Cape Town – The SABC and SABC News (DStv 404) on Monday evening quietly cut back Prime Time News, the public broadcaster's flagship daily news bulletin to just one hour; moving Business Review earlier and adding a new news bulletin, News at 8.
The change not communicated by the SABC now means that Prime Time News on the SABC’s 24-hour TV news channel on MultiChoice’s satellite pay-TV platform is half an hour shorter daily.
It also means that Prime Time News with news anchors Peter Ndoro and Vabakshnee Chetty on SABC News simulcast on SABC3 now starts at the same time.
Previously Prime Time News on SABC News started at 18:00 until 19:30, with SABC3 taking the simulcast feed from 18:30 until 19:30 after the show was on for half an hour already.
Business Review with the Francis Herd also moved on Monday from 20:00 to 18:00 – two hours earlier. This means that Business Review now serves as the new lead-in to Prime Time News.
The SABC and SABC News made that change as well also without informing the press or communicating and promoting the shift, leaving viewers wondering as to what happened.
Also not communicated by the SABC or SABC News' publicity departments is the addition of News at 8 since Monday night, a new half hour long live news bulletin.
The Afrikaans news bulletin on SABC News at 19:30 remains unchanged in the same timeslot.