SABC EXTENDS 24-HOUR NEWS CHANNEL INTO AFRICA AS IT CHAMPIONS THE VOICE OF AFRICA- ‘we are one africa’

#SABCNewsAfricawide

Johannesburg, Friday 22 May 2015 - The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), celebrated Africa Month, by extending the services of its 24-Hour News Channel, which is broadcast on the DStv platform on channel 404 into the rest of the continent.
The channel was previously broadcast only in the SADC region and with this expansion it will enable 50 African countries to have access to the SABC’s 24-Hour News channel. The channel will feature a mixture of local and continental news stories to appeal to the wide range of audience which the channel will be serving.

The 24-Hour News channel was launched in August 2013, and over the past 18 months has made great strides in becoming a premier source of news and information for the SADC region. Broadcasting highlights thus far, include the coverage of the successful elections in Zambia, Lesotho and Nigeria, as well as the SADC Special Summit in Zimbabwe and the Pan African Parliament held in Johannesburg last week.

Mr. Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the Corporation’s Chief Operations Officer (COO) stated: “This development will assist the SABC in championing the voice of the continent, by telling African stories from an African perspective. It will also create a platform for South Africans to interact with their fellow African counterparts, by celebrating the continent’s achievements, showcasing opportunities and addressing challenges”.

He further said that: “With the country having recently experienced Xenophobia, as a public service broadcaster our role in dealing with this matter is to further expose our South African citizens to the lives of their fellow Africans as we are one. The extension of this news service will go a long way in fulfilling that objective and reinforcing Africa’s unity, commitment to peace, democracy and economic development”.