Media Moves: O-week set alight across SA by 5FM and Standard Bank, PRCA Africa strengthens sustainability committee, Cape Town TV launches NGO production service

The Media Online’s weekly round up of people, account and business moves in media.

This week’s BIG move: O-week set alight across SA by 5FM and Standard Bank

South Africa’s favourite youth radio station is gearing up to hit the road as 5FM partners with Standard Bank to bring the heat to campuses nationwide for O-Week 2026. This year’s theme, Your Campus Adventure Starts Now, celebrates the excitement, chaos and possibility of stepping into varsity life for the first time.

From the first walk through campus gates to the friendships, late-night study sessions and unforgettable social moments that define student life, 5FM is showing up to Ampli5 every chapter. Listeners can expect the 5 Lunch duo, Lula Odiba and Nadia Romanos, to broadcast live from campuses across the country as they bring the soundtrack, the stories and the buzzing student energy straight to Mzansi’s newest first-years.

Masi Mdingane, Business Manager for 5FM and Good Hope FM, says the partnership with Standard
Bank is rooted in celebrating and amplifying the full spectrum of student life.

“Our partnership with Standard Bank is an all-out celebration of students and student life, but it’s also a recognition of the real challenges, questions and quirks that come with stepping into varsity for the first time. O-Week is electric: it’s discovery, freedom, pressure, excitement and limitless possibility all in one.
In proud association with the team at Standard Bank, we’re helping students navigate this new study, party and bonding ground, Ampli5d by 5FM, and setting them up for massive success as they begin writing the next chapter of their lives.”

The O-Week Campus Invasion kicks off on 29 January.

People moves

PRCA Africa strengthens sustainability committee with new leadership appointments

PRCA Africa has announced the appointment of three new members to its sustainability committee: Adam Hunter, MD of Hook, Line & Sinker; Kirtanya Maharaj, manager of WWF-SASSI (Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative) at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF South Africa); and Nabiella de Beer, head of PR at Havas Red (part of Havas PR South Africa).

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is the world’s largest professional PR body, representing practitioners across more than 70 countries.

PRCA Africa’s mandate includes developing strategic committees that guide the industry in key focus areas such as Ethics & Practices, Education & Talent, Innovation, Diversity & Inclusion and Sustainability. Within this structure, the Sustainability Committee exists to advance responsible, science-aligned environmental communication and ensure African communicators are equipped to navigate climate misinformation, ESG scrutiny, greenwashing risks and the growing expectation for credible, transparent sustainability storytelling. The appointment of Hunter, Maharaj and de Beer strengthens the Committee’s capacity to deliver on this work:

The new members join the existing committee, which includes Karena Crerar, CEO of Edelman; Sarah Gooding, Managing Director of WE Communications, and Laurent Potage, Chief Communication and Sustainability Executive at Alteo Limited.

Together, the expanded team brings a powerful combination of science-based insight, strategic communications expertise and creative climate storytelling to support PRCA Africa’s commitment to credible, transparent and impactful sustainability communication across the continent.

Machine’s director of specialist content & communications appointed IFICA’s acting president

The Institute for Internal Communication Africa (IFICA) has announced that its founding president, Adesh Chetram, has chosen to step down in his operational capacity and will join IFICA’s Advisory Board. Demonstrating continuity of leadership and the vision of IFICA, Machine’s Director of Specialist Content & Communication

Sarah Browning-de Villiers, who currently serves on IFICA’s Advisory Board, has been appointed Acting President of IFICA. Adesh will continue to provide guidance to Sarah and the management team in his role on IFICA’s Advisory Board.

Browning-de Villiers is the director of specialist content & communication at Machine/Publicis Groupe Africa, where she leads the Centre of Excellence for internal communications, B2B, content marketing and CRM and loyalty. She was the co-founder of the IAB SA’s Digital Content Marketing Committee, and is experienced not only across internal communications, but also in leading industry bodies. She said, “I am excited to take over from Adesh in an acting capacity into 2026, and to deepen my operational involvement in the incredible work of IFICA, championing the discipline of internal communications on the continent.”

