It’s on channel 404 on DStv.
It was officially launched at the SABC headquarters in Auckland Park, Joburg.
President Jacob Zuma, newly appointed Minister of Communications Yunus Carrim, Lesotho’s Prime Minister Tom Thabane and Orlando Pirates chairperson Irvin Khoza attended the event.
At 6pm, the news channel aired for the first time, with Zuma being interviewed live.
“The launch of this channel should take forward our enjoyment of this hard-won constitutional right by diversifying the news currently on offer, and provide an indigenous perspective.”
Zuma said the channel was being established at the right time “as we move towards 20 years of freedom”.
“We trust that this channel will seize the opportunity to cover South Africa beyond stories of crime and corruption, and open another window to this beautiful country that has achieved a lot in a (short) space of time.”
SABC group acting chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng said the SABC was financially stable.
“People who want to destroy the SABC are saying the SABC is useless, but we have done our research, and people out there are saying we are doing well,” said Motsoeneng.
The broadcaster still had various aspects to address with MultiChoice, owners of DStv.
“They don’t dictate to us. We dictate to them… If we are not happy, we divorce them.”
