Tag Archives: Love Island

Love Island Nigeria set for production

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 lands in South Africa

South African pay TV broadcaster M-Net has commissioned a local version of ITV Studios’ hit relationship format Love Island.

South Africa’s Love Island will start airing in February

Local production company Rapid Blue will work on the South African adaptation, the 20th local version of the format commissioned around the world.

The first season will be recorded in the country’s Western Cape and will launch in late February on M-Net 101 on DStv.

Maarten Meijs, president of global entertainment at ITV Studios, adds: “The multi-channel phenomenon is having a fantastic year, travelling the world at a rapid pace. This is the second version on the African continent, following the Nigerian acquisition earlier this year, and we can’t wait to see how this local adaptation will find its way to the South African viewers.”

Love Island features a group of singletons who come together in a stunning villa to embark on a summer of friendships and relationships. Every few days, the Islanders must couple up and those who fail to find a partner risk being evicted.

The format is owned by ITV Studios and Motion Content Group and is distributed internationally by ITV Studios.

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Digital Play lands on ITVS’s Love Island

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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