Sol Plaatje University appoints Thebe Ikalafeng as chancellor

Sol Plaatje University has announced the appointment of Thebe Ikalafeng as its next Chancellor, with effect from 16 January 2026. The appointment, confirmed by the University Council, is for a five-year term in accordance with the University Statute.

Announcing the appointment, the Chairperson of Council, Professor Randall Carolissen, said Sol Plaatje University was honoured to welcome a Chancellor whose life’s work is deeply aligned with the institution’s founding values and future ambitions.

“Sol Plaatje University is privileged that this award-winning author, internationally recognised scholar, and influential public intellectual has made himself available to serve as Chancellor. Mr Ikalafeng has distinguished himself as the continent’s foremost authority on branding, reputation, and identity, and as a leading advocate for a brand-led African renaissance,” he said.

Ikalafeng is widely recognised as the continent’s most influential thinker and practitioner at the intersection of branding, culture and governance. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he has worked across Africa and globally, shaping how institutions, cities, countries, and the continent itself understand and project their identity.

Heidrick & Struggles appoints Thabiso Legoete to lead Johannesburg office

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc, a provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, has appointed Thabiso Legoete as managing partner of its Johannesburg office, as the firm continues to deepen its focus on leadership advisory work for clients across Sub-Saharan Africa navigating accelerating technological disruption and geopolitical uncertainty.

Legoete, who joined the firm last year, succeeds Allen Shardelow, who led the Johannesburg office for 15 years and will remain with the business in a senior client facing role. Shardelow is credited with steering the firm through the disruption of the Covid-19 period and stabilising the business through a prolonged recovery phase, ensuring continuity for both clients and employees.

“Sincere thanks and gratitude go to Allen for sure-handedly leading the firm through an incredibly turbulent time. That stability has given us a solid platform from which to now focus firmly on the future,” he says.

He notes that this future will be defined by leadership challenges that look markedly different from those of previous cycles. “The scale and complexity of changes organisations are dealing with today require a much more integrated approach than before, because critical decisions around talent, structure, and succession can no longer be treated in isolation.”

TCL deepens partnership with Arsenal, announces Bukayo Saka as brand ambassador

TCL has announced Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka as its brand ambassador. It marks a significant milestone in strengthening the brand’s global partnership with Arsenal Football Club, where TCL serves as Official Global Consumer Electronics Partner.

Business moves

DStv kicks off 2026 with added value for South African consumers 

As DStv’s Upsize promotion concludes at the end of January, DStv says the focus is shifting from temporary upgrades to practical product enhancements designed to deliver everyday value for South African households.  

Following nearly three months of package upgrades as part of a successful promotional campaign that delivered much improved November and December subscriber growth trends, the company has announced a set of offers and product enhancements aimed at making the service easier to access, easier to share and easier to stay connected. 

DStv has strengthened its Access package by adding three channels, including Trace Ngoma (formerly Trace Africa), Trace Gospel and WWE permanently. 

It has maintained its lower upfront cost of hardware, including the promotional price for the entry-level HD decoder to R499 (R799 installed), alongside reductions of up to 57% on Explora decoders. The discounted pricing is designed to remove hardware as a barrier, whether customers are new DStv customers, replacing older equipment, adding an extra TV or reconnecting after a break. 

“What matters now is how DStv fits into people’s lives month after month,” says Willington Ngwepe, CEO of MultiChoice, the broadcasting service licensee. “We want customers to have options that make it easier to stay connected, even when budgets are tight.” 

DStv has launched a new payment feature on the MyDStv App that allows customers to split the cost of a single DStv subscription with a friend or family member. 

As part of the broader DStv Rewards programme, the ability to pay DStv subscriptions using DStv Coins, which launched in October 2025, continues to see strong uptake. Customers can now also stand a chance to win R3 million worth of DStv Rewards Coins as well as once-in-a-lifetime FIFA World Cup experiences. The Rewards programme is positioned as an ongoing benefit for loyal customers rather than a short-term promotion. 

The MyDStv App is free for all DStv subscribers and brings together self-service features, account management tools, Rewards and in-app games in one place, giving customers greater control over how they manage their DStv experience. 

