Embarrassing Gupta Leaks reveal: ANN7's original name on DStv, late launch date, would have been 'multi-language, multiple subtitling channel'; raises questions over how much MultiChoice is paying ANN7.

DStv subscribers are wondering exactly how much they're paying to support ANN7 (DStv 405) after a revised contract agreement was made publicly available in which MultiChoice agreed to up it payment from R50 million to R150 million per year to broadcast the channel.

The draft contract between MultiChoice and Infinity Media and several email correspondence about the channel's content are part of a new tranche of the so-called "Gupta leaks" emails that has been made publicly available.

The new set of emails about the "Gupta news" channel that came to light on Thursday makes for embarrassing reading in some places, and gives insight into what the Guptas wanted, what MultiChoice wanted, and what ANN7 originally wanted to be.

It also raises questions over how much DStv subscribers are paying for the channel that has been slammed by parties across the political spectrum, has been mired in embarrassing on-air bloopers since its launch day, and has been described as broadcasting content that is "racially divisive" to South Africa.

In response to a media enquiry, MultiChoice says "the draft contract published was not signed and MultiChoice is not part of the email exchange referred to in your query. We confirm that we have a legally binding contract, the details of which are subject to confidentiality clauses".

MultiChoice was asked that since launch ANN7 made and continues to make mistakes and if this has impacted on the money MultiChoice is paying ANN7 and if MultiChoice is paid ANN7 less due to performance issues. 

MultiChoice didn't specifically answer this.

The leaked email correspondence reveals fascinating other insights. ANN7's original name was actually Infinity News before it was changed to Africa News Network 7.

Another leaked email reveals that ANN7 actually started late. When its botched launch took place on 21 August 2013, it was already behind schedule – it was supposed to start on the 1st of that month. Later ANN7 admitted it wasn't actually even fully ready for the 21st launch day.

In the email trove it becomes clear that MultiChoice was also adamant that the Guptas should do a TV news channels that kept to the "running schedule, look and feel of a traditional news television service in the spirit of those already carried on MultiChoice DStv platform such as eNCA, CNN International, Sky News, BBC and Al Jazeera".

MultiChoice told the Guptas that "it is very important that we have clarity that we are getting a traditional 24-hour South African news channel (with vernacular languages) and not anything else".

Another fascinating revelation from the emails is that ANN7 would originally have been a multi-language channel "with multiple subtitling" – before it ended up being an English-only channel.

ANN7 eventually also agreed not to carry TopTV (now StarSat) advertisements/commercials or any of competing pay-TV platforms in South Africa.

In an email Amitabh Kumar writes to Tony Gupta: "They" - meaning MultiChoice - "have still not agreed on the channel carrying advertising of any other channel which is not on the platform. Perhaps we can agree to this."

ANN7 continues to inflict brand and reputational damage on MultiChoice with more than 12 500 people who have so far signed a petition that was started in April at petitions24.com where DStv subscribers say they don't want to be forced to pay for the content coming from ANN7.

So far the ANN7 petition is the global site's 3rd highest signature and comment drawer for 2017. On Thursday negative comments again started flooding social networks when the latest Gupta emails were made publicly available.

In August the controversial Gupta-aligned businessman Mzwanele Manyi announced that his company Lodidox has bought ANN7 for R300 million and two-thirds of TNA Media that owns The New Age newspaper for R150 million from Oakbay in a deal financed by the Guptas.

Afrotone Media Holdings is now the new holding company for ANN7 and The New Age with Mzwanele Manyi as executive chairman.

Oakbay Investments sells controversial ANN7 on DStv and The New Age Newspaper for R450m to former ANC publicist Mzwanele Manyi in a 'vendor licensing' deal.

The former ANC publicist Mzwanele "Jimmy" Manyi's Lodidox company has brought the controversial "Gupta-news" TV channel ANN7 (DStv 405) on DStv for R300 million and the Gupta-newspaper The New Age for R150 million under a "vendor licensing" deal.

"Vendor licensing" means that the Guptas is lending Jimmy Manyi the money to buy their ANN7 and The New Age.

The Bank of Baroda is closing Oakbay Investments bank accounts - including those of ANN7 and The New Age at the end of August.

The borrow-to-buy ANN7 and The New Age sale means the Oakbay media entities get new bank accounts through Jimmy Manyi.

The controversial Jimmy Manyi with close ties to the Guptas frequently appears as a "political analyst" and as an "analyst" on the controversial ANN7 channel carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform that just turned 4 years old where he shills for the Guptas and mentions the Bell-Pottinger created "white monopoly capital" catch-phrase.

The unprofessional and news-skewing ANN7 and The New Age continue to hog headlines as part of the "Gupta-leaks" trove of emails and ongoing revelations regarding South African "state-capture and notorious Jacob Zuma-linked dealings.

The Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments in a statement says the R450 million sale of its two media entities "is part of Oakbay’s commitment to preserve jobs and provide certainty to over 7 500 hard-working employees throughout the group and to safeguard the inherent value of the businesses in which they work."

Offloading the controversial ANN7 TV channel from Infinity Media Networks and The New Age to Lodidox "will also allow the shareholder the time to focus on clearing its name in the face of unfounded media allegations", says Oakbay Investments.

"Under a new majority shareholder, Oakbay believes that both businesses and their employees will have the bright and prosperous future they deserve," says Ronica Ragavan, Oakbay Investments acting CEO in the statement.

"We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Lodidox and the management team; the sale of our shareholdings will secure the future of these businesses and help preserve the jobs of their employees."

"Both businesses are inherently sound and well positioned for growth in their respective market segments. We wish them every success in the future."

Jimmy Manyi says he is "delighted to have reached agreement with Oakbay and look forward to successfully completing the deal."

"These are two strong businesses which are full of potential and, under the right external circumstances, can become an increasingly important and relevant part of the South African media landscape."

"In addition, I am particularly impressed that the shareholders of Oakbay have agreed to do a vendor financing at acceptable terms as part of their commitment to transformation and to expedite the transaction."

DAILY TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read from TVwithThinus - 22 February 2017.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read, and that you should too:

■ "The SABC's coverage of Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation 2017 address analysed.
Media show The Listening Post on Al Jazeera (DStv 406 / StarSat 257) looks at how the SABC and the Guptas The New Age Breakfast Briefing on SABC2's Morning Live the day after the speech was covered.

For instance: Al Jazeera finds that Leanne Manas throws president Jacob Zuma softball questions - that is until the show switches away from SABC2 (viewers) and continues to only be broadcast on MultiChoice's DStv on the SABC News (DStv 404) channel catering to pay-TV audiences.

Now suddenly "Peter Ndoro asks much tougher questions" when a much smaller TV audience is watching.


■ Television graveyard.
Millions of old TV sets are dumped and abandoned in massive warehouses across America - and the hard manual labour involved to break down and destroy or recycle old TV sets.

■ Second season of Showtime's Billions getting "a big promotional push" as if it's a new show.
In South Africa on DStv, not so much.

■ Lovely.
Matt LeBlanc eats horse penis in the new upcoming season of Top Gear starting on 8 March at 20:00 on BBC Brit (DStv 120).


■ Alberton school furious over eNCA (DStv 403) story it slams as a false report.
Marais Viljoen High School (MVHS) considering taking eNCA and eNuus on kykNET (DStv 144) to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) after unsubstantiated, slanderous report and the apparent failure to ask the right people for comment.


■ Russia's president Vladimir Putin is obsessed with television.
Specifically in watching to see how different TV channels cover him.


■ Court papers reveal how Botswana Television (BTV) got rid of its head of news in an election year.
Koketso Joshua Ntopolelang wants his job as head of TV news and current affairs at Botswana's state broadcaster back; shows court how he was allegedly purged from BTV and moved to another government department because he could allegedly "not be trusted" during an election year in Botswana.


■ New Zealand TV is trashing up current affairs in prime time.
Strange and trashy chit-chat as actuality programming instead of news.

■ Sky News (DStv 402) anchor Dermot Murnaghan warns
that the TV news at 22:00 on British television can't survive due to falling viewership.

■ Cameroon viewers treated to TV fight.
After last week's Egypt on-set brouhaha, in Cameroon on Sunday novelist Calixthe Beyala created an "incident close to barbarism and savagery" in an on-set clash.

■ CNBC Africa (DStv 410) opens a new studio in Rwanda.
Who knew? Apparently the ABN Group running the business TV channel on MultiChoice's DStv platform opened a new studio in Rwanda's Kigali Convention Centre. Of course there wasn't even a basic press release or statement to the media.

■ Japan gives money to improve Malawi television.
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) gets millions from Japan to improve its MBCTV broadcasting equipment in Blantyre.

■ Unnamed Indian TV anchor caught as a prostitute.
Allegedly used her good looks to become involved in prostitution at a guest house in Hyderabad; police reprimanded her for illegal activities and "advised her to pursue her anchoring career professionally".

■ A second golden age for TV news channels in America?
Viewership soars thanks to The Lorax Donald Trump.

■ The SABC has now implemented the Scisys' dira! and MusicMaster systems.
New production and playout systems used by 19 of the SABC's radio stations. Of course it's hopefully not being held together by sticky tape in the rundown SABC studios.

■ Script for final episode of The Vampire Diaries is so brutal ...
it made actor Paul Wesley cry.

After downing SABC's websites, Anonymous Africa downs Gupta-owned websites of ANN7 TV news channel, The New Age newspaper, Sahara Computers.

