Tag Archives: Arewa24

Arewa24 sets up new drama, film division

February 8, 2022NewsArewa24, Bob Reid, Dadin Kowa, Discovery Networks, Evans Ejioju, Hausa, Jacob Arback, Kwana Casa’in, Salisu Balabare, The Africa ChannelGary

Hausa-language Nigerian family entertainment and lifestyle television channel Arewa24 has announced the launch of a new original drama and film production division.

The move will allow Arewa24 to leverage its own production resources and expertise, the Kano-based company said, as well as look to partner with top creative talent from around the world.

Furthermore, it aims to team up with the global streaming services to develop and produce a slate of scripted narrative programming.

The company, which broadcasts across Nigeria and into other parts of West and North Africa, India and Saudi Arabia, will also tell authentic African stories from Northern Nigeria and West Africa in both the Hausa language and in English.

The new division will be headed by Evans Ejioju, an experienced industry veteran who has been the exec producer on hit political thriller Kwana Casa’in (aka 90 Days) since its first season.

He is joined by Salisu Balabare, the current director of Kwana Casa’in and longtime director of the Dadin Kowa drama series, who will oversee the creative direction of the new division.

Bob Reid, the Emmy-winning former exec producer at Discovery Networks and the former exec VP and programming executive at The Africa Channel in the US, will serve as production consultant and exec producer of Arewa24’s original drama and film productions.

“Arewa24 has been developing some of the finest Nigerian writers, producers, directors, editors and actors since the channel launched eight years ago,” said Arewa24’s CEO Jacob Arback.

“We are now positioned to be a major pan-African producer of scripted, authentic African content – for Nigeria, for Africa and for viewers in the West who are becoming more and more exposed to the unique and compelling stories being told in high-quality dramas and films from the continent.

“Our goal is not just to create ever more popular and successful dramas for our core Hausa-speaking audiences. Some of what we produce might not air first on Arewa24. We plan to create a slate of content that appeals to viewers throughout Africa and the rest of the world.

“The new production division will enable us to tailor content to suit those broader targeted audiences. To do that, we plan to produce authentic African content in English as well as in Hausa and take on more provocative subject matter across a wide range of programme genres.”

The drama series already produced and broadcast by Arewa24 include Dadin Kowa, which is in its 25th season, and Kwana Casa’in, which recently wrapped production on its seventh season.

According to the TV channel, several new original drama series are currently in development and the company will be debuting its first originally produced premier feature film in Q4 of this year.

Arewa24 reaches more than 40 million Hausa speakers in Nigeria and West Africa through its Eutelsat satellite free-to-air channel; on the StarTimes pay TV bouquet; Multichoice pay TV platforms DStv and GOtv; pay TV platform TSTV; and the Canal+ pay TV service in Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

tagged in: Arewa24, Bob Reid, Dadin Kowa, Discovery Networks, Evans Ejioju, Hausa, Jacob Arback, Kwana Casa’in, Salisu Balabare, The Africa Channel

Al Jazeera, Arewa24 in distribution deal

November 26, 2021NewsAl Jazeera, Arewa24John Winfield

Arabic news channel Al Jazeera and free-to-air Hausa-language satellite channel Arewa24 have partnered to dub documentaries and series into Hausa for the more than 40 million viewers in northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and the Sahel.

Through the deal, Al Jazeera’s English-language programmes will be available via Arewa24’s satellite channel, the region’s major pay TV services, including DStv, StarTimes, Canal+ and TSTV, and Arewa24’s global streaming service Arewa24 On Demand.

Ramzan Alnoimi, Al Jazeera’s acting executive director of global brand and communication, said: “We are very pleased with this agreement as it makes Al Jazeera English’s content available to new audiences in a large part of Africa in their own language. We are looking forward to expanding the distribution of Al Jazeera content dubbed in other languages in the future.”

Jacob Arback, CEO of Arewa24, said the Al Jazeera brand and its outstanding programming would be very well received by Arewa24’s Northern Nigerian and West African audiences.

“We couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership and about being the first television network to broadcast Al Jazeera’s high-quality programmes in Hausa, a language spoken by over 90 million people in Nigeria and West Africa,” he said.

