According to Jill de Villiers, head of programming at CNBC Africa, the network identified what it believes is a glaring gap in the breakfast television market – an intellectually entertaining kick-start to the day with a business bent. With the new changes, Business AM will now be anchored by class presenters Lerato Mbele and Peter Ndoro.
Squawk Box Africa (weekdays 8am –10am) incorporates Breakfast Briefing, Open Exchange and Street Talk and will provide market watchers with all the relevant information, news and analysis ahead of the start of trade in Johannesburg, Nairobi and Lagos, as well as other significant African bourses. This two-hour block will be anchored by Peter Ndoro, Leigh Roberts and newly-wed Alishia Seckam (nee Naidoo).
Another significant change is the expansion and renaming of CNBC Africa's late afternoon offering. Now called Regional Round-Up, the show's duration has been extended and houses existing half-hour shows Regional Update and Market Round-Up, as well as European Closing Bell. Bronwyn Nielsen, Siki Mgabadeli and Nikiwe Bikitsha will co-anchor Regional Round-Up.
The evening show Business Tonight is still hosted by CNBC Africa's chief editor Byron Kennedy, together with Bronwyn Nielsen. Other local shows in this two-hour prime time slot include Markets Africa, with Siki Mgabadeli and The Other Dimension with Lerato Mbele.
Weekends will also get an update, with a gradual roll-out of new programmes. Starting on 5 April 2008 is Building Africa, a discussion programme centering on infrastructure challenges and advancements on the continent. From 13 April, a new block of religious programming will fill Sunday mornings from 8am to noon. And from 3 May, Fenly Foxen will host Women in Business, a show that will showcase the talents and business acumen of women leaders across Africa.
“Key to our offering is ensuring that we deliver according to our viewers' needs. Their feedback clearly indicated that dipping in and out of international programming with half-hour segments was jarring, and this led to the consolidation and re-shuffling. A knock-on benefit is that the new line-up provides our Africa content with the gravitas that it richly deserves,” says de Villiers.
