Jocelyn Newmarch
9 May 2008
Johannesburg — A NEW TV station targeting shebeens will be launched in August and should reach 4-million patrons a month at more than 1000 outlets by the end of next year.
The channel, the first to specifically target shebeens, will initially be available in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
Tavern TV is part of the Provantage Group's plans for its new subsidiary, Provantage Tavern Media, to be launched next week.
There are about 265000 liquor-selling outlets in SA, according to the trade and industry department, with 69000 of these in townships, and half catering for sit-down trade.
"Around 15% of this market is classified as premium in terms of product mix," said Kagiso Mokoka, head of Provantage Tavern Media. "These taverns stock a wide range of green- bottle (premium) beer and a selection of whiskies, attracting black consumers in the five to 10 LSM segments."
Mokoka said the channel would aim to entertain viewers in order to be more attractive to advertisers. Tavern TV would offer aspirational programmes, including celebrity news and gossip, and user-generated content. Viewers would be able to submit SMSes and MMSes to the channel for broadcast, watching themselves on TV a few minutes later.
Forty percent of the airtime would be in the form of advertising. Programmes would be repeated every two hours and adverts every 30 minutes.
The company would also offer permanent media platforms, including billboards both inside and outside taverns, focus groups, and sales development services.
Mokoka said he was not concerned about advertising spend being limited by the tightening economic conditions.
"Ad spend is likely to be affected across the board, but if you look at the rate at which the black middle class is growing as a percentage of GDP, this is probably the most attractive segment to be investing in."
The group already offers taxi branding, transit TV for commuters, and brand activations at taxi ranks and township shopping malls.
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