'OUR ENEMIES AT MULTICHOICE': Rajesh Sundaram in his book, Indentured - Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, reveals how ANN7 execs lied to MultiChoice, how meetings with MultiChoice were a farce and how political pressure were allegedly exerted to get a better DStv channel number.

In his must-read book, Indentured - Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, published by Jacana Media, the former ANN7 (DStv 405) editor Rajesh Sundaram reveals how ANN7 executives saw MultiChoice as "our enemy", blatantly lied to MultiChoice in meetings about ANN7's progress, and allegedly roped in former president Jacob Zuma to put pressure on MultiChoice to get a certain DStv channel number.

TVwithThinus already reported how in Indentured - Behind the Scenes of Gupta TV Rajesh Sundaram reveals how the Guptas and ANN7 plundered the SABC's archives - but the public broadcaster wasn't the only TV organisation being lied to and exploited.

ANN7 execs were apparently paranoid over MultiChoice, made false promises to MultiChoice and allegedly kept lying in order to get ANN7 on DStv as fast as possible.

Rajesh Sundaram writes on page 62 that "Atul Gupta was deeply suspicious of ANN7's television distribution company, MultiChoice, and filled me with many conspiracy theories about how they planned to sabotage the launch of ANN7".

"He was very suspicious of a demand from the company to get a copy of the electronic programme guide, or EPG, a schedule with a brief description of each show that each broadcaster is supposed to supply to its distribution company."

"Rajesh, I want you to prepare for our first meeting with DStv, our enemies at MultiChoice. Arun and you will go to the meeting tomorrow and I want you to give them a copy of the EPG and make sure that channel 404 on DStv is allocated to us. But I want to warn you, they are our enemies. They will try everything to see us fail," writes Rajesh Sundaram.

On page 63 he writes that "The Guptas did not want to follow the time-consuming process that DStv required in terms of quality checks and technical discussions. The DStv top brass, I was told, were not happy with being coerced like this."

Chapter 5 of Indentured - Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV starts off with ANN7's first meeting with MultiChoice, that Rajesh Sundaram describes in his book as "a very strange experience".

"It was coordinated by Max Magwaza from MultiChoice. We were told to insist on channel 404 and take a tough stand on any conditions that the MultiChoice team might set with regards to the launch."

"All the news channels are in the slots after channel 400. We must get the slot immediately after eNCA. This is critical. MultiChoice are playing politics and want to put us in a slot after 500. In your meetings with MultiChoice, make it very clear to them that we will not accept any other channel than 404. Ajay, my brother, is talking with the highest office in the country to ensure that we get this slot, but you must also push from your level, Atul told us before we left for the meeting," writes Rajesh Sundaram.

"It was clear that the team from MultiChoice did not believe we were technically or editorially prepared to launch a news channel by the end of July. The tension in the room was palpable. They were visibly upset with the political pressure that was being brought to bear on them to launch the channel quickly and on the terms directed by the Guptas."

Rajesh Sundaram writes that he "listened with growing disbelief" to the false promises the Guptas were making to MultiChoice and "that I knew we'd never be able to meet".

"The EPG I had made for them was an ambitious one that offered live programming for 18 hours a day. I knew that we were nowhere close to making that content."

"We did not have the people, the studio was not complete, and much of the broadcasting equipment had not even been ordered at this time. The team did not even have newsgathering and studio cameras."

Rajesh Sundaram writes that "clearly the channel would never meet the tough criteria set by MultiChoice in the given timeframe".

"The bi-weekly meetings with MultiChoice were a farce. Y P and Arun were forced to tell the the team lies about the timelines related to the status of broadcast systems and technical equipment. MultiChoice made no commitment about the slot they were going to give ANN7. The Guptas saw a conspiracy in this too."

"Channel 404 is the only vacant slot next to eNCA, but these people will not allocate it to us until we hit them with a stick on their head from the highest office. 405 is Russia Today, and we will be pushed to a slot lower than 410, and no one will watch us," Atul said."

"It was telling how the Guptas were not willing to subject themselves to the quality control and technical checks that MultiChoice wanted, yet were willing to invoke the president's office to put pressure on MultiChoice to give them the 404 slot."

