TVAfrica
CountryMauritius
South Africa
Broadcast areaAfrica
HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
Programming
Language(s)English
French
Ownership
OwnerTVAfrica Operations S.A. Pty Ltd (Africa Media Group)[1]
History
LaunchedJuly 1998[2]
Closed1 October 2003 (liquidation)[3]
2005 (closure of the company)

TVAfrica was a pan-African television network founded in 1998 by former advertising executive Dave Kelly alongside sports broadcaster Berry Lambert.[4] The network relayed up to 80% of its content to private television stations in sub-Saharan Africa and also licensed the broadcast of sporting events (excluding South Africa due to licensing regulations)[5] to interested broadcasters. At its apex, the channel broadcast to as many as 26 countries (up to 40 in licensed sporting events),[6] the majority of them English-speaking and French-speaking states. There were separate versions, in English and French.[2]

Funding problems led to the liquidation of the channel in 2003.

History

TVAfrica was founded in 1997[7] and started broadcasting in July 1998 from its operational base in South Africa. The founders were Barry Lambert and David Kelly, with funding provided by the Zephyr Management Group, the Africa Investment Group and the South Africa Enterprise Development Fund.[2] Domiciled in Mauritius, the network's broadcasting facilities were located in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.[8] The programming model was similar to the American television network format, with affiliates across the coverage area. The network started with affiliates in four countries, Botswana, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe before extending its reach to more than two dozen countries and over 40 affiliates.[9] Uganda, one of the first affiliates, came from a reshaping of the line-up of Sanyu Television, Uganda's first privately-owned television channel.[10] In December 1998, TVAfrica bought Sanyu TV from the Katto family.[11] The station changed its logo to a modified version of TVAfrica's bearing the STV initials.[12]

The network stemmed out of a gradual process of liberalisation of television stations across the African continent in the 90s. Networks in individual markets were still touted as being propagandistic, leaning to their respective governments of the time, whereas the emerging private television sector was still facing heavy difficulties at the time, with many channels shutting down[7]

Quentin Green left e.tv where he had a job as sales and managing director and joined TVAfrica in April 2001.[13]

TVAfrica also faced competition from another syndicator, the African Broadcasting Network (ABN), domiciled in the United Kingdom, which tied in with state television channels in several countries.[14]

The channel secured the exclusive rights to the African Cup of Nations starting from its 2002 edition in a deal that was valid until 2008.[15]

The network boosted its potential viewership base upon purchasing the rights to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, having sold 90% of the potential sponsorship packages a month and a half ahead of the start of the tournament. The syndication formula had already become a win-win at the time.[16] The network had paid $1,5 million for the rights in Nigeria alone.[17]

TVAfrica moved to new premises in the Morningside suburb of Johannesburg on 17 May 2002, two weeks before the start of the World Cup. The new facilities cost US$1.8 million out of the US$22.5 million it had received in the first few months of 2002 alone, by developing the technological capabilities of the network to include two production studios, six editing facilities and four final control centres for the four feeds of the channel. The World Cup coverage was presented by South African sports journalist Louis Karpas from the new building, as well as an educational programme.[18] Late in 2002, TVAfrica set up a new Namibian affiliate from scratch, partnering with local production company INTV, as well as holding 20% of the stocks of STV in Mozambique.[19]

Founder Barry Lambert left TVAfrica in 2002 to found LIM Africa, which in 2005 partnered with Setanta Sports to later set up an African version of the channel and licensing agreements with free-to-air broadcasters.[20]

STV in Mozambique withdrew its affiliation agreement in early 2003 as the content didn't match local tastes.[21]

Liquidation

Africa Media Group, the parent company of the channel, decided to put TVAfrica up for liquidation on 1 October 2003. A number of alternative solutions to keep the network afloat were considered, but neither of the options was suitable for its economic climate, prompting the station to go off air and liquidate, as the operation didn't meet expectations at the long term.[3] Dave Kelly still showed belief in the idea of such a network, but it was complicated, on the grounds that its US investors did not apply the capital properly. He and Quentin Green left the network owing to disagreements ahead of its liquidation.[22]

