A few months ago, the transitional government announced its intention to revive the legendary African station and renovate the old premises, which had been abandoned since the station closed.
Since early May, AFRICA N°1 has returned to its original frequency, 94.5 FM, and resumed broadcasting for six hours spread across the morning, midday, and evening slots, focusing on sports and music, the areas on which the radio station built its reputation.
Meanwhile, renovation work on the premises continues: a budget of 380 million CFA francs has been allocated to relaunching the station for refurbishment work and the repurchase of the 52% of shares still held by the Libyan government, to which the station was sold 17 years ago following financial difficulties.
For many, Africa N°1 is a legendary radio station that was the most listened to and best known pan-African radio station in French-speaking Africa from the 1980s to the 2000s. It also enjoyed significant advertising revenue at a time when FM stations were just beginning to emerge.
Here is a brief summary of the eventful history of Africa No. 1.
- Africa No. 1 was launched in 1981 by the Gabonese government in partnership with private investors and SOFIRAD (a French publicly traded company that also had stakes in numerous radio stations and TV channels such as Europe 1, Radio Monte-Carlo, Sud Radio, Medi1, TMC, etc.).
- In 2002, SOFIRAD withdrew and the Paris branch of Africa N°1 was privatized. It still exists under the name Africa Radio, now 63% owned by Partenaire Production (headed by Dominique Guihot, CEO of Africa Média), 17% by ANTC (Africa Nouvelles Technologies et Communication, a company in which Dominique Guihot is the majority shareholder) and 20% by Africa No. 1-Gabon.
- In 2007, the Gabonese branch was sold to the Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation (LJBC), which acquired 52% of the company's shares alongside the Gabonese government (35%) and a private Gabonese shareholder (13%).
- In November 2018, the National Agency for Digital Infrastructure and Frequencies (ANINF) withdrew Africa No. 1's broadcasting frequency, and Africa No. 1 Gabon ceased to exist.