Telemundo to Launch in Africa

LONDON: NBCUniversal International Television is bringing Telemundo to Africa, where it will be available in 48 countries throughout the continent on MultiChoice’s digital pay-TV satellite platform, DStv.

The African launch will mark the first time that the pay-TV Telemundo branded service will be available outside of Latin America, where it is present in 21 countries. Telemundo is scheduled to launch in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa on August 12. The network will be exclusively dedicated to telenovelas, touting the tagline "Telemundo: Feel the Passion." It will be fully localized for the African market, with full dubbing of Spanish-language programming in English for South African and Sub-Saharan countries, and full dubbing in Portuguese for Angola and Mozambique.

“The addition of Telemundo to our portfolio of channel brands is an exciting development for Universal Networks International and our channels’ business in Africa,” said Belinda Menendez, the president of international television distribution and Universal Networks International at NBCUniversal. “We are constantly being approached by our platform partners to help them to reach a broader and more diverse demographic—and we are confident that the unique content on Telemundo will attract new viewers in a multi-channel environment. We are thrilled to be bringing the channel to audiences in 48 African countries, and building our presence in this dynamic pay-TV market.”

“With the launch of Telemundo Africa, the region sees the birth of the first pay-TV Latin American channel in English language. We are very proud to extend the footprint of our Telemundo pay-TV channel beyond Latin America via Universal Networks International,” added Marcos Santana, the president of Telemundo International. “Our original telenovelas are successfully syndicated in over 100 countries around the world. We know that there is a huge appetite for top-quality telenovelas, the world over, and are looking forward to building a fan-base for this unique genre across Africa.”