eTV Cancels Sotho Bulletin, eNews Late Edition and eKasi+ Zulu Bulletin

When eTV announced a shakeup of their primetime lineup earlier this year, they announced many new local scripted shows. One thing they did not mention that the addition of the dramas and the telenovela would come at the expense of a large portion of the channel's prime time news output.

First on the chopping block: The Sotho news bulletin that was moved to 5:30pm late last year when Katch it with Khanyi and Ekse Let's Talk With Masechaba Lekalake were moved from struggling channel eKasi+ to the main eTV channel.

Next, the exclusive live Zulu news bulletin that aired on eKasi+ daily at 8pm has been cut as well, with that channel now simply simulcasting eTV's 6:30pm bulletin.

With these bulletins cut, it is not known what will happen to the anchors of those shows: Mabutho Ngcobo, Segametsi Moiloa and Vusizwe Langa. Mabutho and Vusizwe are both Zulu anchors, but when eNews announced the anchors of the new Zulu bulletin, these guys were not even mentioned, instead being replaced by Khanyisani Nhlangulela and Zama Zungu.  

The eNews Late Edition bulletin? Yip, canned. The bulletin that is, or was, broadcast from Cape Town has also been cancelled. I am not sure when the bulletin started broadcasting on eTV because it seems to have been on air for as long as I can remember, but I do know it was expanded from 15 minutes to 30 minutes in September of 2008 when the now also cancelled Sotho bulletin started. It most certainly is the end of an era in this regard.

Though eTV may have given up on Sotho in Prime Time, one language they have not given up on is sign language, which is now moved to the 6:30pm Zulu bulletin after the cancellation of eNews Late Edition, the bulletin it had been seen on before.

Other current affairs and actuality programming at the channel is also suffering due to the new schedule. Checkpoint with Nkepile Mabuse now moves to the late 10pm slot on Tuesdays.

With eNews Prime Time now at 8:30pm, that bulletin will now suffer regularly from something it has literally only suffered from a handful of times: sports pre-emptions. With UEFA Champions League matches starting at 8:45pm at certain parts of the year when the Northern Hemisphere observes Daylight Savings, eNews Prime Time will either be very short on a Tuesday or cut completely if they plan on having a buildup for the match.