BREAKING. SABC's controversial COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng found not guilty on the 3 charges brought in his disciplinary hearing.

On Saturday evening the SABC's controversial and famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng was found not guilty on the three changes brought against him in a disciplinary hearing, the outcome of which the SABC decided to broadcast live in primetime.

It means that Hlaudi Motsoeneng will be back at the SABC as its chief operating officer (COO) after taking a "voluntary special leave of absence" with the SABC's head of news Jimi Matthews who stepped in as acting COO and then as acting CEO when Frans Matlala was abruptly suspended last month for another unrelated disciplinary hearing.

On Saturday night in Sandton, following the week's disciplinary hearing, chairperson Willem Edeling said "Hlaudi Motsoeneng is discharged on charges one to three".

Someone in the room in Sandton loudly screamed "yes!"

Hlaudi Motsoeneng, dressed in a blue tuxedo jacket and a bow tie, looked extremely irritated having to sit through the judgment while he hardly ever looked in chairperson EJ Edeling's direction.

He most stared vacantly in the opposite direction and up as if waiting for the inevitable conclusion.

After being told that the three charges against him were "discharged", Hlaudi Motsoeneng launched into another one of the mostly non-sensical rants he's become known for, saying that that "I am still the COO" of the SABC and that he knows that people want to "outset me and I know their motives".

"Some are business, some are political, some are to influence which people should be appointed within the organisation. I have been rejecting that because I am an independent person. I can't be influenced by an outsider".

"No one but God can stop me," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng, calling himself an intellectual.

"I'm an intellectual strategist. No one can take that away from me except God. No one can stop me to go up and up because I have brain in me. I am a visionary. I am a born leader," he said.

The disciplinary hearing saw 6 initial charges against Hlaudi Motsoeneng inexplicably reduced to just 3.

The "not guilty" verdict followed a rushed few days of testimony from just 6 current and former SABC employees - Jabulani Mabaso, Lorraine Francois, Bernard Koma, Motlanyane Dipopo, Paul Tati and Alwyn Kloppers - and mostly centred around just the one issue and charge of Hlaudi Motsoeneng's lack of matric.

The SABC's bizarre disciplinary hearing of Hlaudi Motsoeneng suddenly resumed this week after it was "terminated" and "cancelled" last week.

The disciplinary hearing which lacked credibility, oddly changed chairpersons twice without any explanation.

On Monday this week first advocate William Mokhari who abruptly disbanded the disciplinary hearing last week on Thursday saying it would serve no purpose other than being an "academic" exercise was suddenly gone and replaced with a new chairperson, Willem Johannes (EJ) Edeling.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng's disciplinary hearing also changed prosecutors three times.

First labour lawyer Sandile July was fired after alleged irregularities with the appointment, then Mponyana Ledwaba abruptly left last week, and then Tumisho Phalane took over as the 3rd prosecutor to work on the disciplinary hearing.

Tumisho Phalane told the hearing and chairperson on Monday this week that he doesn't have enough to prepare. Chairperson EJ Edeling said the case must proceed.

Strangely, the disciplinary hearing that was postponed multiple times since it was supposed to start at the end of October, became a rushed and truncated since it raced to meet a High Court imposed deadline of 60 days which ended today, or the SABC would have been held in contempt of court.

As a result of the sudden pressure and multiple delays and postponements, key witnesses were simply not available and were not called.

Some said they can't testify until January 2016 on such short notice but handed documentation.

At least one set of documents, Exhibit F, was dismissed, not entered into evidence and not read, sent by a possible witness who was in Mpumalanga and said she could only attend a disciplinary hearing in January.

Chairperson EJ Edeling on Saturday evening said that "there was not sufficient evidence before me".

The outcome of the disciplinary hearing was broadcast live and uninterrupted on South African television on MultiChoice's DStv on two South African TV news channels: The SABC's own SABC News (DStv 404) and the Infinity Media and Gupta owned ANN7 (DStv 405) from just after 19:00.

The disciplinary hearing was not shown on Sabido's eNCA (DStv 403) which ran a red scroll in the lower third after the announcement.

