JOHANNESBURG. – Mzwanele Manyi, the man who bought ANN7 and The New Age through a complicated vendor finance deal from the controversial Gupta family, proudly tweeted that he had re-branded the news channel yesterday.
The ANN7 news channel was re-branded as Afro Worldview. The New Age newspaper has been renamed Afro Voice.
However, the channel does not look significantly different to ANN7, as the graphics and style remain the same, with the only significant change appearing to be the logos. Following an announcement that the vendor financing deal had been settled, Manyi’s Afrotone Media Holdings last week unveiled the re-branded television news channel and daily newspaper, both of which went live yesterday. Afro Worldview launched a fresh bid for a 24-hour news channel on DStv so it can continue broadcasting, the company said.
The company said this was a “strategic decision” to break away from the scandal-ridden fugitive Gupta family, who sold the media platforms to Manyi through vendor financing, suggesting the Guptas loaned Manyi the money to buy their media entities. Manyi announced on Saturday that the R450-million price tag had to be renegotiated and was lowered, leading to a full settlement.
The television news channel’s contract on MultiChoice’s DStv platform ends on August 30, following its decision not to renew the ANN7 contract.
“Afro Worldview’s vision is to be the trusted voice of Africa. It will strive to be the most representative voice of the country and the continent that would also ensure that the plight of the poor and marginalised is brought to the fore,” Afrotone said in a statement. “The bidding process to award a new black-owned news channel is still under way and the final decision on the winning bidder will be announced by MultiChoice at the end of July 2018.” – The Citizen.