After its cyber attack on the SABC's websites on Sunday afternoon, the hacktivist group Anonymous Africa set it sights on the Gupta-owned ANN7, The New Age newspaper and Sahara Computers with all of the sites that went down and became unavailable on Wednesday afternoon for a period of time.

Shares of Oakbay Resources that owns ANN7, The New Age, Sahara and other subsidiaries, plummeted on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), falling a massive 91%.

Anonymous Africa says its taking the actions over what it calls "censorship and Apartheid style tactics to withhold and censor the the people of South Africa".

Oakbay in a statement told TV with Thinus that "Oakbay is aware of attempts to hack into its websites and has taken preventative measures, in collaboration with its IT consultants."

"Whilst some of the company's websites are running slower than normal, the matter is under control".

The SABC and its controversial boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng has come under heavy and near universal criticism the past few weeks over highly controversial and shocking decisions at the public broadcaster that critics, academics, media experts, political parties, and civil society groups have all slammed as censorship.

A public petition that has already amassed thousands of votes and keeps growing has been started, asking the broadcasting regulator, Icasa, to invervene and to "stop SABC censorship".

As chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng announced that the SABC's SABC TV News will now censor visuals from public protests to no longer show property destruction and The Editors show on SAfm was abruptly cancelled last Sunday.

On Wednesday Anonymous Africa said it will follow up the SABC attack with one aimed at ANN7, the TV news channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform, The New Age newspaper and Sahara Computers, all of which saw their websites go down and become unavailable for a while.

UPDATE Wednesday 15 June 2016 21:30 - on Wednesday night Anonymous Africa took down ANN7's website for a second time on Wednesday and made it unavailable again.

The SABC as a public broadcaster has spent R733 930 in the past 2 years on buying the Gupta family's The New Age newspaper, 3 times as much as in 2011.

The SABC has spent R733 930 in just the past 2 years on buying copies of The New Age newspaper - SABC TV licence payers' money spent by the SABC, that's a public broadcaster, to buy print newspapers.

According the the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, "the SABC had concluded contracts with The New Age for newspaper subscriptions at a cost of R733 930 since May 2014 to date".

Faith Muthambi's response was to a parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance (DA) political party.

"This amounts to a tripling in the SABC's financial support of The New Age from R238 356.52 in 2011‚" said the DA's Phumzile van Damme.

"It is deplorable that the SABC has completely disregarded the finance minister's calls for austerity in order to financially anchor a newspaper with paltry readership, owned by the friends of president Jacob Zuma," says Phumzile van Damme  in a statement.

"I will be urging Faith Muthambi to instruct the SABC COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, to withdraw any active subscriptions with The New Age."

"The SABC's funds should be focused on growing the national broadcasters capacity and providing viewers with quality programming and not endless repeats."

"The gross extent of state capture by the Gupta's is robbing our economy of alleviating poverty and unemployment in our economy."

"We will continue to fight to hold those responsible for wasteful spending at the SABC accountable. The people of South Africa need a national broadcaster that does not only serve the ANC cabal but all communities in our country," Phumzile van Damme  said. 

The New Age newspaper is owned by the controversial Gupta family and the SABC broadcasts The New Age breakfast briefings on SABC2's Morning Live in a TNA Media trade deal.

The SABC broadcasts the breakfast briefings and says it gets content, while TNA Media has to pay for and organise the catering and venue and find sponsors.

SABC's Hlaudi Motsoeneng says the SABC's relationship with the Guptas won't stop because both share 'good stories'; says SA's economy is 'doing well'.

SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng is adamant that the SABC's relationship with the influential Gupta family won't stop because he says Gupta media, like the SABC, share good stories about South Africa.

Although the SABC recorded a loss of R401 million, Hlaudi Motsoeneng says the South African economy is doing well, and doing well from the point of view of the SABC.

The SABC's famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) is embroiled in a protracted legal battle over his permanent appointment at the public broadcaster despite a damning report from the Public Protector in February 2014 implicating him in maladministration.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng spoke again on Friday at The New Age newspaper's latest breakfast briefing in Cape Town that was broadcast on SABC2's Morning Live.

"The relationship between us and the Guptas, it is a relationship that we are not going to stop," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng. "Reason is, the Guptas, they share the views that we share: good stories about South Africa".

"As long as we share the same views about South Africa, we will always partner with them. We should be proud about our own country. South Africa is doing well," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

The Gupta-owned The New Age newspaper and the ANN7 (DStv 405) TV news channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform again came under criticism recently for its relationship with the SABC.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema recently said "ANN7 and The New Age are not media houses, they are organisations used for money laundering".