The outcome was initially set to be announced at 14:00 on Saturday - then suddenly to 19:00 in primetime with the SABC announcing that it would broadcast the summary and the outcome of the proceedings live on television.

While the Public Prosecutor issued a lengthy and incredibly detailed report in February 2014 with multiple findings that implicated Hlaudi Motsoeneng is maladministration and abuse of power at the SABC, the bulk of those findings and evidence were not available, used or incorporated into the disciplinary hearing.

The disciplinary hearing this past week mostly centered around whether or not Hlaudi Motsoeneng lied about having matric or not, when he applied at the SABC in Bloemfontein in 1993.

The Public Protector has a recorded interview that the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela did with Hlaudi Motsoeneng in which he admitted that he lied about having a matric.

One of the witnesses, a former SABC HR manager, also testified how Hlaudi Motsoeneng twice lied to him about having a matric certificate, and finally in a third conversation "admitted" that he doesn't have a matric certificate and lied.

Yet the disciplinary hearing has now "discharged" Hlaudi Motsoeneng on the charge of having lied about having a matric certificate.

In a mindboggling way, no evidence was given, no witnesses called and no interrogation and discovery took place into issues and related charges of Hlaudi Motsoeneng unilaterally increasing his salary and that of other SABC executives, dismissing employees who disagreed with him, and of purging all SABC staff who testified against him at an earlier disciplinary hearing held against him.

Of the three remaining charges out of an original six - charges relating to unilaterally increasing salaries and creating a new position for a staff member as well as gross abuse of power - virtually no evidence was heard or anything discussed.

Only 6 witnesses were called, some of whom still work at the SABC and one whose company is in negotiations with getting a contract from the SABC. Several testify in camera.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng reportedly has close ties with South Africa's president Jacob Zuma; a former fired SABC board member revealed that the minister of communications Faith Muthambi wrote that "Baba loves him", with Baba referring to Jacob Zuma and "him" being Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

On Saturday night the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party was first to react, saying the the disciplinary hearing and the outcome "has been exposed to be the whitewash we always suspected it would be".

"It is completely preposterous that the chairperson can, erring in due process, come to the determination that Hlaudi Motsoeneng is a suitable person to hold his position as COO."

"We submit that this farcical stitch-up job and its outcome are exactly what Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the SABC and the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, concocted from the very beginning," said the Democratic Alliance in a statement.

While TV households in South Africa are set to grow, pay-TV and DStv is set for growing its share while the SABC and e.tv will continue to lose share.

New research shows that TV households in South Africa will grown by 10% over the next two years to 13,3 million - but although pay-TV subscribers will continue to increase its bad news for the free-to-air broadcasters like the SABC and e.tv that will lose share.

According to a new report from research firm Dataxis, South African TV households will not only keep growing robustly - it will largely be fueled through pay-TV with the number of South African TV households relying on free-to-air terresstrial TV services set to decline from 48,2% at the end of 2015 to just 34,5% at the end of 2018.

That is bad news for the South African public broadcaster which is facing growing competition from pay-TV operators like MultiChoice's DStv, StarTimes Media SA's StarSat, as well as a growing number of video-on-demand (VoD) services ranging from ShowMax and ONTAPtv.com to VIDI, MTN's VU and now SAVuka TV. Netflix will launch in South Africa sometime in 2016.

According to Dataxis, about 43% of South African TV households will need digital terrestrial television set-top boxes (STBs) once those are sold and the long-delayed switch from analogue to digital broadcasting in the country really starts.

National terrestrial broadcasters like the SABC and e.tv will likely also have to contend with new competition, further cutting into existing viewership share and accelerating audience fragmentation.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) recently held public hearings for 4 possible new free-to-air TV broadcast licences.

Rubicon Investments; Hola Media (backed by Liquid Telecom, the pan-African fibre telecommunications firm controlled by Strive Masiyiwa's Econet Group); Change Network; and Infinity Media (jointly owned by Essel Media, Oakbay Investments and Mabengela Investments) which controls the African News Network, ANN7 (DStv 405) all applied for TV licences.