On page 126 Rajesh Sundaram writes that "DStv suddenly gave in. Even as ANN7 was offering three bulletins a day produced on primitive systems and equipment nowhere near the quality standards prescribed by DStv, it was announced internally that DStv had been 'pressured' through president Jacob Zuma's office to oust Russia Today from the 405 slot and give it to us."

On page 100 of Indentured - Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, another TV news channel, India's NDTV gets mentioned in another fascinating story when Atul Gupta switched to NDTV to show how he wanted ANN7 to look.

"We want all the graphics on our channel like NDTV. We should have the graphics at the top and the bottom of the screen. There should be many layers. The people of South Africa want a screen that keeps moving and updating. They do not get that with eNCA."

"I tried explaining to him how it was considered less sophisticated to have too many graphic bands and elements on screen, how it would be better to have a cleaner screen with a graphic band only in the lower third of the screen. This is not what he wanted to hear. 'I want the screen to be cluttered; we must dazzle our viewers with as many elements as we can.' "

On page 107 Rajesh Sundaram details how Atul Gupta decided to do away with professional, experienced news anchor for inexperienced models who had to be trained by Gerry Rantseli-Elsdon.

"His plan saved the company thousands of rands, but it cost the company millions in lost reputation, as we found out post-launch."

"Why do you want to hire a European to train the presenters? We will have a Miss South Africa train them. She has hosted hundreds of shows and this would be a piece of cake for her. The viewers will have a bombshell every time they tune in to ANN7,' Atul said."

"Atul wanted Gerry Rantseli-Elsdon to train the models. Gerry was hired to present the breakfast show, which had been branded Vuka Africa."

"Gerry was given a table and chair, a white board and a training room. Some days she had a camera at her disposal. She had no teleprompter, professional monitors or audio equipment in the initial weeks."

On page 130 he writes that "The bulletins we had produced at that time were, unsurprisingly, fullof technical glitches and were anchored by a group of models hired by Atul and trained by Gerry Rantseli-Elsdon. The young women were very raw, clueless about the news they were reading and very unfamiliar with a studio setting."

On page 147 he writes that "Even a day before launch, bulletins would be disrupted as the server crashed or the play-out system would fail or the teleprompter would go blank on the presenters."

On page 114 Rajesh Sundaram recounts how Atul Gupta said "we are nowhere near the quality of CNN International or BBC. He had very little understanding of television or the primitive conditions under which the bulletins were being produced."

On pages 156 and 157 Rajesh Sundaram in Indentured - Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV recounts ANN7's disastrous launch night that became a blooper-fest of epic proportions on DStv.

"Caroline Samuels and Mahreen Chenia from the sports desk were all set to host Game On, the prime time sports show, when at the last minute the teleprompter and play-out failed. On live television the two young presenters waited for many awkward seconds for the studio director to cut into a break and play promos."

"But the young Indian studio director who had just arrived panicked. The lack of training started to show. He told the anchors through the communication system to announce a break, but the system also malfunctioned at this time."

"Meanwhile Caroline and Mahreen bore the brunt of the technical failure and the clear lack of coordination between the play-out control room staff. After waiting for about a minute, Caroline walked to the play-out control room, assuming that the studio director had taken her out of vision. She had worked for over 16 hours without a break for the last three weeks, and as she walked intot eh PCR she was in tears."

"Atul came back from the launch ceremony and summoned me. 'The launch is trending on Twitter. They are talking about every mistake the team is making."

"The launch was this way because he chose to arrogantly ignore DStv and not stick to the roll-out plan they had prescribed. The launch was this way because he decided to go ahead without training the staff. The trickle of jokes on social media swelled into a tsunami by late night and had a crushing effect on the young team."

"The systemic issues grew over the next few days. Despite the best efforts of the technical team, the systems continued to crash regularly. The play-out system, the communication connections, the graphic engines, the teleprompter - anything that could crash did. The newsroom automation system would malfunction, mostly because of user-related errors."


TVwithThinus asked MultiChoice about Rajesh Sundaram's writings that political pressure were put on Naspers' TV unit to allocate a certain channel number to ANN7 on DStv.

