e.tv is the fifth terrestrial television channel

Television channel

A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...

 in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, following three channels operated by the state-owned South African Broadcasting Corporation

South African Broadcasting Corporation

The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...

 (SABC 1

SABC 1

South African Broadcasting Corporation public service television channel that carries programming in English and Nguni languages.It was created in 1996, after the SABC restructured its television channels...

, SABC 2

SABC 2

SABC 2 is a South African television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation . SABC 2 broadcasts programming in English, Afrikaans, Venda, and Tsonga.It was created in 1996, after the SABC restructured its television channels...

 and SABC 3

SABC 3

SABC3 is a commercial South African Broadcasting Corporation television channel that carries programming in English and, as of April 2009, Afrikaans....

) and the privately owned subscription-funded M-Net

M-Net

M-Net is a subscription-funded television channel in South Africa, established in 1986 by Naspers....

, operated by Multichoice

MultiChoice

MultiChoice is a South African company which operates the DStv satellite television service, the main satellite TV service in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was formed out of the subscriber-management branch of the M-Net terrestrial pay TV company, and broadcasts the full range of M-Net channels on the...

. It is the first privately owned but free-to-air television station in the country.

Their reports are sometimes critical of the SABC for its alleged "close ties" to the ruling African National Congress

African National Congress

The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...

, and have launched print and outdoor campaigns that imply an inherent bias in the SABC's news coverage.