SABC 2 moves Afrikaans news broadcast to new timeslot

The South African Broadcasting Corporation has confirmed that its Afrikaans news broadcast has been moved to a 6.30pm timeslot on SABC 2 seven nights a week.

SABC Head of Communications, Mmoni Ngubane, said this move forms part of SABC 2's newly launched schedule.

"This forms part of a broader strengthening of Afrikaans content on the channel which includes Paradys, an exciting new telenovela," she said.

Ngubane added that Afrikaans remains an important language within the SABC’s portfolio, and the broadcaster continues to engage stakeholders constructively while serving the interests of the South African public as a whole.

AfriForum has welcomed the announcement; however, the lobby group is calling for accountability over the initial shuffling of the news bulletin and the termination of programmes.

The group's Head of Cultural Affairs, Alana Bailey, said the lobby group warned the broadcaster that the decision to randomly reschedule or cancel the Afrikaans news bulletin would have a negative impact, as audiences will seek out other places for Afrikaans news and programming, taking advertisers with them.

"The Afrikaans-speaking public is fairly wealthy and loyal, but not without limits," she said.

She added that the decision to return the news to its slot on SABC2 and even to broadcast a new Afrikaans telenovela proved that its warnings were well-founded.

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