Joining a handful of brands to facilitate conversations around the theme “STORIES: With Great Influence Comes Great Responsibility” for Social Media Week Lagos this year was Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN Africa). VIMN Africa hosted a remarkable panel session featuring Nigeria’s top industry experts tagged: ‘Music, Content and Consumer Experiences Changing The African Narrative’. Hosted by MTV Base VJ, Folu Storms at Africa’s largest digital media & tech event, the event kicked off with a keynote address from VIMN Africa’s country manager, Bada Akintunde — Johnson.

Speaking on the inspiration behind the theme of the panel, here’s what Bada said: We at Viacom International Media Networks Africa are particularly keen on sharing the reimagined African story to the world, and we feel very strongly about starting conversations and actions that move us closer and closer to the realities we all desire. It’s the reason we have themed this session — Music, Content & Consumer Experiences, Changing The African Narrative.

With the reason behind the event shared, Bada went on to introduce the panel which included MTV Base Africa (ROA) Channel Manager, Viacom International Media Networks Africa, Solafunmi Oyeneye; Founder and Principal Consultant, Peaceville Entertainment Group, Ernest Audu; CEO and Chief Creative Officer at X3M Ideas Limited and X3M Music, Steve Babaeko; A-list comedian and actor, Bright Okpocha (Basketmouth) and Publisher of Nigerian Entertainment Today, founder of BlackHouse Media and ID Africa, Ayeni Adekunle.

In corroboration with the sentiments expressed in Bada’s address, PR veteran Ayeni Adekunle used the panel as an opportunity to thank Viacom for upgrading the quality of music content in Nigeria. Veteran, Ayeni Adekunle, reminded the audience of MTV Base’s impact on Nigerian music videos.“Before MTV Base’s launch in Nigeria, most music videos were of low quality.

With the arrival of MTV Base, also came a standard that artistes had to meet before their videos could be shown on the platform. This gave rise to a new generation of music video directors and this elevated the quality of music content which is still visible today. MTV Base played a significant part in drawing the attention of Nigerians to what is possible, as well as opened a whole new vista of opportunity for Nigerian music to the rest of Africa in particular and the world in general.”
When discussing the comedy scene in Nigeria, Basketmouth appreciated the efforts of Comedy Central, a property of Viacom, in creating a platform not only for traditional stand-up comedians but also trendy one-minute skit comedians.





The riveting panel session had about 100 people in attendance and touched on everything from creating content in the evolving music industry to how content creators can position themselves to make a profit from their craft. A number of jewels were dropped at the African NXT stage where the forum was held which was apparent by the questions asked by the audience during the Q&A session.
At the end of the session, Solafunmi shared MTV Base’s approach to creating content with the audience and it was a great teaching moment for all who attended. She said “We find out what our target audience wants and we find avenues for them to watch it. A simple yet underrated approach that delivers stunning results time and time again.”

It is apparent that MTV Base, as well as VIMN Africa’s other properties, are unrelenting in their efforts to take content creation in Africa to the next phase, as a way of ensuring that it positively impacts on the continent’s narrative. Facilitating events like a panel session at the Social Media Week Lagos is only one of the many ways that they prove this.
With over 20,000 attendees across the week and an online social reach of 646 million, Social Media Week Lagos is now considered Africa’s largest digital media & tech event.

ABOUT VIACOM INTERNATIONAL MEDIA NETWORKS AFRICA (VIMN AFRICA)
Multimedia entertainment powerhouse VIMN Africa offers the most comprehensive international broadcast portfolio on the African continent, reaching more than 100 million viewers across 48 territories in Africa. VIMN Africa currently comprises 10 separate TV channels and 5 consumer websites, as well as multiple mobile and social media sites. The company’s African business interests include content production and distribution; spot sales, 360-degree sponsorships, events, mobile, digital and consumer products.