Have You Seen Africa Lately?
Cable brings the motherland home
By George Alexander
www.blackenterprise.com
September 13, 2007--For generations, the continent of Africa has endured the
slings of numerous negative media stereotypes. Mention the word Africa to
many people around the globe and words like disease, war, poverty, corruption
and famine would come to mind. But a fledgling cable outfit called The Africa
Channel (TAC) is looking to change all of that.
Based in Los Angeles and Johannesburg, South Africa, the channel’s content
runs the gamut: soaps, reality TV, newsmagazines, music, sports, travel,
documentaries, movies, and more. Last month TAC, which presently reaches just over
2 million homes in a limited number of U.S. markets including Atlanta,
Houston, Detroit, New Orleans, and Forth Worth, TX, entered its first
international venture. In a deal with British cable giant B Sky B, the company now
reaches 8.6 million homes in the U.K. pushing TAC collectively into over 10 million
homes in the U.S. and U.K. Based on agreements with cable operators and
satellite companies, CEO and founder James Makawa estimates that TAC will be in
30 million U.S. homes by the end of 2008. As a private company, Makawa would
not discuss the financial details of any of its transactions or the company’s
revenues.
To help the company achieve its goals, TAC has assembled a team of cable
industry veterans including executive vice president and general manager Bob
Reid. Prior to TAC, Reid served as executive president and general manager of
Discovery Health Channel. TAC also recently hired cable veteran Eric Brown
(formerly president of Charter Communications’ Western division operations) as
executive vice president of affiliate sales.
In the U.S., the company's initial audience base is naturally African
Americans, who according to Nielsen's August 2007 report, still make up the largest
ethnic television audience. Yet with so much entertainment content competing
for African American
viewers—specifically but not limited to BET and relative newcomer TV One—an
upstart bringing programming from the other side of the planet, must
distinguish itself from the pack. "We have positioned ourselves as appealing to
25-54 year olds and to the same people who watch 60 Minutes, CNN, Discovery, and
Fine Living," says Makawa a seasoned television executive and former reporter.
“"These are people who are explorers, like to travel, and are curious about
the world."
But while penetrating homes is a prerequisite for cable success, getting
viewers to actually tune-in to programming about a place some find enigmatic at
best could prove more complex. Just how does one combat negative images of a
place embedded in the minds of people for so long? With unshakeable
confidence Makawa sounds prepared for the journey. "This is a marathon not a sprint,"
he says. "We are going to have to do this 24 hours a day for many generations
to come."
For more information on TAC visit www.theafricachannel.com
George Alexander's column on the business of entertainment appears weekly at
blackenterprise.com. He is the author of Why We Make Movies (Random House,
$15.95), and Queens: Portraits of Black Women and their Fabulous Hair (Random
House, $29.95).
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