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BREAKING. Trace TV founder visiting South Africa next week to talk to pay TV operators about the new Trace Sports HD channel.

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The new sports lifestyle channel Trace Sports HD is definitely on track to launch in June internationally in several territories and will be engaging in discussions and negotiations next week in South Africa with pay TV operators for possible pick-up in South Africa and Africa as well.

''I confirm that we will be launching Trace Sports in June this year,'' says Olivier Laouchez, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Trace TV. Trace TV already runs the Trace channel on MultiChoice's DStv.

''We are now discussing with South African pay TV operators regarding carriage on their platforms. Nothing is yet finalized with them and I will be in South Africa next week for follow up discussions,'' Olivier Laouchez says in answer to a media enquiry made last night. ''We have already secured distribution agreements in Asia, Europe and the USA and we hope to soon finalize agreements in Africa.''

Trace Sports HD that had a pre-launch party in June last year in Johannesburg, is a brand-new lifestyle sports channel with a high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) version that will launch soon and that will focus on factual entertainment and lifestyle content dedicated to sports celebrities.

ALSO READ: Might the new sports channel Trace Sports HD be coming to South Africa sometime soon?

KICKING OFF? Might the new sports channel Trace Sports HD be coming to South Africa sometime soon?

It's time to revisit this story I wrote in June last year when there was a pre-launch party for the new international sports channel Trace Sports HD in Johannesburg.

At the Johannesburg party it was revealed, as I wrote then, that Trace Sports HD - plans to roll out this new high definition sports channel internationally during the second quarter of 2011. At the time I immediately made several media enquiries to Trace asking whether the channel will be coming to South Africa. The response was more deafening in silence that what would come out of a banned vuvuzela.

Imagine E! Entertainment but infused with a sports theme: That's Trace Sports HD running 24 hours with the slogan ''We Love Champions''. Trace Sports HD focuses on sport celebrities and the news around them - or in TV industry speak ''factual entertainment and lifestyle content dedicated to sports celebrities''. Trace Sports HD has lifestyle, documentary and biography shows about athletes, looks at sport celebrity culture and even does countdown shows like ''Sexiest Female Tennis Stars''. Trace Sports HD said last year that it's aiming for a June international launch.

Here's the pre-launch promo about Trace Sports HD that was shown to TV distributors, advertisers and journalists in Johannesburg in June: