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Afrotainment

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Afrotainment
CountryUnited States
HeadquartersNew York City, U.S.
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Ownership
OwnerSoundview Africa
Links
Websitewww.afrotainment.us
www.afros.tv
Availability
Streaming media
RokuYEBO
Mizik
OYEEE
AFRICA24 Music
NAIJA Music
CAMER Music
Apple TVYEBO
Amazon Fire TVYEBO

Afrotainment, often branded as simply Afro, is an American media company based in New York City, founded by television producer Yves Bollanga in 2005,[1] and owned by Soundview Africa. The company operates linear television channels and digital properties that target African American viewership. Its productions include budgeted films, television series and talk shows.

History

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On June 22, 2005, Afrotainment launched 3A TELESUD, its first channel on DISH Network. Initial launch was followed by 3 more carriage agreements between 2008 and 2011 for Afrotainment Movies, Afrotainment Music, TV9JA, and OUI TVOn.[citation needed]

On October 13, 2011, Afrotainment launched Afrotainment Plus, its first cable channel. It was made available on IO Africa on Channel 1101.[citation needed]

On September 19, 2013, Afrotainment launched 4 new channels in Canada on Bell Fibe TV; marking the company's first expansion outside of the United States.[2]

On December 5, 2014, Afrotainment launched Haiti HD a network targeting the Haitian community on Bell Fibe TV Canada.[3] On October 30, 2016, the channel was began carriage on Videotron in Canada.[4]

In August 2015, Afrotainment launched YEBO, an OTT music video on demand app on Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV.[5]

On March 3, 2016, Afrotainment launched AFRO, its Polycultural Black channel, and ABO on Verizon FIOS.[6][7]

On June 28, 2017, AFRO was made available on Sling TV in its Lifestyle Plus package.[8][9][10][11][12] The channel was removed on June 26, 2019.[13]

On November 15, 2018, Comcast announced an agreement to launch AFRO on Xfinity.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]

Programming

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Afrotainment programming is produced for, or acquired from, the African and Black diaspora. The company produces its programming from its Orlando TV Studios[citation needed]: including Point of View, a daytime woman talk show; Afrotainers, an Entertainment News show; Afrohits Top 10, a chart of the ten best Afro-centric music videos; The Lowdown, a late night comedy show; Journey, a talk show.

Afrotainment also broadcasts soccer matches of the Confederation of African Football, such as the CAF Champions League, CAF Confederation Cup, CAF African Nation Championship, and CAF Youth Championship.[citation needed]

The Afrotainment Museke Online Africa Music Awards, which is held every September, is simulcasted across Afrotainment's US channels and online platforms.

Channels

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The company currently owns and operates the following 8 TV channels:

AFRO TV – Polycultural Black Television channel.

Afrotainment – Afro-centric general entertainment service, broadcasting in High-definition; programming includes TV series, films, talk shows and reality series.

Afrotainment Plus – Cable centric service featuring the best programming from Afrotainment & Afrotainment Music.

Afrotainment Music – Afro-centric music service featuring music from the African continent. Programming includes music videos, live performances and entertainment programs.

Africa Box Office (ABO) – Afro-centric movie service featuring the best in film from the African continent. It airs over 100 new movies every year from Nollywood and other movie houses throughout Africa.

TV Naija – General entertainment service aimed at Nigerian community, airs TV series & music from Nigeria.

Oui TV – Cameroonian, Ivorian and African sitcoms and dramas in French.

YEBO – Afro-Caribbean music video on Demand (Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku).

