Euronews’ sister channel TV Africanews, which was launched online on January 4, will make its full debut on April 20.
The service will appear simultaneously in 33 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and in more than 7 million homes via the main satellite packages, the main DTT offers, IPTV and also via Euronews partners’ FTA windows in Africa.
The upcoming launch was announced at a press conference at Mip TV in Cannes in which it was also revealed that Euronews will officially launch its new look on May 17 at 22.00 CET. This will use the new brand claim: “Euronews, All Views”.
Also on May 17, Euronews will launch the beta version of the new euronews.com website. Designed as part of a whole ecosystem on non-linear services, it will further build the loyalty of Euronews’ multiple digital audiences worldwide.
According to the company, with its launch, the type of screen will no longer matter on its platforms and those of its partners, of social networks and of OTT services.
Euronews will completely overhaul the way it produces news, starting on May. It says that: “this transformation is the bedrock of the “Euronews NEXT” plan, our strategic response to a globalised news world that is becoming increasingly uniform. Our response aims to break away from the market’s usual way of doing things. It stems from Euronews’ constant ambition to offer differentiating, disruptive products”.
Euronews NEXT, once approved by the supervisory board, will take effect in May and lead to the completion of Euronews’ transformation in spring 2017.
Commenting on these developments, Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews and Africanews, said: “We are engaged in a fight against disinformation and the negative aspects of what we call ‘infobesity’ – an excess of news entirely lacking in perspective. These new phenomena, amplified by the digital revolution, provide daily fuel for our raison d’être: the urgent need to put pluralism back at the centre of the international debate.
“With the arrival of Naguib Sawiris last July; the willingness of all our shareholders to support Euronews in its sweeping changes; and having settled into a new HQ at the cutting edge of technology, we now have the resources to match our ambitions.
“Euronews is entering a phase of deep transformation. A renaissance that draws its strength from the identity of Euronews and from the unrivalled assets that determine its clear mission: making diversity central to news.”
