapped a number of non-owned channels over the past few months.

eBella is also an e.tv-packaged channel meaning e.tv has direct and full control over the channel's content, as well as full responsibility for its performance ratings wise.

The addition of eBella comes shortly after the launch of Moja Love on DStv on Valentine's Day, targeting a black female audience with locally produced programming centred around love and relationships.