ANN7, the formerly Gupta-owned television station, and its sister newspaper, The New Age, will change its name to Afro Worldview, in an effort to break from its Gupta-linked past, its new owner has said.
In a press release on Monday, Mzwanele Manyi, who bought the channel and newspaper from the Guptas, said the channel will "adopt a completely new look and feel with a renewed editorial policy in line with the BCCSA code."
ANN7 will stop broadcasting on August 20, he said, as DStv has terminated its contract. Afro Worldview will go live on April 30. Manyi said Afro Worldview is participating in the bidding process by MultiChoice, to host a new black-owned news channel on its platform. The winner of that process is to be announced at the end of July.
On Monday, Manyi announced that the channel no longer had ties with the Guptas after paying its debt to its former owners. Manyi bought ANN7 and The New Age from the Guptas in a vendor-financed deal, whereby the Guptas essentially lent him the R450-million he needed to buy it.
According to TimesLive, Manyi said he had paid his debt to the Guptas and they were no longer involved in the company.
The Financial Mail reported last week that those competing with Manyi for the new DStv channel are Tiso Blackstar (which publishes the Sunday Times and Business Day), MSG Afrika (which owns radio assets, including PowerFM), Primedia (which owns 702, Cape Talk and other radio stations) and Independent Media proprietor Iqbal Survé's Sekunjalo.
A book published by former ANN7 editor Rajesh Sundaram, called "Indentured: Behind The Scenes At Gupta TV" in March laid bare the extent of the Guptas interference in the channel. Sundaram revealed how former president Jacob Zuma was given an editorial role and smoothed access to government advertising. The Guptas consulted with him on content and strategy, " he wrote.
In March, following the exit from South Africa by the controversial family, staff at ANN7 and The New Age reported didn't receive their salaries, IOL reported at the time.