I broke the news RIGHT HERE at the beginning of September that ASTV will be added to TopTV in October and now On Digital Media (ODM) just confirmed that the Afrikaans Satelliettelevisie (ASTV) channel will indeed be added to the bouquet from October.
Earlier today I also had word first about a brand-new Indian bouquet that TopTV plans to introduce in November and is currently working on. But back to ASTV joining TopTV. ASTV that operates from out of Rustenburg started with a haphazard launch/delayed launch towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year with limited viewership. With the ASTV and TopTV deal, TopTV gets an Afrikaans TV channel to ''compete'' with MultiChoice that has kykNET on DStv and ASTV gets a much wider footprint and audience.
ASTV will be available on TopTV's Variety bouquet of R99 per month says Ian Woodrow, TopTV's general manager for content. ASTV broadcast a mix of actuality, outdoor, lifestyle, youth and teen content as well as Afrikaans music videos. ASTV says viewers can look forward to shows such as Vaskap, Eksieperfeksie, Kos is oppie tafel, Ons Gesels Met. . ., Klankbaan, Joernaal and Diere Maniere.
''Afrikaans is in my blood and from my side I want to promote our language and culture,'' says Jaco Ferreira, managing director of ASTV, who says he's excited about the opportunity to have ASTV broadcast on TopTV from October. ''We're very excited to become a part of the TopTV family. It's a big moment and we know that viewers will enjoy the new shows a lot.''
