Residents of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West will tune in to a new
groove in the next six months, when three new commercial radio stations
start operating in the provinces, writes Thabiso Mochiko in Busiess Report.
This is after the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) announced yesterday that it had awarded three consortiums commercial radio licences to operate in the provinces.
A consortium including MSG Afrika, led by businessmen Simphiwe Mdlalose and Given Mkhari, as well as Moss Ngoasheng's Safika Investments were awarded a licence to open Capricorn FM in Limpopo.
A consortium led by African Media Entertainment will operate M-Power Radio in Mpumalanga. Radio North West (RNW), 26 percent owned by Kenny Setzin's Direng Investments, will give North West a new sound of gospel and R&B. Direng Consortium has a 26 percent stake in M-Power. Setzin is a former executive at New Africa Investments.
The three stations will have a fusion of adult and youth programmes, with emphasis on events and news related to the regions they cater for. Icasa has given residents more choices as they had previously relied on community, campus and SABC radio stations for entertainment and information.
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