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Channel Closure: WildEarth Will Stop Airing On DStv By The End Of April, Freeview And ROKU Might Follow Soon

WildEarth is an interactive wildlife channel which brings viewers closer to nature with live safaris within the hotspot of Africa. Founded i...

Showing posts with label Openview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Openview. Show all posts

Thursday, March 28, 2019

eExtra Switches Back To 24/7 Channel When eBella Stops Airing At The End Of March

eExtra the South African digital satellite
television channel supplied by eMedia Investments on their Openview platform as well as MultiChoice's DStv and On Digital Media (ODM) Starsat switches back to 24 hour channel from April.

The reason for the switch has to do with the shutdown of the unsuccessful female based channel eBella. Several if not most of eBella shows will be transmitted on eExtra in April as a "weekday guilty pleasure afternoon block" on the channel.

eExtra hasn't been schedule wise for sometime now which has built a major impact on the brand. You'll find some new content on this channel get the late night treatment similar to what Turner U.S. and International does with Cartoon Network and Boomerang where 2-3 shows get attention while others which are on an indefinite hiatus for some reason get the death treatment by being put weekday mornings or nights with no repeats most of the time and if there was they'd put it at a time less viewers would be tuned in so Turner's channels are way worse than eExtra. This treatment is unacceptable as it forces some viewers to distance themselves from the channel and the minute something good comes on you miss it and for those who want to see the show can't since the channel is not schedule wise.

eExtra is basically described as a premium entertainment channel in HD including sitcoms, drama series, reality, telenovelas, court shows, lifestyle and movies after the shutdown of eBella you can say weekdays eExtra became a telenovela channel with a dash of court shows, drama series and news as indicated:

Weekdays
06:00  The Girl Named Feriha
06:40  Qubool Hai
07:30  Madhubala: Ek Ishq Ek Junoon
07:50  Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi
08:15  Piyaa Albela
09:00  Reina De Corazones
09:45  Caribbean Flower
10:30  Judge Judy
10:55  Divorce Court
11:15  The Girl Named Feriha
12:05  Bittersoet
12:50  Rhythm City
13:15  Scandal
13:40  Ashes To Ashes
14:05  Broken Vows
14:30  Madhubala: Ek Ishq Ek Junoon
14:55  Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi
15:20  Piyaa Albela
16:10  Caribbean Flower
17:00  Hot Bench
17:25  Divorce Court
17:50  Paternity Court
18:10  Chicago P.D
19:00  Bittersoet
20:00  Nuusdag Om 8
20:30  Die Wiel Draai
21:30  The Americans
22:15  Imbewu: The Seed
22:40  Tierra De Reyes
23:30  Chicago P.D
00:15  Reina De Corazones
01:00  Caribbean Flower
01:45  La Impostora
02:40  Marido en Alquiler
03:30  Matter Of Respect
04:05  Piyaa Albela
05:00  Parenthood
05:40  Paternity Court

Results from the weekday schedule
71,05% Soapies (50% from eBella, 21,05%=13.16% from eExtra+7,89% from e.tv)
15,79% Court shows
10,53% International drama series
2,63% News

Then you have your weekend lineup the channel has more variety but no movies. When eExtra first launched the weekends always had variety so its no different even after they switch it back to 24 hours. Two things you should pay attention to the telenovelas dominate the weekend to a lesser degree Saturday is filled with Indian telenovelas and 1 turkish telenovela but you'll hardly notice any difference as usual as there's reality shows, news and sitcoms while Sunday is consists mostly of programs catered for Afrikaans speakers plus news, telenovelas and local series like Traffic! and Umlilo as indicated:

Saturday
00:15  Reina De Corazones
01:00  Caribbean Flower
01:45  La Impostora
02:40  Marido en Alquiler
03:15  Matter Of Respect
04:05  Naagin
05:00  Paternity Court
05:20  Divorce Court
05:40  Judge Judy
06:00  Piyaa Albela (Marathon)
09:00  Naagin
09:55  Nirmala's Kitchen
10:20  Madhubala: Ek Ishq Ek Junoon (Marathon)
12:25  Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi (Marathon)
14:30  American Grit
15:20  The Almost Impossible Game Show
16:00  #Hastags
17:00  Raising Hope
17:30  Instant Mom
18:00  Are We There Yet?
18:30  America's Funniest Home Videos
19:00  Groen
19:30  Vaalharts
20:00  Nuusdag Om 8
20:30  Die Wiel Draai (Marathon)
22:45  The Girl Named Feriha (Marathon)

Sunday
00:15  The Girl Named Feriha (Marathon continues from Saturday)
02:30  Hot Bench (Marathon)
04:10  Girlfriends Guide To Divorce
05:00  Divorce Court
05:20  LOL
05:40  Nirmala's Kitchen
06:00  Grassroots
06:30  Life By Design
07:00  Caribbean Flower (Marathon)
10:45  #Hashtags
11:30  Sonder Jou Soetkys
11:55  The Wild (Marathon)
14:00  LOL
14:20  Nisboere
14:50  Bittersoet (Marathon)
18:35  The Great Penguin Rescue
19:00  Vallei Van Sluiers
20:00  Nuusdag Om 8
20:30  Nuusdag Perspektief
21:00  Umlilo
21:50  Traffic
22:15  Black Money Love (Premiere)
23:05  Tierra De Reyes (Marathon)

Friday, March 15, 2019

Important Notice: eBella Stops Airing On DStv And Openview

eBella (DStv 159/Openview 109) channel was unsuccessful and will be shutting down at the end of March a year after it started. eBella's dubbed telenovelas and other content will be moved to eExtra from April after eBella closes.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Groen Premieres Saturday 16 March At 19:00 For Kuiertyd Op eExtra

Dave Pepler is a well-known South African environmentalist. After growing up in Robertson in the Western Cape, he attended the Saasveld Forestry College for a National Diploma in Forestry, and also received an MPil in Zoology from Cambridge (UK).
Dave Pepler is best known as the face of Groen, one of the icons of KykNET. He has been presenting this environmental programme for almost 10 years and it has become one of the most watched programmes on TV in South Africa. However Groen represents only a small part of Dave's interests, activities and contributions.

Available on Openview 150, DStv 311 and Starsat

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Khalik Sheriff In Aspirational And First Public Speech As New eMedia CEO Says e.tv's Free-To-Air Satellite TV Service Openview Is Transitioning 'From The Outbuilding To The Main House'.

In his first public speech as new CEO of eMedia Investments, Khalik Sherrif says e.tv's rebranded and fast-growing free-to-air digital satellite TV service, Openview, is moving to the "main house", shedding its image as a TV service just for domestic workers and granny.

In a fiery and aspirational public speech at the exclusive black tie launch event of Openview's new TV commercial, Khalik Sherrif who took over as new eMedia CEO since the beginning of this month, weighed in on Openview's growth, future prospects and ambitions, and the platform's role in South Africa switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) - a process known as digital migration.

The experienced veteran TV executive who has been with eMedia for over 15 years, started with an anecdote of how e.tv that in October celebrated two decades of broadcasting in the country, helped to change and shape the South African television landscape.

"When e.tv started, nobody gave us a chance. Twenty years ago they said, 'What do those guys know about TV? Who are they? They are not going to last?' Twenty years later we are still here and we are growing because we dared to be different over all those years."

"When all of you grew up watching the TV news at 20:00 on the SABC, there came these little fellas and they said 'South Africa, stop. Don't watch your news at 20:00 anymore, watch your news at 19:00. And we moved the whole nation."

"When we put our eNews at 19:00 so many years ago, everybody else put the news at 19:00. Do you know why they did that? Because we said 'Watch the news on e.tv at 19:00 because by 20:00 it's history' and they came along to join us at 19:00."

About digital terrestrial TV migration - the switch from analogue to digital TV in South Africa, Khalik Sherrif said "8 million South African TV households have already been migrated - 6.5 million on DStv and 1.5 million on Openview."

