AREWA24, the leading Hausa language entertainment and lifestyle channel in
Nigeria, announces a slate of new premium programming for Q4 and Q1 2019, including the launch of the channel’s much-anticipated new original Hausa drama series in January, complementing its current long-running and award-winning series, “Dadin Kowa.” The ambitious new drama series is currently in production, and is expected to set a new standard for originality and quality in Hausa language television production.
AREWA24’s new slate of programs launching in October includes “Amo Daga Arewa.” This primetime music series features live performances and interviews with the incredibly talented musicians from across the North, including traditional music genres, as well as R&B, soul and religious. “Amo Daga Arewa” brings together the more traditional elements of the rich Northern Nigerian music culture, adding to
AREWA24’s already popular Hip Hop programs.
Re-launching in the fourth quarter with a brand new format and hosts, “Matasa@360” is a contemporary, street-wise and relevant youth show, focusing on the talent, innovation, and creativity of Northern Nigerian youth. The show also addresses the very real challenges facing young people in the region and the pressures they experience on a daily basis. The show’s regular featured segments explore how Northern Nigerian youth navigate daily life, relationships, media, entrepreneurship, performing arts, current affairs, campus life, technology and other areas that youth from all over the world can relate to.
AREWA24 has also green-lit a fourth season of “Haske: Matan Arewa,” featuring the dynamic women from Northern Nigeria as they tell their stories intimately and passionately. Breaking social and cultural barriers to becoming leaders, traders, teachers, entrepreneurs, rural activists, filmmakers and more, these amazing women share their successes, their struggles, their disappointments and their triumphs.
Rounding out AREWA24’s new Q4 programming lineup are dozens of Kannywood’s newest and best films from the industry’s top directors, producers and actors. AREWA24 now rivals any channel in the region when it comes to showcasing the most and the best Kannywood films. The channel has also licensed new shows for young viewers who watch its popular morning and afternoon Children’s block.
AREWA24 also announces two major executive programming and production hires at its Kano studio: Kadiri Yusef and Evans Ejiogu, each of whom brings their long experience and stellar track records in the Lagos television and media sector to Kano.
Kadiri Yusef is a veteran executive of the programming and production staff at Silverbird Television, where he worked from 2004 to 2017. Kadiri became Silverbird’s Head of Television Production in 2006 where he directed most of Silverbird’s flagship shows, and all of its live broadcast programs. At AREWA24, Kadiri is in charge of directing all of the channel’s diverse studio-based shows and formats.
Evans Ejiogu has been a successful television content creator, producer, director, writer and video editor.
Along with his programming and production experience across formats and genres, Evans also brings to AREWA24 his extensive commercial skills honed from a decade in the corporate communications and advertising sectors. Evans’ work in theatre, television drama, short films, commercial production, radio and online digital content, helps raise the overall level of expertise and production quality at AREWA24.
Says Jacob Arback, AREWA24’s CEO, “we are very fortunate to have programming executives of such caliber and professional pedigree working at AREWA24. Evans and Kadiri are not only contributing to our already high performing programming staff and raising the channel’s production values, they are also helping to grow and further professionalize Northern Nigeria’s television and media sector.”
ABOUT AREWA24: AREWA24 was launched in 2014 to fill a glaring void of locally-produced Hausa language entertainment and lifestyle programming that reflects pride in Northern Nigerian life, culture, music, film, art, cooking and sports. Today, AREWA24 is available to over 80 million Hausa speakers in Nigeria and West Africa through its Eutelsat satellite free-to-air broadcast, and, in Nigeria, on the StarTimes pay bouquet (channel#138), on the StarTimes DTH satellite platform (channel#538) and on the two Multichoice pay platforms, DStv (channel #261) and GOtv (channel #101). AREWA24’s original productions are also uploaded weekly to youtube.com/AREWA24channel, and the channel benefits from active audience engagement across its digital platforms at AREWA24.com, facebook.com/AREWA24,
Instagram.com/AREWA24channel, and twitter.com/AREWA24channel.
For additional information please contact: info@arewa24.com.
