SABC2 Dumps Deutsche Welle From Overnights, Opting For SABC News Channel Simulcast Instead

In December 2014, SABC 2 added Deutsche Welle, the German public broadcaster's news service, to its overnight schedule to replace the stale reruns of old SABC News shows that occupied SABC2's graveyard hours before then.

Now, a year later, Deutsche Welle is gone from the SABC2 schedule with SABC2 now opting to simulcast the feed of the SABC News Channel overnight instead.

This means that South African's who do not have DStv now get to see the full flagship bulletin of the public broadcaster's main news bulletin, Prime Time News, in full from midnight (i.e. six hours old news) with Your World following thereafter.

I am surprised this move did not come sooner, actually. Remember when the SABC controversially decided to not renew Siki Mgabadeli's Big Debate programme (which has since moved to eTV)? The reason for the cancellation was that the SABC did not show any news programming that was not under their editorial control. Yet with Deutsche Welle they turned over a five and a half hour block of programming to a germain news broadcaster.

Overall, this is a step in the right direction in providing ordinary South Africans without pay tv access to more in depth news programming originating domestically.