According to a report on the journalism.co.za website, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is due to launch its own 24-hour television news service, branded SABC News International. The channel is to be beamed across Africa and test transmissions are scheduled to start on 6 June.
“SABC News International will provide on-the-hour news bulletins and news updates,” says Alwyn Kloppers, Manager of Resources at SABC News. Following similar lines to the big international services like CNN, BBC World and Al Jazeera, SABC News International will seek to compete commercially. “We hope to make it commercial and we hope to come up with a solid commercial and marketing plan,” says Kloppers.
The channel will replace the existing SABC Africa satellite television service whose broadcasting contract expires in March 2008. The new channel will be available on Sentech’s relatively unknown VIVID satellite platform. It will be free to air, but users will need to buy a special decoder. The PAS10 footprint used will cover Sub-Saharan Africa from Nigeria to South Africa, according to Sentech’s product manager of signal distribution, Miranda Abrahams.
Initially, programmes will be mainly in English, with French as the second main language. Other languages such as Portuguese could be added later.
Africans Together Vision (ATV), led by Samir Amin, is planning a pan-African channel called A24 TV. In 2006, ATV announced that it aims to give a voice to the continent and that it targets free-to-air television and radio stations complemented by mobile and internet services before autumn 2007.
“We’ve modelled it around Al Jazeera Arabic, not Al Jazeera English. Obviously we’re not aiming to be as controversial as they are … What they do well is give a voice to people in the Middle East. In Africa, we don’t have a voice,” China Daily reported Amin as saying on April 6 2006.
(Source: journalism.co.za website, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa 31 May 07 via BBC Monitoring)
on Oct 1st, 2007 at 16:33
PLS CAN U EXPLAN ME WHT CHANE I WILL GET FREE TO AIR IN AFRICA
on Oct 1st, 2007 at 16:34
IS IT POSSIBLE TO WATCH SABC FREE
on Oct 14th, 2007 at 02:53
i want to watch sabc news on my computer.
on Oct 14th, 2007 at 02:55
i love sabc. so i want to watch sabc on my computer in order to be inform about watis going on in africa.
on Jan 8th, 2008 at 15:04
An exellent 24hours news channel, it gives a wide range of news info, I throw a lovely kiss to thembisa makele, she is my inspiration on TV, Love her.
on Jan 24th, 2008 at 11:15
its a great innovation, makes a change and brings the whole world closer, they should add in more featiures.
thembisa makele if you are arleady taken give me a chance
best of luck to the sation
on Jan 24th, 2008 at 11:18
its a great innovation, makes a change and brings the whole world closer, they should add in more featiures.
thembisa makele if you are NOT arleady taken give me a chance
best of luck to the sation
on Nov 9th, 2008 at 23:30
HI
I am wondering if it will be possible to watch SABC from Canada. If possible wich Decoder I will need and where to buy it.
Mainly I will need to watch the following countries TV: Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger. Or do you have any suggestion on how I can watch above TV station by satelite.
Thank you
on Apr 3rd, 2010 at 01:21
hello can you please help me install all my chanells on my vivid decoder. i=
t reseted the other day and now i cant find any1 to install my chanells. th=
e problems is i dont know the transponder, frequency, peroliaim and all of =
that. please help.