With DTT the SABC said it will launch with 5 TV channels - SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, SABC News and SABC Encore, the last two of which are currently given to MultiChoice's DStv as part of an exclusive contract.

e.tv will likely launch with 11 TV channels while M-Net will possibly do 9 TV channels.

Meanwhile pay-TV DTT licences have also already been awarded to SiyayaTV and CloseTV, Mindset TV and and Kagiso TV - the last three of which were granted conditional pay-TV licences.

Emile and Razia Samson the winners of Power Couple South Africa on M-Net; taking home R508 000 in live finale broadcast from Cape Town.

Emile and Razia Samson from Johannesburg were announced as the winners of Power Couple South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) in the live finale broadcast from The Bay Hotel in Camps Bay, Cape Town, on Thursday evening.

It bring to a close the new reality show produced by Afrokaans and that started in August on M-Net, based on an Israeli format.

South Africa and M-Net became the first to do an English language version of the show that put 8 couples from across the country through various relationship tests while living in a Camps Bay villa as the cameras rolled.

Emile and Razia won R508 000 with Dyllan Smith and Viki van den Barselaar-Smith winning R100 000.

Power Couple SA wasn't the big ratings grabber that Idols and MasterChef South Africa were that consistently cracked the top 10 list of most watched shows on M-Net, but it was an opportunity for the Randburg-based pay-TV broadcaster to test the waters with a novel reality format and spruce up its schedule during the second half of 2015.

M-Net's kykNET content goes global on-demand on ShowMax; as Naspers' video-on-demand service expands to Europe, Australasia and North America.

The pay-TV broadcaster M-Net's Afrikaans channels unit kykNET is working with Naspers' video-on-demand service, ShowMax, to now make Afrikaans content available in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America and Canada.

ShowMax declined to comment when it was specifically asked about expansion plans outside of South Africa's borders at the end of November, but is now releasing a statement exactly two weeks later.

Viewers in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, North America and Canada where a lot of Afrikaans speaking expats now live, can now watch kykNET programming on ShowMax with around 13 000 episodes of TV shows and movies - almost 6 000 hours - of Afrikaans TV content available to them.

ShowMax outside of South Africa, and offering only Afrikaans content for now, cost $8.99 (R134.85) per month. It's the first time that ShowMax is expanding its footprint outside of South Africa since the subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) service from Naspers launched in August.

In the content agreement between ShowMax and M-Net, the latest episodes of kykNET shows like the weekly magazine shows like Kwêla, Robinson Regstreeks, and the weekday soaps Binnelanders and Villa Rosa will be added and available for viewing within 24 hours after it's broadcast on kykNET (DStv 144 on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in Africa.

"There are vast numbers of Afrikaans speakers who live outside Africa and still want to keep in touch with their culture and language," says Jeanne van Zyl, now the head of kykNET Internasionaal. "kykNET Internasionaal now makes this easy to do using the ShowMax platform".

"TV shows and movies are a great way to keep the Afrikaans link alive and help make sure that young and old alike don't lose contact with their roots. As an example,it's a great way to immerse children in a world that they may not have experienced directly, or are too young to remember."

"Because we're adding content within 24 hours of it airing in South Africa, it also means that being away from home doesn't mean being out of date," says Jeanne van Zyl.

"No matter where South African expatriates end up on the globe, they remain fiercely loyal to, and supportive of, their heritage," says Karen Meiring, the director for M-Net's Afrikaans channels.

"We're thrilled to be able to work with ShowMax to help keep that link alive and deliver the best Afrikaans content, fresh from home, to fans across the globe".

MTV Base going 'glocal' in 2016: The Viacom Africa channel plans a new local Daily News show; local versions of Lip Sync Battle and Ridiculousness.

MTV Base (DStv 322) is planning on going "glocal" in 2016 - the channel will launch a brand new daily news show, localise the clip show Ridiculousness, and do a local version of Lip Sync Battle.

MTV Base channel director Tim Horwood who is also the creative director for Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) made the announcements last week at VIMN Africa's Media Day held on Wednesday.

The VIMN Africa Media Day was held in Johannesburg for press and TV critics, with OgilvyPR who invited journalists to it less than 24 hours before it took place.