"South Africa has 14 million TV households which means that another 5.5 million TV households still need to be migrated."

"We had a meeting with the department of communications, saying 'We will help you to get to the other 5.5 million'. The department of communications will give R400 per household that can't afford to buy a set-top-box (STB), and they will go out to the market, and they will buy a box."

"The department of communications has 500 000 more STB to sell and they're not manufacturing any more. They will buy a box and they will buy Openview. Why? Because for the first time in the South African landscape there is world-class television in high definition (HD), for free," said Khalik Sherrif.

"People in South Africa will buy a STB at any of the retailers for about R400 and will then have world-class television - 20 channels on Openview at the moment; all of the SABC - SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, and all of e.tv - and e.tv isn't just one channel any more."

"There is eMovies, there is eExtra, eReality, there's OpenNews, there's Star Life, there are plenty of them," said Khalik Sherrif , "with Openview growing at 30 000 to 35 000 box activations per month."

Openview: Transitioning from the outbuilding to the main house
"We started Openview on this premise: When the government was pushing digital television to us, the little fellas in Hyde Park realised the following - that we need to own some property in the TV space," said Khalik Sherrif.

"The SABC is the public broadcaster. MultiChoice has their property in Randburg which is the DStv decoder. What do we do? If MultiChoice is fed up of us one day and kicks us out, where do we take our channels? If we maybe don't like the [government-supplied] DTT [STB] performance because it's inferior and standard definition and not high definition, what do we do?"

"So we decided 5 years ago, let's launch our own little thing. We started it with OpenView HD, and now it's Openview.  Let me tell you, when we started it, we made some mistakes. We made some mistakes," said Khalik Sherrif.

"And the mistake we made is that we positioned it for the outbuilding. We didn't think about it really. People were buying it for the outside house. If it was not for the helpers, it was for granny. Today you are witnessing the transition of Openview from the outbuilding to the main house - that's where we belong," said Khalif Sherrif.

"Mark my words: Openview is going to be the biggest thing in South African television. Why do I so confidently say this? Because throughout the world, traditional pay-TV is declining. Free-to-air television viewing is increasing."

"If you visit the United Kingdom, you'll know that the most popular medium of receiving television is Freeview - not Sky, not BT. Freeview. Why is this so?"

"While a lot of people are lucky enough to be able to afford pay-TV, they're not watching it because they're watching Netflix. We're streaming this; we're getting Amazon Prime Video. So you're viewership of traditional pay-TV is declining and you're viewership of Netflix is increasing."

"And as that happens, people are coming to the realisation of 'What am I really paying them for? I'm not watching them anymore?' And when you seize to pay them, when you stop paying for television, you know what will happen? You won't throw away your TV set because your lounge suite has to face somewhere," said Khalik Sherrif.

"The TV set belongs in the lounge and when you stop paying for TV and your TV set is not receiving pay-TV anymore, your TV set will receive something else - it will receive Netflix, it will receive Amazon, it will receive Google. It will receive Apple. It will receive Facebook."

"But you will also need to know the local news, you will also need to catch up with the local TV soapies, you will also need to know the local gossip, so you will have Openview. Don't say to anybody I didn't tell you," Khalik Sherriff concluded.

Friday, November 16, 2018

It’s About To Get Real On Openview With eReality!

eReality, a television channel dedicated to showcasing premium reality television, starts exclusively on the Openview platform in November.

eReality will broadcast some of the world’s most popular reality programmes, featuring real-life stories, fascinating personalities and human emotion in its rawest form. Some of the channel’s compelling programmes include the popular Little Women: LA, Cheaters, Hoarding: Buried Alive, Pawn Stars, Botched! and Myth Busters.

Shows like Border Security: America’s Frontline and Untold Stories of the ER will hook viewers, taking them into the worlds of law enforcement and emergency medicine. Fans of extreme adventure reality will be enthralled by the likes of Python Hunters and Running Wild with Bear Grylls. eReality will offer a peek at the peculiar, with shows like Dating Naked and My Strange Addiction.

eReality will also cater to true crime fans with a number of premium international crime documentaries and series, including Aaron Hernandez Uncovered, The Case Of Caylee Anthony, The Disappearance of Natalie Holloway, Unspeakable Crime: The Killing Of Jessica Chambers, #killerpost and Buried In The Backyard.

eReality will start broadcasting from 17:00 on Monday, 19 November, exclusively on Openview channel 108.

