NaijaTalkTalk- IactAcademy- Meet EbonyLife Tv, Africa’s first Global Black Entertainment & Lifestyle network.

EbonyLife TV,

EbonyLife TV, Africa’s first Global Black Entertainment and Lifestyle network, was launched on June 30, 2013 and began broadcasting on July 01, 2013 to a pan-African audience, by a license agreement with Multichoice (DStv) Africa, Africa’s largest Pay TV platform. The channel is distributed to 49 African countries, including South Africa and Southern African countries.

Ranked as one of the most watched channels on the DStv platform by our target demographics across the continent which consist of youth (aged between 18 and 34) and women, EbonyLife TV annually produces over 1000 hours of premium, original, and homegrown Anglo-African entertainment programming to include Talk, Entertainment, Reality, Comedy, Drama, Lifestyle, Factual, among others, of which 80% belongs exclusively to us. This makes us the largest self-owned library on the continent.

EbonyLife TV continues to secure distribution deals across the globe. In the UK, we are available to viewers on both Talk Talk TV and Lebara Play; we serve viewers in Canada via the Ethnic Channels Group. We are concluding terms with Virgin Media and DISH, while our VOD platforms are also available for download by viewers in the US, Europe, Canada, Asia and the Middle East on Play Store for Android devices and on App Store for iOS devices, as well as at vod.ebonylifetv.com.

The channel broadcasts from the only purpose-built film and TV studios in Sub-Saharan Africa that are equipped with state-of-the-art HD equipment. We remain very excited about our partnership with the Walt Disney Company on the production of Desperate Housewives Africa, based on the multiple award winning ABC Television drama hit series, Desperate Housewives. This is the first drama format ever to be made in Africa. We commenced broadcast of the series in April 2015, and the feedback is most encouraging.

We have agreements in place with a number of international studios for format co-productions. In 2014, we also set up EbonyLife Films which has completed its first feature film titled FIFTY, directed by Biyi Bandele and due for release globally in the last quarter of 2015. FIFTY has been produced to the best international standards possible.

We take huge pride in our recent acquisition of the global rights to produce the most critically reviewed work of Africa’s first Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, Death and the King’s Horseman. We are extremely proud of this and torrents of other achievements which are consistent with our vision to be the preferred global network for premium African entertainment.

In acknowledgement of EbonyLife TV’s relevance in the African media and entertainment space, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recently partnered with the channel to host the Semi-Final round of judging of the Emmy® awards in Nigeria.

EbonyLife TV believes it’s the dawn of a new era in Africa and is motivated by the need to create and remain an alternative form of media for the continent. Our Mantra is “everything you think you know about Africa is about to change forever”. This rallying cry and credo drives us to constantly inspire and celebrate Africa while enabling it to take its place on the global stage as a media and entertainment powerhouse.