Musical Reality Shows That Thrilled Nigerians This Decade, Where Are They?

Nigeria has seen an influx of reality shows created to meet the needs of many in the country’s entertainment industry. While some of those have gone on to become fan favorites, others have faded into oblivion.

Part of the appeal of those reality shows that are no longer being aired is the fact that they were unscripted and totally unpredictable as against scripted content on television.

As many bemoan the seeming ‘loss’ of these shows, it becomes necessary to take a look at them, what they stood for and their overall impact on the entertainment scene.

Star Quest, which debuted in 2002 was one of the pioneering music talent shows that graced the television screens of Nigerians. It was sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Limited, makers of Star Larger Beer, and one of the greatest spenders on entertainment in the country.

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Launched with the primary aim of producing the biggest music brand in the country, Star Quest was officially put to rest in 2014 after 12 years. The show unveiled music stars like Kcee, Asa, Klint D’Drunk, and a few others.

Following how Star Quest attracted audiences of diverse cultures and backgrounds across the country, Project Fame broke the monopoly.

This show, which was sponsored by telecoms giant, MTN was filmed in Lagos, Nigeria even though it featured contestants from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone and aired in the West African Sub-region.

After running for nine seasons, the show held its last edition in 2016; spearheading the career of music superstars like Niniola, Iyanya, and Chidinma.

The Peak Talent Show hit the screens in 2009. An initiative of Peak, the show was responsible for the discovery of Yemi Alade and Kida Kudz.

After a few seasons, the Peak Talent Show was replaced by Nigeria’s Got Talent, which only lasted for two seasons following its launching on African Independent Television (AIT) and Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), in 2012.

In 2016, The Voice Nigeria, the franchise of American singing competition, The Voice, premiered. The show received positive reviews for maintaining the same format and production quality of the original franchise.

It has unfortunately not returned since its second season, which aired in 2017.

What Really Happened?

One would then wonder why these shows no longer exist in spite of their successful runs.

A former Consumer Segments Manager of MTN Nigeria, Kelvin Orifa opined that a change in the priorities of sponsors may account for the termination of these shows.

“I will not like to use the word failure but sustainability. And it bothers on Return on Objectives (ROO) and Return on Investments (ROI). The inability to sustain the ROO for the brands and return on investments for the property owner and talents unable to optimize the opportunities post the shows, account for some of the reasons why they don’t air anymore.”

Orifa who worked on Project Fame, explained further that “trends show that consumer behavior is also very fluid. So they can get bored of routine or the predictable; especially where the organizers are not able to infuse new creative spices into the different seasons to sustain excitement, engagement, and endearment. For the property rights owners, they want to make money. To make money, they depend on corporate brand sponsorships with the same/old selling points of advert inventories and consumer engagement/activation.”

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On the contrary opinion, Damilare Famuyiwa an entertainment analyst and a journalist told AllNews Nigeria that he doesn’t think reality Tv shows have fully faded.

“I wouldn’t say fully that reality shows on TV have fully faded away. We have different types of reality TV shows. We have music reality TV Shows, we have kitchen reality TV shows amongst many others like that. I am sure you still remember ‘Olobe Lo Loke’.

“Talking of music, you can talk about Nigerian Idol, Project Fame, and so on like that.

“Talking about games too, you can talk about ‘Gulder Ultimate Search’. That’s also a reality show that has faded away. And we have BB Naija which is still airing. Of course, you can’t say that has faded away. So, it is different.

“I think you are simply talking about music. We can say that they are no longer as powerful as they use to be owing to the fact that the era of TV is gradually eroding.

“The social media is taking over, internet and all that. Especially people of our calibre no longer stay glued to their TVs and watch.

“Aside from the fact that consumption value of TV has dropped gradually all thanks to social media. We can also say advertisers have actually withdrawn their support for shows like that. Of course, as an advertiser, you want to put your money where you will get value for it. So perhaps maybe they no longer see value in putting their money and other resources in music reality TV shows, so they are putting it elsewhere”.