Friday, September 14, 2018

Coming Soon In September 2018 On eBella

Precious Pearl (Joia Rara)
Monday 17 September at 18:35
In 1934, two supposed brothers survived an avalanche in the Himalayas: the millionaire Franz Hauser (Bruno Gagliasso), who is saved by Buddhist monks, and Manfred (Carmo Dalla Vecchia), rescued by a team of climbers. Manfred returns to Brazil with a terrible secret: he sabotaged Franz’s equipment in order to take his place in the family business. After an exhaustive search, Ernest Hauser gives his son up for dead and appoints his bastard son as the director of the Hauser Group.In the monastery, Franz becomes close friends with the spiritual leader Ananda (Nelson Xavier) and before his return home, the monk promises him that they will meet again in the future. The Franz family is thrilled with his return but Manfred, with his plans thwarted, begins scheming again to eliminate Franz once and for all.Through a twist of fate, Franz meets the worker Amélia (Bianca Bin). The two fall in love and, despite family opposition and Manfred's schemes, they stay together and have a daughter, Pearl (Mel Maia). Framed in a plot, Amélia is sentenced to jail and so, the child ends up in the custody of her paternal family.With the death of the monk Ananda, his disciples set out to look for the person who they believe is to be his reincarnation. All signs point to Pearl, and upon receiving the news, she is eager to begin her studies at the monastery. It is she who will solve the issues that have been preventing her parents' union.

Madhubala
Monday 17 September at 9:30pm
Madhubala - Ek Ishq Ek Junoon is A drama that tells the story of a girl who was born on a film set and while working as a beautician falls in love with a Bollywood Superstar RK “Rishab Kundra”.
How will their hate turn into love? Stay tuned and find out soon.

Black Money Love (Kara Para Ask)
Monday 21 September at 20:45
Kara Para Ask (Black Money Love) is a Turkish series,which tell the magical love story of 'ELMER,' (Elif and Omer) two soulmates who find each other in the oddest of circumstances.
Their grief fuels their actions and their hunt for the same thing brings them together. 'Elmer' will find each other and
themselves until they are inseparable.
Omer (Engin who played Kerim in Fatmagul) is a policeman whose fiance is murdered leaving behind a dark secrets of her past.The only way he can find who did it is to find 'The diamonds', which will inravel the secret of the murder.Elif (Tuba) is a wealthy Jewelry designer. But Her father dies mysteriously and leaves behind a debt of stolen diamonds, and a connection with a mafia. Until she returns the diamonds to the mafia, her world will keep turning upside down. She then is on the hunt to proof her father innocent.
So Omer and Elif both want to find their answers and finding these diamonds together will end their search. However,they find intense attraction for each other and love on this hunt for black money.
Unbeknownst to them someone else is also after 'The Diamonds'. Situations will change and ELMER will get more involved in the mystery until they both are each others only help.
Who reaches the diamonds first and how the love story unfolds drives the plot of the series.
The further Omer and Elif try to go away from each other the closer the secrets bind them together.

KuierTyd Set To Bolster eExtra's Prime-Time Schedule On Openview

From Monday, 1 October, eExtra will premiere KuierTyd, a two-hour block of Afrikaans language programming from 19:00 to 21:00. KuierTyd will give viewers a plethora of premium Afrikaans content, which will include drama, news, and current affairs.

KuierTyd will begin at 19:00 with Gebroke Harte, a Turkish telenovela dubbed into Afrikaans. Well-known South African actors including Carmen Maarman, Marcelle van Heerden, Desiré Gardner, and Abdu Adams lend their voices to this intriguing drama. Gebroke Harte is the first prime-time drama series to be dubbed into Afrikaans in 20 years.

The story follows two women, Gülseren and Dilara, whose lives become intertwined after their babies are accidentally switched at birth. Fifteen years later, Gülseren lives with her ‘adoptive’ daughter Hazal and sister-in-law Keriman in a modest apartment and Dilara lives with her ‘adoptive’ daughter Cansu and biological son Ozan in a luxurious villa in the seashore of Bosphorus. As Gülseren works hard to make ends meet, Dilara's relationship with her husband Cihan, a rich businessman, is on the brink of collapse. The drama comes to a head as the ladies’ lives cross paths again.

20:00 will usher in the news, with the Nuusdag Om 8 news bulletin, followed by current affairs show NuusDag Perspektief. Nuusdag Om 8 will deliver the day’s top stories and regional news from Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Northern Cape and surrounds. This will be followed by Nuusdag Perspektief, which will provide in-depth discussions around the latest topical issues.

Friday, August 17, 2018

Openview Customers Take Note Of The Following Changes Happening On Monday 20 August 2018

From Monday 20 August, The following channels will be available on their new channel numbers.
Kwesé Free Sports - Channel 115
Trace Sports Stars - Channel 116
BBC World News - Channel 121

New Channels (Confirmed):
Star Life Channel 110 From Monday 27 August
OpenNews (TBA)

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Our Media Division Continued To Plough On With Its Strategy Of Developing A Satellite Based Multichannel Digital Platform - Openview

While the consequence has been yet another year of poor proftability, we believe the benefts of long term sustainability for our broadcast business in a digital age will be well worth the patience and perseverance. We now have some 1,3m boxes in people’s homes, 9% of all television households. Our revenues, while still small, more than doubled last year and we believe this is likely to happen again this year as our share of advertising revenue grows to refect the market performance of our digital channels.
Likewise, we have improved the quality of the channels offered on the bouquet and no doubt will continue to be able to do so as the platform generates more revenue. We have introduced BBC, Kwezi Sport and intend to produce a new news channel, Open News, as well as introduce a two hour Afrikaans block on e-Extra in the immediate future.
TV channels often hit breakthrough moments where their presence suddenly becomes deeply engraved in the minds of viewers. For CNN it was the Gulf War. For e.tv it was the 2002 World Cup soccer tournament. Breakthrough moments like those, however, are the culmination of painstakingly hard work to build presence and momentum in the public mind. OpenView is unquestionably in that “hard at work” phase and we are hopeful such a breakthrough will come our way sooner rather than later.

