Tag Archives: CNN

MTN, DStv in Brand Africa’s top 100 list

Thebe Ikalafeng

Telecoms company MTN Group and pay TV operator DStv have won places in marketing body Brand Africa’s list of the top 100 most admired brands on the continent.

The list for 2022, which looked at Nigeria, West Africa and Africa as a whole, was compiled by Johannesburg-based company Brand Africa and was revealed at a ceremony held in Lagos, Nigeria.

MTN ranked as the most admired African brand, while MultiChoice-owned DStv was named top media name, followed by the BBC and CNN in that category. Broadcaster Channels TV was the most admired Nigerian media brand.

Overall, taking into account both African and non-African brands, US footwear maker Nike took the top spot once again as most admired brand in Africa, as it did in 2021 and 2020. Overall, only 17 of the top 100 brands originated in Africa, including MTN (10th place), Globacom (32nd) and DStv (37th).

Thebe Ikalafeng, founder of Brand Africa, said: “No one can do Africa better than Africans.” But he acknowledged that Africans often undervalue the continent’s brands, which is why he launched Brand Africa in 2010, to drive collaboration promoting African places, products and people.

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TV veteran Okhai to stand for president

Victor Okhai, veteran journalist, producer and filmmaker, has confirmed he will be standing in Nigeria’s 2019 presidential elections.

Victor Okhai

Okhai will be contesting the 2019 presidential elections as a candidate of the Youth Democratic Party, with the motto Enough is Enough.

Okhai has been in the broadcast industry for more than three decades. He is a freelance journalist for TV networks including the BBC, Aljazeera, CNN, TVC and STV and is also co-founder of the Directors’ Guild of Nigeria and director of the International Film & Broadcast Academy in Lagos.

He graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he gained a degree in mass communications and a master’s degree in PR. He later went on to study in several other tertiary institutions, obtaining certificates from the School of Media & Communication, Pan-Atlantic University; National Film & Television Institute; University of Lagos; and Goethe Institut, among others.

He has been a partner at the Goethe Institut, Lagos since 1988 and has worked with the institute to host the International Short Film Festival in Nigeria, the first in the country and sub-Saharan Africa.

The 51-year-old has been very passionate about the role of politics and the creative industry in Nigeria, which led to him addressing these issues in several presentations.

In 2007, he delivered a speech titled The Role of Art, Film and Politics in Nigeria at the German embassy. In 2008, he presented a paper titled Emerging Talents – Nollywood and the New Wave African Cinema.

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Iflix lines up news channel

Mark Britt of iflix

Video streaming service iflix will launch a news channel next month.

From September 3, iflix will air a 24-hour news channel on its platform, which will focus on broadcasting worldwide news stories from various reliable sources.

The SVoD company has partnered with other news channels in order to deliver this content. These channels include CNN, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, CGTN and CCTV 4.

Speaking about the channel, iflix CEO Mark Britt said: “Audiences today, particularly the rapidly growing youth segments, want immediate access to the stories and events that are shaping the world around them.

“Through iflix news, we are working with many of world’s most trusted and reputable news sources, to deliver timely, comprehensive stories and current affairs to customers with an exceptional user experience, completely on their own terms.”

Presently, iflix operates in more than 20 countries and is in partnership with about 220 studios and distributors internationally. In 2017, it launched in Nigeria, three years after it began operations in Malaysia.

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