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Another SA news channel for DStv

Cape Town – A TV news tsunami is heading South African viewers' way - but only for those who can pay.

The Africa New Network (ANN7) South African TV news channel will start on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform on August 21.

This means that South Africa's TV news wars for eyeballs will intensify as the available TV news channels in one month increases from just the one 24-hour local new channel - the well-regarded eNCA (DStv 403) - to three with the addition of SABC News (DStv 404) and ANN7 (DStv 405).

All three the channels are, however, only viewable on DStv, leaving On Digital Media's TopTV out in the cold as well as ordinary SABC licence fee payers who can only rely on free-to-air channels for their TV news.

ANN7, which embarked on a massive recruitment drive for staff – including technical crew as well as on-air talent – already attracted some top level on-air talent such as Chantal Rutter Dros from M-Net's Carte Blanche. She will serve as the primetime news anchor for ANN7 Headlines and ANN7 Prime.

Dros will be joined by another former M-Net personality, Gerry Rantseli-Elsdon who will be the presenter of Vuka Africa.

'Most technologically advanced news channel'

They are two of the over 150 people now attached to the ANN7 news channel which will make its debut on Wednesday, August 21 on what ANN7 calls "the most technologically advanced news channel in South Africa".

ANN7 boasts that it will have "the latest newsroom automation systems, cutting edge electronic news gathering technology and a network of sharp, young journalists and experienced editors who will give a fresh perspective to the TV viewers of the country".

ANN7 will bring South African viewers news and politics, sports, business and entertainment news.

The ANN7's website at www.ann7.com quietly went live a few weeks ago as the news team started a testing dry-run for the upcoming launch. The ANN7 website will try to lure viewers via online, similar to eNCA's website.

Other TV talent who will be seen on ANN7 from the news channel's headquarters in Midrand include Arthur Mafokate who will be the presenter of a new weekly flagship ANN7 sports programme entitled Hola Weekend and Jimmy Manyi who will be doing a weekly hard talk show Straight Talk similar to the BBC World News' HARDtalk and the eNCA's Justice Factor.

"I am looking forward to presenting viewers with a channel that is unique in its profile and choice of programmes," says Nazeem Howa, the director at Infinity Media which is launching ANN7 to the tune of millions of rands, in a press statement.

"We look forward to welcoming ANN7 onto our DStv platform," says Collins Khumalo, MultiChoice South Africa CEO in the statement.
 
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