Tag Archives: Bamidele Adetunji

Pay TV in focus at NITV

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Emeka Mba, Bamidele Adetunji, Funmi Adenaike, Zachary Wazara & Lindsey Oliver

The first panel session at the Nigeria International Television (NITV) Summit focused on the challenges and opportunities facing the country’s pay TV industry.

Addressing the issue of sustainability and growth in the pay TV business in Nigeria, panelists discussed the challenges and ways in which these can be overcome.

Panelists included Funmi Adenaike, general manager of Play TV; Emeka Mba, former NBC director general and now CEO of Questechmedia Consulting; Bamidele Adetunji, CEO at Montage Media Group; and Zachary Wazara, CEO of Kwese TV. The session was moderated by Lindsey Oliver, CEO of Yanga TV.

The conversation kicked off with an evaluation of the industry as a whole and how it has evolved so far. Panelists agreed that rapid development of technology poses a challenge for pay TV platforms.

“The internet is changing consumer behaviour and business models,” said Wazara.

Meanwhile, despite agreeing that other industries are threatening the growth of the TV industry, Adetunji stated that the challenge to sustainability is a lack of proper recording technology and archiving.

“There was time I wanted to produce an epic Nigerian movie but was told it was unavailable because a recording had been done over the master recording, which basically means it no longer exists.

“And this leads me to ask, who has the rights to TV series like [classic Nigerian drama] Village Headmaster? Where are our formats? Where are our records? There are no local formats, yet international formats still exist,” said Adetunji.

Addressing the issue of telcos encroaching on the TV industry, Mba stated: “There are no level playing fields in an industry that is hugely dependent on technology and data to operate.”

Buttressing his point, Adenaike added: “There are enormous challenges in the industry and some pay TV companies are forced to deliver certain kinds of content because they are working with what is available, which is not much.”

Speaking about the way forward, Adetunji suggested that Nigeria should establish a commercial satellite platform so local pay TV channels don’t have to form partnerships with international satellites and pay “astronomical” amounts to air content. This is especially true when consumers do not understand a pay TV channel’s need for high prices because all they want is content at a low cost.

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The Sing-Off hits right note in Nigeria

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The Sing-Off was adapted by SABC in South Africa

US talent show format The Sing-Off is set to be adapted in Nigeria after Montage Media Group acquired rights to the property from Sony Pictures Television (SPT).

The Sing-Off is an ‘a capella’ singing contest aired on NBC in the US between 2009 and 2014. It offers a platform for vocal groups to compete and showcase their skills with a chance to win a recording contract.

Bamidele Adetunji, CEO of Montage Media Group, said: “We are pleased to be in partnership with one of the biggest names in global media and entertainment business.

“As a responsible corporate, we are determined to bring the best of the world into the Sub-Saharan African market through our various content, production and technology collaborations to ensure the growth of the media and entertainment landscape, particularly in Nigeria; the nation that hosted the first television infrastructure in Africa.

“Talents and their discovery isn’t the problem in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, but the issue is what becomes of them after they’ve been discovered. Through this relationship, we want to nurture discovered talents and provide them with a global platform to thrive in an increasingly competitive media and entertainment landscape.”

John Rossiter, exec VP of distribution and networks, CEEMA at SPT, said: “We can’t wait to bring action-packed series The Sing-Off to African audiences and we look forward to strengthening our relationship with Montage to deliver many more exciting projects in the future.”

The Sing-Off began airing in the US, where it ran for five seasons on NBC, produced by SPT, Outlaw Productions and UA Media Group. It garnered nearly 10 million viewers before being adapted in countries such as China, France, the Netherlands and South Africa. It is produced and internationally distributed by SPT.

Montage Media Group is a media consultancy and investment company with a focus on delivering quality services in the pay TV, mobile TV and content acquisition and production.

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