South Africa’s first video-on-demand (VOD) channel catering specifically the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has been launched.

PrideTV costs R79/month, or R790/year. Subscribers can pay by credit card or use mobile billing to pay for access.

“Traditional TV channels have historically offered only small smatterings of one-dimensional LGBT content that ironically reinforces stereotypes instead of shattering them. PrideTV reverses the trend to restrict access to LGBT themes by South African and African broadcasters,” said content manager Joanne Raphael Katz.

The service, which is available to viewers across sub-Saharan Africa, promises a growing library of LGBT movies and TV series.

The service is accessible via broadband and can be viewed on smart TVs, desktop computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones running Android or iOS.

PrideTV has 200 content titles at launch across all genres. “There are comedies, sexy college boy thrillers, horrors, love stories, gripping dramas and doccies about LGBT issues and personalities.

Around 65% of the content is gay male focused and 35% deals with lesbian and transgender themes,” the company said.

New content will be loaded onto PrideTV on a regular basis; especially more big-screen classics, new independent releases and TV series, it said. The platform is highly curated with best selections from top producers and film makers that have won many awards and festivals.

“We believe that there is a gap in the market. It’s about time that the neglected LGBT community has a voice, with content that spans all the issues that people can relate to,” said Katz.

“We know that LGBT people are early adopters of technology, so we’re confident that they will join the online streaming revolution.”