"Morning Live used to broadcast events in the rural areas and everywhere else.They never asked for state-owned companies to sponsor them. The New Age comes and then hijacked Morning Live and said 'Telkom must sponsor us'. Then the money is put into The New Age and taken by the Guptas the politically connected from there," said Malema. "So that is evidence enough of these entities being used to siphon money from state institutions”. 

'For SABC the economy is doing well'

"In SABC we have brain to make sure that we come with innovation to sustain the organisation," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng. "When people were saying economy is not doing well for the country, for SABC the economy was doing well".

In the latest financial report the SABC recorded a massive loss of R401 million.

"We shall not say, especially economists, 'everything is not well'. Everything is well. It is how as people are we reacting to the situation. And we as SABC we did react accordingly."

"I always differ with intellectuals. Sometimes I don't see this intellectual in them. They make not like it, but that is how I see it," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"It can't be right, South Africans to say people who, like myself, don't have matric, I can't lead the organisation. It can't be right."

'God has given all of us talent'

"Even Jesus Christ. People were asking 'Who is this Jesus Christ?' Some of them were intellectual if you read Bible. And that was the person who saved people. It is very important for all of us as South Africans, not to discriminate," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"Because for me, those who are talking about qualifications but they can't do the work. Which means you are saying people who did not go to school, they should go and steal. We can't allow such a situation. God has given all of us talent and brain to excel and assist ourselves, which we are doing."

SABC's Hlaudi Motsoeneng: South African decoder manufacturers must now also pay a levy to SABC to support the public broadcaster.

Because a lot of South African TV households simply don't – or can't – pay their annual SABC TV licence, the public broadcaster's chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng now wants decoder manufacters to pay a levy and contribute to the SABC.

The controversial and famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng is currently mired in a protracted court case following the Public Protector's report from February 2014 ordering him to be suspended and finding that he "never should have been appointed at the SABC", as well as the Western Cape High Court which ruled twice that the SABC suspend him and start a disciplinary hearing immediately. He is appealing the decision.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng this year already said several times publicly that Naspers' satellite pay-TV platform MultiChoice, which runs the DStv service and carries SABC channels, must pay the SABC and that he wants more money from MultiChoice.

On Monday at the latest The New Age breakfast briefing held in Sandton, Hlaudi Motsoeneng reiterated that the "MultiChoice partnership is to also make sure that we sustain employees within the SABC, we create jobs".

The finger-waving Hlaudi Motsoeneng on Monday said that he now also wants decoder manufacters to now contribute to the SABC and pay a levy – especially new decoder manufacturers who are getting lucrative government tenders worth millions of rand to manufacture the locally-produced set-top boxes (STBs) which millions of TV households will have to buy in the switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT).

"Some of our own people can't pay TV licence. How do we make sure that when these people manufacture those boxes, they also pay levy for SABC to represent those people who can't afford to pay TV licence? They should also contribute as business people," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng as decoder manufacturers who were present shook their heads and one uttered a silent "wow".

"In other countries, you know what actually happens, people don’t pay TV licence," Hlaudi Motsoeneng informed the audience.

"Your decoders, when you buy decoders, you pay TV licence – the business people."

"We are also saying the same manufacturers, when they distribute those decoders, they should be able to say 'Where is your TV licence?' But they shall make sure that they pay TV licence first."

DTT contact centre

Details have so far been scarce about the national contact centre that must be established to help ordinary South Africans with enquiries and help over the phone with their decoders, faults, and decoder and antenna installation issues after they buy a STB during the digital TV migration process.

At the breakfast briefing, the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, said that it will have to be made as easy as possible for people.

"I’m a decoder holder of DStv," said Faith Muthambi. "I need to stand on the line, phone the call centre, you’ll be told you're caller 2 000 and something. It's airtime that I'm using, and then I have to hold. The thing about the poor old man somewhere in the Northern Cape who is relying on a pension grant, where is he going to get this money?"

No talk about EPG, channel allocation

At the breakfast briefing it was revealed that no discussions regarding DTT have taken place about the consolidation of on-air services, like the electronic programme guide (EPG) for free-to-air STBs or channel allocation – which TV channel gets what number and is placed where.

The government has no answers for how the 5 million poor TV households who will get a STB for free worth about R700 to R800, as well as antennas through the South African Post Office, will be prevented from selling that asset for money once they receive it.

The government has set aside billions of rand to subsidise 5 million of the poorest TV households who will get a STB for free, although it worked with outdated figures which according to the 2011 national census places indigent households who will actually qualify for a free decoder now at 8.3 million.

South Africa is years behind with the switch from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting and on 17 June embarrassingly missed the international agreed-upon deadline of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to complete the process.

On Monday at the breakfast briefing, Solly Mokoetle, the head of South Africa's DTT programme said missing the deadline "is not a train smash".

