Lyon, France – Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews S.A., and Jean Obambi, Managing Director of Télé Congo, signed on January 25 in Brazzaville, Congo, a cooperation agreement for the launch of a Pan-African news channel to be known as Africanews.
Under the auspices of the President of the Republic of the Congo, Mr. Denis Sassou Nguesso, they formalised the partnership that will lead to the launch in the summer of 2015 of a bilingual news channel in French and English, to be followed by other major languages of the continent (Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili, etc.).The headquarters will be in Brazzaville and regional offices will be set up across the continent.
Euronews will bring to Africa its unique know-how as a multi-lingual and multi-cultural news channel, broadcasting around the clock. Africanews will adhere to the same editorial charter as Euronews, guaranteeing its independence. The two networks will share their news, creating a synergy that will give Africa its rightful place in the world of news and give the world the latest news from the continent.
Euronews has developed a unique know-how in broadcasting. The channel produces 13 different language versions, 24/7. Its programmes are created by a newsroom of more than 400 journalists of 30 nationalities, and reach 400 million households in 155 countries.
At the signing of the agreement for Africanews, Michael Peters stated:”Twenty years after the launch of Euronews, we are breaking new ground in the world of news. Since 1993, Euronews has covered global news from a European perspective, speaking to viewers in their language. The company’s multinational shareholder base gives the channel the independence and the means to inform viewers without promoting any particular viewpoint. Its global success in terms of viewer numbers is proof of the channel’s
professionalism and its ability to integrate diversity.
Euronews has the experience, the reputation and the resources necessary to convey this model which respects the values and value of different cultures. It is precisely this model of tolerance in a world of diversity that Euronews hopes to share with Africa, via Africanews, the first independent and multilingual news channel on the continent.
Africanews is different from existing channels because it aims to give Africa its rightful place in the world of news and to give the world the latest news from the continent which is itself a news market, in the same way and at the same level as other regions of the world.
Our strategic and highly ambitious project will not be a mere African ‘window’ made by Euronews, as most international news channels do, but rather a full-fledged Pan-African network, with editorial choices made by Africans for an African audience.
To develop this project, we were lucky to have the help of Stephen Smith, a recognised specialist on Africa. Stephen, former Africa Editor for two French daily newspapers Libération then Le Monde, is providing advice and recommendations for the editorial and strategic aspects of Africanews.
The public television channel Télé Congo decided to join us in this adventure. Our teams will now begin the preliminary studies and organisational work to be ready to launch Africanews in 2015.
We take great pride in announcing this emblematic cooperation project and we are eager to launch this new player on the world media scene,” he added.
