Debbie Odutayo appointed as the head judge for M-Net's 6th Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards 2018.

M-Net's Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards 2018 (AMVCA) has appointed Debbie Odutayo as the head judge for this year's film and television awards ceremony.

Entries for the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards 2018 closed on 30 April and will take place and be broadcast live on 1 September on all of the Africa Amagic channels on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform seen across sub-Saharan Africa.

While called it the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, M-Net this year dramatically cut back the actual "viewers choice" further - from 16 to just 7 categories that viewers can vote for and judges voting for the rest.

The "viewers choice" part has dropped by another staggering third - with no explanation from M-Net - for the 6th Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards 2018. Africa's viewers who will now only have a say about who wins for a quarter (25.92%) of the award show's winners.

Deborah "Debbie" Odutayo has over 30 years experience as a film and television professional and is co-owner of the Nigerian production company, Royal Roots Communication Network.

"Debbie Odutayo is a respected and seasoned television professional who brings extensive experience and renown to the AMVCA judging process," says Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, M-Net West Africa director.

"Her appointment as head judge is in tandem with the AMVCAs being the biggest celebration of film and television talent in Africa, with its impact seen in the improvement of the quality of entries, year after year."

"Debbie's appointment reiterates yet again our commitment to excellence and professionalism, even as the AMVCAs mark another milestone by entering the 6th successive year."

"Besides being renowned and respected in the African film and TV space, Debbie also boasts experience with the AMVCA judging process, having worked on all previous editions. We are thrilled to have her with us as head judge, and we ask that our viewers stay tuned as preparations for the show enter the final stages," says Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu.

M-Net and MultiChoice's Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards not scrapped, says M-Net; 6th AMVCAs moved to latter part of 2018 to unclutter the event television schedule because of Big Brother Naija and the FIFA World Cup.

M-Net and MultiChoice's Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards has not been cancelled as the trashy Nigerian press erroneously reported, with M-Net telling TVwithThinus that the annual pan-African award show celebrating the continent's film and television as well as its producers and stars is going ahead and has deliberately been moved to the latter part of this year to unclutter the event television schedule.

The Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards has been taking place for the past 5 years during March in Lagos, Nigeria.

The lack of a call for entries, and the absence of a broadcasting date of the live awards show for the 6th Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for 2018, led to Nigerian media doing erroneous trash-reporting about the AMVCA's alleged demise.

Part of the breathless so-called Nigerian "reporting" was that M-Net and MultiChoice scrapped the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards due to "a lack of funds".

Not so.

"As you are aware, the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards typically happen in March every year," Efosa Aiyevbomwan, Africa Magic's head of publicity tells me in response to a media enquiry.

"However, given the highly anticipated return of Big Brother Naija this January and the FIFA World Cup in June, both of which would clash with the planning, execution and broadcast of the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, a decision has been taken to move the awards to the latter part of 2018."

"We will communicate exact timelines in due course," says Efosa Aiyevbomwan.

M-Net's successful Mzansi Magic Viewers Choice Awards for South Africa that was launched last year and that took place in August 2017 will likely return, as will the Royalty Soapie Awards set for 17 March after a two year absence.

Also hopefully coming back this year after they were both scrapped for 2017 and didn't take place - but not definitely confirmed yet - are Viacom International Media Networks Africa's (VIMN Africa) MTV Africa Music Awards and Turner Broadcasting and MultiChoice's CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards.