MultiChoice has chosen Newzroom Afrika as the new 24-hour local TV news channel to replace Mzwanele Manyi's dumped Afro Worldview channel on DStv.
Newzroom Afrika will launch in early 2019 on DStv and no channel logo is available yet.
When Newzroom Afrika launched early next year, it will take the channel number of 405 on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform, the one where ANN7 that turned into Afro Worldview, launched and was dumped from earlier this month.
Newzroom Afrika, following after eNCA (DStv 403) and SABC News (DStv 404) will be made available to all DStv subscribers, meaning that it will have a wider reach that eMedia Investment's eNCA.
MultiChoice received 111 expressions of interest for a new TV news channel on DStv.
The two directors heading up Newzroom Afrika are Thokozani Nkosi of the production company Eclipse TV, and Thabile Ngwato of Rapid Innovation, the SABC News anchor who left the SABC last week.
Eclipse TV produced shows for the South African public broadcaster like It's Gospel Time and I want to sing Gospel for SABC2 and The Chatroom and Big Up for SABC1.
"Today marks the birth of an exciting new and independent media voice in South Africa," said Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice South Africa CEO.
"We set out to find a quality, new, black-owned, independent news channel to expand the diversity of South African news and enrich our democracy - we're excited by the outcome.
"The Eclipse TV and Rapid Innovation teams have a track record of entrepreneurial success. They will be supported by an editorial team that will deliver independent views of events unfolding in South Africa and around the world, while the owners concentrate on running the business successfully."
"Their bid stood out for its potential to bring a fresh, creative and diversified approach to news reporting, which included an integrated digital strategy, combined with sound audience analysis and appealing on-screen execution".
MultiChoice in a statement says "this new channel will greatly enhance and enrich the news offering on DStv, while at the same time creating a new black-owned entrant in South African news media. It will promote the diversity of voices in media and give all our customers the chance to find a news channel on DStv that resonates with them."
"We were looking for a news channel that is distinctly different from what is currently available‚ and we certainly found it in Newzroom Afrika. We want to drive sustainable transformation in the television industry and to contribute to the diversity of views in our country and our continent."
Thabile Ngwato in a statement on Tuesday said Newzroom Afrika "is committed to provide independent and dependable reporting, and will deliver that through our strong editorial team".
Thokozani Nkosi said "this is a great opportunity for us to bring a fresh perspective to the South African news agenda by building a news channel from scratch. We're excited and raring to go."
MultiChoice and Newzroom Afrika will start negotiations about the channel carriage agreement soon.
Zanele Mthembu who was previously the group head of e.tv's content production division, will head up Newzroom Afrika's broadcasting operation, with Malebo Phage running the newsroom operations. Malebo Phage also previously worked for e.tv.
Joe Thloloe and Dinesh Balliah will be on Newzroom Afrika's editorialethics oversight board.
Newzroom Afrika won't hire all of the Afro Worldview staffers who got fired last week when Afro Worldview got dumped from DStv, if if some of them apply, they will get "special consideration".
"In terms of employees at Afro Worldview, they will certainly be prioritised when it comes to our recruitment process. Each and every person who applies for various positions will be given an opportunity to go through the recruitment process but they will certainly be prioritised," Thabile Ngwato said at a media briefing on Tuesday.
