Actress Pam Andrews leaves e.tv soap Rhythm City after 7 years, wants to focus on her 'music career'.

Actress and provocateur Pam Andrews is exiting the Quizzical Pictures produced weekday soap Rhythm City on e.tv after 7 years where she played the role of Gail October.

She will film her final scenes early in March.

Pam Andrews came to prominence on television and as a tabloid fodder favourite in 2002 when she was a group member of 101 which won the first season of the reality show Popstars.

The insta-fame catapulted her into roles on e.tv's first local soap Backstage as well as the drama series Tshisa after which she was picked up for the role of Gail on Rhythm City.

According to Pam Andrews she decided to leave since she wants to "focus on her music career", although insiders note that it was actually the production company that ended the contract.

In a note Pam Andrews says "sadly I will be leaving Rhythm City" and that "It's been 7 mindblowing years". "It's time for me to focus on other projects, explore new things and opportunities. I'm very, very nervous. Shaking. But also very excited."

Interestingly and notably there's been no word from either e.tv or Rhythm City about Pam Andrews' departure.

CNN's Jim Clancy gone after 34 years at the TV news channel after bisarre Twitter twar angering pro-Israeli activists and the disabled.

The longtime anchor and correspondent on CNN International (DStv 401) Jim Clancy is suddenly gone after 34 years, co-incidentally following a Twitter war over the Charlie Hebdo cartoons.

CNN only says "Jim Clancy is no longer with CNN. We thank him for more than three decades of distinguished service, and wish him nothing but the best".

In a note to colleagues Jim Clancy wrote: "After nearly 34 years with Cable News Network, the time has come to say Farewell! It has been my honor to work alongside all of you for all of these years."

His profile has been deleted from CNN.

"This is one of the greatest news organizations in the world. It has truly revolutionized information delivery while driving technological advances in how we gather the news. Through it all, CNN has been a family to my own family. That means something."

"As I reflect on all of the great adventures and achievements of the past, I wish you great success in the future.
Jim Clancy"

Jim Clancy's departure from CNN comes as he became involved in a social media spat with pro-Israel activists over the debate regarding the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, and on Twitter used words like "hasbara" team and used the word "cripple", telling a Twitter user: "You and the Hasbara team need to pick on some cripple on the edge of the herd".

Then a Jewish disabled foundation also joined the Twitter war and chimed in with social media criticism of Jim Clancy. "Hasbara" is the name for Israel's policy of spreading its message through mass media.

Jim Clancy tried to delete some of his Twitter rants, and then his Twitter account but by then the "evidence" of his Tweets through screenshots were all over social media and cyberspace.

E! Entertainment delays The Royals for DStv; E! first scripted TV drama set to only start months later for South African viewers.

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South African DStv subscribers and those in the rest of Africa are in for a shock when they will discover in two months time that E! Entertainment's (DStv 124) hyped first new scripted drama, The Royals, won't be starting close to or at the same time in March as in America but months later at the end of the year.

Universal Networks International (UNI) risks alienating DStv subscribers in Africa and South Africa when The Royals starts on 15 March on E! Entertainment in the rest of the world but won't be shown here - for almost a year. 

TV with Thinus asked and was told that The Royals is only expected to premiere on E! Entertainment - the UK's version of E! beamed to Africa and the Middle East - sometime in the 4th quarter of 2015. 

UNI says nothing has been confirmed as of yet - meaning South African viewers are going to lose out on the big-buzz drama which got renewed for a 2nd season on E! Entertainment last week before The Royals' first season has even started yet.

While other channels supplied by BBC Worldwide and Discovery Networks have started to follow M-Net's lead in getting and broadcasting global content quickly, Universal Networks International seriously risks dropping the ball by not bringing South African viewers and DStv subscribers The Royals close to 15 March as well.

Since The Royals is an E! show, once again viewers will see the show and coverage of it like cast interviews and set visits elsewhere on E! on such daily shows as E! News. 

Yet viewers in South Africa and Africa will not being able to partake, fully understand or being able to share fully since they're able to actually see the show - instead ending up with a schizophrenic fill-in-the-blanks experience until the actual drama starts at the end of the year.

Given the early second season renewal for its very first scripted drama, it suggests that E! is proud of The Royals' early produced episodes and feels like it has enough of an upcoming new hit on its hands. 

Yet E! isn't appearing to want to build, cash in on the hype and ride the wave of interest there will be in The Royals when it starts in March for a global audience, opting to give South African viewers once again the stale, been-there-it's-now-over leftovers at the back-end of 2015.

In The Royals, filmed in London and revolving around a present day fictional royal family, Elizabeth Hurley is Queen Helena, with Joan Collins as the queen's mother.

Queen Helena has twins, Princess Eleanor and Prince Liam.

While its the scheming Joan Collins' character who is really ruling the kingdom and palace in Dynasty style behind the scenes, the young Princess Eleanor is the party animal like Windsor's Prince Harry with the resultant tabloid dramas.

Meanwhile Prince Liam is having a secret relationship with the daughter of one of the bodyguards.

Mark Schwahn who did One Tree Hill is the executive producer, with Lionsgate as the production company.

Travel Channel's Rob Bell setting off today on a daunting dash to complete 7 marathons across 7 continents in 7 days in new show coming April.

He's basically become the Travel Channel's (DStv 179) adventurer-in-residence, and today the intrepid Rob Bell is standing in Antarctica, together with five friends, to start running 7 marathons across 7 continents in 7 consecutive days.

The feat of daunting physical endurance - the programme doesn't have a definite title yet - will be broadcast on the Travel Channel in April as camera crews follow Rob Bell starting his running today in Antarctica, going to South America, North America, London, Cairo, Singapore and finally Australia.

For the past year, the team have been planning and training for this marathon, according to the Travel Channel and while they've done endurance events before, none of them have ever done anything like this before.

The running itself will be a challenge, but with sleep confined to only the few hours they can grab on planes between locations, it adds a whole new element to the event.

Besides Rob Bell, the team running the globe includes Dan Honour, Steve Vials, Peter Bocquet, Gareth Williams and Ben Goodburn.

"Very few people in the world have ever completed the challenge of running 7 marathons on 7 continents continents in 7 days and that's part of its appeal - to push the limits and see just what we're capable of," Rob Bell told the Travel Channel. "Along the way, the motivation will be the two fantastic charities we're raising money for".

While the group will battle extremely cold temperatures and howling winds in Antarctica, they will face the complete opposite in Singapore where humidity climbs to 95% in sweltering heat.

Then there's fatigue - not just from all the running but also from the flying (they're flying economy all the way from continent to continent) -  as well as the fears of dehydration and the very real possibility of injuries which could cause one or more of the group to not complete the 777 marathon.

"The team is made up of 6 runners but more importantly, we're 6 friends," says Rob Bell. "The last 12 months have been so much fun coming together and working on a group project that we're all so passionate about".

kykNET & Kie on DStv looking for 2 new TV presenters in a new online video competition.

The secondary Afrikaans language entertainment TV channel kykNET & Kie (DStv 145) on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform is looking for 2 new presenters by making use of an online video competition people can now enter.

kykNET & Kie is looking for two presenters, between the ages of 22 and 28.

People who want to enter have to upload a presentation package - known as a "link" in the TV biz - along with a full length photo in which they showcase their ability to present on television.

The winners will be those people who speak eloquently, fluently, interestingly, with a lot of personality and who "pops" on video.

The video package or link has to include a motivation explaining why you want to be kykNET & Kie's new presenter.

The closing date for the competition is on 15 February and the finalists will be announced on the website.

Auditions will take place on 20 February in Johannesburg and the two winners who are chosen will start to record links in March which will start to play out on the air on kykNET & Kie from 1 April 2015.