MTV Base's new daily news show with a working title of MTV Base Daily News, will discuss actuality and popular culture news stories from mostly South Africa and Nigeria has no definite starting date in 2016 yet.

The show will be panel-based like The Real on SABC3, and will integrate live social media input in the show to give it a sense of immediacy and daily relevance.

According to MTV Base 2016 will also see a second season of the local prank show #YouGotGot from April which is also going international.

VIMN Africa will attempt to do a local version of the clip show Ridiculousness, there will be a new round of the MTV Base VJ Search and programming Behind the Story and Between the Video.

Lip Sync Battle that's been showing on MTV, MTV Base and e.tv will see a localised version in 2016 on MTV Base in which well-known personalities compete by dancing and lip-singing to well-known hits.

Meanwhile BET (DStv 129) - now only available on MultiChoice's DStv and only as a single channel from December after it was killed off on StarTimes Media SA's StarSat and the two BET channels on DStv were reduced to one - will in 2016 broadcast a Hurricane Katrina special as well as a OJ Simpson documentary.

Afrikaans female lifestyle channel on DStv, VIA, looking for an Afrikaans speaking commissioning editor to oversee local productions.

VIA (DStv 147), Media24's new Afrikaans lifestyle channel aimed at women is looking for an Afrikaans speaking commissioning editor to oversee local productions.

Applications close on 21 December and a CV and motivational letter can be emailed to our CV and a short motivational letter to magazineshr@media24.com

The commissioning editor position is based in Auckland Park and the person will report to VIA channel head, Cheryl Uys-Allie.

The VIA commissioning editor will be responsible for commissioning of content briefs, managing of production budgets and contracting production companies as well as reviewing the scripts and viewing of content.

The person needs a minimum of 5 years production experience, a degree or national diploma in TV, media, scriptwriting, drama or music, knowledge about TV broadcasting and be fluent in Afrikaans and English.

Generations actress Manaka Ranaka drives over and kills a schoolgirl; Prehalin Naidoo who killed Simba Mhere claims his car had a mechanical fault.

The Generations actress Manaka Ranaka has knocked down and killed a schoolgirl in a car crash, while the speeding driver who killed the Top Billing presenter Simba Mhere on SABC3 claims his car was "faulty".

This part Friday the SABC1 Generations  -The Legacy actress Manaka Ranaka ran over and killed a schoolgirl on the R554 road to Leondale near the highway in Roodekop, according to the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services.

The 18-year old grade 12 girl, Millicent Mbonani from the Leondale High School died on the scene when Manaka Ranaka in her BMW crashed into her and killed her.

Manaka Ranaka will likely face a culpable homicide charge.

Meanwhile the speeding Preshalin Naidoo who killed Simba Mhere and Kady-Shay O-Bryan in January on the William Nicol Drive offramp from the N1 highway in Johannesburg in his Polo GTI, is claiming in court the accident happened because the vehicle was faulty.

Preshalin Naidoo in the Randburg Magistrate's Court claims he lot control of his speeding vehicle due to "a suspension problem" on the front right side of his car.

"To say mechanical failure is the cause at this late stage is disappointing news for the family without seeing any support documents," says Ryan Harrison, on behalf of Simba Mhere's family.

"There has never been allegations of mechanical failure of the vehicle."

Prehalin Naidoo is facing two counts of culpable homicide.

What you don't know about the messy and called-off media day of A+E Networks UK in South Africa for Idris Alba and the History channel on DStv.

I know the rest of the press brigade have remained silent but I need to weigh in on A+E Networks UK and their Africa's office hysterical History hufflepuff with Idris Elba that set back relationships with the media and broke trust - something that I have no idea how long it will take to repair or build up again.

It's the second time (and the second time in a row) that a documentary made in South Africa and also specifically about Nelson Mandela for, and on, A+E Networks UK's History channel on MultiChoice's DStv ends up being more in the news for the scandal and drama around it, than for the actual programme and its contents.

It's no accident.

By now the media intelligentsia and every South African TV critic will know how Idris Elba was on his way to South Africa for work and a "secret" A+E Networks UK press junket for its South Africa office at the end of November to promote a documentary shown on History (DStv 186).

