Yanga TV preps for UK launch

A channel specialising in content aimed at Africans and the African diaspora is set to launch in the UK next year and has been in Cannes this week on the hunt for content.

Yanga TV is due to launch on pay TV platform Sky in January next year and is being overseen by Lindsey Oliver, the former director of networks at CNBC Europe and founding director of Al Jazeera International.

The channel will air a range of different programming covering drama, lifestyle, news, entertainment, stand-up comedy and children’s, with executives at Mipcom this week on the lookout for shows.

Mansour Bellow (pictured), an on-screen presenter for the channel, told C21 here in Cannes that the aim is to bring something “fresh” to the UK TV landscape with plenty of variety.

“Sometimes a TV channel will repeat the same thing six times in one day. But we really want to deliver quality that Africans can be proud of,” said Bellow.

The host, who has been filming content for the channel while in Cannes this week, added that the channel execs are considering airing children’s programming in the Nigerian dialect of Yoruba.

Yanga, which is Nigerian slang for being confident, will aim to give UK viewers with Nigerian heritage a “closer understanding of their culture,” Bellow added.

Oliver, who most recently served as international commercial director at Bloomberg Television, is currently MD of Chiswick Park Studios, a UK-based company that creates programmes, news and entertainment for Africans and the African diaspora.

tagged in: Children’s, Drama, Factual, Formats, Mansour Bellow, Yanga TV