One of my great sadnesses - apart from the fact that I invested five years and quite a lot of my money - is that people will say there goes another failed African project. But I still think it's doable. I'm now trying to raise funds for another try. I'd like not to have just financial investors but also a strategic investor as a partner who understands the media business. -Dave Kelly on the liquidation of TVAfrica[22]

One of the factors that led to the collapse of the network was its affiliation with smaller television stations, almost all of them commercial, in opposition to the dominating TV channels in many countries that were under government control.[4]

Affiliates also blocked the network's commercial breaks in order to insert their own ones, blocking commercials for clients already booked by the network. This caused problems in the advertising scheme, disabling TVAfrica from billing its clients.[6]

The shutdown of the network exposed the fragile status of building a pan-African television network, as well as the status of media in Africa in general.[23]

New channels and companies took over the frequencies and operations of TVAfrica in some countries weeks after its liquidation, in Namibia One Africa Television took over,[24] while in Nigeria Proudly Africa Media replaced the activities of the former West African unit of the network to its affiliates. The new replacement company also expanded its local production activities in Nigeria and Ghana.[25]

Programming

TVAfrica's lineup consisted primarily of American and British television series as well as international sporting events, broadcast either on full-time or part-time affiliates (the latter affiliates only carried sports broadcasts). In its early years, TVAfrica lacked its own news programme, instead relaying a daily half-hour of news from BBC World and affiliates resorted to air their own newscasts. Thanks to initial agreements with the early affiliates, these carried five hours on weekdays and seven hours on weekends, including sports.[7]

Most of the programming was in English, but programming in French was also carried, to cater affiliates in Benin, Burundi, Gabon, Niger and Togo. TVAfrica had the ability to sell time to local advertisers in programming packages sent to terrestrial broadcasters. These programmes were similar in nature to the ones carried by M-Net and other DStv channels. Local African programming primarily came from the Nigerian and Kenyan bureaux, but such programming was in short supply. The local affiliates were responsible for the production of news output for the service, where available.[2]

In 2001, Africa Business Tonight premiered, a daily 15-minute bulletin about business in the continent.[26] That same year, TVAfrica lost the rights to broadcast the Premier League to SuperSport.[27]

In May 2002, the channel introduced 7 Days, a weekly newsmagazine, with inserts provided by the affiliates, and the pre-existing Africa Business Tonight had its length doubled from 15 minutes to 30. Further plans for 2002 included a cooking show, concerts from artists from the countries where the network had affiliates and a gameshow.[28]

Educational programming started in line with the move to Morningside. Titled African Learning Channel, inserted in the children's slot K Club, this consisted of a pre-recorded curriculum slot followed by a second slot where teacher-presenter William Smith answered questions related to school subjects live by telephone. The five targets of the initial phase were Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda and Botswana. The pre-requisite for taking part involved access to a TVA affiliate and a phone line. Initially these broadcasts were aimed at Tanzania (East feed) and Botswana (South feed). A Tanzanian commercial company had signed an agreement to sponsor the telephones and television sets enabling children to phone to the presenter.[29] The project followed a two-week experiment that started on 13 March.[30]

The network carried the 2002 FIFA World Cup having spent $1.5 million.

A celebrity cooking show (Taste of Africa) was added in October 2002. The show was presented by Tich Mataz and filmed on location in ten countries, with each episode having a guest star from the specific country.[31]

Overnight simulcasts of BBC World were added to the feeds (and subsequently its affiliates) in January 2003. At the time, the network covered seven million households.[32]

In its last year on air, the network grabbed the rights to the Brazilian national football championship's 2003 season.[33]

In July 2003, TVAfrica signed an agreement with Nigerian company Wale Adenuga Productions to distribute its series Odd World.[34]

After the closure of TVAfrica, Africa Business Tonight was outsourced to African Business Channel, owners of Summit Television in South Africa, and was carried by one of its successors in Nigeria and Ghana.[25]

Affiliates

The number of affiliates varied constantly. When TVAfrica filed for liquidation in 2003, it had 39 affiliates in 23 countries.[4] Another source claimed that the number was 34 affiliates in 24 countries.[2] The highest reported number, around the time of the World Cup in 2002, was 45 affiliates in 26 countries.[5]

TVAfrica was divided in three English feeds (East, West, South) and a French feed. Most affiliates relied on TVAfrica for live sports, others relayed the entire schedule.

