AFP pulls out of Sapa: report
International news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has announced that, from 2015, its English news content will no longer be available through Sapa.
In a press release sent to Grubstreet, AFP said that in the new year the group would explore “new commercial approaches” in the southern African region.
AFP commercial manager for southern Africa, Harry Lee-Rudolph said the decision to pull out of Sapa was deemed necessary due to the changing landscape of SA media.
The news follows just weeks after Sekunjalo Investment Holdings announced that it made a bid to acquire the news agency in order to form a new company with participation by other media houses.
Sekunjalo said it would invest as much as R50 million into Sapa, to rescue its business and turn it into a pan-African news agency.
Sapa has faced an uncertain future for a number of months, after its operation model was disrupted by a mass exodus of publishers from its board.
Times Media Group withdrew its membership from Sapa last year, with Caxton following suit in July, and Independent Newspapers planning to withdraw from November this year. Media24 remains a Sapa board member.
Gallo Images also announced in July that it was doing a due diligence process into the possibility of acquiring Sapa and commercialising it from the current non-profit business model.
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