Assemblies of God, Ghana has launched a television station – AGTV – in a bid to widen the outreach of the gospel across the world.

Sunday’s launch at the Assemblies of God Headquarters in Accra attracted senior members of the clergy, church members and other invited guests.

The free to air television network would show a variety of programs including sermons, gospel music, Christine movies, news bulletins and sports highlights.

Launching the station, the General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Ghana, Rev. Professor Paul Frimpong-Manso, said the vision for the television station was hatched during initial variant of COVID-19 which necessitated the closure of churches and other public gatherings. According to him, a lot more souls can be reached through the power of television.

“With about 6,000 AG churches and almost 700,000 membership across the country, the TV station owned by AG was handy in reaching the entire nation for Christ. Rev Frimpong – Manso expressed the Church’s gratitude to all its pastors and members for their immense support in making the vision of the AGTV attainable.

The General Manager of AGTV Mr. Abraham Asare, emphasized that the objectives of the

channel are to be a point of reference as the leading Christian television station in Ghana,

and make the gospel of Jesus Christ common through the broadcast of life changing messages. They also seek to promote relevant AG church activities and programs, thereby presenting AG as the church of choice.

Whiles providing quality Christian entertaining programs and Broadcast programs

that give guidance and hope to the Christian youth, he further stated that

AGTV shall be the preferred destination for businesses with quick returns for their investments.

Single Kiasi (Singleish), the new Kenyan Showmax Original, is now streaming, with new episodes releasing every Thursday. The show will also be available to Kenyans in the UK, France and 31 other countries in the diaspora.

What does the pursuit for the one look like for 30-something women in Nairobi?

Sintamei (Gathoni Mutua) is trying to start a family with her loving husband Kevin (Lucarelli Onyango) while also building her career as a corporate lawyer.

Rebecca (Faith Kibathi) is all about motherhood, being a housewife and staying loyal to her “husband” Eric (Michael Munyoki), even though he doesn’t have a shilling to his name.

And Mariah (Minne Kariuki) is all about expensive gifts and traveling to the best destinations her rich sponsor’s money can buy, while chasing the next social media high and sharing slay queen dating tips with her many followers. “Paris was amazing. If your guy takes you to Dubai, please dump him,” she tells her fans while on a private jet from her vacation in France.

When we catch up with them in the first episode of Single Kiasi, they seem to have their lives and their romantic relationships under control. But dating in Nairobi can be hectic, and it doesn’t take long before the men of Single Kiasi prove the popular saying in the city’s dating scene: “Men will embarrass you unprovoked,” as reiterated by Mariah.

In the course of the 13 episodes, Single Kiasi follows Sintamei, Rebecca and Mariah as they go through the ups and downs of love and dating in Nairobi while also reminding us that, at the end of the day, friendship is the most powerful relationship they can have.

Single Kiasi is the second Showmax Original series in Kenya after the Kalasha-winning Crime and Justice.

The show is adapted from the popular South African series Unmarried, which already has successful adaptations in Nigeria (Unmarried Nigeria) and Ghana (To Have and To Have Hold).

“It’s a universal story of womanhood, love and friendship,” says producer and director Grace Kahaki. “But we had to make some changes here and there for the story to fit to who we are as Kenyans.”

For instance, Single Kiasi incorporates a Kikuyu traditional marriage ceremony (nguracio) in place of a church wedding.

“In the South African version, one of the leading women has an affair with a security guard but we felt that this wasn’t authentic to the Kenyan setting so changed the guard to an intern, which is more reflective of what happens here,” Kahaki says.

Single Kiasi tackles important issues that Kenyan women go through, such as sexism in the workplace like when Sintamei is passed over for a promotion that she clearly deserves, sexual assault like in the case of Mariah who is forced to confront a past she’d rather forget, and women (and mothers) finding their own identities outside of what society expects of them like Rebecca getting to relive her youth which she missed out on by marrying too young.

“This show aims to look at women through our three main characters and allow them to choose what label they want to attach to themselves, be it single, married, wife, career woman, mother, etc,” Kahaki says.

Kahaki co-produced and co-directed Single Kiasi alongside her Insignia Productions counterpart Philippe Bresson, and Robby Bresson (Simiyu Samurai).

Catch episode 1 of Single Kiasi, now streaming on Showmax, with new episodes releasing every Thursday.

The deadline for the submission of entries for the eighth Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards has been extended to Friday, 28 January 2022.

Africa Magic and MultiChoice are calling on all film and television industry participants and stakeholders across the continent to take part in this celebration of the African film and TV industry by submitting their works.

Films, made-for-television movies or television series are eligible for entry to the AMVCAs if they were broadcast, publicly screened or exhibited from December 1, 2019, to November 30 2021. Films, made-for-television movies or television series previously entered into or nominated for an award, or awarded a prize in another film and television competition, also are eligible to be entered.

