Friday, May 29, 2015

2015 MTV Africa Music Awards set for 18 July in Durban - is Comedy Central's Trevor Noah going to be the 2015 MAMAs' host?

The 2015 MTV Africa Music Awards, or 2015 MAMAs, will take place on 18 July and again in Durban like last year - adding a new Artist of the Decade category as industry buzz is steadily building that possibly Trevor Noah of sister channel Comedy Central Africa could be the host.

While Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa) - which runs both MTV Base (DStv 322) as well as sister channel Comedy Central Africa (DStv 122) and MTV (DStv 130) among its channel set on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform - has made no announcement yet on who will be hosting the 2015 MAMAs, South African TV and music insiders are pointing to Trevor Noah as the perfect front runner to host.

Trevor Noah is set to take over The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, broadcast on Comedy Central Africa on 28 September and since the 31-year old is from South Africa, getting him to host the 2015 MAMAs would be a great synergy coup for Viacom, VIMN and VIMN Africa.

Not only is the theme of the 2015 MAMAs "Evolution" - something playing perfectly into Trevor Noah's professional career transition to Comedy Central - but hosting the 5th edition of the African music awards show will put him in front of million of viewers on MTV Base in an unrivaled marketing opportunity shortly before VIMN Africa will want viewers to tune in regularly to Comedy Central from September.

It will presumably also be slightly easier for VIMN Africa to acquire Trevor Noah's buy-in for the 2015 MAMAs hosting gig since as talent he's already inside the Viacom corporate fold.

The 2015 MAMAs is adding a new "special" category, Artist of the Decade, when it takes place on Mandela Day on 18 July at the Durban International Convention Centre, since VIMN Africa is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a regional offshoot from Viacom International Media Networks.

The Artist of the Decade category will recognise artists whose careers have flourished throughout the last 10 years. Other additional categories in the 17 category line-up include the MAMA Leadership Award and Personality of the Year. Nominations for the awards will be revealed on 11 June.

Alex Okosi, the senior vice president and managing director for VIMN Africa, says the 2015 MAMAs will once again be an "inspirational celebration of African achievement and creativity that showcases Africa's best talent on the world stage" - another hint that Trevor Noah who exemplifies what he's talking about, might end up as the host on the MAMAs stage.

The 2015 MAMAs will be broadcast live on MTV Base and MTV (DStv 130) on Saturday 18 July as well as on VIMN partner channels elsewhere around the world.

The 2015 MTV Africa Music Awards categories are:
1. Best Male
2. Best Female
3. Best Group
4. Best New Act
5. Best Live Act
6. Best Collaboration
7. Best Hip Hop
8. Best Alternative
9. Best Francophone
10. Best Lusophone
11. Best International
12. Video of the Year
13. Artist of the Year
14. Artist of the Decade
15. Song of the Year
16. Personality of the Year
17. MTV Base Leadership Award