African Television: Now And The Future

Russell Southwood is the CEO of Balancing Act, a consultancy research company that has over the last 20 years focused on telecom, internet and media in Sub-Saharan Africa. Until the Covid- 19 pandemic, he was a regular visitor to Nigeria as Africa’s largest broadcast market. He is currently carrying out research for a client on the future of African broadcasting post-Covid 19. He is also author of Sub-Saharan Africa’s Broadcasting Landscape (2019) and Sub-Saharan Africa’s Digital Landscape and its Top 11 Markets – data prices, smartphones, digital content and services and e-commerce (2019).

Mr. Onyemelukwe is an African and global media, entertainment and digital industry expert.

Mr. Onyemelukwe has worked in media and entertainment in the U.S., Nigeria and Africa. He started his career at The Disney Company in Burbank California immediately after completing his Ba. In Fine Arts from The University of Southern California. After returning to The African Continent, in 2009, he joined Viacom Media as MTV Network, Business Development Manager, Nigeria, where he created campaigns for the likes of LG, Coca Cola, and Cadbury among many others. Mr. Onyemelukwe acquired a master license to Trace TV in West Africa in 2011 and is widely recognized for turning Trace into a market leader in the region.

He has launched many popular TV channels such as, Trace Naija, Trace Jama and Trace Gospel on DSTV, and STV Music on Startimes. Mr. Onyemelukwe holds an MBA and an Ma. in Information Technology from Boston University. He is currently the Managing Director of Trace Anglophone West Africa.

Chichi Nwoko is the Executive Producer of Hey, What’s ON (HWO), a New York and Lagos-based multi-media consulting and production company. She began her career in the media and broadcast industry over 20 years ago in the United States working for ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX TV Network Affiliates.

Nwoko also worked as the Country Manager of Kwese Free Sports, a Free-to-Air broadcast channel in Nigeria. She has worked with major sports franchises like the FIFA World Cup, Premier League, NBA and NFL. She currently serves as the Associate Director of Sports Rights and Media Partnerships for Integral, a sport marketing company and as a consultant for Livespot360.

Nwoko also worked with Optima Media Group (OMG) as the Deputy Director of International Sponsorship and Sales and Group’s Development Strategy where she spearheaded the production of the Fremantle franchise, Idols in Nigeria with Rapid Blue. She built the framework that allowed the company to produce X Factor and Nigeria’s Got Talent. She was the Executive Producer and the Producer of the CBS franchise “Kids Say The Darndest Things” in Nigeria.

Nwoko is one of the producers of the feature film, “Lion Heart”, Netflix’s first West African original acquisition. She is the recipient of the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for her role as a producer in the feature Film “Road To Yesterday”.

Her achievements have been recognized by numerous organizations and media, including Forbes Africa Magazine and The National Association of Black Female Executives in Music and Entertainment (NABFEME) in New York, who named her as an “Executive to Watch”. In 2018, she was named top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent.

She is an Ivy League graduate from Columbia University in New York City, where she studied International Politics and African Studies.

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Wangeci Murage is a digital content media executive with over 20 years experience in broadcast management, business development, content production and project leadership. She is the Founder and Executive Director at Media Pros Africa, where she formulates business strategies that provide innovative media solutions to multiplatform broadcast networks, content providers and distributors across Africa.

Wangeci has been a driving force in the media industry through development of content and channel strategies for Pay TV, Free-To-Air and Online media networks, which have contributed to the growth and development of production and distribution of local content. She is the first Regional Head of MNET East Africa where she set up and managed its operations and played a significant role in the rebranding of the MNET East Africa channel and launch of Africa Magic Swahili on
DSTV. She also managed the development of popular programs including Idols East Africa, Big Brother Africa, Changes, Comedy Cub and The Patricia Show.

At Wananchi Programming, (ZUKU TV), Wangeci led the team as the Head of Business Development where she developed strategies that led to the launch of ZUKU Swahili Movies and ZUKU Kids channels through acquisition and production of local content. Programs such as Tales From The Bush Larder, Groove Theory and BAQE on ZUKU Sports received local and international recognition that attracted advertising and sponsorship contributing to revenue growth, in addition to sales in distribution from external media networks such as Fox International Channel and local Free-To-Air TV stations.

Wangeci is a member of the International Emmy Awards and continues to serve as a jury member since 2011. She has also actively participated as juror in the Zanzibar International Film Festival, the Coast Film Festival, Africa Magic Viewer Choice Awards, Riverwood Academy Awards, Machawood Short Film Festival, Lake International Pan African Film Festival, Mashariki Film Festival, International Festival of Cinema and Audiovisual of Burundi, Women in Film Awards, and Kalasha Awards where she also co-directed the first TV and Film Festival. She has coordinated content pitching sessions at DISCOP. Africa in Nairobi and Johannesburg, and held a collaborative production workshop in Côte d’Ivoire. Wangeci has contributed to local and international market forums as a panelist at DISCOP, AfricaCom, East African Film Network, and the Deutsche Wella Global Forum.

Having begun her career as a radio and television producer and presenter on NTV and KTN, Wangeci has extensive knowledge on the broadcast media landscape in Africa and has formed strategic partnerships with local governments and funding institutions in and around East Africa. Being an active member in the media industry, Wangeci also holds membership with the Content Distribution Guild of Kenya and is the Vice Chair of the Pan African Film Consortium Committee.

Wangeci’s passion was also featured on-stage where she acted in several productions at the Phoenix Players Theatre, and appeared in the local films, Dangerous Affair and Project Daddy. She is an alumnus of the University of Cumbria graduating with an MBA in Media Leadership.

Mark Lewis is the founder and CEO of Bravig a content rights and distribution firm based in the UK with a focus on Africa. Over the last decade the company has sold over 5,000 hours of African specific and International content to include lifestyle, reality and family entertainment. Bravig has distributed local language and dubbed programming to SABC, Canal+, Azam and over 30 ancillary Pan-African broadcasters.

The group has a commitment to sport; both local and international programming and plans to deliver live mobile and OTT offerings across 2021 into 15 Sub-Saharan countries. Bravig consults in raising capital for media rights deals and streaming platforms, and sees the future expansion on the continent as pivotal in the global content race. We are committed to empowering local broadcasters and content owners internationally, through effective distribution.

Theodore Asampong is the CEO of West Africa Platform Services Ltd, a JV company between SES and K-Net, providing satellite broadcast services to channels in Ghana and the West Africa subregion. He also holds a position as General Manager, Platform Operations at SES Video, responsible for West Africa.

Theodore joined SES in February 2000 as a sales engineer. He later moved into a sales role in 2003, responsible for West and Central Africa. During this time, he visited several countries in the subregion, promoting DTH or a hybrid DTH/DTT as a cost-effective solution for DSO. This led to him making the move to the platform operations team in December 2014, where he worked on developing the West Africa platforms for Ghana and Nigeria and was instrumental in the DSO programs for both countries.

Before SES, Theodore worked for LogicaCMG as a consultant in their Space Division, working on Satellite Control Systems for a European Satellite Operator for 3 years. Prior to that, he worked as a systems developer at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), joining in 1996.

Theodore holds a BSc in Physics from Imperial College, London and MSc in Spacecraft Technology from University College London.