‘Nation’ signs programmes deal with BBC

• Focus on Africa will be aired at 11.15pm daily. It was first aired on Tuesday. 
• The daily 30-minute news programme is presented by the BBC’s Komla Dumor and Sophie Ikenye.
• The programme is aired globally on the BBC World News channel and a number partner TV stations across Africa.  
• Dira ya Dunia will be broadcast from Monday to Friday at 11pm on QTV, supplementing QTV’s programming with news coverage underpinned by the BBC’s world-class content.  
• BBC Kiswahili’s flagship radio programme, Dira ya Dunia, is a household name for millions of radio listeners in East and Central Africa as well as the diaspora audiences. 
• Dira ya Dunia has been running on the BBC radio for several years but this the first time it would be aired on Television.

Nation Media Group’s QTV and NTV have announced a partnership with BBC to air its programmes, which will give viewers content on Africa.

BBC’s first ever TV news and current-affairs programme in Kiswahili, Dira ya Dunia (world compass) on QTV will be aired on weekdays while its English version, Focus on Africa, will be aired daily on NTV.

“We are excited about this partnership, BBC and Nation Media Group are leading brands in their respective market and this will help our audience to get comprehensive news from all parts of the continent,” said Linus Kaikai, the managing editor, Broadcast Division, at Nation Media Group during the launch of the partnership on Wednesday.

Focus on Africa will be aired at 11.15pm daily. It was first aired on Tuesday. 

The daily 30-minute news programme is presented by the BBC’s Komla Dumor and Sophie Ikenye.

The programme is aired globally on the BBC World News channel and a number partner TV stations across Africa.  

Dira ya Dunia will be broadcast from Monday to Friday at 11pm on QTV, supplementing QTV’s programming with news coverage underpinned by the BBC’s world-class content.  

BBC Kiswahili’s flagship radio programme, Dira ya Dunia, is a household name for millions of radio listeners in East and Central Africa as well as the diaspora audiences. 

Dira ya Dunia has been running on the BBC radio for several years but this the first time it would be aired on Television.

“This partnership with the BBC is a milestone for QTV whose quest to satisfy the needs of the ordinary Kiswahili consumer in Kenya has seen it embrace an elaborate news and current affairs agenda in addition to other programming,” said Betty Dindi, managing editor, QTV.

BBC said the launch of the Kiswahili TV programme was necessitated by changing landscape on how the Africa audience consumes local news. In the past majority of its audience was driven by radio.

“With the launch of Dira ya Dunia on TV, we are responding to the huge switch in news consumption across Africa we have been witnessing lately, and to the needs of our audience,” Said Ali Saleh, BBC Swahili Editor.

The launch of the two TV programmes in Kenya is part of major new programming launched by the BBC this year for Africa. 

Already a similar programme is underway in Ghana, Seraleone, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia. In Kenya NTV and QTV was selected because of its market reach and the credibility of the stations.

“We selected Nation media because it has national reach, credible, well respected and it is in line with BBC values which are independence and impartiality,” said Solomon Mugera, BBC Africa Editor.