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eTV has announced that WWE will no longer be airing on the e family of channels from 1 September 2017.
In a media statement the channel announced that it will not be renewing its long-standing contract with WWE.
Marlon Davids, managing director of e.tv Channels says that the decision not to renew the WWE contract was not taken lightly. “e.tv has been the home of WWE in South Africa since 2001, but international rights contracts like this are complex,” he says.
“After reviewing our renewal options, we decided to focus instead on the direction our entertainment lineup has been taking over the last 12 months.”
“We’re thrilled with the way our viewership numbers have grown, thanks to the local and international drama, comedy and reality shows which have found a home on the e family of channels.”
“As sad as we are to see WWE leave its home in South Africa, we’re confident that our audience will keep embracing the channels’ new direction and continue to be entertained by the fresh and engaging content which e.tv and the e family of channels currently hosts – and has plans to expand in the future,” says Davids.
Wrestling will be taken over by SuperSport.
From Monday, 28 August SuperSport will show Raw and SmackDown, as well as the WWE specials, WrestleMania and SummerSlam.
Raw will be broadcast on the SuperSport 3, SuperSport 4, SuperSport 9 and SuperSport 10 channels on Tuesdays, with SmackDown on Wednesdays on the same channels. Both will be shown live with same-day re-airs. — Online
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu