SABC drops CNN
2003-04-01 17:41
Johannesburg - The SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has decided not to renew international news service CNN's contract.
Head of SABC television news Jimi Matthews said on Tuesday that SABC 3 was looking at providing more entertainment programming.
"We aired CNN from 23:00 until 06:00 every day, which is fine for news junkies but not so nice if you can't sleep at night and are looking for some light entertainment," Matthews said.
However, news junkies should be rest assured that the SABC had access to other international broadcasters.
"We have access to Reuters, to the BBC, to al-Jazeera, so we can continue to provide the public with the broadest range of opinion available," he said.
CNN said that it regretted the SABC's decision not to renew the contract, especially during a world crisis.
CNN's feature programming, which includes the popular Larry King Live would also no longer be available on SABC.
The network's 24-hour service would continue to be distributed in South Africa and the rest of Africa on DSTV.
- SAPA