SABC's Hlaudi Motsoeneng: It's only big, white-controlled production companies complaining, using black faces to get work.

The SABC's chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng says it is only big, white-controlled production companies that are complaining about programme commissioning changes at the SABC, that they use black faces to get work, and that the SABC isn't going to allow it.

The controversial and famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng is currently mired in a protracted court case following the Public Protector's report from February 2014 ordering him to be suspended and finding that he "never should have been appointed at the SABC", as well as the Western Cape High Court which ruled twice that the SABC suspend him and start a disciplinary hearing immediately. He is appealing the decision.

A finger-waving Hlaudi Motsoeneng again took to the stage at The New Age newspaper's latest breakfast briefing in Sandton on Monday morning where he boasted about the public broadcaster's increase in spending on programming and slammed South African production companies who are complaining when he was asked about local content.

"At SABC we have put out RFP [request for proposals] book, which is more than R600 million, moving from R121 million in the first time in the history of the organisation. That money is to make sure we produce local content, especially in different provinces," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"I know there is an issue now about that process where people are unhappy. Some of people, especially from provinces. And reason being because you don't have big production houses in those other different provinces," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

'Controlled by white people'

"What we have been doing at the SABC is, those big production houses they should make sure that they partner with emerging small production houses from different provinces. So that we can give them business," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"If they're not going to partner with those provinces we are not going to be able to do business with them."

"The fact of the matter: This industry called production houses, they have been controlled by white people most of the time. It's those people who are making noise, because now we are making sure that the cake is shared by everyone," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"People making noise are those production houses which are big. And when they are saying they are partnering, you only have people – they are not shareholders – they use their faces. Which we are not going to allow at the SABC – those faces, as black people – using them, not even paying them well," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

'When they march to SABC they're 50'

Hlaudi Motsoeneng also took a swipe at non-profit, civil society organisations like the SOS Coalition, which attended the breakfast briefing, and the Right2Know Campaign (R2K) which in the past organised marched and picketed the SABC.

"We are very aware of these matters, who are these people who are making this big noise, saying they represent the public. Actually when they march to SABC they're 50. Only 50 people, they're not even more than 100," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"Within the organisation we as SABC we want black and white and Indians – the rainbow nation of Nelson Mandela – to produce the content for the SABC, equally so."

"But they should understand that we must prioritise people with disability, we must prioritise those people who are emerging now; now is their time," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

SABC's Hlaudi Motsoeneng: 'People must applaud SABC' because 'there is money at the SABC'; MultiChoice must 'sustain' SABC employees.

The SABC's chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng says MultiChoice must carry the public as he again lashed out at print media in South Africa as being "misleading" about the public broadcaster and saying people need to "applaud the SABC" because "there is money at the SABC".

The controversial and famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng is currently mired in a protracted court case following the Public Protector's report from February 2014 ordering him to be suspended, as well as the Western Cape High Court which ruled twice that the SABC suspend him and start a disciplinary hearing immediately. Hlaudi Motsoeneng is appealing the decision.

The caustic and  finger-waving Hlaudi Motsoeneng again took to the stage at The New Age breakfast briefing about digital terrestrial television (DTT) migration on Monday in Sandton, once again making utterances that had those attending laughing awkwardly and uncomfortably throughout when he spoke, while some shook their heads in disbelief and one guest was caught saying "wow".

The SABC's newsly appointed CE) Frans Matlala attended The New Age breakfast briefing but sat quietly in the audience and didn't speak as Hlaudi Motsoeneng unleashed his zingers.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng said SABC broadcasts are not disrupted by rain fade like another broadcaster and that MultiChoice must make sure that the pay-TV operator "sustains" the SABC.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng also publicly slammed the SABC's former COO, Solly Mokoetle, who was a panelist next to him on the stage – twice – as well as South African newspapers who he claims are "misleading" South Africans about the SABC and it's financial state because they are in competition with the public broadcaster.

Hlaudi Motsoeneng said the SABC's own audience is "very happy with the SABC". 

'MultiChoice must make sure it sustains SABC employees'

"People are talking about another small broadcaster somewhere, they are having the best technology," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"Actually they don't have better technology than SABC. Because we have the HD. Our own outside broadcast vans. They are in HD. But in our studio we have what we call analogue."

"If you compare us and them, when it's rains, it's a mess for them. We are still on the terrestrial, we're doing very well."

"With MultiChoice, it's partnership. We have what is called 'must-carry'. It is a regulations from Icasa, not from SABC. Must-carry means the SABC channels they must be carried by pay-TV. Not MultiChoice. All pay-TV. You know you have another pay-TV. They carry those channels of the SABC. But when people talk, they about MultiChoice."