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How we wish ’90 Days’ will be a path to followed
The new drama series from AREWA24, ‘Kwana Casa’in’ (90 Days), has come with a new plots and styles that is quite different from the Kannywood movies we watch every day. The story tells about Nigerian politics and what has really been happening in our universities and in our daily lives.
For decades, our Kannywood movies should be pointing out the kind of problems we were faced with; instead, our Hausa movies portray dancing, music and modeling. In the 90 days drama series, there is a very high-quality picture which is different compared to Kennywood movies. This is because high-quality equipment has been used in the film making to give viewers a quality picture.
And the locations used in the drama are quite amazing, places such as hospitals, offices, homes, universities and a radio station. Really, AREWA24 has used a collection of professionals and they deserve a thump up. Looking at the places in the drama, even if someone is living outside Nigeria, they can fully understand what the story is trying to portray. This alone shows that AREWA24 is one of a kind and with professionals. Whenever I am watching ‘Kwana Casa’in,’(90 Days) I feel like am watching a reality drama, because the drama shows the way people in power and the way the poor live. Today, people in power make good use of the poor to subjugate high positions by all means. I believe that, before the end of this drama, many people will learn different lessons in life. When I first saw the faces of some Kannywood actors and actress, I felt weak and fear engulfed my heart – – the fear of sabotaging the drama the way they always did in their movies. But, to my surprise, they appear to be different and serious in this drama without making us bored of watching it. This showed me that, if they can have a good story and equipment, and invite educated people in their productions, I feel that they might be even better in the Kannywood film Industry. The way these artists showed commitment and expertise; it is very impressive. Even those who watch foreign movies will salute them, because developed countries were producing dramatic series about issues facing them in their countries, unlike the trash in the films we’re used to watching. It seems like the 90 days drama will overshadow AREWA24’s drama series, Dadin Kowa, as there is no single drama from the Kannywood [film industry] to rub shoulders with Dadin Kowa so far. It may only be AREWA24 that can be able to shine again with its new and well-produced drama series, 90 days (Kwana Casa’in). During the long time I have been watching Kannywood’s Hausa films, I realised that here is a school for Kannywood to learn more. Gradually AREWA24 will replace Hausa dramas, because they are treating issues that are affecting us in this country, not just singing and dancing on our TV screens. Fadila H Aliyu Kurfi is a writer and analyst on current affairs and an activist.
She can be contacted through email: fadilakurfi@gmail.com, Facebook: Fadila H Aliyu Kurfi.
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AREWA24 makes debut on StarTimes
Pay TV provider, StarTimes Nigeria have announced the listing of Hausa language channel AREWA24, on its platform, in a bid to meet the growing demands of its Hausa subscribers.
According to the Brand and Marketing Director at StarTimes, Qasim Elegbede, “the demand for more Hausa language channels among our subscribers especially in the North rose significantly in the last year.
As a listening organization, we have given our Hausa subscribers exactly what they asked for, more entertainment.”
Also commenting on the development, the Head of Commercial Operations for AREWA24, Celestine Umeibe, noted that “The partnership between AREWA24 and StarTimes is indeed a welcomed development. Now more Hausa speakers across Northern Nigeria and the rest of the country have access to a premium, locally relevant entertainment and lifestyle channel that reflects the diversity of the North
and pride in culture.”
He added that “Consumer brand advertisers and their agencies can now reach deeper into their target audiences by having AREWA24 now distributed across all packages on StarTimes platform.”
Arewa 24 showcases entertainment, cultural and religious content televised in Hausa language and airs on channel 138 on StarTimes platform. It will be recalled that in December 2017, StarTimes announced the commencement of broadcast in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital in an aggressive expansion drive geared towards fulfilling its promise to deliver affordable entertainment to every Nigerian home. -
AREWA24 celebrates its sixth anniversary with a slate of new shows
AREWA24, the leading Hausa language entertainment and lifestyle television channel and production studio in Nigeria and West Africa, announces a major slate of new and exciting shows to coincide with the company’s sixth anniversary.
