Ormerod leaves CNBC

CNBC Africa chief operating officer Trevor Ormerod, who led the
business channel through its June launch, has resigned to take up a
position with his former employer, Primedia, he said yesterday, writes Michael Bleby in Business Day.

Ormerod’s return to Primedia as executive chairman of its cinema and print unit comes less than a year after his start with CNBC and with most of his three-year contract left to run. He said yesterday there was “nothing sinister” about the move.

Business television is competing for a share of SA’s growing R20bn advertising market. The channel that began broadcasting with startup funding of “R120m-R150m” had a staff of 120 in its operations in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and a weekly audience of about 200000, Ormerod said.

Rivals questioned why Ormerod was leaving so soon after the channel’s start. “We’d be immensely surprised to see him resigning after such a short time,” said Vernon Matzopoulos, MD of Summit TV. “One would surmise that one of the possible reasons would be that the station was not making its ambitious revenue targets.”

Ormerod, whose last day with CNBC Africa will be on December 17, said advertising revenues were very positive. “We’ve signed up close to R30m in year one.”

Click here to read the full report, posted on Business Day's website.