In its early days, Wazobia faced doubters from advertising circles and even among some of its own staff. While Pidgin programming had been around for decades on government-owned stations and in radio advertising, a Pidgin-only station was an entirely different prospect. Wazobia FM Wazobia FM presenters Cheche and Tuale.īut things have not always been rosy for Wazobia, Moussalli tells Quartz. (In the absence of reliable listener rating numbers in Nigeria, ad agencies’ ratings of popularity-based on their surveys-are a measure of success.) Wazobia, for example, is consistently highly ranked in media advertising agencies’ ratings, a source tells Quartz. Given their pull and appeal, some of these stations have also become lucrative businesses. Local Pidgin radio stations have become popular in Nigeria since Wazobia FM went live in 2007. Theresa May and EU never gree plan for Brexitĭespite growing wise to the promise of pidgin, international broadcasters are already a few years late to the party. Theresa May fails to agree Brexit plan with EU Trump dey follow Kim Jong-un yarn matter for South Korea Trump meets Kim Jong-un for talks in South Korea Nigerians dey waka enter Canada like say tomorrow no deyĪngela Merkel of Germany has landed in NigeriaĪngela Merkel don land for Naija from Germany More Nigerians are migrating to Canada than ever before “It’s very casual, there are no boundaries, no prejudice, it just flows.” It also connects with the audience in an informal, convivial way that English does not. ”That’s the beauty of pidgin,” says Tatiana Moussalli, deputy managing director of AIM Group, parent company of Wazobia FM, Nigeria’s first all-Pidgin radio station. In a broad West African region that’s home to hundreds of languages-Nigerians alone speak over 500-Pidgin has the potential to cut across board. The attraction of Pidgin media as a business opportunity lies in its ubiquity and authenticity. The move proved a popular enough for DStv to consider more opportunities to offer Pidgin commentary on popular European club soccer matches, an insider tells Quartz. “The response has been beyond what we sought but there’s still so much room for growth,” Ogunseye tells Quartz.ĭuring the World Cup, DStv, Africa’s biggest pay TV company originally from South Africa, also offered viewers in Nigeria and Ghana a Pidgin commentary feed for every game for the first time. Within a year, it has garnered 7.5 million readers, according to Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye, BBC’s head of West Africa languages, with its biggest audiences in Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. Last year, as part of a $370 million expansion in Africa and Asia, BBC launched an online Pidgin news service which publishes news reports and stories via text, audio and videos. Now, as international broadcasters look to better connect with local audiences, they’re making a big bet on Pidgin.
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