“We are ready from A to Z, and we are almost staffed-up to completion. Our Cape Town and Nairobi bureaux are also ready and by the time we launch, Abuja and Lagos will be all set,” Ormerod said.
The project cost a whopping US$22 million (R154 million), 30% of which was contributed by IDC and the rest by the Dubai-based group. The investment has created 150 jobs, 130 locally and 20 in Kenya and Nigeria. But like any other project, it has had its fair amount of challenges.
“We have been confronted by two major challenges, namely human resources and logistics,” Ormerod said. “Of course, we had to ensure that our satellites are working properly, meaning the connectivity is right and that we have the right people in the right place.”
Now that everything is pronto, viewers across the world are about to enjoy what Alfonso calls a “first-class local and international business content like no TV station has broadcast in Africa”.
Alfonso added: “Africa has never had a voice, as all stories have so far been told on a Western perspective. So, the African lion is no longer asleep, but has awakened.
“Look, there is a huge appetite for critical content from people willing to invest in Africa, as well as business-minded viewers.
“Basically, we will focus on Africa's business markets and provide global business and economic news from an African perspective to the US, Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia, highlighting business success stories and new developments in the region.”
Interestingly, these stories will be told by none other than some of South Africa's golden anchors, namely Peter Ndoro, Nikiwe Bikitsha, Mandlakazi Mpahlwa, Lerato Mbele, Fendi Foxen and Lee Roberts (all former SABC employees), Moneyweb's Baron Kennedy and former Summit TV presenters Bronwyn Nielsen and Alishia Naidoo.
The channel will drop in local programming every single day from 6am until 11pm, with a news bulletin at 9pm, and intermittently interrupting to ‘upstream' international programming such as Squawk Box Europe (7am – 8am), US Squawk Box (1pm – 4pm), European and London Close (5.30pm – 7pm).
The channel will cross over to CNBC International and CNBC Asia from 10.45pm – 2am and 2am – 6am, respectively.
CNBC Africa will not only deliver hard-core business news and analysis that are set to change the destiny of the continent, but it will also broadcast lighter programmes such as the one focusing on CEOs' lifestyles. Viewers are also advised to watch out for The Other Dimension, presented by Mbele at 9.15pm, whereby various experts will be invited to discuss how politics affects the markets.
Furthermore, Ormerod said that there has been a lot of support from advertisers as the channel offers them unique opportunities such as the one called ‘fixed-camera position'.
The corporate community has also pledged its massive support, Alfonso said, adding that many companies want to form partnerships with the channel. “Some of them have come here and were very impressed by what we are offering – an unprecedented broadcasting platform in Africa.”
One of the future prospects is to see channel 54 being seen in all 54 African states, Alfonso said, adding that this decision will depend on the financial viability of the channel.
Note that CNBC affiliations throughout the world reach over 200 million households through a network of 1700 journalists and 129 news bureaux in 89 countries. It is owned by the NBC Universal family, the broadcasting unit of General Electric (GE).
For more information, go to www.cnbcafrica.com or email (Joburg), or (Cape Town).
