BREAKING. eNCA shuts down its Africa news division; cancels Africa360; says it will 'continue to report on Africa' as staff retrenchment looms.

eNCA (DStv 403) is shutting down its Africa division and news bureaus across the continent, has cancelled the news channel's weekly show Africa360 and is retracting from its comprehensive African coverage with staff which will be retrenched soon.

eNCA says the Sabido-owned 24-hour TV news channel which has been struggling to keeps its African business financially afloat, will continue to report on Africa despite the dramatic downsizing.

Last month Sabido warned that the pan-African TV news division of eNCA could be shutting down the loss-making division, as well as shuttering its Natural History Unit and factual division and that staff losses will be the result.

Africa360 is now officially cancelled as TV with Thinus reported earlier this month is happening.

"After consulting with staff, eNCA has made the difficult decision to close its Africa division,” the company tells TV with Thinus in response to a media enquiry made Tuesday.

“This impacts the television operations of eNews Africa and regrettably Africa360 will be discontinued. Given its reliance on the bureaus and ability to travel throughout Africa, it was not logistically possible to continue with the show".

eNCA says the downsizing and firing of staff looming "does not affect eNCA, news on e.tv (Zulu news and Prime Time), eNuus on kykNET, nor does it affect our online team at eNCA.com."

eNCA says the news channel – which competes with the SABC's SABC News (DStv 404) and Infinity Media's ANN7 (DStv 405) as 24-hour TV news channels on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform "will continue to report on Africa issues using a strong network of stringers and deploy teams out of South Africa if necessary".

eNews Africa busy setting up offices in Nigeria and Kenia to expand the news operation's pan-African news coverage and reach.

eNews Africa, e.tv's pan-African news service covering news on the continent, is busy setting up offices in Nigeria as well as Kenia.

eNews Africa wants to expand the news operation's news gathering reach and stories from these countries and regions.

BREAKING. e.tv to announce the new eNews Africa Channel imminently.

You're reading it here first.

E.tv is thisclose to launching it continental eNews Channel (DStv 403) spin-off news channel for Africa - the eNews Africa channel - most probably making this major, major announcement later today.

I was first RIGHT HERE way back in October to exclusively break the news that e.tv is developing eNews Africa. Now I can tell you that the official reveal from e.tv will be made imminently.

eNews Africa is positioned by e.tv to be an offshoot of the eNews Channel but adapted for African audiences in the rest of the continent with a slightly different slant and focus but still doing objective and credible TV news coverage. The eNews Channel is having a massive wave of success, with the TV news channel being noted for its credible TV journalism, breaking major South African news stories, as well as begin the number one most viewed 24 hour TV news channel available in South Africa.

The eNews Channel and e.tv has quietly been testing eNews Africa with late night blocks of programming on both the e.tv channel as well as the eNews Channel, Africa 360 with host Chris Maroleng a typical example - the same show that created last week's TV moment of the week due to the on-air fracas between the studio guests.

UPDATE - Tuesday, 13 April 09:35: It's going to be e.tv Africa that e.tv will be launching, a more general entertainment TV channel for Africa, that will include news coverage and news bulletins. The bulk will be entertainment programming. E.tv is still working on rolling out eNews Africa.

BREAKING. E.tv's group CEO Marcel Golding upset about court order against eNews journalists.

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E.tv's Marcel Golding has entered the fray of the whole brouhaha regarding the (in my opinion superly ill conceived, short sighted and lazy) South African Police Service (SAPS) who is upset and subpoenad e.tv's journalists to hand over information. This comes after eNews ran an insert on Friday about criminals who plan to perpetrate crime during the Soccer World Cup in June.

''Mpho Lakaje and Ben Said were simply doing their jobs as journalists,'' says e.tv group CEO, Marcel Golding, who I can tell you RARELY speak on the record and which means that he is VERY UPSET and SUPER PERTURBED by this.

''This type of story is not unusual and similar stories have been covered by other media, including respected international broadcasters,'' says Marcel Golding.

''The reaction against eNews from certain quarters has been unreasonable and disproportionate. eNews has a reputation for reporting stories without fear or favour – no matter how unpalatable such information may be. Moreover, eNews has consistently provided high profile coverage of SAPS successes in the fight against crime.''

My opinion: What I is why the SAPS can't do their OWN crime investigation? Are they so pathetic that they can't find these people they're looking for themselves and now has to rely on court orders to try and force journalists to reveal their sources? PLEASE! I HOPE not. I sincerely HOPE the SAPS back off and leave the eNews journalists (and journalists everywhere ALONE to do their jobs and then go and do theirs which is to actually fight crime).

BREAKING. eNews journalists ordered to turn over information.

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Instead of doing their own investigation and their own homework it seems as if the South African Police Service (SAPS) once again - as has happened several times in the past - wants journalists to do it for them.

Just after police minister Nathi Mthethwa lashes out at e.tv over the weekend after eNews broadcast interviews this past Friday evening of criminals who threatened to rob and kills visitors during the World CUp later this year, the broadcaster's news journalists have now been subpoened to hand over their confidential, information obtained as journalists whilst doing their own journalistic invevestigation.

In the news insert, both criminals identies are hidden.

E.tv just confirmed that two eNews journalists - Ben Said eNews group news editor and reporter Mpho Lakaje - have been served with subpoenas. They have to appear on court on 25 January unless
1.they hand over to the police the identities (names and surnames), addresses and contact details of the people who were interviewed and appeared on camera,
2.give the police the details of the person who brought the firearms visible in the insert,
3.hand the police the original and unedited footage of the interview,
4.and give the police all the details of what they know of who possessed the firearms during the interview and what happened to it after the interview was done.

E.tv says the matter is currently with eNews' attorneys.

BREAKING. The eNews Channel is BREAKING EVEN!

You're reading it here first. The eNews Channel (DStv 403) with famous news hound faces like Pat Pillai and Debora Patta has been up a running for only A YEAR AND FOUR MONTHS and now South Africa's first independently run 24 hour news channel is breaking even.

This is an enormously impressive feat, and a huge feather in the cap of e.tv.

The remarkable performance is even greater given 1. the difficulty of launching any new TV channel, especially a 2. news channel with huge overheads (news is an especially expensive TV genre to produce), 3. the relative state of the economy as well as 4. shrinking ad budgets.

Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) who owns 64% of e.tv indicates in their half year results that the eNews Channel has passed the breakeven point.

The eNews Channel should start to actually contribute to the group's income during the period of October 2009 to end-March 2010. The eNews Channel (this news ia a month old already) is now also the most popular news channel on the fast-growing DStv Compact bouquet.

MY SCOOP CONFIRMED! I was first on 1 October already with THIS NEWS that e.tv is planning a brand new spin-off channel from the eNews Channel, that will be broadcasting to the rest of Africa. HCI's half year results now confirms this.

The new channel is starting out as that late night, three hour news block, called eAfrica News, but that will be the proper name of the new 24 hour channel that should be launching soon.

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.