MTV's African viewers - the so-called Millennials - want their MTV, but more specifically they want their reality TV.
So says Alex Okosi, the senior vice president and managing director of Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa). He spoke to Jeremy Maggs of Maggs on Media on eNCA (DStv 403) about the huge demand for reality television under young viewers across the African continent who love to listen to music, but don't necessarily want to see it, and now want to watch reality television.
During MultiChoice's latest channel number shuffle at the end of 2012 of its DStv pay-TV service, MTV moved away from the music category of channels and was "reclassified" as one of the general entertainment channels, underscoring the changing programming strategy and content of what was once predominantly "music television" on MTV.
Commenting on why VIMN Africa - which runs MTV, MTV Base and Comedy Central on DStv in South Africa and Africa - is creating and scheduling an ever-growing portion of reality television, Alex Okosi says "it reflects what's going on in the youth culture".
"That's where they are. And even more so today, they want real reality, not the scripted reality. They want 16 and Pregnant to understand what it is for a 16 year old to now be pregnant, they want Teen Mom, they want that kind of content."
"When you look at Jersey Shore which has been a huge hit and a global phenomenon - they look at it and as they watch other people interacting, in a lot of ways they can relate, not because they want to be that way but in some way or form they can understand that a lot," says Alex Okosi.
"So they want that reality. This is a stage where we call them Millennials and they're really, really in a place where they want it and it works across all platforms. It is what they want to see and it drives ratings."
