Tag Archives: ITV Studios

Love Island Nigeria set for production

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Reality show Love Island will go into production in Nigeria this summer to air in the autumn, after the ITV Studios format was picked up by a partnership of Nigerian and UK players in September last year.

Odiri Iwuji, Toyin Subair and Neil Oyenekan at the Love Island Nigeria launch

Lagos-based media and broadcast investment company Digital Play Africa has acquired the format licence to the show from ITV Studios and has teamed with exec producer Odiri Iwuji of the UK’s Chudor House Productions and series producer Neil Oyenekan.

Casting for Love Island Nigeria is due to start next month, with production taking place over the summer. The show will see 20 singletons living and loving in a camera-lined luxury villa for seven weeks, the producers announced at a press event in Lagos yesterday together with sponsors, press and representatives of the UK Department of International Trade.

The Nigerian version of the format will be broadcast via Digital Play Africa-backed platform FreeTV’s free-to-air and premium channels including ONTV and MTV Base, as well as being available for digital streaming via the 9Vision mobile app.

Love Island began airing on ITV in the UK in 2005 and has since been adapted locally in 21 countries including the US, South Africa and across Europe, but this version will be the first to feature only black contestants, according to the producers.

Regarding the local adaptation, Digital Play Africa chief Toyin Subair said Love Island “perfectly sums up the expectations Nigerians have of entertainment as the programme offers a rich mix of fun while still touching on the subjects of friendship, love, romance and enduring relationships between islanders.”

“Love Island is perfect for the Nigerian youth audience; it simply ticks all the boxes,” said Iwuji, who is also co-founder and commercial director of C21Media.

Oyenekan added: “Dating is a critical part of millennials maturation in today’s Africa, and Love Island Nigeria offers a ‘verified’ format through which its key stages get tested – we expect great entertainment!”

Huub Van Ballegooy, head of global content and productions at ITV Studios Global Entertainment, added: “As we have already seen in different parts of the world, Love Island works equally well across linear, digital and catch-up platforms. With love being a universal language and the growing Nigerian market, we are very excited to roll out Love Island soon in Nigeria as well.”

Love Island is owned by ITV Studios and Motion Content Group and is distributed internationally by ITV Studios.

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Love Island SA winners chosen

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Thimna Shooto and Libhongo-Lethu ‘Libho’ Geza have emerged winners of the first season of M-Net’s popular reality dating series Love Island SA, taking away a cash prize of R1m.

Love Island victors Thimna Shooto and Libhongo-Lethu Geza

South Africa-based blogger TV With Thinus reported that the winning couple had over 53% of the total 1.6 million votes that were cast over the past week by viewers.

The remaining final couples were Millie Terblanche and Asad Boomgaard, with over 30% of the vote share, followed by Mischka Najar and Xavier Haupt with over 12% and Ross Marshall and Tania Kera with over 2%.

Libho said: “I had already won when I picked her, this is just the icing on the cake. I feel great. To be honest, it hasn’t sunk in yet. But my biggest prize is being able to call Thimna my girlfriend.

“I am here for love and chose to split the money with her. I have no regrets because I ended up with the love of my life, so I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Thimna added: “I am so grateful to everyone who voted for Libho and I. My experience has been such an eye-opener. I realised so many things – good and bad – and I am so grateful for the lessons.”

Love Island SA is produced by Rapid Blue and was adapted from the ITV Studios format.

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Digital Play lands on ITVS’s Love Island

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Love Island has been adapted in multiple territories including the US

Media and entertainment investment and management group Digital Play Nigeria has acquired ITV Studios’ reality format Love Island, bringing the format to Africa for the first time.

The deal was announced during the ITV Studios Fall Festival that took place this week in London.

The show will be recorded and produced in Nigeria and the first season will air on Television Continental (TVC) for terrestrial broadcast and on 9 Vision Media for digital.

UK-based production and distribution company ITV Studios created the dating reality show.

According to Maarten Meijs, president of global entertainment at ITV Studios: “Within ITV Studios, we vest a high number of iconic and powerful formats with a lot of staying power. Our partners know where to find us and together we are able to supersize our biggest brands in their local markets.”

TVC is a broadcast TV station in Lagos, Nigeria that provides entertainment, talkshows and news. 9 Vision Media Group is a mobile telecoms operators that has added content to its list of services, delivered via the internet to mobile devices and free TV set-top boxes.

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