References

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[26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]

  1. ^ Gundan, Farai. "Meet Yves Bollanga, The Man Televising African Home Entertainment in the USA". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  2. ^ Channels, Afrotainment. "Afrotainment launches 4 channels on Bell Canada". PRLog. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  3. ^ Webmaster, Afro. "Afrotainment Channels - AFROTAINMENT launches Haiti HD on Bell Canada". www.afrotainment.tv. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  4. ^ Webmaster, Afro. "Afrotainment Channels - Afrotainment expands in Canada with the launch of HAITI HD on Videotron". afrotainment.us. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  5. ^ Webmaster, Afro. "Afrotainment Channels - Afrotainment launches YEBO, an OTT music video on demand app". afrotainment.us. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  6. ^ Webmaster, Afro. "Afrotainment Channels - The Afrotainment Family of Channels launches 2 HD channels on Verizon". www.afrotainment.tv. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  7. ^ "Verizon Launches Afrotainment Channels | Multichannel". www.multichannel.com. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  8. ^ "AFRO brings polycultural television to Sling TV's Lifestyle Extra - What's On Sling". What's On Sling. 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  9. ^ Webmaster, Afro. "Afrotainment Channels - AFRO, a Polycultural Black Television Network, debuts on Sling TV". afrotainment.us. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  10. ^ "AFRO, a Polycultural Black Television Network, debuts on Sling TV". Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Sling TV Adds a New Channel to Its Lifestyle Extra Add-On - Cord Cutters News". Cord Cutters News. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  12. ^ "Sling TV Welcomes All-Black Television Network AFRO-SRMagOnline". Soul Reflectionz. 2017-06-28. Archived from the original on 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  13. ^ "What happened to the Afro Channel?". www.sling.com. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  14. ^ "Comcast Sets TV One's Cleo TV, Afro as Latest Independent Channel Launches". 15 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Comcast to Add Two New African-American Owned Channels in January". 15 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Comcast to Launch Two New Black TV Networks in January". 21 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Comcast to Launch Two New African American Majority Owned Nets". 16 November 2018.
  18. ^ Hayes, Dade (15 November 2018). "Comcast Launching African-American Cable Networks Afro and Cleo TV". Deadline.
  19. ^ "Comcast to Add Two Networks Geared Toward African-American Viewers in 2019". 15 November 2018.
  20. ^ "Comcast Unveils Winners of Competition to Launch Cable Networks Dedicated to Black Media Consumers". 18 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Yves Bollanga's AFRO TV finds new home at Comcast in historic move". 19 November 2018.
  22. ^ Report, Tribune Staff. "Comcast adds 2 African-American networks to lineup". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Comcast Announces Agreements with Two New African American Majority Owned Independent Networks - MarketWatch". Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  24. ^ "Comcast to add AFRO, CLEO TV to Xfinity platforms". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  25. ^ "Comcast Partners with CLEO TV and AFRO to Promote Diverse Content – Naturally Moi". Archived from the original on 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  26. ^ "Cowboy, Afro Join Sling". The Savvy Screener. 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  27. ^ "Afrotainment Expands to Africa with the Launch of OUI TV On Startimes | Balancing Act - Africa". www.balancingact-africa.com. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  28. ^ "Afrotainment provides a bridge between Africa, Europe and the New World to spread Black Culture". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  29. ^ "Africa 24 partners with Afrotainment Family of Channels | NexTV News". NexTV News. 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  30. ^ "Afrotainment to launch Oui TV on StarTimes platform". Digital TV Europe. 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  31. ^ "Cablevision Buttresses International Channel Lineup With Pair Of African Channels | Multichannel". www.multichannel.com. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  32. ^ "AFRO debuts on Sling TV". www.triangletribune.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  33. ^ "Cameroon-Info.Net:: Forbes Magazine Presents Yves Bollanga, The Man Televising African Home Entertainment in the USA". www.cameroon-info.net (in French). Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  34. ^ "Cameroon-Info.Net:: Cameroun/USA - Télévision: Le cinéma camerounais s'exporte aux Etats-Unis grâce à "OUI TV"". www.cameroon-info.net (in French). Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  35. ^ "Yves Bollanga, Bringing Afro-Caribbean Content to Mainstream U.S. Television". ACRAH. 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  36. ^ "Yves Bollanga". BizNis Africa. 2014-01-07. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  37. ^ "dish-network-adds-french-african-channel Dish Network adds french african channel". Retrieved 10 December 2022.
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