eExtra
eExtra is a South African digital satellite television channel which replaced the defunct eKasi+ channel on OVHD offering a variety of premium entertainment in HD including sitcoms, drama series, reality, telenovelas, court shows, lifestyle and movies.
| eExtra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | 16 October 2013 (as eKasi+) April 2017 (as eExtra) |
| Network | e.tv |
| Owned by | eMedia Investments |
| Picture format | 16:9 (576i SDTV), 16:9 (1080i HDTV) |
| Country |  |
| Language | English Afrikaans Nguni and Sotho |
| Formerly called | eKasi+ |
| Sister channel(s) | eToonz eMovies News and Sports eMovies Extra e.tv Rewind eNCA eReality |
Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| StarSat | Channel 489 |
| OVHD | Channel 105 |
| DSTV | Channel 195 |
History
The channel launched on the 1st of October 2013, as eKasi+, along with sister channels eMovies+, eToonz+ and eAfrica+,[1] which all launched on e.tv 's 16th anniversary along with the OVHD platform.[2] eKasi+ was considered to be OVHD's flagship channel airing a mix of old series seen on e and newly made local content. To popularise the new channel, several shows made for eKasi+ was aired on e. It also aired popular e.tv soapies Rhythm City and Scandal two hours before the etv scheduled time.
eExtra was announced on Friday 3 March 2017 as a replacement of eKasi+ in direct response to the feedback from viewers who wanted more series, according to e.tv's GM: Group Content Services, Ziyanda Mngomezulu.
The channel went live on Saturday 1 April 2017, at 05h00, broadcasting 24 hours. It was added to DStv on 17 May 2017, along with three other e.tv channels: eMovies (Channel 138), eMovies Extra (Channel 140) and eToonz (Channel 311).
Programming
eExtra broadcasts sitcoms, drama series, reality, telenovelas, court shows, lifestyle and movies.
Movies and Series
The channel offers more series and movies than its predecessor, with predominantly international shows. At launch, some of the titles broadcast were House, Mayday, Burn Notice, MacGyver and Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, as well as lifestyle, travel and showbiz which are available on eReality.
KuierTyd
On 1 October 2018, eExtra rolled out Afrikaans content from 19:00 to 21:00. This comes before the launch of the new news channel, OpenNews on 1 November 2018.[3] This consists of Turkish dramas Paramparça (Gebroke Harte), Kara Sevda (Bittersoet) and Die Wiel Draai, travel and lifestyle shows in the weekend, and Nuusdag om 8, a daily news bulletin headed by sports journalist and editor Echbert Boezak , news anchors Rozanne McKenzie, Sue Pyler, Suzaan Steyn and Charlene Lacky. The shows also lets viewers interact by sending photos. The show is accompanied with a companion show Nuusdag Perspektief. This slot is meant to compete with rival KykNET, which broadcast eNuus, a sister news service made by e.tv.
Dramas and Telenovelas
In addition to the Turkish telenovelas, the channel features a lot of telenovelas from Telemundo, Zee TV, StarPlus and Azteca, dubbed in English. Notable telenovelas include: Piyaa Albela, Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon, Tanto Amor, Santa Diabla and Fatmagül among others. It offers repeats of the e.tv soapies Rhythm City, Scandal! and Imbewu: The Seed with reruns of locally produced telenovelas Ashes to Ashes, Broken Vows and Gold Diggers, and reruns of local dramas such as Umlilo, Matatiele and Z'bondiwe. As of 1 April 2019, it absorbed all telenovelas on eBella.
References
- "TV with Thinus: e.tv planning eKasi+, eToonz+, eMovies+ and eAfrica+ as the first of its set of new digital TV channel collection available on OpenView HD". TV with Thinus. 2013-09-16. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
- "OpenView HD goes live". ITWeb. 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
- Ferreira, Thinus (2018-10-01). "e.tv adds 2 hour Afrikaans content block on eExtra". Channel. Retrieved 2019-02-14.