EbonyLife expands homegrown programmes with Banky and Tiwa as anchors

As EbonyLife TV presents star singers Banky W and Tiwa Savage as anchors of a talk-show programme, it has reinforced its homegrown entertainment programming.

In The Banky & Tiwa Show, which comes on air on Tuesday nights, the artistes come together to do something outside music  as they and their guests deal with controversial and  “street-wise issues that a lot of people are too scared to talk about.”

But what seems to be the latest from the Tinapa, Calabar, Cross River-based EbonyLife is its decision to phase out the few hours it, hitherto, dedicated to the broadcast of western content.  As a result,  it is expanding its indigenous contents base, with the company’s management noting in a statement on Thursday that it is a way of projecting the best of African entertainment.

It adds that the development is consistent with the channel’s vision to be “the preferred global network for premium African entertainment through the creation and broadcast of original, homegrown and premium content.”

It further says, “In addition to the channel going 100 per cent homegrown, a brand new drama will be showing on the channel every new week. This means viewers can sit back, relax and continue to enjoy all the great global black entertainment shows they have come to love on the channel, while bracing up for new, non-stop and refreshing drama series, enthralling sitcoms, engaging pan-Africa talk shows, fresh outstanding home-grown reality shows, musical video chart show countdowns and many more.

“The channel’s homegrown programming continues to cut across a broad spectrum comprising entertainment content, including music, lifestyle, film, drama, talk, factual, comedy, magazine, reality, fashion and even sports. There is so much to love about the new and exciting homegrown programme line up which came into effect on January 01, 2014.”

Among such programmes are  ‘Squatterz’, described as a riveting drama revolving around four guys with huge characters and differing backgrounds who have to live with each other’s differences when they end up sharing an apartment as a result of problems encountered in their previous individual accommodations.  ‘Squatterz is a Thursday programme.

“Viewers are poised for the best of comedy with “AY’s Crib”, a sitcom that tells the story of a younger version of AY the comedian who lives in a house with two of his friends from the university, a distant cousin from Warri who serves as his gateman, while dating a rich, spoilt girl.

‘Car Hire’ is a drama series of crime and humour in which a young man’s taxi cab is his everything, including workplace and home. His favourite radio station is his best companion as he battles against losing his prized possession to higher purchase loan sharks,” EbonyLife adds.

Other programmes on parade are Shop Naija, Deadline and El Reports.