AfricaMagic Celebrates 10 Years of Great African Entertainment

Viewers of AfricaMagic are in for surprises this month as the first dedicated channel made in Africa for Africans celebrates its 10th anniversary. Call it Christmas gifts for until New Year�s Eve, December 31, DStv subscribers will have access to a special edition AfricaMagic Celebration Channel, on DStv channel 198, at no extra cost. Speaking on the 10th birthday, M-Net Africa Managing Director, Biola Alabi said that the brand�s proudly African focus and passionately African attitude were central to its success. �AfricaMagic is African in every way. From its programming to its people, to its pioneering spirit, the undisputed power of this brand is its unapologetic belief that this continent and its audiences deserve home-grown entertainment that speaks directly to their own lives, their own experiences and their own aspirations.� She added, �We�ve had challenges but our audiences recognise and appreciate our tenacity. We�ve explored new show ideas and our production partners have supported and implemented our vision. We could not have made a 10-year contribution to the African film and TV landscape without them all.� AfricaMagic started in 2003 as a single channel and has transformed into a catalogue of eight, each with its own distinct identity. The channels are AfricaMagic, AfricaMagic Entertainment, AfricaMagic Movies, AfricaMagic Movies 1, AfricaMagic World and dedicated language channels AfricaMagic Hausa, AfricaMagic Swahili and AfricaMagic Yoruba. She said �notable highlights over the history of Africamagic includes the recent production of boxing drama, Kona in Kenya, the screening of the 1000th episode of soap opera Tinsel, the launch of the first Nollywood themed weekly magazine show Jara, the creation of the Great Africans documentary series and 2010�s Face of Africa Finale which was screened live from Lagos�. Ms Alabi added that AfricaMagic has also invested extensively in fulfilling its commitment to creating must-watch African content and recent original programming of this nature includes Big Brother The Chase, 53 Extra, Mashariki Mix, The Johnsons, Big Brother Hot Room, Jacob�s Cross and the celebrity focused Star Gist. Other hit shows that debuted first on the flagship AfricaMagic Entertainment channel include Omotola The Real Me, The Jim Iyke Show, The Tenant, @Home With Michelle Attoh/Joselyn Dumas and Making of a Mogul. � Additionally, two stellar achievements that AfricaMagic has reached in the past year alone include the inaugural AfricaMagic Viewers� Choice Awards launched in March, which was screened live across sub-Saharan Africa, drawing the top talent from across the continent. �Then in September, AfricaMagic revealed its exciting Original Film initiative to create a whopping 80 movies in West Africa and 56 in East Africa in a single year, all of which will be available first to AfricaMagic audiences�, she added.