Janet Smith
Nigerian juju meets Ghanaian highlife meets South African kwaito on M-Net’s foot- stomping new addition to its growing collection of satellite channels today. Channel O, a true babe in the world of music television, ruled over by psychedelic American god MTV, launches on MultiChoice DStv at 7pm on Friday, October 17 for two months of five-hour programming per day.
From December, the first and only African music TV channel in the world will cut straight to the chase with 24 hours of non- stop music celebration – and an option for the SABC to select from its programming and beam it free through analogue terrestrial broadcasts to national viewers who own neither an M-Net decoder nor satellite equipment.
The programming will also be made available to other analogue broadcasters in southern, west and east Africa.
Molefe Mokgatle says the SABC would certainly like to discuss possibilities of using Channel O’s programming, which he described as “right up our alley”, but had not yet been approached by M-Net.
Channel O caters specifically to the 16-to- 24 black market. It’s not pretending to be on air for any other audience, which is a step hailed by the broadcasting and music industry.
Jazz, hip-hop, rap, R’n’B, reggae, gospel, kwaito, maskandi, juju, highlife and Nigerian soukous will meld together in programming presented by a group of new faces, to showcase the best African artistes across the continent.
Channel O general manager Darren Jordan – previously M-Net’s group head for DStv advertising sales and a senior sales and marketing professional with four ITV companies in Britain – has also emphasised the role the channel hopes to play in social awareness – safe sex, the value of education, say no to drugs.
Programming includes a half-hour special featuring a celebrity’s choice of music in The Playroom, a two-hour weekly fashion, gossip and video magazine called Set it Off, a gospel show called Shine On, a World Beat programme dubbed Pride which will pay tribute to African artists on the contnient and in the diaspora, and Brass Tones which features the best in jazz.
Sheryl Yeadon – who initiated M-Net’s hugely successful CD compilation series Sound Check before moving into merchandising and licensing at KTV – is Channel O’s head of production and marketing. Radio and TV personality and programme compiler Zandile Nzalo – perhaps best-known for CCV’s ZD music show and her Radio 702 late-night talk show – is the head of programming.