SA`s second pay-television operator is slowly regaining traction, following the loss of various channels and a failed application for an exclusive adult package.

On Friday, TopTV went live with what it calls “a global player in the rapidly expanding African film industry”, the African Movie Channel (AMC), on its previously barren 120 frequency.

TopTV says AMC, which replaces Nollywood film industry channel Hi Nolly – summarily discontinued in November last year – will bring content “direct from Nollywood and other respected African producers” to its subscribers` screens.

TopTV`s interim CEO, Eddie Mbalo, says: “It is a real coup for TopTV that, following successful negotiations, we have secured a channel of the calibre of AMC for our platform.”

With 24-hour screening, AMC is the largest African content aggregator in the industry and the first channel of its kind dedicated entirely to African movies from Nollywood and other major African film production houses, says TopTV. Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, is the third-largest in the world, after Hollywood and Bollywood.

TopTV says AMC features a library of over 1 000 Nollywood and other African titles and “hundreds of hours of award-winning soaps, series and dramas from across the continent”.

AMC founding director Lola Onigbogi says the group is pleased to have entered into a partnership with a “major player” in the South African market.

The launch of AMC follows the addition of NHK World TV – a replacement for Current TV, which was broadcast on channel 406 – to TopTV`s bouquet earlier this month. At the time, the pay-TV operator promised it would initiate the broadcasting of AMC before the end of March.

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