Euronews has decided to continue Africanews' operations but will repatriate production to its headquarters in Lyon.
"Despite numerous ups and downs and a difficult economic model, we have decided to continue Africanews' operations, with the aim of bringing it to economic equilibrium within five years,
" CEO Michael Peters told AFP.
In addition to the difficulty of monetizing its audience, Africanews suffers from very high technical costs, particularly for transmission. While its editorial team is based in Pointe Noire, its programs are broadcast from Lyon, which requires an expensive secure fiber connection.
To save on this expense, the African editorial team will be partially transferred to Lyon. "Around 20" journalists will gradually join the Euronews editorial team, while the others will be offered freelance work for Africanews in their countries of origin.
"It was very important to preserve the African DNA of Africanews. There was no question of us producing a channel from Europe, with Europeans, to explain things to Africans,
" said Mr. Peters, who also assured that "there will be no major changes to Africanews' programming."
Congolese technical staff are being encouraged to form an association to which Africanews would transfer its facilities, still all The shutdown of operations in Pointe Noire and the switch to France will take place on July 31. This new organization "will enable us to reduce costs significantly—by at least 30%," Peters estimated.
On the revenue side, the outlook is also brightening, as Africanews joined the basic Dstv package of South Africa's MultiChoice group, the leading satellite TV operator in sub-Saharan Africa, at the beginning of the year.
Africanews, which was previously marketed from France, will now be marketed from Johannesburg.
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Following this reorganization, Euronews is still looking for a partner for its African sister channel. "For a commercial or capital agreement. Anything is possible to give Africanews a new ambition," added the executive.
(Source AFP)
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