mce_keep=”true”Spokesperson Peter Ndoro told TheMediaOnline CNBC Africa had a “multimedia development in place” that would “hopefully” include magazines.
Ndoro said CNBC Africa’s sister channel href=”https://www.cnbc.com/id/18037852/” target=”_blank” mce_href=”https://www.cnbc.com/id/18037852/”CNBC Europe had a magazine!_LT_/a.
On the mobile TV front, Ndoro said CNBC Africa was one of the test channels in MultiChoice’s DBV-H (Digital Broadcast Video – Handheld) trials.
MultiChoice said earlier it hoped to launch such a DVB-H based cellphone TV service, DStv Mobile, this year.
It has not yet been announced which channels will form part of the commercially launched service.
‘A bit of change’
CNBC Africa, which was launched in June last year, last month released the results of an online survey about its programming.
Ndoro described the research, conducted by Millward Brown in conjunction with iAfrica, as the first “real indication if anyone is actually interested in our channel”.
He said viewers could expect “a bit of change” in the new year based on the findings of the research.
Respondents wanted changes such as more regional (African) market news and personal finance content.
The results of the survey, with just over 700 respondents, cannot be generalised. Susie White, the channel’s director of sales and marketing, nevertheless, described the significant (more than a third) proportion of respondents between the ages 25 and 34 years as “encouraging”.
CNBC believes the survey shows that the “aspirational market” is watching too.
Numbers
The survey found 37% of respondents watched Summit TV in addition to CNBC Africa and 35% also watched Bloomberg TV.
White told TheMediaOnline CNBC Africa had as weekly South African viewership of approximately 212,000, according to TGI research.
She said CNBC Africa was targeting 7.5 million viewers across Africa. It hoped to achieve this viewership “within the next five to ten years”.
She confirmed the channel had secured advertising of R30-million for the period June to December 2007. White said 40% is “traditional television advertising”; the rest is sponsorship driven.
■The resignation of CNBC Africa’s chief operating officer, Trevor Ormerod, was announced in December. Ndoro said Ormerod’s decision to return to Primedia had “nothing to do” with the business channel. “He used to be at Primedia. I think their offer worked for him,” Ndoro said.