Here is MultiChoice's response: "We can confirm that the teams from MultiChoice and Infinity Media Networks discussed the allocation of a channel number to ANN7 as part of preparing for the channel launch. The team from Infinity Media Networks proposed to be allocated on channel 404."

"MultiChoice then allocated ANN7 to channel 405, so that all local news channels can be grouped together. Russia Today was moved to channel 407."

"Grouping similar channels together - like mainstream international news channels, all movie channels or all sports channels - offers our customers an easier navigation experience. We were not contacted by the former president’s office to remove Russia Today from the 405 slot to make way for ANN7."

Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV and published by Jacana Media is now on sale for R185.
MultiChoice is dumping ANN7, now owned by Mzwanele Manyi, from its DStv platform in August.

Before selling its treasured archives to MultiChoice, the SABC also sold it to ANN7 as Gupta executives laughed at 'stupid' SABC: 'The people at the SABC can be bought for a meal and a drink'.

Before the struggling South African public broadcaster sold its treasured archives to MultiChoice in a controversial channels deal, the SABC also apparently sold it to ANN7 (DStv 405) as Gupta executives laughed at the "stupid SABC" and said: "The people at the SABC can be bought for a meal and a drink; they are willing to give away their treasure trove of historical footage for peanuts".

The stunning claim is the latest of many to emerge from the buzzed about new book, Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, by author Rajesh Sundaram, a former ANN7 giving an insider's perspective on the horrific working conditions during the set-up and eventual disastrous launch of the "Gupta news" channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform in August 2013.

While much has already been reported about the SABC's controversial deal with MultiChoice selling its archives to Naspers' pay-TV unit, it's now coming to light that the SABC actually also allegedly sold its archives for a fraction of what it's worth to the Gupta family accused in a litany of widespread State Capture allegations.

In his book, Rajesh Sundaram writes that that Laxmi Goel, an executive roped in by the Guptas to help with the setting up and launch of ANN7, during a meeting revealed "an elaborate plan to buy archival footage from the SABC".

"He told me how the Guptas had got a nod from the state broadcaster to buy this valuable archive. The SABC had plans to set up a 24/7 news channel of their own, but they were willing to sell their archives for a sweet deal to the Guptas".

"They have all their archives on mini DV tapes. Their library is not automated or digitised, and it takes them ages to find any footage. We will bring these tapes to our studio and digitise them. So from day one we will have a tapeless library with systems that will make it possible for us to pull out footage within a few seconds."

"We know the people at the SABC, so we will get footage at a very low rate. You will have to make sure that all the footage of historical importance at the SABC is included in the 100-hour bulk deal we plan to do with them," Laxmi Goel apparently told Rajesh Sundaram.

"But the SABC eventually did not allow the footage to be taken away from their office. Rahul Singh, a senior video librarian from India, was sent with mini digital video format tapes and asked to bring back 100 hours of footage from the thousands of tapes at the SABC archives".

"He spent about a month going to the SABC every day and sitting at a video editing bay there and transferring all the valuable historical footage the SABC had in its tape library. By the time he resigned and went back to India, he had collected 60 hours of priceless footage from the SABC library," writes Rajesh Sundaram.

"We are paying them a lump sum to get this footage. We have got a very sweet deal with them. The people at the SABC can be bought for a meal or a drink; they are willing to give away their treasure trove of historical footage footage for peanuts."

"They have a clause in the contract that says that we will have to also pay them a "per second" fee for every time we air the footage we have taken from them. But they are so stupid, how will they be able to tell what is their footage? How can they audit our use? We will get all their footage forever at just this one-time cost," Nazeem Howa said when the footage transfer were discussed later, writes Rajesh Sundaram.

He writes that Rahul was instructed "to take anyone he interacts with at the SABC for a drink or mean any time they wanted to when he was at the SABC transferring footage. He was told by Nazeem that this cost would be reimbursed to him".

"Get all of Nelson Mandela's footage, get footage of the atrocities on the blacks during the apartheid years; we can use it to show the young people of today how the whites treated their grandparents and parents. This footage is priceless, and I want you to take as much of it as possible back with you. Even if you get more than 100 hours, get that, we will pay them under the table, Atul Gupta told Rahul during our discussion."

