I broke the news last year that MultiChoice will be adding the Trace Sports channel after signing a carriage agreement; in January this year I dropped as many hints as I felt I wanted to ("ready...", "steady...") and now Trace Sports will start on DStv on channel 129 on Thursday 17 April. It's finally time for ''go''.
Trace Sports however won't be the high definition version of Trace Sports HD, which is actually available internationally and which is actually the default version of the channel.
Sources told me last month ''very soon'' when I asked when Trace Sports - a kind of E! Entertainment about the sports world - is starting. Trace Sports is exclusively for the DStv Premium bouquet.
The Trace Group held that pre-launch event party in Johannesburg in June 2010 during the World Cup when international potential clients were all in Johannesburg for the soccer and I've constantly been following the channel South African angle since then.
ALSO READ: Might Trace Sports HD be coming to South Africa soon?
ALSO READ: If negotiations work out, MultiChoice wants to add the new Trace Sports TV channel exclusively to its DStv platform in South Africa and Africa.
''The launch of Trace Sports in South Africa is a major milestone for our group,'' says Oliver Laouchez, the chairperson and CEO of the Trace group in a statement. The Trace Urban (DStv 325) music channel is already a part of the DStv bouquet.
"Trace Sports will bring the DStv audience a great mix of content where sport meets glamour, where athletes reveal their real life and personality. We are excited to launch the channel exactly 100 days before the Olympics as we believe that our content will allow DStv subscribers to connect more with featured Olympians.''
"Sport is an important genre to pay television," says Aletta Alberts, the general manager for content at MultiChoice in the same statement. "Trace Sports is a channel which takes a unique view on sports stars, giving our subscribers access to content that is not currently available on DStv. We are confident that this channel will be a big hit with our subscribers,'' says Aletta Alberts.
