Following in the footsteps of international counterparts India, China, the US and UK, among others - SA has launched its own dedicated television network in airports nationwide.
Yesterday, out-of-home (OOH) media company Provantage announced its partnership with Airports Company SA (ACSA) in rolling out a digital TV network in SA's ACSA-owned airports.
In what is a first for SA, ACSA's nine airports across the country will flight the TV network, Airport.tv, on 400 high-definition LED an LCD JVC TV monitors, of varying sizes including 46-, 65-, 85- and 103-inch. So far, says Provantage MD Jacques du Preez, 91 screens have been fitted. “By 7 May, the top three airports' equipment will be fully installed and the network will be fully operational by 1 June.”
Airport.tv goes live on Tuesday (1 May) and will feature a range of content, including sport, lifestyle, entertainment and news. Key indicators and the top five business stories will also be screened, as well as a weather banner and traffic updates.
Online news resource News24 is on board to provide Airport.tv with newscasts and bulletins, and Provantage will aggregate a variety of content from other third parties, including DSTV.
TV technology
Du Preez says the network of interlinked monitors has been built with high-quality audio systems, with adjustable volume, based on the level of ambient noise. “Audio interfaces with paging systems will allow passengers to hear pages and boarding announcements, and we will have on-site technicians for proactive system evaluation seven days a week.”
The digital network, says Du Preez, features “state-of-the-art” software and hardware technology. Group technical manager at Provantage, Rene Venter, says the network employs the Infinity X software solution from Datapost, and New World Industries is providing all hardware and installation services.
Operating hours are 5am to midnight, every day of the week, and there will be a 55:45 advertising to content split. Du Preez says the channel, expected to reach an estimated 2.2 million viewers a month, is designed to optimise the dwell time in four key viewing areas in all domestic departures and arrivals areas.
Du Preez says digital OOH media is the fastest growing out of home media format globally. “SA is ready for Airport.tv. There was a gap in the market and we took it. We invested in state-of-the-art technology and set up a massive infrastructure to ensure that advertisers can now reach well over two million high-LSM viewers a month.”
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