New and Returning AMVCA Categories

The AMVCAs this year will feature a new category – Best Online Social Content Creator – in recognition of the growing acceptance of content creators across Africa. For this, creators are to submit their best short-form content that has been publicly broadcast on social media or viewed between December 1, 2019, and November 30, 2021.

Returning to this year’s edition is the Best Africa Magic Drama Series and Best Africa Magic Original Comedy Series categories. Over the years, Africa Magic has churned out hit drama series that have become family favourites across the continent, reinforcing Africa Magic’s position as the home of quality African entertainment.

Entry guidelines for the eighth AMVCAs

• Prepare a 5-minute-long show reel for your online submission
• Log on to the Africa Magic website. Click on the AMVCA eighth edition banner that will take you to a submissions page.
• Fill out the submission forms and upload the clip. A unique reference number will be allocated to each completed online submission
• Please ensure the video edit represents the category of entry and is under 300MB
• Quoting your unique reference number, send a hard drive of the submitted project to one of the following, based on your region:

Nigeria

Busola Komolafe

Africa Magic

4 Industrial Street, Ilupeju

For digital file delivery mechanism, entry guidelines & additional information please visit our website at www.africamagic.tv/AMVCA

For more information, please visit www.africamagic.tv/AMVCA and follow all official handles of Africa Magic on Facebook and Instagram.

The eighth edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards is brought by Africa Magic in association with MultiChoice and is proudly sponsored by Amstel Malta.

When it comes to cable TV plans, most customers complain of a decrease in entertainment quality, channel options, and a steady increase in monthly bills. Furthermore, they also feel uncomfortable being stuck in a contract.

However, there are still some providers, which facilitate their customers to the max. They manage to retain their old clientele whilst winning new ones. Spectrum is one of such providers. Customers who have subscribed to Spectrum TV packages hardly ever switch.  Role model companies like these take some effort to find but once you do, life becomes easy!

Why Do You Want to Switch?

There can be several reasons why you want to change your cable TV provider. It’s possible that your current TV plan doesn’t meet your entertainment requirements. Or, you want to cut down on the ever-increasing monthly bill by your current provider. Or, you are tempted to subscribe to a better-designed and entertainment-rich TV plan. Or simply because you have moved.

Whatever your reason may be, here are some effective and handy tips to subscribe to the best cable TV provider in your area.

Get to Know the Cable Providers in Your Area

The first step is to figure out the providers in your area. Make a simple Google search and type in your zip code to know which cable TV providers are providing their services in your area. Visiting the official website will provide more authentic results. Furthermore, you also need to know the exact TV plans the providers are offering in your area. Because plans may vary according to location.

The next step is to scrutinize the offered features and compare various details of plans under the same price bracket. The more time you invest in reading out the plans and their details, the more informed decision you will make. Here are some top providers with their list of serviced states for a general idea.

• Spectrum: Covers 44 states across the United States
• Cox: Service coverage is in 18 states
• Xfinity: Coverage area includes 40 states
• Optimum: Services 4 states including Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania
• CenturyLink: Services 36 states
• DirecTV: Covers all 50 states

This was just to give a general idea. Depending on your location, find out the exact providers and plans to make the right decision.

Pick a Plan According to your Budget

Cable TV providers offer a range of plans to choose from. You need to define a budget for yourself before you pick a plan. Especially if you are switching to a new provider to cut down on the monthly expenses, make sure you read terms and conditions, basic pricing, added taxes, hidden fees, and everything else in detail.

Plans usually start at around $25 a month. If you are not into premium entertainment and just want to catch up on news and basic channels, they would suffice. However, if you want to watch premium channels, the price tag can escalate up to $100 a month. With this budget, you can get to enjoy hundreds of entertainments, news, and sports channels along with premium channels like Starz and HBO.

Decide the Channels You Want to Have

An average cable TV viewer usually tunes into around 12-13 channels out of the 200 channel tier. So, instead of splurging on a channel tier with an escalated price tag and tons of channels, try sticking to the handful of channels you really watch.

Consider making a list of those must-have channels and then figure out which providers offer those channels. For instance, if you are an avid news follower and you are getting all your must-haves in the lowest channel tier from a particular provider, then go for it. You don’t need to subscribe to the highest channel tier if all your favorite channels from your favorite genres are available in a more affordable plan.

Keep an Eye on Sales, Deals, and Bundles

You may only need a TV plan but sometimes, considering the available providers in your area, there’s a higher monthly price for subscribing to a single service. On the contrary, you can save and enjoy more services like the internet and digital phone when you decide to go for a clubbed offering.

