Channel Africa

Channel Africa is the international broadcasting service of the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

Overview

Airing on shortwave, satellite radio and Internet radio platforms, the service airs news, cultural, sports and public affairs programming focusing on South Africa and the African continent.

Channel Africa evolved out of Radio RSA, a similar service which was closely associated with the South African apartheid regime.

Since the advent of the new democratic dispensation in 1994, Channel Africa, the international radio service of the SABC has been engaged in the process of redefining itself and repositioning itself so that it is in line with the new democratic values underpinning the new South Africa. During this period, Channel Africa was faced with the task of formulating a vision and a mission that would cast the station as a major role player in the field of continental and international broadcasting.

Channel Africa broadcasts live on three platforms; Shortwave, Satellite, and Internet. Its broadcasts are in Chewa, Silozi, Swahili, English, French and Portuguese. The Satellite broadcast is via PAS 10 and is accessible through SENTECH's vivid decoders.

The Shortwave broadcast covers the south, east, central and west Africa. The Satellite broadcast covers the sub-Saharan region although it can be picked as far as London. The Internet broadcast covers the entire world.

Programming from Channel Africa last aired on the World Radio Network in 2007.

Comparison

Estimated total direct programme hours per week of some external radio broadcasters for 1996

Broadcaster	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	1996[2]
VOA, RFE/RL & Radio Martí	497	1,495	1,907	1,901	2,611	1,821
China Radio International	66	687	1,267	1,350	1,515	1,620
BBC World Service	643	589	723	719	796	1,036
Radio Moscow / Voice of Russia[1][3]	533	1,015	1,908	2,094	1,876	726
Deutsche Welle	0	315	779	804	848	655
Radio Cairo (ERTU)	0	301	540	546	605	604
IRIB World Service / Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran	12	24	155	175	400	575
All India Radio	116	157	271	389	456	500
NHK World Radio Japan	0	203	259	259	343	468
Radio France Internationale	198	326	200	125	379	459
Radio Netherlands Worldwide[1]	127	178	335	289	323	392
Israel Radio International[1]	0	91	158	210	253	365
Voice of Turkey	40	77	88	199	322	364
Radio Pyongyang / Voice of Korea	0	159	330	597	534	364
Radio Bulgaria[1]	30	117	164	236	320	338
Radio Australia	181	257	350	333	330	307
Radio Tirana (RTSH)	26	63	487	560	451	303
Radio Romania International	30	159	185	198	199	298
Radio Exterior de España[5]	68	202	251	239	403	270
RDP Internacional[1]	46	133	295	214	203	226
Radio Havana Cuba	0	0	320	424	352	203
Rai Italia Radio[1]	170	205	165	169	181	203
Radio Canada International[1]	85	80	98	134	195	175
Radio Polonia[1]	131	232	334	337	292	171
Radio RSA / Channel Africa	0	63	150	183	156	159
Sveriges Radio International[1]	28	114	140	155	167	149
Magyar Rádió[1]	76	120	105	127	102	144
Radio Prague[4]	119	196	202	255	131	131
Voice of Nigeria	0	0	62	170	120	127
Radio Belgrade / International Radio of Serbia	80	70	76	72	96	68

Source: International Broadcast Audience Research, June 1996

1. Does not broadcast on shortwave as of 2014.
2. 1996 figures as at June; all other years as at December.
3. Before 1991, broadcasting for the former USSR.
4. Before 1996, broadcasting for the former Czechoslovakia.
5. REE ceased all shortwave broadcasts in October 2014 but announced in December that it would resume shortwave transmission in Spanish only for four hours a day in order to accommodate Spanish fishing trawlers who were otherwise unable to receive REE at sea.

External links

• Channel Africa Official website