[Submitted via press release]
In a move to boost the sports offering across its pay-TV platform, TopTV has announced the addition of action sports channel, Setanta Action.
The channel, from the Setanta Africa stable, begins broadcasting today, Friday, 02 November, from 12:00 noon, on Channel 202 on TopTV.
TopTV is the first broadcast platform across the continent to launch the new channel.
Setanta Action is a new, 24/7 sports action channel with a particular focus on combat sports. The content will comprise primarily live and short delay events featuring kickboxing, mixed martial arts and boxing.
Programming will also include wrestling, action series, action magazine-format shows that feature, among others, fitness and exercise, judo, taekwondo, karate and other extreme sports.
“The increasingly popular mixed martial arts (MMA) sporting code is considered to be one of the world’s fastest growing sports, with new organisations springing up around the world, including here in South Africa.
"The decision to launch a channel dedicated to action sports has resulted from the enthusiastic response to the MMA and kickboxing content that has been screened on the Setanta Africa channel, which is also available on the TopTV platform,” says Kelly Butler, CEO of Setanta Sports Africa.
Targeting a predominantly young male audience, aged 18 – 34, Setanta Action is a channel tailor-made for various markets across Africa, and will be available to the South African audience via the TopTV platform.
As such, the programming and channel packaging including the music and graphics, reflect the wide cultural mix of the sub-Saharan region where this channel is available.
Ian Woodrow, VP: Channels of TopTV, comments: “While our sports offering is limited in terms of mainstream sports, we have targeted various niche channels with a specific audience in mind, and these are performing very well for TopTV.
“As such, we are delighted to welcome the Setanta Action channel to our sports mix that includes Setanta Africa, Fuel TV (an extreme sports channel), Eurosport News and MUTV (the 24-hour football channel of Manchester United). We are confident that its focus on mixed martial arts, kickboxing and boxing will attract a new audience of viewers to TopTV.”
The daily schedule of programming on Setanta Action is available on the TopTV website.