"We approached MultiChoice. We said to MultiChoice: 'You need to contribute to the public. Because it can't be public for free. What is your contribution to the public?' They said no but the law says we must carry you. I said to them: 'Carry the public".

"That MultiChoice partnership is to also to make sure that we sustain employees within the organisation [SABC], we create jobs, which we have already done within the organisation," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Better than Solly

"We have outdone Solly Mokoetle here. From performance. As current leadership of the organisation. Because they could not raise any funds to sustain that organisation. He was the COO of the SABC. When we took over, SABC is sustainable today," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng in a sideswipe to Solly Mokoetle sitting next to him who is now the head of South Africa's DTT programme. 

'Our own audience are very happy'

Hlaudi Motsoeneng again publicly slammed South African newspaper journalism as he's done several times this year, speaking about the SABC's relationship with The New Age newspaper.

"Our own audience are very happy," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng. "Our audience they have never complain about the relationship between us and MultiChoice, and between New Age. Because it is a good relationship."

"We share the same vision with New Age. And I said to them: 'The day you portray South Africa as bad, that day SABC withdraw from this relationship."

"We Africans, we undermine ourselves. When you go to other countries, where there's BBC. Just check how they report about their country. They report very good about their country."

"We Africans, our mindset, we need to work on our mindset to be African mindset."

"Some people they always make this noise, this hullabaloo, about the SABC. We always have our own consultation with our own audience. Actually they are more than happy," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng. 

'We need to applaud SABC'

"We need to applaud SABC," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng. "I need to deal with this notion that SABC is not sustainable financially. The boxing back, everything is back that people have been crying about. That shows that SABC is doing better."

"My former COO here, he knows that. The SABC could never do that but now we are able to do that." 

Hlaudi Motsoeneng said "You choose in life. Partnership is all about choosing. You can't go and choose someone who is collapsing tomorrow and you want to do business with that. I need more business from MultiChoice, to invest so that we can empower people."

"There was no money at the SABC. There is money at the SABC. Don't take what you are reading at the newspaper because they mislead because they are competing with SABC," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng says 'SABC is rocking all the way'; vows public broadcaster will 'have better pictures than MultiChoice'.

The SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng says "SABC is rocking all the way" and that soon "we'll even beat MultiChoice", vowing that the SABC will have "better pictures" than DStv when South Africa switches from analogue to digital broadcasting.

The SABC's controversial and famously matricless chief operating officer (COO) spoke at the latest The New Age breakfast briefing in Fourways, telling the audience that "SABC is rocking all the way" and that "SABC is superb".

Hlaudi Motsoeneng was adamant that "SABC is not going to collapse".

He again used the platform, with a lot of physical finger-pointing, to slam South African journalists and politicians for the "propaganda" they're making out of reporting on and mentioning alleged irregular and wasteful expenditure at the SABC. "Some people they are making propaganda out of that," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

Speaking at the latest breakfast briefing and sitting next to the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi on the stage, Hlaudi Motsoeneng said SABC viewers will get SABC channels that have better image quality once the long-delayed switch-over happens from analogue broadcasting to digital terrestrial television (DTT).

"The picture that you see on television will be better pictures across the board. Whether you're from QwaQwa, whether you're from Venda, you'll see everything the same. The pictures will be okay. We'll even beat that MultiChoice," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng to audience laughter.

"SABC is not going to collapse," admonished Hlaudi Motsoeneng. "When you go to SABC, people within SABC they're very happy. Because today they know that they are getting paid. They also know that if they do well, the company is doing well, we also reward them. We give them bonus," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"For the first time we have put more than R600 million to put on local content. That shows the growth of the SABC and the sustainability of the organisation."

"There is this notion that when you pay TV licence, you are paying the salaries of the employees of the organisation. When you pay TV licence you pay for content. So that we are able to contribute to producing content," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"Let me come to the propaganda of some people, who always mislead the country about the SABC," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"If you are saying SABC is collapsing, which means you always you are collapsing where you are, now. Not the SABC. And the SABC will never collapse under this leadership. I just want to clear that. We have put a good strategy to deal with issues," said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"We need to ask the question: Who is the public? Because always people are saying the views of the public. The public are not happy about the SABC. The fact of the matter. Those people who are competing with the SABC, they are not happy because they see SABC is doing well."

"Generations is doing well now. Doing very, very well now, Generations. When you talk about commercial archives, there is no way where we can't licence commercial archives. How are we going to pay those actors? How are we going to pay the production house if we don't licence to other broadcasters?" said Hlaudi Motsoeneng.

"That is business of all broadcasters. If you see the soapies that people are complaining about, those soapies from international, what you call it? It's commercial archives."

"We also get licence from those broadcasters to broadcast those soapies or dramas. So if you don't have knowledge, don't deal with these issues."

SABC and THE NEW AGE BROADCAST BUNGLE: SABC turns the live Brics breakfast briefing into a babelic technical disaster.

The SABC and The New Age newspaper's SABC The New Age Brics Breakfast Briefing in Durban which was broadcast live on SABC2 on Wednesday morning was once again a terrible television fiasco, marred by amateur production values, sound problems and a babelic mess with no translation for viewers for the Chinese, Russian and Portuguese heard.

The SABC's acting chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, defended the gibberish teletrash shown to South African viewers on the public broadcaster, saying that it is "part of a learning curve" for the public broadcaster.

After Morning Live presenter Leanne Manas threw to the outside broadcast which the SABC showed live from Durban's International Convention Centre (ICC) for the 5th Brics Summit, viewers had to wait for 20 minutes of small talk before the first speech actually started. Sound problems and sound level problems were already evident.

Awkwardly Peter Ndoro had to walk from table to table to start asking questions from guests, trying to kill time as Lulama Mokhobo, the SABC's CEO was spotted at one of the tables. (Interestingly, the Russian president Vladimir Putin also turned down an offer from the SABC for TV make-up.)

Soon after the SABC TNA Brics Breakfast Briefing started, viewers on SABC2 were confronted with speakers from both the platform as well as using the handheld mic at the tables, speaking in languages which ordinary SABC viewers couldn't understand. Viewers saw guests sitting at the tables with little black headsets, getting translation services.

Meanwhile even the audio level of whatever was heard, fluctuated throughout the broadcast - even at the end when Peter Ndoro again spoke but viewers heard nothing. Then when Peter Ndoro was audible, he was drowned out with a surprised looking Peter Ndoro looking around when the moderator drowned him out with: "Members of the business council can you please come on stage, you are also in the photograph?"

Viewers started trashing the SABC and The New Age on social media for the shoddy live broadcast.

"SABC, what is going on?", "SABC2 attribute names to speakers! Turn up translation! I'm sure I'm not alone in not understanding Chinese or Russian", "Poor planning and total disregard for viewers", "Some idiot at the SABC forgot that all this dignitaties will be speaking in their mother tongue,so we get no translation", "SABC not translating the foreign languages", "Couldn't they at least try subtitles?" were just some of the comment from exasperated and upset viewers.

 "Technical issues are turning this into a disaster" said yet another viewer.

The New Age tried to do damage control with a puff piece spin story in its newspaper, calling the SABC TNA Brics Breakfast Briefing "highly successful".

Nazeem Howa, CEO of The New Age said that the response to the breakfast was "overwhelmingly positive, so it is very sad to see the continuous carping from some competitors" without actually mentioning what carping there was, or why.

The story included only comment from the Communications Workers Union (CWU) - interestingly the only SABC trade union publicly sympathetic to Hlaudi Motsoeneng - saying critics were inspired by their own hidden agendas. The newspaper story didn't make any mention of why there was criticism or what is was.

BREAKING. ANN7 - Africa News Network 7 - the new 24-hour South African news channel to be added to DStv towards the middle of 2013.

ANN7 - standing for Africa News Network 7 - is the name of the planned new 24-hour TV news channel from Infinity Media which MultiChoice will be adding to its DStv platform towards the middle of 2013.

MultiChoice will add ANN7 presumably around August, and presumably on the currently vacant channel number 404 where the SABC's new constantly delayed 24-hour TV channel was supposed to go.

Staffing of ANN7 and filling key positions of Africa News Network 7 will start soon.

Infinity Media - a joint venture between Essel Media, Oakbay Investments (Oakbay Investments is the majority shareholder in The New Age newspaper) and a black economic empowerment group - will set up and run ANN7 in South Africa.

Essel Media runs Zee TV, India's largest broadcaster.

Infinity Media will create ANN7's studio fascilities in Midrand from where the channel will create its news channel feed for South Africa and broadcast for 24 hours per day.


ALSO READ: A new 24-hour South African TV news channel launching on DStv later in the year.
ALSO READ: News Age? The planned new 24-hour TV news channel which was even news to me.
ALSO READ: As DStv lose the ill-conceived planned 24-hour news channel from the SABC in exchange for a new New Age 24-hour news channel, the SABC's plans remain but a dream.

NEWS AGE? The planned new 24-hour South African TV news channel from Infinity Media which was even news to me.

I know about the upcoming new TV channel F       O  . (Bigfoot.)

I know about the upcoming new TV channel M       T   . (Newstalk.)

But not even I knew about the planned new 24-hour South African news channel which Infinity Media plans to launch later this year from The New Age newspaper stable on MultiChoice's DStv platform.

ALSO READ: ANN7 - Africa News Network 7 - will be the new 24-hour South African TV news channel which will start in the middle of 2013 on DStv.

Funny thing is, I haven't heard a single word ever about it until the press statement on Thursday in which Infinity Media - a joint venture between Essel Media, Oakbay Investments (Oakbay Investments is the majority shareholder in The New Age newspaper) and a black economic empowerment group - announced that South African viewers will "soon have further diversity in their news choices" with the launch of a new 24-hour news channel.

Thursday afternoon I reached out to a vast number of people - insiders, contacts, trusted sources and names on my contact list build up over more than a decade covering television and South Africa's TV industry. Both  inside South Africa as well as from people overseas came the responses. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

Nobody I asked, knew anything about it. And because I started out as a hard news journalist, was a news editor at various places and have journalists, reporters and editors as friends and contacts, it's not entry level people who I often reach out to or get news tips from. It's people in news, high people in news, who also work in news.

Our credibility, our pride and professional ego is often tied up to what we know, and what we know first. Who knows what before someone else and who gets to whisper it first? So its very strange that nobody knew anything. Because journalists love to share what they know.

Give it 24 hours; 48 maybe or until next week, and the new leaks, the new gushing torrents of information will start to flow as I and other journalists start to dig at what came as this big surprise to a lot of people - a lot of journalists, reporters and editors - on Thursday.

I usually know when a new TV channel is making its way to South Africa or what TV shows are in the works or on its way, and I will always report on what I know. Thursday's announcement was however news to me.

It will be interesting to see what gets dug up now that this new 24-hour news channel story has been added to the news diary and the news agenda.

As DStv lose the ill-conceived 24-hour TV news channel from the SABC in favour of a new New Age one, the SABC's attempt remains but a dream.

It simply took too long, was inappropriately funded as a public broadcaster by a commercial private company, fraught with too many hurdles and mistakes, way too many fake starts, over-promises, non-delivery, a head of news supposed to oversee everything who was suspended for the larger part of 2012 and even zero business plan approval from the Treasury and government ...

... which is why channel 404 on MultiChoice's DStv pay-TV platform which would have been the SABC's new 24-hour TV news channel, will now become a new 24-hour TV news channel from Infinity Media and The New Age newspaper.


ALSO READ: ANN7 - Africa News Network 7 - is the new 24-hour South African TV news channel which will start towards the middle of 2013 on DStv.


It was the right thing for MultiChoice and the SABC to sever paths in as far as the stillborn SABC's new 24-hour TV news channel is concerned and which was supposed to replace the ill-fated SABC News International. MultiChoice, a private, commercial company was ready to pump millions of rands into the news channel - a news channel from the public broadcaster. Talk about a conflict of interest.

That is and would have been inappropriate. As a public broadcaster - although widely considered a government mouthpiece - the SABC should remain neutral and free from corporate, commercial influences, such as a private company investing in it in return for a service. And that is what would have happened had the SABC news channel materialised on DStv.

Now the struggling broadcaster will (have to) wait for the excrusiatingly never-arriving vista of digital terrestrial television (DTT) on which to launch its SABC 24-hour news channel without DStv money and assistance.

And who knows, the channel might still eventually end up again on DStv and TopTV who might include it as a public service channel under South Africa's must-carry regulations if that does come to pass in the new digital broadcasting regulatory environment.

MultiChoice will not be funding the new 24-hour news channel from Infinity Media, although there wouldn't be a problem with that if there were an investment from MultiChoice into this new news channel.

The new news channel which Infinity Media plans to launch on DStv later this year would not, and never will be, a public broadcaster like what the SABC is.

The SABC's ineptitude, bad planning, lack of funding and general procrastination make the hurdles to launch and turn its proposed 24-hour TV news channel into a success now even more difficult.

With the eNCA already in existence and the next new local South African news channel now on the horizon with a planned launch for later this year, the SABC's new news channel - if it ever starts - would become the third news channel. It will no longer be the second and face an even bigger struggle for viewers, advertisers, funding, brand breakthrough in a clutter market and access to news and scoops.

Can South Africa really cope with three local 24-hour news channels? Is there really enough voices, enough different opinions - enough news! - to create and maintain three distinct rolling news channels in this country?

The eNCA has been very successful so far. Meanwhile the new start-up channel from Infinity Media and The New Age attempting to follow in the eNCA's footsteps will need deep pockets and will require an investment of millions. The SABC, now suddenly relegated to third in the line behind these two, just suddenly got the odds stacked even further against it.

As DStv bid adieu to the SABC's wanna-make-it-work 24-hour TV news channel, and as a brand-new contender enter the video sphere ring from its studios under construction in Midrand, the SABC's plans for a new "SABC News International" - despite lofty test runs out of Auckland Park - remains an ever-elusive pipedream.