In recent times, if you are a true media observer following closely the media space of Ibadan, you must have noticed the new style in vogue when it comes to naming of Programmes. Some radio programmes now have the suffix “Extra” attached to its name. So the million Naira question or let’s say 50 Litres Petrol question is, why is this so? This is what we shall be attempting to answer with this piece.
Recent happenings have made it clear that poaching is inevitable in a competitive industry like media. It seems when a radio presenter who anchors a particular programme and fortunately becomes popular at it, the Presenter tends to replicate the same programme with the same name wherever he or she is been poached to.
As a result of the alarming poaching Ibadan is currently experiencing, we now have presenters with the programme names that they have been known with on their previous radio still anchoring the same show with the same name on their new station. Definitely this is in a bid to retain their previous listeners and possibly transplant them to their new station. However, they seem to have found a clever strategy, hence they most times add the suffix ‘extra’ or another word, in a poor attempt to distinguish it from the original. Now, we have different radio presenters with same content and same name or almost same name on Ibadan radio stations at the same time or almost the same time. Unfortunately this is most noticeable among the leading stations.
In case you are racking your head to come up with examples, don’t bother, here are some very obvious examples; “Bosenlo” on Lagelu FM, the regular anchor left and named it “Bosenlo Extra” on his then new Platform, Agidigbo FM. “Confession time” on Fresh FM and initially “Confession Time Extra” on Agidigbo FM, but now back to Confession Time on the same Agidigbo. Thereby giving Ibadan radio fans two different Confession times (una go confess taya). We also have Bebe Extra on Splash FM and Bebe Oduro on Fresh FM, Aragbaunda on Agidigbo FM and Aragbanii on 32FM, just to mention few.
Aside this, there seems to be too many identical programmes and repetitions been aired on Ibadan radio stations. So the other question now is, have we exhausted all possible programme ideas? or who will create something new and radically different from the usual?
The prevalence of content duplication in the broadcast media industry is a sensitive issue that needs urgent regulation. Just like Confession time, we recently added another programme with same name and same concept, running on 32fm and Splash FM a programme called “Olore Ilu”.
How did we get here?
To be continued…
Israel Babalola
A media analyst and practitioner
Based in Ibadan, Oyo state
israelbabs2013@gmail.com
2023-01-29