Comcast Expands Africa Channel in D.C. Area

Comcast has extended its carriage of The Africa Channel to the D.C. suburbs and outlying areas on its digital basic tier, according to the channel.

The channel is now available on systems in Northern Virginia as well as Richmond, Va. (some 100 miles away from D.C.), Baltimore, and the Maryland counties of Prince Georges and Montgomery, and to Salisbury, Md.

Comcast pledged to expand its carriage of minority-targeted fare as one of the public interest commitments it made to get the NBCU deal done.

Comcast has already similarly expanded Africa Channel coverage to the suburbs in Detroit and Chicago, and a source says look for further expansions in Southern cities, also by Comcast.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.