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SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM -
LAUNCH OF THE AFRICA CHANNEL TV NETWORK LOS
ANGELES
Left to right: Paula Newton - South
African Airways, Dean Jacobberger - South African
Tourism, Ambassador Andrew Young, Dikembe Mutombo -
Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, James Makawa - The
Africa Channel.
South African
Tourism was a contributing sponsor at the recent
launch of The Africa Channel in the Los Angeles
market, where it is now available on Time Warner
Digital Cable 176. The gala event was held at
the California African American museum, and
featured South African wines and traditional
African fare. Special guests included
Ambassador Andrew Young, who gave the keynote
address; Dikembe Mutombo, Chairman & President
of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation Inc.; actress
Xolile Tshabalala of Generations, a popular South
African TV series; and James Makawa, Co-founder
& CEO of The Africa Channel. The highlight of
the evening was a headline performance by the
acclaimed South African musician Jonathan
Butler.
Over 500 people
attended the event, and each guest received a South
African Tourism branded gift bag with the South
Africa brochure and other gift items, including
stuffed animals and a Putumayo World Music South
Africa CD.
The Africa
Channel, a U.S.-based television network, showcases
the rich and diverse perspectives of Africa's
people, through programming that spans news and
information, travel and lifestyle, music, soap
operas, talk shows, reality, feature films and
special events.
Angela
Sinto
The Portfolio
Marketing Group
1110 Second
Avenue
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Manhattan, NY
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sintoa@pmgroup.bz///
www.theafricachannel.com/
On American
Television - The Africa Channel
By David J.
Saunders
The Africa Channel, a fresh,
new "all-Africa" television network for American
audiences, is Intended to fill a significant void,
The Africa Channel is the first and only U.S.-based
television network that will present the African
Continent's most outstanding English language
dramas, feature films, cultural and historical
programming, bio-graphics, soap operas, reality
series and children's shows, as well as lifestyle,
business and travel programming. Viewers are
transported into a world filled with rich cultures,
incredible music, the art-stopping adventure,
emotional human dramas and award-winning
entertainment programming.
 The
Africa Channel's primary mission is to open up a
daily window into modern Africa and into African
life through a myriad of programming genres and, in
the process, help to demystify Africa for
Americans. The Africa Channel's targeted audiences
include:
- Thirty-seven million
African-Americans;
- Nearly Eighty million
households that are already plugged into the
History Channel, A&E Channel, Discovery
Channel, the Travel Channel and National
Geographic; and
- Nearly two million resident
Africans.
Many in the African-American
community are frustrated with the limited
programming choices targeted towards their
demographic. They instead want programming that
connects with their lives, traditions and heritage;
programming that is compelling, intelligent,
relevant, and overall entertaining. This is a
community that represents 12.7 million households
and nearly $600 billion in purchasing
power.
African-Americans watch forty
percent more television than the general American
market yet most of the top-rated television
programs for general audiences are not even listed
in the top ten shows for African-Americans.
Likewise, general American audiences already
plugged into the Discovery Channel, National
Geographic and Travel Channel, will now have an
intelligent, entertaining and informational window
into the richness and promises of modern Africa. In
addition, for African expatriates residing in the
United States, The Africa Channel will provide a
familiar and steady bridge between their homeland
and life in America.
The Africa Channel plans to
launch its "all Africa" television network on
terrestrial cable and satellite DTH systems across
the United States in late 2004. The Africa
Channel's initial programming lineup will carry all
of the high production values, formatting and
branding familiar to sophisticated American
television viewing audiences.
In this age of
ever-increasing programming options, The Africa
Channel has a unique opportunity to not only
connect with audiences, but to establish its
relevance. The Africa Channel is striving to
position itself to be both the destination for, and
the bridge to African entertainment, news,
information, music, lifestyle, education, business
and culture. The Africa Channel's programming will
be about the people of Africa, telling their
incredible stories about their daily lives, their
music and art, their successes, celebrations and
challenges.
The Africa Channel's overall
purpose is to simply inform and entertain in a way
that audiences in America have come to appreciate
and understand. American audiences understand
quality and relevance in the sense of programming
that is engaging, compelling and worthy of their
viewing time.
The mega-hit mini-series,
"Roots" taught Americans about the African-American
audience and its emotional attachment to Africa.
More importantly, Roots captured the attention of
the general American audiences as well because it
was truly a great story with insight into a world
that had never before been seen on televisions, not
to mention in Prime Time! Roots inspired a nation
and the interest in Africa was tremendous. But
unfortunately, after the mini-series was over, the
African Continent once again fell into "darkness".
The Africa Channel will finally tell the rest of
the story from a more current perspective. The
Africa Channel will open Africa to American
audiences and satisfy interest in the Continent
that has actually never been quenched.
The Africa Channel has
leveraged its longstanding relationship with South
Africa's major television producers and suppliers
to create daily programming blocks across
entertainment and informational genres. The vaults
of the South African Broadcasting Corporation
(SABC), Summit TV, M-Net, ETV, Endemol and other
suppliers are full of outstanding content,
including many award-winning shows that have never
been seen outside of Africa. Until now, there has
never been a dedicated 24/7 channel outlet in the
United States for this high-quality programming or
such an affordable conduit through which sponsors
and advertisers can reach The Africa Channel's
targeted audiences.
The Africa Channel is led by
a seasoned team of pay television broadcast and
program distribution executives, each possessing
special expertise in the African and American
television sectors and a passion for bringing
African entertainment, information and culture to
American audiences.
The co-founders of The Africa
Channel are James Makawa, a Zimbabwean and one of
the few Executives from sub-Saharan Africa to have
enjoyed a successful career in both local and
network television in the United States; Jacob
Arback, who has over twenty years of international
business and media experience, with special
expertise in the global satellite and pay
television industry; and Richard Hammer, a seasoned
professional with over twenty years of hands-on
experience in the entertainment industry, with
special expertise in marketing and promoting
African programming throughout the
Continent.
The company has also formed
an Advisory Board, comprised of well-known leaders
in the African-American community, cable television
industry, content production sector and political
arena, whose primary role will be to mentor the
business, provide access and relationships, assist
with fundraising and ensure that the enterprise is
meeting the entertainment, social, educational and
business needs of the communities that it
serves.
Ambassador Andrew Young will
chair the Advisory Board, whose other members
currently include Rob Weller and Gary Grossman of
Weller/Grossman Productions, NBA all-star player
Dikembe Mutombo and prominent South African
businessmen and activist, Moss Mashishi. The
Executive Team of The Africa Channel will include
James Makawa as CEO, Jacob Arback as President,
Richard Hammer, as Executive Vice President for
Marketing Communications and Promotions, and Henry
Watson as Executive Vice President for
Distribution.
In conclusion, The Africa
Channel will bring original, fresh and relevant
entertainment and informational programming to
American audiences in a way that has never been
done before. The Africa Channel's exclusive program
distribution agreements, combined with its low-cost
content sourcing from South Africa, creates a solid
and scalable business model and provides the kind
of flexibility to tailor programming that
continually meets the tastes and preferences of its
targeted audience. For the first time, American
audiences will be able to connect on a daily basis
with the richness and promise of modern Africa. For
more information about The Africa Channel, please
visit their website at
www.theafricachannel.com.
About the author: David J.
Saunders is the Chief Executive Officer of Venue
International Professionals, Inc. (VIP) &endash; a
full-service travel and tourism company based in
the Washington Metropolitan Area that specializes
in the promotion of travel and tourism
opportunities to the Continent of Africa. He is a
member of the Africa Travel Association (ATA) and
has traveled extensively to more than twenty-five
African countries and is a frequent writer of news
and information articles about his experiences in
various trade publications to include the Africa
Travel Magazine, Black Meetings and Tourism
Magazine and the Africa Travellers' Journal. He can
be contacted at vipinc@erols.com.
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