No channel number on DStv is confirmed yet although 404 was originally earmarked for the on-again, off-again, on-again channel. The SABC uses the term "channel 404" but that is not confirmed.
No starting date is confirmed yet either, although the SABC's group CEO Lulama Mokhobo in a statement just released, says the "news channel will be launched on 01 August where more information will be communicated". Take note: This doesn't mean that the channel will actually start broadcasting on 1 August.
The eNCA (DStv 403) is currently South Africa's only 24-hour TV news channel as well as an independent one. The Africa News Network 7 (ANN7) also plans to start within months on MultiChoice's DStv. This means that there will be three local South African 24-hour news channels on South African television, allthree on DStv.
The SABC says it has signed a multichannel agreement with MultiChoice South Africa which includes the broadcasting of the SABC's 24 hour news channel. Although the SABC in the press statement spells it as the SABC's "24 Hour News Channel" that is not the official or confirmed name, I can report.
"Without our own news channel, SABC television news is constantly having to play catch-up," says Jimi Matthews, the acting head of news and current affairs at the SABC. Referring to the ailing Nelson Mandela in hospital he says "events over the past few weeks once again amplified the need for a 24-hour news platform."
"We are delighted to conclude this agreement with the SABC as we believe it will enhance our local content offering on DStv," says Imtiaz Patel, the CEO of MultiChoice South Africa. "The news channel in particular will bring diversity to our news programming, as it will provide our audiences with different views and news from an African perspective."
"One of the key undertakings of the news channel is that it will provide an opportunity for the SABC to enhance its public service mandate and extend its focus on provincial stories and the different official languages," says Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the SABC's acting chief operating officer (COO) in the statement.
"We are very excited about this partnership with MultiChoice as it will expose South African news stories to an audience not inly in the country but outside of South Africa as well. As a public service broadcaster our mandate is to entertain, inform and educate and there is no better vehicle than news and current affairs to deliver on this."
Hlaudi Motsoeneng says that "to be able to extend our reach further, can only be to the benefit of the South African public."
