Afro Worldview (previously ANN7, African News Network 7) was a 24-hour satellite TV news channel that operated from August 2013 to August 2018 in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It was established and owned by the

Gupta family The Gupta family is a wealthy Indian-born family with business interests in South Africa, whose most notable members are brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol. The family ow ...

. The channel was broadcast on the

DStv Digital Satellite Television, commonly abbreviated to DStv, is a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based in Randburg, South Africa. Launched on 6 October 1995, the service provides multiple audio, ...

satellite television service owned by

Multichoice MultiChoice is a South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa and GOtv, a minor service operating in over 9 countries of this area and Showmax service. MultiChoice was formed out of the sub ...

History

The channel's launch in August 2013 was initially met with public mockery when numerous technical issues and mistakes made by untrained presenters went viral online. In 2017, the channel was sold to Afrotone Media Holdings, a holding company owned by former Tiger Brands group executive Mzwanele "Jimmy" Manyi. In January 2018, It was announced that ANN7 will shut down on 20 August 2018 due to failure contract renewal with

. However, the channel was renamed Afro Worldview on 30 April 2018, but still ceased to air on the platform.

Ownership

Prior to August 2017, ANN7 was primarily controlled by Infinity Media Networks which was owned jointly by Essel Media (35%), Oakbay Investments, the Gupta family’s investment vehicle (35%), Mabengela Investments (21%). Mabengela Investments is a

Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is a policy of the South African government which aims to facilitate broader participation in the economy by black people. A form of affirmative action, it is intended especially to redress the inequalities creat ...

company of which Duduzane Zuma holds a 45% stake, with other shareholders including Rajesh Kumar Gupta (25%), Aerohaven Trading (15%), Fidelity Investments (10%), Mfazi Investments (3%) and Ashu Chawla (2%). In August 2017, ANN7 and ''The New Age'' were sold to Mzwanele Manyi.

Format

Programming provided by ANN7 includes news segments, sports highlights, political and news-based talk-shows with round-table discussions, nationwide weather reports, and lifestyle, entertainment and special interest news The ANN7 studios, operating out of their purpose-built

Midrand Midrand is a former municipality in central Gauteng, South Africa. It is situated in-between Centurion and Sandton and now forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History Midrand was established as a municipality in 198 ...

studios, employed a team of 76 journalists. According to its website, Africa News Network 7 (ANN7) focused on "constructive, nation-building stories in the interests of building a culture of unity and pride."

Accusations of propaganda

In March 2017, during the run-up to President Jacob Zuma's firing of Finance Minister

Pravin Gordhan Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan (born 12 April 1949) is a politician and anti-apartheid activist who has held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017, ...

— who had previously actively resisted the pro-Zuma Gupta family's continued and repeated attempts at

state capture State capture is a type of systemic political corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state's decision-making processes to their own advantage. The term was first used by the World Bank, around the year 2000, to describe ...

of the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. It was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) and was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie (EVKOM). Eskom repre ...

and other

state-owned companies A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

— ANN7 ran repeated and aggressive propaganda campaigns to discredit the minister, often using incomplete or fabricated evidence. The channel was fiercely criticised for spreading partial, biased and fake news in a bid to undermine the Finance Minister, and paint the President in a more favourable light. The international news broadcaster

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة‎, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...

reported that Zuma's close relationship with the Guptas has "translated into friendly coverage in the outlets they own," such as ANN7 and ''The New Age'' newspaper. During the

Zondo Commission of Inquiry The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, is a public inquiry established in Janu ...

into

in June 2019 former ANN7 editor, Rajesh Sundara, testified that then president

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

was actively involved in running the station and dictating its content and message.

Coverage of the 2016 Gupta family controversy

In March 2016 ANN7, along with the Gupta-owned newspaper ''The New Age'', was strongly criticised by the African National Congress (ANC) for its coverage of President Jacob Zuma's relationship with the Gupta family and the ensuing political controversy around the issue. The broadcaster along with ''The New Age'' apologised for its coverage shortly after the ANC's criticism was stated.

References

{{reflist

External links

Afro Worldview Official WebsiteIndentured - Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV
- book written by former ANN7 editor and employee, Rajesh Sundaram, on the establishment and day-to-day running of the controversial news channel. Television stations in South Africa Television channels and stations established in 2013 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2018 Defunct mass media in South Africa