The SA Broadcasting Corporation and AltX-listed media company Moneyweb today agreed to substantially expand and deepen their partnership.
Apart from the existing relationship of producing nightly business radio shows, the financial media specialist will also provide breaking business, investment and personal finance reports within RSG, SAFM and Lotus FM’s programming. This service is to be expanded to other SABC-owned stations.
In line with the agreement, from Monday, 1 October 2012, SABC Radio Sales will become the exclusive agent for all sales activities around Moneyweb-produced radio programming. In the past, advertising around Moneyweb programming was partly handled by independent sales house United Stations.
“We and Moneyweb decided it makes sense for the SABC to take sole responsibility for sales. It is the kind of smart partnership that benefits everyone involved – mostly helping to empower and educate the 20 million South Africans who rely on the SABC to stay informed,” says SABC Radio Sales GM, Eugene Zwane.
Moneyweb outsourced its sales operation to United Stations in November 2006. “It has been a successful relationship and the United Stations team played a major role in helping build Moneyweb’s business,” says CEO Alec Hogg. “We are grateful to Rivak and his team for always going beyond the call of duty. The new dispensation is a logical expansion of our partnership with the SABC. The decision to move our online sales function for Moneyweb.co.za back in-house flowed from this decision.”
United Stations managing director Rivak Bunce says it has been an “exciting adventure that has spanned six years years during which we enjoyed a happy, profitable partnership with Moneyweb. It is not something we sought, but one that makes sense given the requirements of the SABC”.
Moneyweb has been providing tailor-made business programming for SABC Radio since September 2004, but until now this has been focused into its daily half hour programmes. These shows will remain, with expanded programming meeting the demand from listeners for more regular business updates. In addition, hour-long phone-in programmes focusing on personal finance are now flighted by RSG and LotusFM.
The relationship between the SABC and Moneyweb began with the birth of business radio in this country in April 1997 when SAfm launched Market Update, hosted by Hogg, who in the early 1990s was head of news input at SABC TV. After an absence of some years, Hogg returned in 2008 to anchor the SAfm show, broadcast weekdays at 6pm.
RSG’s popular Geldsake met Moneyweb has been aired for the past eight years. Hosted by veteran broadcaster Andries van Zyl, Geldsake has by far the highest listenership of any South African business programme. Its time slot switched from 5pm to 6:30pm at the beginning of April.
The relationship between Moneyweb and Lotus FM has been refined. The previous 15 minute programme at 5:45pm daily has been replaced by a more integrated offering with six business news updates and moneycraft features aired throughout the day.
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