I say "secret" since A+E Networks UK's South African office and its PR company deliberately chose not to tell all the press who they do lip-service to as having a so-called real media relationship with, about it.

It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but of course Idris Elba who didn't want to continue to do his/the work he agreed to as a professional artist, abruptly left Heathrow airport at the very last minute and went back home when he discovered his daughter wouldn't be allowed into the country without an unabridged birth certificate.

The turnaround, visit cancellation and scuppered press jaunt of course flung A+E Networks UK, A+E Networks' office in South Africa and Idris Elba into the national and international headlines - but for all the wrong reasons.

Dear Idris suddenly became the latest poster child of the South Africa's cause célèbre around the controversial visa regulations damaging tourism, travel, the economy and making overseas visitors no longer wanting to fly to South Africa.

It's presumably not the type of hard news, banner headline type stories A+E Networks UK, A+E Networks in Africa, the History channel or MultiChoice wanted to see their names and brands mentioned in who work hard to bring TV viewers entertainment.

What most people won't know is how A+E Networks UK, A+E Networks' South Africa office headed up by Anthea Petersen as regional director, and its PR agency JAG Communications actually damaged its standing, relationships and what trust there was with the South African media and TV critics because of this incident.

A+E Networks in Africa and JAG Communications didn't bother to tell all the journalists and TV critics they work with and supposedly have a relationship with, about the impending Idris Elba visit to Johannesburg and media day to screen the Mandela documentary and do interviews.

The irony in A+E Networks UK and JAG Communications' lack of proper and expected communication and media relations was however twofold.

Firstly a lot of media knew about it beforehand anyway even though they were not even shown the common courtesy of just being told (and they were miffed, felt dissed and decided to deliberately not give exposure to the programme and focus on other programming).

Secondly, while A+E Networks and JAG worked on "secretly" bringing press in to Johannesburg, almost all of South Africa's journalists and TV critics from Cape Town and Durban, but hilariously kept in the dark, were already in Johannesburg anyway for M-Net and Mzansi Magic's Idols finale on Sunday 22 November.

Since A+E Networks in South Africa and its PR company couldn't bother to reach out and talk and have conversations with the media beforehand (it's called having and building public relations), they were apparently clueless that press would and were already present, and that they knew about the impending Idris Alba presser. 

I can't repeat most of what the contingent of media from across South Africa - all together and waiting for the live finale of Idols - had to say for hours on Sunday afternoon when the news broke that the (selfish?) Idris Elba turned around at Heathrow and decided to no longer come and work in South Africa to promote a documentary film for History.

What I will say is that the sentiment was extremely negative, and I suppose still is: towards Idris Elba ("Why if his holiday plans are no longer working out does he not continue to come to South Africa to do his work?") - as well as towards the History channel and by implication A+E Networks in Africa.

"Silly" and "Why don't they properly communicate?" and "They [meaning History/ A+E Networks] clearly showed who doesn't matter to them, so they and their show doesn't matter to me" were some of the things I heard from various journalists who were - and I'm sure remain - extremely unhappy with History and A+E Networks UK.

After the blow-up and after reporting the news of the media event's cancellation, I asked if Idris Elba is doing interviews for the History documentary. 

Even at this late stage, A+E Networks UK by proxy of their PR agency couldn't sense that what was needed was to reach out to all relevant media and to provide something usable to everyone.

The flat response back was: "He did do telephonic interviews with those media who were scheduled to meet him in Johannesburg".

Since silence is golden, I doubt if A+E Networks UK's South African office and JAG Communications have the faintest idea of just how many journalists and TV critics were and are pissed off by what is perceived as a diss. 

What's interesting is how everyone from the press corps who were together on Sunday 22 November and who talked about the Idris Elba media day and the spoke in the plan, shared the same negative remarks and sentiment towards History.

What I also now by now is that people - especially journalists - don't forget these things. 

Inadequate reputation management has seared a certain (very negative) perception and feeling and attitude towards History, Idris Elba and A+E Networks in South Africa into the minds of several journalists covering television - something that will be difficult to change or lessen over time.

I always think a TV channel or a show or broadcaster and the intermediaries like their marketers, publicists or PR agencies want to build and maintain and grow real relationship and above cultivate a bigger degree of mutual trust and respect. 

Obviously in this case not - where the exact opposite happened.

Gladly choose the "select" press you want to work with, the ones you want and will bother to communicate with, and then those you won't tell anything, or keep informed, or be as open and honest with. Continue to run your "tiered" system of press management and see if and how well that works.

Just then don't ever complain about media or TV critics not liking you, or sit and wonder why there are not more and deeper media relationships, a lack of trust from journalists, a lingering negative media perception about your brand(s) and general journo disinterest.

The answer is that bad public relations actually caused it.

Charges in disciplinary hearing against SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng suddenly reduced to just 3; Hlaudi pleads not guilty as media is shut out of hearing.

The SABC's disciplinary hearing against its chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng has turned into yet another public broadcaster farce with the charges leveled against its highly controversial and famously matricless boss suddenly deleted from the charge sheet from 6 to just 3, to which Hlaudi Motsoeneng pleaded not guilty - while the media got shut out of the proceedings.

The SABC's contentious and bizarre disciplinary hearing of Hlaudi Motsoeneng that suddenly resumed this week after it was "terminated" and "cancelled" last week is losing credibility, transparency and integrity.

It comes as the disciplinary process now suddenly has to be completed by this coming Saturday according to a High Court order (which said it must be done within 60 days), which is not really leaving enough time for due process to be followed.

Already the disciplinary hearing chairperson changed twice: First advocate William Mokhari who abruptly disbanded the disciplinary hearing last week on Thursday saying it would serve no purpose other than being an "academic" exercise - only for the hearing to be re-established and starting again this week with a new chairperson, Willem Johannes (EJ) Edeling.

Already the disciplinary hearing changed prosecutors three times: First labour lawyer Sandile July who was fired after alleged irregularities with the appointment, then Mponyana Ledwaba who abruptly left last week, and now Tumisho Phalane as the 3rd prosecutor to work on the disciplinary hearing.

Tumisho Phalane told the hearing and chairperson on Monday that he doesn't have enough to prepare. Chairperson EJ Edeling said the case must proceed because the process needs to conclude by Saturday at the latest.

On Tuesday the chairperson barred the media from attending the proceedings.

The SABC is also suddenly just going ahead with 3 of the original list of charges against Hlaudi Motsoeneng with no indication of why not more charges are being made from the litany of alleged transgressions contained in the Public Protector's scathing report about Hlaudi Motsoeneng that was made public in February 2014.

The SABC's disciplinary hearing against Hlaudi Motsoeneng has now been dramatically reduced, instead of being expanded, to just allegations of gross dishonesty, gross misconduct and abuse of power.

Among the charges dropped and suddenly gone and deleted from the latest charge sheet include the extensive report from the Public Protector of how Hlaudi Motsoeneng was directly involved in allegedly increasing his ballooning salary several times per year.

Ar R3,784 million per year, Hlaudi Motsoeneng now earns more than president Jacob Zuma.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng pleaded not guilty to all three of the remaining charges in his disciplinary hearing.

On Tuesday Jabulani Mabaso, head of human resources was the first to testify against Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Lorraine Francois, an executive auditor was the second to testify against Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng's disciplinary hearing was supposed to start on 30 October but was abruptly postponed to 1 December.

It was then again postponed to 2 December. It ran for only 2 and 3 December after being "cancelled".

It was then reconvened for an unknown reason and set to start on 7 December. On 7 December is was again postponed to 8 December which became the first real day of the disciplinary hearing.

It now raises serious concerns as to whether a judicious and proper disciplinary hearing can take place given the little time left before Saturday when the period of 60 days - as ordered by the High Court - is reached.

While the SABC had a whole two months to start and conclude proceedings in a disciplinary hearing against Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the public broadcaster pushed it to the very brink, making it likely very difficult to thoroughly have witnesses and others give testimony, for more additional and the original other 3 charges to be brought, and for due process and due diligence to be followed.

All of these things are casting a shadow of Hlaudi Motsoeneng's disciplinary hearing which is continuing today with 2 further witnesses expected to be called.