At home on TV

Magazine publishers have been quick to seize on the new lifestyle opportunities in SA with a multitude of glossies, but until now, there has been no comprehensive offering on TV.

Astrid Ascar, general manager of The Home Channel, says: "This is long overdue for South Africa. Home lifestyle TV is a huge global trend - in Canada, for instance, they have three dedicated 24-hour channels that regularly top the viewer ratings.

"We're building this weekend TV channel based on the success of our current Weekend Property programme, which has proven very popular. But viewers told us they want even more - they want to know how to decorate, what design trends are 'in', what's going on internationally, and how to add more value to the biggest investment they'll make - their homes."

Geared to meet the needs of the DStv LSM 7 to 10 subscriber market, Ascar believes there is a strong business case for The Home Channel. Latest Adex figures show television spend of R403-million in this sector over the 12 months to February 2005.
This excludes financial services - with products such as homeloans and insurance.

She will also be opening the door to first-time TV advertisers, through innovative advertising packages that include the cost of producing a TV advert. This is likely to be a major attraction to smaller advertisers who until now have been confined to print and radio.

The Home Channel launches on the 7 May on DStv channel 55, initially with eight hours of new programming every weekend. For viewer convenience, this is scheduled as an 8-hour block that is broadcast four times between 8 am and midnight across Saturdays and Sundays. This means that viewers will get four opportunities to catch a programme across one weekend, and eight opportunities to watch Weekend Property.