Also, consider the fact that there’s no house without a steady internet subscription. So, bundling internet and TV will only facilitate you especially when you get to enjoy both services at an economical monthly price. Bundles save around $15 on average when you decide to club TV and the internet.

However, while searching for deals and sales, carefully check the expiration dates to avoid the hassle and inconvenience of being charged more automatically.

From the brand-new medical drama Accra Medic to a new talk show hosted by Angela Bamford to a new sitcom starring the award-winning media personality Caroline Sampson, here are all the new shows from Akwaaba Magic to stream on Showmax in January 2022.

Date My Family Ghana | Stream now

Ghana is the latest country to join the Date My Family franchise, a dating reality series that follows single people as they attempt to find love with three potential dates. But it’s not your typical dating reality show – the singles’ friends and family are involved in the matchmaking, and it can get embarrassing really fast.

Before the hopeful singles lay their eyes on their potential dates, they have to meet their loved ones. Then they get to take their pick, depending on whether they were impressed by the family or not.

Accra Medic | Stream from 19 January 2022
Accra Medic is a medical drama that explores the lives of the staff at an Accra hospital. While also navigating the challenges in their personal lives, the series will follow them as they fight to save the lives of patients in a hospital that’s suffering from mismanagement in a country with an ailing healthcare system.

Directed by Emmanuel Apea (Run Baby Run), Accra Medic stars Edward Agyekum Kuffour (Inside Out), Desiree Crentsil (Noko Fio), Kweku Elliot (To Have and To Hold) and Aaron Adatsi (Public Figure).

The Angela Bamford Show | Stream now
Hosted by Ghanaian media personality Angela Bamford, The Angela Bamford Show is a Ghanaian variety talk show that explores topics that are otherwise considered taboo in the average African society. The show unearths forgotten and “controversial” topics and brings them to the fore, creating new thought-provoking and pertinent dialogue, centred on the unique African experience.

The Osei’s | Stream now
Starring Jacinta Ocansey (Ghana Jollof), Jeffrey Nortey (Inside Out) and Andrew Tandoh Adote (Terminus), The Osei’s is a comedy series that follows a man who relocates his family from Kumasi to a lavish new home in Accra after winning the lottery. Becoming rich and famous overnight, the family has to deal with new money, family and intrusive neighbours in their own way, often leading to hilarious outcomes.

The Osei’s is directed by Kwabena Gyansah, whose other works include the award-winning 2018 film Azali, Ghana’s first-ever entry to the Oscars.

Co-Habits | Stream from 20 January 2022
This romantic sitcom follows a young couple who navigate side-splitting reality checks when they decide to test-drive their marriage by discreetly cohabiting to reduce their chances of divorce.

Directed by Peter Sedufia (Aloevera), Co-Habits stars Fiifi Coleman (Ties that Bind), Caroline Sampson and Jackie Ankrah (Inside Out).

Sheroes of our Time S2 | Stream now
Hosted by Ghana’s media personality and actress Anita Erskine (Dede), Sheroes of Our Time is a talk show that celebrates strong and unique women around the world who have successful stories to share, inspire and engage other women across generations and continents.

Culture and Money S2 | Stream now
Hosted by renowned radio presenter Bianca Buckman, Culture and Money explores the relationship between creativity and money, featuring conversations with successful cultural influencers such as musicians, fashion designers, chefs and sports stars about their craft and money – how they make it, how they manage it and how they keep it going.

The award-winning broadcast journalist according to close sources recently moved to Lyon, the headquarters of Euronews in France to start his new role as a bilingual multimedia journalist on the Africanews desk.

Africanews is a pan-African multilingual 24 -hour international television channel, Property of Euronews SA.

Kwabena Adu-Gyamfi left his role as a broadcast journalist with Ghana’s first private television station TV3 in 2018 to further his studies in the UK after working with the media conglomerate for 4 years.

He has since been in Sheffield in England where he completed a master’s degree in digital media management at the Sheffield Hallam University where he graduated with a Distinction last November.

Over the period, he successfully managed social media accounts for corporate clients as a free-lancer while also co-managing a YouTube channel; Abenakwabenatv, which provided content on studying and living abroad for its international students’ audience.

He will be managing online content as well as supervising all social media platforms for the news channel.

Kwabena Adu-Gyamfi joins the list of Ghanaians who have exceptionally left a mark at the Euronews including a former metro tv star, Ignatius Annor as well as tv3 staff, Juliet Bawuah and Narkwor Kwabla.

He brings on board his years of experience in excellent storytelling and news reporting skills, visual editing, graphic designing, and digital media management.

Euronews is a French, pan-European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. Its Europe’s leading international news channel, providing news with European perspective to a worldwide audience through 12 cross-platform editions, of which 9 with distinct TV channels.