Provantage positions its networks for connected future with Broadsign

The next era of out-of-home (OOH) media has landed in South Africa as Provantage announces a new collaboration with leading OOH advertising technology provider Broadsign. The move unifies the group’s digital and static operations within one future-ready ecosystem powered by the Broadsign Platform. With this agreement, Provantage, one of the continent’s largest digital out-of-home (DOOH) holdings, becomes the first South African media owner to use Broadsign as a fully integrated, group-wide operating system.

The transition brings Provantage’s content management and scheduling operations for DOOH and static OOH into a single globally recognised platform, creating a new operational backbone for South African OOH. Standardised workflows, strengthened compliance structures, consistent reporting and smarter network optimisation now sit under one unified Broadsign system: enhancing efficiency and reinforcing the reliability of the medium for agencies and advertisers.

Jacques du Preez, CEO of Provantage, says the collaboration is a strategic enabler for where the industry is heading: “Out-of-home (OOH) is entering an inflection point. Brands want precision, transparency and accountability; the same expectations they apply to every digital channel. By consolidating our networks within a single Broadsign environment, we are building the infrastructure that delivers greater sophistication in how our clients plan, buy and measure Out-of-Home (OOH).”

The collaboration lays the foundation for future programmatic buying across Provantage’s place-based digital networks. By consolidating its digital portfolio into one ecosystem, the group is now technically positioned to enable programmatic capabilities in later phases across environments such as, Airport TV, Golf TV, Mall TV, Pharma TV and Transit TV.

Cape Town TV launches NGO production services offering

Cape Town TV has launched a professional, affordable production services tailored to the needs of the non-profit sector to amplify the work they do to inform and empower the public.

This includes live or pre-recorded events, TV shows, podcasts, webinars, dialogues, townhall meetings and more, shot in its studio in Observatory or on location anywhere in Cape Town.

Recording your online events in a professional television environment will give great picture and sound quality and allow for the integration of dynamic backgrounds, video inserts, lower third titles and high-quality graphics.

Clients can also include remote contributors from anywhere in the world, facilitate audience interaction on social media and even have a live studio audience. The options are limitless.

Cape Town TV is uniquely positioned to package your content creatively and professionally and bring it to a wider audience on multiple distribution platforms to our two million viewers.

Contact marketing@capetowntv.org for a quotation.

Schneider Electric to become the Official Energy Technology Partner of McLaren Racing

McLaren Racing and Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, have announced that Schneider Electric will become the Official Energy Technology Partner of McLaren Racing, including the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team, the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team, McLaren F1 Academy, as well as the McLaren United Autosports WEC Hypercar Team.

Together, Schneider and McLaren Racing will develop and deploy energy technology that enables peak performance in the most demanding environments, whether it’s delivering robust power solutions trackside at race circuits around the world or back at base at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, UK. At the heart of the partnership is a shared culture rooted in data intelligence, accelerated innovation, and engineering excellence.

 WPP company Gain Theory named leader in marketing measurement and optimisation

WPP hasannounced that its global marketing effectiveness and foresight consultancy, Gain Theory, has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Marketing Measurement and Optimization Services, Q1 2026. Forrester’s report noted: “Gain Theory’s distinctive vision is to empower brands to realize unmatched, quantified value from marketing and broader business insights.”

Cindy Rose, CEO of WPP, said: “We believe that for Gain Theory to be named a Leader by Forrester speaks volumes about their relentless innovation and WPP’s commitment to truly powering our clients’ success. To us, this isn’t just recognition; it’s a powerful acknowledgment that our clients are leveraging the world’s most advanced, AI-driven marketing effectiveness solutions available today.”

WPP launches WPP Production, empowering clients to reimagine growth with world-class content 

WPP has announced the launch of WPP Production, a move that unites Hogarth, WPP’s leading global production company, with WPP’s extensive production capabilities and teams across the network. This strategic decision brings together all creative producers into a single global platform – bringing unprecedented innovation, scale, creativity and world-class production excellence to WPP’s client roster, helping them reimagine growth in the AI era.

This pivotal step underscores WPP’s commitment to leading the industry in production innovation and quality, forging the world’s largest and most advanced content production powerhouse. Richard Glasson, the Global CEO of Hogarth, will oversee WPP Production.

