Broadcasting
Lerato Mbele to Present New BBC Radio Show for African Audiences
The BBC has announced today that it is to launch a new flagship radio programme Newsday on the BBC World Service aimed largely at the breakfast audience in Africa.
Lerato Mbele, previously a star of CNBC Africa, has been unveiled as a presenter for the BBC World Service’s new radio programme.
She will co-present the show daily from Johannesburg alongside Lawrence Pollard in London.
Bola Mosuro, Julian Keane and Nuala McGovern will be the other leading presenters on the show.
Figures released today show that the BBC has a combined weekly audience on all platforms in Africa of 81.4 million in 2012 – up from 78.1 million in 2011 – making the BBC the largest international broadcaster on the continent.
Newsday will launch on BBC World Service Radio on 23rd July in the week that London prepares to open the Olympic Games.
It will be an ambitious and innovative five and a half hour show every weekday, bringing together the audiences of The World Today and Network Africa.
With a global agenda, Newsday’s tone and content will set out to appeal to the very large audience for the BBC World Service in Africa at breakfast time – while also involving those listening in other parts of the world.
The programme will take to the road in Africa, and broadcast regularly from there, as the big stories unfold. And for the first three weeks from its launch, Newsday will be out and about in London and around the UK every morning, as it reflects the big talking points from the Olympics, while also going live around the world to see how those stories are playing out.
New presenter Lerato Mbele said: “I am excited to be joining the BBC because of its extensive international presence and wealth of journalistic experience. The BBC’s new African coverage really excites me. The timing is fortuitous because Africa has now evolved into a fresh, young and vibrant market. As Africans we are ready to share our stories and as a global news leader, the BBC is poised to gives us a great voice and platform to do so. The Newsday team is creative & open-minded and they are ready to take us all to the next-level. I look forward to working with them and bringing a local perspective first hand.”
The programme is part of a range of new programming to be launched by the BBC this year for Africa. BBC Focus on Africa was also launched last month, providing the first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences. It is broadcast on BBC World News and via partner stations.
The Editor of BBC World Service News, Andrew Whitehead said: “The BBC – across languages and platforms – is the biggest international broadcaster to Africa; one-in-two listeners to the World Service in English are in Africa. It’s also one of the most rapidly changing media markets.
“Newsday is about bringing the world to Africa, and bringing Africa to the world – an exciting team of presenters, with a fresh sound and style to engage with Africa’s very large radio audience at breakfast time. And our goal: we expect Newsday to be the most listened to radio news programme by an international broadcaster. It will certainly have more listeners than any other BBC radio news programme.”
BBC Africa Editor Solomon Mugera said: “We recently launched a daily TV programme in English, BBC Focus on Africa, dedicated to our African audience. In July we are introducing Newsday – the biggest global radio breakfast show. In a world that’s becoming increasingly interconnected, the desire for trusted and relevant news about Africa and the world has never been greater. Newsday promises to give our listeners a powerful start to the day with the latest news, sports, business and entertainment. “
Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has announced the postponement of its maiden annual Public Relations, Reputation, Ideas, Concepts and Excellence (PRICE) Awards and Prizes to January 25, 2026.
NIPR
The event, earlier scheduled for December 7, 2025, was deferred to accommodate stakeholders whose observance of Christmas festivities had commenced earlier than expected.
Chairman of the Organising Committee, Mr. Israel Opayemi, urged stakeholders to note the new date and prepare to participate in the ceremony.
He said the awards would motivate professionals, practitioners and scholars, while enhancing Nigeria’s global competitiveness in the public relations ecosystem and strengthening brand equity for all stakeholders.
Opayemi reaffirmed the Committee’s commitment to delivering a best-in-class award administration and ceremony, describing the PRICE Awards as a credible and enduring platform to identify, celebrate and elevate outstanding individuals, campaigns and organisations shaping the public relations landscape across sectors.
The development of the PRICE Awards peaked in September 2025 when the NIPR President and Chairman, Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku, inaugurated a 12-man committee to organise the maiden edition. The inauguration followed the Council’s adoption of the report of a technical team tasked with establishing the awards.
Netflix has announced a landmark agreement to acquire Warner Bros. and HBO Max in a transaction valued at $82.7 billion, a move analysts say will reshape the global entertainment industry.
Netflix
The deal, which includes Warner Bros.’ film and television studios, HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Games, was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. Under the terms, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders will receive $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix shares for each WBD share.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos described the acquisition as “a defining moment” for the streaming giant, noting that the company intends to maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations while expanding its production capacity.
“By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies with Netflix’s culture-defining titles, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” Sarandos said.
The transaction is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, following the planned spin-off of WBD’s TV networks division, Discovery Global, in 2026. Netflix projects annual cost savings of $2–3 billion by the third year after completion and expects the deal to be accretive to earnings per share by year two.
Industry groups, including the Directors Guild of America and Cinema United, have raised concerns about the impact on movie theaters, while regulators are expected to scrutinize the deal over antitrust issues. Netflix has pledged to continue supporting theatrical releases, with Warner Bros.’ cinema commitments running through 2029.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav hailed the agreement, saying it “combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love.”
Observers note that the acquisition comes 15 years after former Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes dismissed Netflix as “the Albanian army,” underscoring the dramatic shift in the entertainment landscape.
A major shake‑up rocks viewers and subscribers of DSTV/GOTV as many channels are set to shut down and be removed on January 1, 2026.
The trigger for the upcoming shut‑down is a breakdown in negotiations between the owners of multiple global channels and the pay‑TV operator.
As of December 2025, the deal between Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and DStv/GOtv has expired and the two parties have not reached a renewal agreement.
Without a new carriage/distribution agreement, the channels belonging to WBD risk being pulled off the DStv/GOtv line‑up.
This is the most significant content cutback the service has seen in years.
The affected channels are:
Discovery Channel
TLC
Cartoonito
Cartoon Network
CNN International
Food Network
The Travel Channel
TNT
Investigation Discovery
Real Time
HGTV
Discovery Family
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