"The archival footage at the SABC was indeed of a very high quality and in my view worth millions of rands," writes Rajesh Sundaram. "Nazeem, Laxmi and Atul repeatedly told me that the contract with the SABC for this sale favoured ANN7, was drafted by Gupta lawyers and that the price of the footage was 'peanuts' compared to its real value."

"Rahul digitised all the footage he got the very same day and catalogued and classified it on the video library system. This meant transferring the footage from tapes to servers. After the footage was tagged and put on the server, ANN7 was able to retrieve and air it in a matter of seconds, something that would take the SABC team hours or even days to do."

"I have not been able to figure out why the SABC signed this contract and handed valuable footage shot over decades to a company that had far superior archiving technology and would be a rival to its own proposed 24-hour news channel".

The SABC was asked in a media enquiry on Monday if the public broadcaster possibly has any comment or statement regarding what Rajesh Sundaram writes in his book Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, about the SABC and the SABC's archive material that was given to ANN7.

The SABC didn't respond.

Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV is published by Jacana Media and is available in bookstores at R185.

SHOCKING REVELATIONS. Ex ANN7 editor Rajesh Sundaram reveals how ANN7 lied to MultiChoice, and how Jacob Zuma himself was involved: 'I realised that I had made a mistake - that I was setting up a monster station for the mafia in South Africa'.

If you never knew that ANN7 was trash when Naspers' MultiChoice launched it as a secret propaganda channel laced with bias in August 2013 for then-president Jacob Zuma with the help of the controversial and corrupt Gupta family, then you'll know it now after reading Rajesh Sundaram's insider-account, Identured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV.

Published by Jacana and available since Tuesday at R185 after plans for the book was initially dropped in June 2014, the delicious book is a deep dive into the ugly acrimony, law breaking, physical and verbal abuse, secret political influence, clandestine payments, worker discrimination, out-of-control egos and shocking circumstances and work conditions behind-the-scenes of the setting up of the disastrous ANN7.

All of this of course quickly, and eventually, proved highly destructive from a brand perspective for the Guptas, ANN7 itself, but also for MultiChoice and DStv.

Selective excepts from Identured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV published on Wednesday, media reports about it, and 2 interviews with Rajesh Randaram, added another chapter and more shocking, sordid and extremely lurid details about what allegedly went on behind-the-scenes at ANN7 and its Midrand-based headquarters, and the alleged volatile, abusive behaviour of owner Atul Gupta.

In a must-listen interview with Biznews, Rajesh Sundaram explained how ANN7 was rushed to air on DStv without proper time or testing, and how ANN7 executives blatantly lied to MultiChoice about ANN7 being ready to launch in 2013although it wasn't as far as its technical operations were concerned.

"We went to multiple meetings with MultiChoice. We were not prepared to go on-air technically, but we had to bluff our way through there."

He explained that "there was a lot of arm-twisting involved to get on DStv in the first place, that involved president Jacob Zuma himself".

He told Biznews that Indian staffers, brought to South Africa on tourist visas and who worked in the country illegally, had to live on the ANN7 Midrand construction site "in sub-human conditions".

"I realised that I had made a mistake - that I was setting up a monster station for the mafia in South Africa," said Rajesh Sundaram.

Rajesh Sundaram told Biznews about the physical and verbal abuse staffers allegedly suffered at the hands of the Guptas like Atul Gupta.

"There were staff that Atul Gupta would slap; and physically abuse us; scream verbal abuse at people. For instance say the playout system crashes, Atul Gupta would come into the production control room and start beating up the audio console person".

"Atul Gupta would come into the newsroom and just slap people. There was an audio engineer who was slapped. There were others who were abused. And many instances of him just screaming his lungs out in the gallery about things he never knew about".

Rajesh Sundaram told HuffPost SA in a second interview on Wednesday that "the intention to launch ANN7 was all wrong. The media is supposed to be a pillar in democracy. It was being abused. It was being misused. They just wanted a propaganda station".

He explained that Duduzane Zuma, Jacob Zuma's son sat in several meetings. "Duduzane was there and was the one who was dictating to us all what the editorial policy would be".