Air France announces new partnership with Apple TV to enhance its in-flight entertainment offer

As of January, Air France is teaming up with award-winning streaming service Apple TV to enhance its in-flight entertainment offer. Over 45 hours of original content including multiple global hit series are now available for all passengers on the airline’s long-haul flights. Customers can also enjoy free access to Apple TV directly via Air France’s new high-speed wifi portal, which is being progressively rolled out across the entire fleet. On all its long-haul flights, Air France now offer exclusive access to a selection of Apple TV programs.

Golfers tee up for Algoa FM Charity Golf Days

Charities in the Garden Route, Gqeberha, and East London are able to provide better support to their beneficiaries thanks to the golfers and sponsors who participated in the three annual Algoa FM golf days in 2025.

In the Garden Route, Song vir Nonna, which hosts weekly songwriting workshops at Môreson ACVV Child and Youth Care Centre as well as the Carpe Diem school for special needs, received upgraded recording equipment.

In Gqeberha, the Association for Dementia and Alzheimer’s of South Africa (Adasa) will be able to strengthen its outreach programmes with the donation of computer equipment, according to Dr Heather Rauch, regional manager of Adasa Eastern Cape.

“The computer equipment will help us with our ongoing carer training programmes, the increased demand for individual online consultations with people in the early stages of living with dementia and   family members and also the rolling out of our continued professional development training to medical and mental health practitioners not only in the cities and towns of our province but also in the rural areas,” she says.

In East London, social pensioners are sleeping more soundly and getting more exercise thanks to local golfers. The beneficiary is Berea Gardens, which provides a home for SASSA pensioners who survive on R2 180 a month.

“A big ‘thank you’ to all the businesses and golfers who made the 2025 Algoa FM Charity Golf Days such a success,” says Algoa FM managing director Alfie Jay.

“We look forward to seeing you on the golf course in 2026, as part of Algoa FM’s 40-year celebrations,” he adds.

France Médias Monde achieves record-breaking year across digital platforms in 2025

In 2025, France Médias Monde achieved new all-time highs across its digital platforms, recording nearly 5 billion video views and launches (+27% vs. 2024) and 480 million visits across its websites and mobile applications. As a result, 94 million people (up from 75 million in 2024) were in weekly contact with the Group’s media outlets via digital platforms.

On social media, France Médias Monde’s channels now bring together more than 127 million followers (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and X), with robust growth on Instagram (+110%) and a sharp rise on TikTok, where the community has quadrupled in one year.

In an unstable international context marked by the growing spread of manipulated information, these results reflect audiences’ trust in the professional and independent journalism produced by RFI, France 24, Monte Carlo Doualiya, as well as by the Group’s ‘pure-player’ digital outlets InfoMigrants, ENTR, and ZOA.

AfricAI secures exclusive continental rights to deploy advanced robotics platforms across Africa

AfricAI has signed a multi-year exclusive distribution and deployment agreement with Micropolis Robotics, granting AfricAI sole and exclusive rights to commercialise, deploy, and scale Micropolis’s advanced robotics platforms across Africa, marking one of the most consequential robotics market entries on the continent to date.

Under the agreement, Micropolis Robotics appoints AfricAI as its exclusive continental partner, prohibiting direct sales, alternative distributors, or third-party agents operating within the territory. The agreement establishes AfricAI as the primary execution, localisation, and go-to-market platform for intelligent robotics across African industrial, security, logistics, and infrastructure sectors.

Making moves

Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels raises over R4 million in flood relief for Limpopo and Mpumalanga communities

Jacaranda FM‘s Good Morning Angels initiative has successfully raised over R4 million in assistance for flood-stricken communities in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, which form a significant part of Jacaranda FM’s broadcast footprint spanning four provinces. This follows a devastating week of torrential rains that claimed at least 37 lives and displaced thousands.

Galaxy KDay 2026 line-up expands: Lordkez, Templeboys & DJ Kent bring fresh energy to
Sandringham Farm

The excitement around Galaxy KDay 2026 keeps growing. Kfm has announced three outstanding new additions to the line-up that will bring vibrant new sounds to this year’s festival: the genre-blending talent Lordkez, the viral sensation Templeboys, and the much- loved returning DJ, DJ Kent.