According to Jeune Afrique, Africanews management has announced to its employees that the pan-African channel will cease operations at the end of February 2019.
Launched in 2016, the pan-African channel Africanews, headed by François Chignac, provided 24-hour coverage of news and economics in sub-Saharan Africa. As we mentioned in our report on news channels, pan-African news channels are difficult to make profitable due to the size of the pan-African advertising market and the vastness of the territory to be covered.
Sustainable funding is generally provided either by public institutions or by long-term sponsors or investors who view news channels as an invaluable tool for influence and are not concerned with an immediate return on investment.
In July 2019, the Malagasy group SIPROMAD announced its intention to buy the channel for $20 million. This sale was subsequently canceled.
With no buyer in sight, the pan-African television channel will be forced to suspend its activities and close its headquarters in Pointe-Noire.
Read also: What does the future hold for AFRICANEWS within SIPROMAD?