HuffPost SA on Wednesday also ran a print report about Identured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV and how Atul Gupta went beserk and screamed at Nazeem Howa when Nazeem Howa suggested that ANN7 hire Debora Patta.

"She's a white bitch! She is not a journalist, she is a sensationalist. She is a well-known face on TV here, but her aggression is reserved for the government and its ministers," Atul Gupta allegedly yelled.

As ANN7 struggled to get journalist and presenters to join, Atul Gupta told an underling "to get the modelling agency to send us sexy young models who will present our bulletins. We will not have to deal with these ugly old bitches anymore."

On ANN7's disastrous launch day that TVwithThinus detailed at the time - as well as the on-air horrific mistakes, Atul Gupta exploded at the Indian studio technicians and told them: "You bloody monkeys. F*cking get out of here, pack your bags and go back to India. You are all useless people."

Atul Gupta told executive, Karun Shawney: "Look down, you fool, how dare you look me in the eye when you talk to me. Don't you know I hate people who dare to look me in the eye? You bastards are f*cking my channel and my reputation."

Indian staff members were paid much less than the South African workers but the Indian staffers were fed staff meals while the South African workers got nothing and had to look on.

"It was extremely distressing to see Indian staff sit down for dinner after a long day's work while the South Africans were not invited to join."

Atul Gupta was allegedly racist towards South Africans, saying "The South Africans are a difficult lot. If you give them a lift back home they will see it as a right. These are leeches that want to suck the organisation dry".

On Wednesday News24 ran a report from the book about how Jacob Zuma himself chose the name "Africa News Network". Because the name was already taken, a "7" was added.

On Thursday in an interview with radio station 702, Rajesh Sundaram told Bongani Bingwa that "Atul Gupta had no sense of what broadcasting is about. There were a few instance where he'd go and hit people you know, right in the middle of a broadcast".

Rajesh Sundaram also explained why the Guptas were so adamant and anxious to get ANN7 onto MultiChoice's DStv.

"Jacob Zuma had given a guarantee that money from government advertising agencies would come in to ANN7 and that this advertising revenue would then be given back to him through his son Duduzane."

President Jacob Zuma's son, Duduzane Zuma, is a shareholder in ANN7 as South Africa's new, third 24-hour TV news channel on DStv.

South African president Jacob Zuma's son, Duduzane Zuma, is a shareholder with an interest in ANN7 (DStv 405), the new and third 24-hour South African TV news channel which will start broadcasting on 21 August on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform.and which is promising "balanced news coverage".

Duduzane Zuma holds a 45% stake in Mabengela Investments. Mabengela Investments has a 21% interest in Infinity Media which is the owner of ANN7.

Infinity Media in a statement announced the shareholding breakdown of ANN7 before the launch next week of the new South Africa TV news channel which will compete with the existing eNCA (DStv 403), and SABC News (DStv 405) which started two weeks ago and which is the SABC's second attempt at a 24-hour TV news channel.

Infinity Media is owned jointly by Essel Media (35%), Oakbay Investments, the Gupta family's investment vehicle (35%), Mabengela Investments (21%) and a further 9% has been reserved for staff and management.

Besides Duduzane Zuma's 45% stake in Mabengela Investments, the other stakeholders in Mabengela Investments are Rajesh Kumar Gupta (25%), Aerohaven Trading (15%), Fidelity Investments (10%), Mfazi Investments (3%) and Ashu Chawla (2%).

Laxmi Narain Goel will be sitting on the board of directors of Infinity Media together with Arpit Goel, Atul Gupta, Varun Gupta and Nazeem Howa.

Laxmi Narain Goel is the vice chairperson of the Essel Group and was until a few years ago the executive director of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited.

"As a family deeply invested in leading media products, we discussed this investment opportunity last year and there was no hesitation to go ahead," says Laxmi Narain Goel in a statement. "Thus far, things have gone very well and we look forward to a successful launch with our partners in Infinity Media."

Laxmi Narain Goel says ANN7 will have "balanced news coverage, ensuring that the interests of the ordinary people in South Africa are covered".