TAC Studios has inked two international content licensing deals with Viasat World and Kwesé TV, expanding the global reach of The Africa Channel’s year-old production arm.
According to the terms of the deals, Viasat has acquired two seasons of “Africa on a Plate,” a TAC Studios original series which features up-and-coming chefs setting off on culinary adventures across the continent.
Kwesé TV has acquired complete seasons of four original series, including “Africa Everywhere,” which highlights the influences of African and Caribbean immigrants on cities around the world; “My Africa,” which explores African cities through the eyes of notable local personalities; “Emerging,” which shines a light on emerging African economies; and “Self Made,” which features entrepreneurs, artists, entertainers and philanthropists who are making a difference outside the mainstream.
In a statement, TAC’s director of content strategy and distribution, Lynneise Joseph, said the deals “demonstrate the hunger that audiences across the globe have to see more multi-cultural content that reflects their own lives.”
TAC Studios’ VP of creative and production, Brendan Gabriel, added that Viasat and Kwesé share the company’s “vision for producing and programming high-quality HD content with pan-African appeal.”
“Our collective passion is to bridge the gap between Africa and the world in format and content development,” he said.
Based out of TAC’s headquarters in L.A., TAC Studios was established to finance and distribute premium lifestyle programming about contemporary African life, working directly with a network of producers and production companies in Africa and around the world. Along with developing and producing new shows, it distributes the channel’s existing library, which features more than 300 hours of premium HD content.
Viasat World offers 27 pay-TV channels in more than 50 countries, as well as on-demand services in key territories. The Kwesé Network, which is owned by South African conglom Econet Media, is a multi-platform network operating in 25 countries across Africa.
TAC Studios also announced on Monday its first original series sale in the U.S., with BET founder Robert L. Johnson’s Urban Movie Channel (UMC) acquiring SVOD rights for the 13-episode adventure travel series “World Wide Nate: African Adventures.”
The show will follow the popular travel vlogger, Nathan Fluellen – known as World Wide Nate – on his pulse-pounding adventures across Africa. In a statement, the Chicago-born host said he believes the show “is going to change the narrative of how Americans view Africa.” Fluellen is also the series’ creator and executive producer.