Recorded video clips and photos must be uploaded through WeTransfer, with more information about the competition at http://kyknet.dstv.com

OUT OF STYLE. Style is done on DStv as Universal Networks International (UNI) finally kills off the struggling channel in South Africa and Africa as well.

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Style (DStv 173) is going the way of the dodo coat and corduroy bell bottoms with The Style Network becoming the first TV channel South African viewers will lose in 2015 when Style is cut and killed off for DStv subscribers in South Africa and across the rest of the African continent by the end of January.

TV with Thinus asked Universal Networks International (UNI) about the demise of Style but got no response yet. In response to a media enquiry made to MultiChoice, the satellite pay-TV platform confirms that "Style will no longer air on DStv from Sunday 1 February".

After NBCUniversal decided to dump Style in September 2013 in American and then also terminated Style two months later in December 2013 in the United Kingdom, warning lights instantly lit up for the struggling style channel limping along with a lack of actual new content with which to feed the schedule.

The culling of Style instantly gave rise to questions as to whether, and for how long, Style would continue as a TV channel in South Africa and Africa on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.

The practical difficulty revolved around how a channel like Style - with DStv getting the UK packaged version from Universal Networks International (UNI) - would continue and be sustained given that the original USA feed no longer existed and that no supplement content from Style UK were produced or sourced anymore.

In December 2013, Universal Networks International (UNI) told TV with Thinus that Style would remain as a TV channel on DStv.

UNI said then that "Style continues to be a key channel brand for Universal Networks International in South Africa, irrespective of any changes impacting Style in the United Kingdom," but after a year and with Style finally being shut down here as well, it is now clear that Style is no longer a key brand for UNI in Africa and South Africa.

Style relaunched with a new on-air look in March 2013, doing away with the pink dot logo design. MultiChoice added The Style Network in November 2007, meaning the channel survived on DStv for just over seven years.

MultiChoice says "Universal Networks International (UNI), who offers this channel outside of the US, has been evaluating options for the channel on a territory-by-territory basis in markets where Style operates".

With UNI which has finally decided to dump Style as a TV channel in South Africa and Africa with less than a month's notification to viewers, that leaves UNI's other channels on DStv like E! Entertainment, Universal Channel, Telemundo and Studio Universal.

While reality show Giuliana and Bill already crossed over to E! Entertainment, Style's Celebrity Style Story will also move to E!.


10:32 - UNI in response to a media enquiry now also confirms the demise of Style and has essentially the same sentences with which MultiChoice responded.

BREAKING. 7de Laan to become the first SABC TV soap to stream episodes online through a new, dedicated YouTube channel.

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The SABC's weekday soap 7de Laan on SABC2 will soon become the South African public broadcaster's first TV soap to stream episodes online for viewers - making it accessible for the first time to viewers globally.

While M-Net's soaps and telenovelas for the pay-TV broadcaster's supplied TV channels to MultiChoice's DStv, as well as e.tv's soaps, have been streamed and made available as video-on-demand (VOD) catch-up programming online, the SABC has lagged behind in providing viewers of its local soaps the same access.

SABC viewers either have to record episodes, watch next day repeats, or weekend omnibus broadcasts on SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 of Generations - The Legacy, Muvhango, 7de Laan and Isidingo.

Now the Danie Odendaal Productions soap is creating a dedicated YouTube channel which will carry the individual soap episodes online, directly after broadcast on SABC2.

Viewers in South Africa, as well as outside of the country's borders, will be able to watch 7de Laan through YouTube, and will be able to find the YouTube channel through 7de Laan's revamped, new website.

The VOD option for 7de Laan viewers forms part of the soap's new website.

The production tells TV with Thinus the soap receives a lot of requests from people living outside of South Africa and who can't receive SABC2, to watch 7de Laan, which prompted the VOD extension.

Viewers will be able to watch any given episode of 7de Laan up to 7 days after it was first broadcast on SABC2.

StarSat decides to take its hardcore porn case to the Supreme Court; refuses to reapply through regulator Icasa to shown sex channels.

StarSat has decided to take its case to broadcast hardcore pornography on television in South Africa to the Supreme Court after the Western Cape High Court at the end of last year ruled that On Digital Media and StarTimes Media SA has to stop broadcasting the channels.

After the judgment ODM also lost its porn appeal bid with cost.

The Woodmead based satellite pay-TV provider, currently still in business rescue and running the StarSat - previously TopTV - brand, has now quietly restarted broadcasting its hardcore pornography TV channels which it first started broadcasting in November 2013 at R159 per month.

According to court documents ODM and StarTimes Media SA had around 400 subscribers for the sex channels.

At the end of 2014 Judge Lee Bozalek in the Western Cape High Court ordered StarSat to stop broadcasting its hardcore pornography TV channels in South Africa after the the non-profit organisations Justice Alliance of South Africa (Jasa), Cause for Justice and Doctors for Life took Icasa and StarSat to court for allowing and broadcasting pornography on television in South Africa.

Icasa admitted to court that the regulator had failed to appoint experts to consider StarSat's porn plan.

ODM also failed to register with the Film and Publications Board (FPB) as a porn purveyor.

The Western Cape High Court ordered South African's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to relook the process and decision which gave ODM permission to broadcast the hardcore pornography in the form of Brazzers, Desire TV and Playboy TV channels.

ODM doesn't want to reapply at Icasa following the flawed application process and is now heading to the Supreme Court.

eNCA on why the South African TV news channel refuses to show viewers the new Charlie Hebdo cover.

Several 24-hour TV news channels and TV news operations around the world have shown, since Wednesday, the new Charlie Hebdo cover.

Some, like eNCA (DStv 403), the SABC and Sky News (DStv 402) refuse to.

The new Charlie Hebdo cover - arguably the most newsworthy image of 2015 - comes after the killing of 12 journalists in Paris, France last week working at the satirical publication, a story which dominated global news headlines.

While several TV outlets and newspapers are showing it, some are not.

The new Charlie Hebdo cover shows a cartoon of Muhammad against a green background, shedding a tear and saying "I am Charlie", together with a headline, "'Tout est pardonné" (All is forgiven).

Despite the huge news value of the cover image and the need to place the news and story in proper context for viewers, some news organisations fear some form of religious reprisal or causing offense if they show the image which is considered a sin to Muslims to depict.

That makes it difficult for viewers who might only rely on one specific type of news media, or watch one TV news channel, to get a true sense of what the offending cartoon looks like or to understand what all the fuzz is about, says Margaret Sullivan, The New York Times' public editor.

eNCA is responding to a media enquiry earlier this week asking what eNCA's decision is regarding the showing or censoring of the new Charlie Hebdo, and the reasoning behind the decision.

"Defending freedom of expression is a core value of ours. But freedom to express is also the freedom to determine what you don't depict," says Patrick Conroy, managing director of eNCA.

"We have different editorial criteria at eNCA to Charlie Hebdo. We have supported satire vigorously through LNN. We are undoubtedly the leaders in TV satire in South Africa".

"But we cannot be forced to concur with Charlie Hebdo's provocative style because of the terrible tragedies in France".

"Depicting the Prophet Mohammed is deemed offensive to many and unless a greater public interest is served for our audience we respect those sensitivities".

"You cannot have editorial policies that waver because others, like Fox News, have chosen to show the cover page. We're not scared - we are respectful. (On a point of consistency we did not show the Danish cartoons in 2005 either)".

"Those who want to actively seek out these cartoons will do so online. On TV the viewer is dependent on us when it comes to what they will see, hence our approach," says Patrick Conroy.

"We will risk offense when we deem our Constitution and freedoms to be under threat. An important consideration here is that the Charlie Hebdo attacks failed in their objective to silence free speech".

"What will disrespecting the sensitivities of peace loving people after this tragedy achieve? For this reason my colleagues and I concur with CNN, SABC and ANN7," says Patrick Conroy.