MTV Base played 70% South African music until Nigerians protested - Sadiq

Content showcased on one of Africa’s biggest music channels, MTV Base after its introduction on the continent was predominantly South African.

The Southern Africa country offered the music channel arguably one of the greatest markets in Africa.

CEO of 3 Music Awards and media personality, Sadiq Abdulai, stated that the significance of the South African market coupled with their population enabled them to demand 70 percent of the broadcast of local content.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z on Saturday with Naa Ashorkor, the Mr Sadiq revealed how South Africans ensured that MTV Base satisfied their local broadcast policy that demands that majority of the content broadcast were locally produced.

“When MTV Base started operations, they primarily at a point were operating in South Africa. The South Africans had a law that indicated that they gave more to South African music than the rest of Africa.

"MTV Base had only one feed for Africa…they were playing more South African music and the Nigerians didn’t understand it,” he recounted.

Sadiq Abdulai Abu added that Nigerians were not comfortable with the norm and this sparked severe protests from them.

He said the complaints from Nigerians led MTV Base to create another feed aside the initial one operated in South Africa.

“The Nigerians learnt from the South Africans….they pushed their politicians to pass a legislation. They used that as a bargaining power to push more…because Nigeria was a voice at a point then and Ghana was not, they had the power. MTV Base created another feed,” he said.

The CEO of 3Music referred to these revolutionary eras to explain the reason for the dominance of Nigerian and South African music on the music channel.

Sadiq Abdulai noted that population size which sometimes influences economic potential is a major factor that determines the proportion of content telecast from African countries on MTV Base. 

 

 

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