Do not adjust your set: this is real

JUST a flick of a switch puts into perspective some of the challenges facing Bay TV when it comes to quality and programming.

Tuning in to Bay TV, available on both regular television if the correct frequency can be found, and satellite television, could leave many viewers confused and disappointed.

When switching to channel 260 on DStv, the information shown at the bottom of the screen about what is being broadcast does not always correlate with what is actually being screened.

Downloading the channel's TV guide online is not much help either, because it has not been updated since 2012.

Besides programming being a problem, advertising is also outdated.

Adverts for the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, which took place during the first two weeks of July, are still being aired almost four months later.

Over the past few months, the same programmes have been repeated again and again. Programmes are also cut short before they are finished. With a few minutes still to go, the screen just goes blank, with nothing taking its place, leaving the remainder of the time slot as dead air.

Other empty slots are filled with music videos, and the same selection is often played repeatedly.

The channel's website is also woefully out of date.

Besides a two-year-old TV guide, two board members listed on the site have left and two new station managers have been in charge after the person whose name is still listed. - Riaan Marais