The Africa Channel said it doubled its ad sales in 2022 and is looking to build on that momentum by making its first upfront deals this year.
The number of brands advertising on the network grew by five times last year, said Dean Cates, senior VP of business development & sales.
“On-air at The Africa Channel we celebrate Black History 365 days each year,“ Dean Cates, senior VP of business development and sales, said. “The nature and breadth of our programming library provides flexible, turnkey and customizable opportunities for brands to authentically tap into and amplify key Black American cultural moments and to develop even deeper connections with the channel’s audience and their interests.”
The Africa Channel unveiled TAC365 — a new palate of seasonal and quarterly brand opportunities designed to amplify key holidays and cultural moments such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Black History Month, Black Music Month, Africa Day and Juneteenth.
“Data shows that the channel’s viewership is engaged, upscale and educated, skewing female and over-indexing in home ownership, education and income,“ added chief operating officer Narendra Reddy. “This audience’s strong affinity for content that embraces lifestyle, finance, travel and culture, and their heritage, which directly informs The Africa Channel’s programming decisions.”
Recent distribution deals with Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox Cable have tripled the channel’s reach to more than 16.5 million homes, Reddy said.
The Africa Channel participated in media buyer Magna’s Equity Upfront event this week, looking to attract ad spending earmarked for Black-owned and Black-targeted networks.
“What some in the media sector fail to realize is that Black audiences are not a monolith,“ The Africa Channel’s principal owner, Paula Madison, said. “I’m Chinese Jamaican and the daughter of immigrant parents to the U.S. Being Black and Asian makes me a living example of the wide diversity of today’s Black American audience.
“In 2020 the Black American population grew to 46.9 million and 21% of this audience is comprised of Black Immigrants and their Children. During the next 20 years that number is projected to double,” Madison said. “The Africa Channel’s business activities are driven by a clear-sighted vision of this community and the very diverse and multicultural interests of this audience.”
This year during Black History Month, The Africa Channel offered a sneak peek of its new reality series African Royale, in which a member of African royalty — Her Imperial Highness Abimbola Fernandez — navigates the culture of Black America.
Other original series on the network are World Wide Nate: African Adventures and Amah Knows Best.
The network has new seasons of its daily show Expresso and Focus on Africa.
The Africa Channel will have the U.S premieres of the films Housewives and Lemonade and will be showing the documentaries In Focus: Rooted and The Rising. ■