The company's modus operandi also involved partial or total control of private television stations in Africa. In some countries, up to two channels were eligible, yet in Nigeria, the number was up to 20. Candidates for affiliate status should have a suitable broadcasting license, financial stability, apolitical programming and stategy and abidance to the national regulator.[7]

The rationale behind the affiliate system was deeply rooted in the lack of money the affiliates had in acquire programming. By relying on the network's pre-packaged content formula, this gave audiences to advertisers and programming to affiliated broadcasters. The four feeds all had the same programming, disregarding the regions each channel was broadcasting to.[35]

East

West

South

French

Controversies

Nigeria

In 2000, the network took the Nigerian Television Authority to court over illegalities in the licensing of UEFA Euro 2000, which had been taken over from Canal France Internationale.[46] NTA was forced to remove its carriage of the championship, resulting in piracy issues.[47] The NBC believed that TVAfrica wasn't registered to the regulator, causing Channels Television (which had obtained the rights from them)[48] and other channels relaying its content to cease the relays or face sanctions by the Commission.[39] Channels Television was also interested in Euro 2000, but also faced the same problemas as NTA, under the grounds that TVAfrica was not registered in Nigeria.[49]

The 2002 African Cup of Nations held in Mali caused massive controversy over the lack of free-to-air television rights in Nigeria, under the grounds that TVAfrica was a content provider and not a television channel. In addition, TV channels in Nigeria would only air the matches without airing commercials for alcoholic beverages before 9:45pm, per local rules. TVAfrica gave the stations a package of foreign commercials that were sourced by the company with directives for the affiliates to not feature local representatives of brands or even local adverts.[50]

Outside of sports broadcasts, affiliates of the Nigerian Television Authority, TVAfrica's main competitor, were strongly discourageed from broadcasting the output of the network, as NTA was long-established and had more priority.[23]

Other countries

The effects of TVAfrica's win over CFI in the rights to carry Euro 2000 were noted in the French-speaking countries, where the matches carried by TVAfrica's affiliates in Francophone markets were shown in English. The CFI-backed satellite operator, Le SAT, had no sports channel in its offering. ORTB and CRTV, part-time affiliates of the network, relayed the matches in French, unlike the majority of the countries.[51]

