Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Cell C's black has added 3 of the TRACE channels - TRACE Africa, Trace Gospel and TRACE Sports Stars - to its streaming platform.

Cell C's black streaming platform has added three of the TRACE channels to its subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform in South Africa: TRACE Africa (604), TRACE Gospel (603) and TRACE Sports Stars HD (410).

Cell C recently launched black in South Africa, offering several linear TV channels that are streamed, including through its blackBOX set-top box.

TRACE Sports Stars was carried on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform for 4 years before it was dumped, and was carried on StarSat from China's StarTimes Media SA and On Digital Media (ODM) before it was dumped from there too.

Trace Sports Stars has since been picked up by eMedia Investments' free-to-air satellite service OpenView HD (OVHD) from Platco Digital and profiles international sports personalities with a lifestyle and entertainment angle.

TRACE Sports Stars is streamed as a high definition (HD) channel on Cell C black.

TRACE Africa (StarSat 334 /  DStv 326) is already carried on both DStv and StarSat.

Cell C black is the first platform to carry and make TRACE Gospel available in South Africa.

TRACE Gospel shows videos of Contemporary Gospel, Urban Gospel, Worship Gospel and Traditional Gospel, as well as interviews with upcoming and established artists and features and concerts.

TRACE Gospel shows urban African music with music videos from various genres ranging from Afro-pop and Coupé-décalé, to Kwaito-house, Afro-trap, Makossa and N’dombolo.

The channel focuses on African music and culture by showcasing concerts and features related to African artists and urban African lifestyle content.

"TRACE is dedicated to being ahead of the curve and making its content available on all
platforms that will make viewing more convenient for our audience," says Leo Manne, TRACE Southern Africa senior vice president.

"The partnership with Cell C was therefore, a natural and well-fitting one".

Surie Ramasary, Cell C's chief executive of content, says "South Africans love TRACE as a brand and as black we needed to ensure that the content we made available to our customers would be both relevant and enjoyable".