MiTV Restrategizes For More Market Share
Murhi International Television (MiTV) recently acquired new programmes in a bid to reposition and make the station more viewer-friendly. Tunde Okunola, general manager, Murhi International Group, speaks with Buki Oyedemi on the new face of the station and what it hopes to achieve with the new programmes.
What is the MiTV story from inception till date?
MiTV is one of the first eleven private TV stations in Nigeria licensed by the NBC and the federal government as far back as 1993/94 during the Babangida regime when the broadcast industry was de-regulated. Because of the newness of the idea and manpower, it took most of us, that is, the licensed stations, several years before we could come on air. For MiTV, we began commercial transmission on the 12th of August 1996 and since then we have been on air consistently. Our efforts to make the Murhi Group a force to reckon with has led to the birth of three branches of our TV station and two branches of the radio station. These are MiTV Channel 43 UHF-Lagos, MiTV Channel 135 on DStv, MiTV Channel 68 UHF-Ibadan, Star FM 101.5-Lagos, and Star FM 91.5-Ibadan. We are also on Star Cable Network Channel 34. Over the years we have faced many challenges just like any other company in this business. There are issues of getting the right equipment, getting the right personnel to man the equipment, and patronage. Being a private station, those challenges are there and we approach them as they come. And we put in strategies to combat those challenges and so far so good, we are still on.
Who are the target audience of your new programmes and what should they look out for?
First of all, MITV has always been positioned as a station for the general public and the acquisition of these new programmes is to help us reposition ourselves, appeal to more people and be more viewer-friendly. Consequently, management decided to break new grounds by going into partnership with ETV. ETV is a foremost private broadcast station based in South Africa. It rubs at par with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that transmits both terrestrially and globally through satellite. What we have done is to mix our local content with foreign content so that viewers out there will get more interested in watching the programmes on our channels. With the acquisition of these programmes, we aim for young adults and by that I mean those between the ages of 13-20, 21-35 and 36-45. Some of the programmes are Afro-centric while some are Hollywood oriented.
What are these programmes?
In the soap opera category, we have three programmes. First is Rhythm City, a controversial real life show that takes a hard look at the highs and lows of South Africa’s music industry. It is a tale of unending suspense, conflict, intrigue, love, hatred, triumph and defeat of popular music stars. The show has a core cast of script writers and directors who are of Emmy award status. The next is called Scandal that will feature the pressured lives of actors and journalists. Scandal will also feature the behind the scene activities of investigative journalists and how they rush to find exclusives, meet deadlines and push to increase the sales of their media. Some of the media houses to be featured include The Voice, Gloss-glam and Celeb Mag all in South Africa. Also in our line up of reality programmes is Young and Restless, a world famous series that will bring fresh storylines and actors who forge new relationships, create dynasties and indulge in longstanding feuds. Also, controversial topics such as AIDS, alcoholism, drug addiction will be featured. All these will be aired every day of the week between the hours of 5:30-7:00pm.
In the reality category, we have five programmes. The Cheaters is a story about detective agents whose duty is to keep a suspected partner under 24-hr surveillance. Evidence is caught on tape and shown to the victim. The Biggest Looser simply expresses the joys and fears of people who are in a desperate fight to shed weight. Under the watchful eyes of trainers Bb and Pete, twelve contestants will compete and the biggest loser wins 150 thousand Australian dollars. Also, Planet Funniest Animal is a show that features home videos on humorous behaviors by pets and animals which is voiced over by the host in a funny way. Style by Jury is a makeover series that gives people a new cause to live. In a space of three days, experts transform candidates to look ten years younger. The Billboard is a show which will feature absurdities and crazy things people do. Some of these include the world’s first human neon sign, man with two hearts and world’s most unbelievable animal.
For sports which will run on a daily basis, we will broadcast a show called WWE legends of yesteryears, which will show repeats of glorious championships of old; and Playa, a lifestyle magazine show.
For the comedy line up, we have two programmes. My Name is Earl is a sitcom about a guy who is determined to correct his past mistakes by whatever way he can with the help of his brother and his ex-wife, while How I Met Your Mother is about a guy and a lady who want to put an end to their stud way of life by getting spouses for themselves.
Other youth oriented programmes we have lined up include Bonfree, The Showbiz Report, Medical Documentary, Great Expectations and Sisterhood – a 24-minute teen TV show.
How will you ensure that these programmes do not outplay local content?
Broadcast stations in Nigeria have regulatory bodies spearheaded by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC). Therefore, we have rules and regulations guiding what we broadcast including foreign programmes. We are allowed to air 40% foreign content and 60% local content. There are also specifications on what time of the day these programmes can be aired. Though the programmes are not produced locally, the fact that programmes like Sisterhood and the Cheaters are Afro-centric means that what will be showcased are not totally alien to our viewers. So, the newly acquired programmes will not in any way affect our local content.
What is the implication of the new programmes to the station and the target audience?
It’s a combination of many things. The programmes we have acquired are not only new but are relevant and unique to our audience. We expect that with the introduction of the new programmes, the station will become more viewer-friendly. We expect that more people will watch and when you get people to watch, it will reflect on your patronage. What we are doing in essence is that we are doing something new from what they are used to and we hope that when you have more people watching, you tend to have more revenue.
Going by the digitalization process and the introduction of privately owned radio and TV networks, where do you see the Nigerian broadcast media in the next few years.
I believe the air will further be liberalized and by this I mean that there will be an influx of many more players in the industry. Before now, it was only NTA that was in existence, later on it increased to about 15 stations and by the last count, there are about 40 licensed stations some of which are yet to begin broadcast. More people will come in and there will be more specialization because the more the industry is broken down, the more media houses will spring up and the more specialized they will become. This is good for the industry and the advantage of this is that stations will become focused and things will be done well. Practitioners will become more specialized unlike what we have now which is a pot-pourri of so many things. Like we do now, it’s a little of sports, news, drama and so on. Since there will be more practitioners, I believe things will work better in the industry and consequently affect other parts of the economy such as creating employment and enhancing skills and professionalism in the industry. Practitioners will become more focused and ultimately the best hands will handle jobs.