At closing time, the network was criticized due to its reliance on affiliation agreements with smaller television stations and programming that did not cater to the tastes of the viewing audience. Most of the content seen on the service was American, which many viewers didn't like.[1] This also counterbalanced the amount of local programming, which would have saved the network from collapsing.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 "TVAfrica goes off air". BBC News. 3 October 2003. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Transnational Television in Sub-Saharan Africa". University of Nigeria Interdisciplinary Journal of Communication Studies. 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 "African Media Group decides to liquidate TV Africa". BizCommunity. 3 October 2003. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Model mistakes". Mail & Guardian. 24 February 2004. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 "TVAfrica kicks off in high-tech studios". Variety. 9 June 2002. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  6. 1 2 "AMG shutters cash-strapped TV Africa". Variety. 19 October 2003. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Press". TVAfrica. 9 February 2001. Archived from the original on 12 July 2001. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Disclosure". World Bank International Finance Corporation. 9 February 2001. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Disclosure". World Bank International Finance Corporation. 9 February 2001. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "Uganda: Sanyu TV in major build-up". AllAfrica. 1 July 1998. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  11. ↑ E-Readiness Assessment Report; Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications; Government of Uganda; page 157.
  12. ↑ "The Uganda Gazette" (PDF). Gazettes.Africa. 21 July 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "E.TV's Marketing Director Leaves to join TV Africa". AllAfrica. 17 April 2001. Archived from the original on 24 April 2001. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "African Network ABN Signs Up Swazi TV". WARC. 19 November 2001. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "TVA Africa secured the sole right to broadcast the World Cup", Africa Film & TV Magazine, nº. 33, May-July 2002
  16. ↑ "TVAfrica scores with soccer Cup". Variety. 14 April 2002. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  17. 1 2 "TVAfrica Commits N1.8bn On W/Cup For Nigeria". AllAfrica. 31 May 2002. Archived from the original on 1 June 2002. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "Multimillion US dollar TV studio opens in Johannesburg". BizCommunity. 17 May 2002. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "Africa Film & TV Magazine". Google Books. 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  20. ↑ "Uganda: Setanta Africa Pioneers Free to Air Sports Television". AllAfrica. 23 July 2009. Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  21. ↑ Makura, Moky (2012). Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs. Penguin Random House South Africa. ISBN 9780143027362. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  22. 1 2 "AdReview - Page 72". Google Books. 2003. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  23. 1 2 3 "TV Africa's demise ends free-to-air television in Africa?". GhanaWeb. 12 January 2004. Archived from the original on 7 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  24. ↑ "One Africa TV Succeeds TV Africa's Failure". AllAfrica. 27 November 2003. Archived from the original on 11 May 2004. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "Nigeria: Proudly Africa Replaces TV Africa". AllAfrica. 27 November 2003. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  26. ↑ "TV Africa Strides On". AllAfrica. 29 October 2001. Archived from the original on 4 February 2002. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  27. ↑ "STV lose Premiership". New Vision. 6 November 2023. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2001.
  28. ↑ "TVAfrica's new locally-produced fare". BizCommunity. 2 May 2002. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  29. ↑ "TVAfrica to launch interactive TV learning programmes". BizCommunity. 2 May 2002. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  30. ↑ "TVAfrica to launch interactive TV learning programmes". BizCommunity. 15 July 2002. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  31. ↑ "Look What Agnes is Cooking Up ..." BizCommunity. 11 October 2002. Archived from the original on 27 October 2002. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  32. ↑ "AIB The Channel January 2003" (PDF). The Association for International Broadcasting. January 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  33. ↑ "TVAfrica goes Brazilian". New Vision. 19 March 2003. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  34. 1 2 Cooper-Chen, Anne (2005). Global Entertainment Media: Content, Audiences, Issues. Routledge. ISBN 9781135607821. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 "Broadcasting Policy and Practice in Africa" (PDF). Article 19. 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  36. ↑ "MEDIA PROFILE - TANZANIA" (PDF). Gamos Ltd. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  37. ↑ "TV Africa, CTV Enter Alliance". AllAfrica. 18 February 2002. Archived from the original on 29 March 2002. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  38. ↑ "TV Africa: Death of a Dream". AllAfrica. 18 February 2002. Archived from the original on 5 November 2003. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  39. 1 2 "Broadcasting In Nigeria: Unlocking The Airwaves" (PDF). Article 19. 2 February 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  40. ↑ "Metro TV sues TV Africa for $320,000 damages". Modern Ghana. 17 January 2002. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  41. ↑ "Desert TV On the Air". AllAfrica. 21 May 2002. Archived from the original on 1 June 2002. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  42. ↑ "ESTRATÉGIAS DISCURSIVAS DOS TELEJORNAIS DE MOÇAMBIQUE – Análise crítica do Jornal Nacional e do Jornal da Noite" (PDF). Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  43. ↑ "TVAfrica signs with Lesotho Television". BizCommunity. 2 April 2002. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  44. ↑ "Ténéré TV – 2TV (Niger)". Unifrance. 4 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  45. ↑ "La mondialisation culturelle en Afrique francophone: le cas du cinéma à Libreville (Gabon)". University of Lorraine. 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  46. ↑ "TV Africa Drags NTA To Court Over Euro 2000". AllAfrica. 25 May 2000. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  47. ↑ "Nigeria: A Clash In The Air". AllAfrica. 21 June 2000. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  48. ↑ "IMPLICATION OF NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMMISSION CODE ON BROADCAST MEDIA (A STUDY OF AIT LAGOS)" (PDF). Afe Babalola University. August 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  49. ↑ "Broadcasting Regulation and Broadcasting In Nigeria: An Overview Of The Approaches" (PDF). International Institute for Science, Technology and Education. 2013 (PDF). Retrieved 8 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help)
  50. ↑ "TV Africa Versus Nigerian Broadcasters: A Twist in the Tale". AllAfrica. 30 January 2002. Archived from the original on 10 February 2002. Retrieved 8 January 2002.
  51. ↑ "le football est-il anglophone ?". Afrik.com. 21 June 2000. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
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