Nigeria is one of Al Jazeera’s key markets in Africa. The agreement allows Al Jazeera-produced content to be dubbed into Hausa and made available to a much wider and more diverse audience in the region.

tagged in: Al Jazeera, Arewa24

Arewa24 expands slate to mark anniversary

June 30, 2021NewsArewa24, Equal Access International, Jacob ArbackJohn Winfield

Hausa-language Nigerian entertainment and lifestyle channel Arewa24 has expanded its slate of programming to mark its seventh anniversary.

The free-to-air satellite channel’s new content will debut next month, featuring original dramas, a women’s talkshow, kids’ edutainment series, football shows and more studio shows.

Among the titles are three Hausa dramas: Buka Afrikana, an ensemble sitcom set in a local diner in Nigeria’s Middle Belt; a new season of Labarna, one of the most popular Northern Nigerian dramas; and mystery crime drama Sirrin Boye.

The women’s talkshow is Mata A Yau, meaning Today’s Woman in Hausa. It will feature four dynamic co-hosts from different backgrounds and ages discussing important issues that women currently face in Northern Nigeria.

Meanwhile, US kids’ favourite Sesame Street will be dubbed into Hausa for the first time, while African children’s animated superhero series Super Sema will also debut in Hausa.

Two football-focused shows will also have their premieres, Homage and Perfection.

In addition, new seasons of Arewa24’s original runaway hit drama series Kwana Casa’in and Dadin Kowa are currently in production and will debut in October.

Arewa24 CEO Jacob Arback said: “Many people don’t realise that there are over 80 million Hausa speakers in Northern Nigeria and the Sahel, and the region is bursting everywhere with young talent.

“What I am most proud of, however, is how our management and staff, comprised of such diverse Nigerian backgrounds, ethnicities, tribes, religions and geographies, can all gather as a team in Kano, Nigeria, to produce some of the best programming coming out of Africa today.”

Arewa24 reaches more than 40 million Hausa speakers in Nigeria and West Africa. This footprint is achieved through its Eutelsat satellite free-to-air broadcast and via the StarTimes pay TV bouquet channel 138, as well as carriage on MultiChoice pay TV platforms DStv and GOtv. It is also available via pay TV platform TSTV and on the Canal+ pay TV service in Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Most of these new shows will also be immediately available on Arewa24 On Demand, the channel’s global subscription video-on-demand service connecting Hausa-speaking families around the world to Northern Nigerian entertainment, culture and lifestyle.

Arewa24 is owned by US-based not-for-profit organisation Equal Access International and is supported by USAID, UNESCO, the World Bank and other charitable foundations.

tagged in: Arewa24, Equal Access International, Jacob Arback

Arewa24 marks anniversary with new series

July 3, 2020NewsArewa24, John EkainuJohn Winfield

Dandalin Sesame has been created through a partnership with Sesame Workshop

Arewa24, the Hausa-language entertainment and lifestyle TV channel and production studio in West Africa, is marking the sixth anniversary of its launch with a slate of new shows.

Arewa24 aims to provide an authentic Northern Nigerian voice for its audiences and reflect the region’s pride in local culture, arts and lifestyle for Hausa-speaking families.

The new slate coming to the channel this month features drama series such as Labarina, directed by Nigerian filmmaker Aminu Saira; season two of popular comedy series Gidan Badamasi; new episodes of Dadin Kowa, the longest-running drama series in Northern Nigeria; and fellow hit drama series 90 Days.

For kids and young viewers, the channel will air a Nigerian version of classic US children’s show Sesame Street. Dandalin Sesame will feature lovable characters in a Nigerian cultural context and in Hausa.

The channel will also air kids’ educational show Akili & Me; animated series My Better World, which follows the adventures of six African teens as they navigate the complex challenges of school, family and friendship; and youth magazine show The 77%, which highlights the Africans under-35s shaping the continent’s future.

Travel, lifestyle and profile show Jakadan Arewa will also debut, featuring Hausa personalities, musicians and communities in other African countries and beyond.

John Ekainu, Arewa24’s studio general manager, said: “There is no better way to celebrate our sixth anniversary than to treat our viewers to a special collection of new Hausa dramas, kids’ and youth shows, and other family-friendly entertainment programs that anchor our line-up. All of these new shows will be available on the company’s global subscription streaming service Arewa24 On Demand, reaching Hausa speakers around the world.”

Arewa24 also airs Kannywood movies and has licensed a collection of new titles that will be rolled out in the weeks and months ahead.

tagged in: Arewa24, John Ekainu