The group ended the period with a loss for the year from continued operations of R1 599 million compared to a profit in the prior year of R112 million. Included in the loss for the current year is the impairment of goodwill of R1 501 million relating to the goodwill recognised upon the acquisition of eMedia Investments Proprietary Limited. Also included in the loss is the impairment of goodwill of subsidiary Coleske Artists of R31 million and an impairment of the investment in an associate company Da Vinci Media, of R64 million. EBITDA for the group ended on R178 million compared to R405 million in the prior year, a 56% decrease year-on-year. Headline earnings for the group amounted to a loss of R12.5 million compared to a profit of R98 million in the prior year.
The only asset of the group is a 67.69% interest in eMedia Investments, the company that owns e.tv, eNCA and Openview.
Tough trading conditions continued for the free-to-air broadcasting industry with advertising revenue remaining flat. Despite this, the group showed an increase of 5%
in advertising revenue from R1 505 million to R1 573 million. The results were also impacted by the new Multichoice agreement with eMedia Investments. In this regard, license fee revenue was cut substantially in the current year. In addition, the group continued to invest in the Openview platform which remains loss making.
e.tv’s share of broadcast audience remains under pressure, mostly due to the popularity of local dramas commissioned by the SABC. The group has implemented various schedule changes, including the launch of an additional local drama in April 2018. While the SABC commissions a substantial amount of local programming, at much higher cost than equivalent international content, etv’s ability to commission additional local dramas is limited by its schedule budget and profitability. etv’s schedule will remain under pressure while the SABC continues to operate under a subsidised regime, however management is confident that its current schedule should arrest any significant decline.
The reduction in the movie slots, and a detailed analysis of the movie inventory, necessitated a once-off write-down of the movie inventory of R68.8 million. This is included in programming costs and other cost of sales which has shown an 11% increase year-on-year. A new revenue and content acquisition system was implemented to ensure better content acquisition in future.
Openview (inclusive of the e.tv multi-channel business) earned advertising revenue of R60 million and incurred content costs of R173 million. Operating costs, including retail subsidies of R74 million amounted to R255 million. The net operating loss of Openview amounted to R366.6 million (2017: R394.5 million). Openview set- top box activations continue to grow at an average of 35 000 per month. At the end of the period, a total of 1 149 217 (2017: 778 493) boxes have been activated and a total of R74 million (2017: R99 million) has been spent on retail subsidies. The SES-5 satellite contract was terminated in December. The group will increase its content investment in the Openview platform during 2019 and recently announced that it will launch a news channel on Openview during the last quarter of 2018. In addition an Afrikaans block of programming, including news and current affairs, will also be launched in the first half of the new financial year. While these programmes and channels will be loss making in the beginning, they are part of the content that is required to promote set-top box uptake and viewership. Openview currently attracts about 3,5% of the television audience in South Africa and breakeven is estimated to be in the region of 6%.
eNCA continues to be the most watched 24-hour news channel in the country with over 50% of the market share. As mentioned, the amount received from Multichoice has reduced from this year, however costs are being well controlled in this entity.
Certain of the group’s other subsidiaries have performed satisfactorily for the year. These include Sasani Africa and Strika Entertainment, while other assets have underperformed but shown improvement towards the latter part of the financial year. Management continues to review non-core and peripheral business and will exit these businesses when opportunities present themselves.

The television market is facing numerous technology and viewership challenges which will require the group to continually assess its strategic alternatives. eMedia’s investment in Openview provides the group with strategic flexibility and is part of its plan to address the challenges of the impending digital migration transition. Management continues to engage government on their DTT and DTH plans and it is pleased that the new minister of communications has adopted an open mind and pragmatic approach to the conversion to digital broadcasting. Management is optimistic that the department, under her leadership, will manage this transition effectively and choose plans that will enable the transition to happen as expeditiously as possible while limiting the cost thereof to the fiscus and industry participants.
eMedia Holdings is separately listed on the JSE Securities Exchange, and more information can be found on the group at www.emediaholdings.co.za

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

DStv Brings Its Customers More Fresh Entertainment With The Launch Of eBella

The eFamily of channels on DStv is expanding, with an additional channel launching on 5 March 2018. eBella will launch on DStv channel 159, and offer DStv customers a mix of local and international content inspired by woman from across the world.

eBella is a female-centered channel reflecting the lives and stories of women around the world. Marlon Davids, MD of e.tv, says the new channel will bolster the¬¬offering the eFamily of channels has on DStv. “e.tv celebrates women through campaigns and programming and now we can extend this messaging into an entirely new channel,” he says. “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,” said Davids.

eBella will feature much-loved telenovelas from around the world, including So Much Love aka Tanto Amor, Qubool Hai, and Fatmagul. There will also be a lifestyle and reality shows galore on the channel, with Secret Guide To Fabulous, Princess, The Dog Whisperer and Beverley’s Full House already available as the channel launches.

“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,” commented Yolisa Phahle, CEO for General Entertainment, MultiChoice.

eBella will be available to DStv Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, Family and Access customers in South Africa.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

The eFamily Of Channels Is Now One Colour - Red

e.tv, eExtra, eMovies, eMovies Extra and eToonz are all now positioned in the world of the familiar red e, with each channel offering something different and unique for you, our audience. These channels are found on OpenView HD and DStv, with e.tv still being free to millions of households in South Africa.

Five Channels. One Colour. Unlimited Entertainment. This strong message is what the e family of channels stands for and we want our viewers to be part of, in creating the biggest entertainment destination in South Africa.

#OurWorldIsRed – Be a part of it.