BBC presenters to begin delivering Urban TV shows tomorrow

Sophie Ikenye will be on Urban Today programme for 30 minutes tomorrow at 8:00am

The viewers of Urban TV will for five days, beginning tomorrow, have news and current affairs programs, delivered to them by a hybrid team comprised of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Vision Group's English television presenters.

The television and radio team of journalists and producers that delivers the BBC Focus on Africa, and Dira ya Dunia, a Swahili programme, will between January 23 and 27 broadcast live from Uganda.

However, Africa's household names in broadcast journalism - Peter Okwoche, Sophie Ikenye, Paul Bakibinga, Salim Kikeke and Dayo Yusufu, will begin delivering the Urban TV programmes to the audience along with the usual suspects (Urban TV presenters) tomorrow, four days before kicking off BBC live broadcasting from Kampala.    

This will be the first time BBC's programmes will be broadcast live from the African continent, featuring special guests and studio audiences on TV, radio and online.

Ikenye will be on Urban Today programme for 30 minutes tomorrow at 8:00am, and come back to deliver a news show for a two-way on Saturday (January 21) at 8:00pm. 

Bakibinga will appear on a one-to-one with Gaetano from 9:15pm on January 23 (Monday), and Okwoche will give an hour interview regarding sports on January 24 (Tuesday) at 2:00pm.

There will also be an hour talk show with Kikeke and Dayo on Edmond Safari on January 25 (Wednesday) at 3:00pm. 

The head of television at Vision Group, Mark Walungama, said BBC's choice to work with Urban TV is ‘a vote of confidence', and that the television team at Vision Group will learn a lot from BBC.

"A big team of BBC producers and presenters is coming, and there is a lot to learn from them," he added.

Urban TV airs the BBC's Focus on Africa flagship and current affairs programme tailored for the continent every week day at 8:3pm. The programme is broadcast on BBC World News television and BBC World Service radio.

 "There is so much to explore and discuss in Africa at the moment, that we felt it was the right time for the shows to collaborate and bring something fresh to our audience of 111 million people in Africa," Ikenye said.

Live broadcasts from Kampala, Ikenye said, will give Focus on Africa and Dira ya Dunia programmes a different dimension by fearing voices from the region.  "It promises to be a fascinating week in one of the world's most vibrant cities." she added.

In a statement, the BBC said, throughout the week of live broadcasts, exclusive stories from their correspondents in Malawi, Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone will be featured on the programmes, showcasing the breadth and depth of the UK based media corporation's  coverage across the continent, and holding those in positions of responsibility to account.

The shows will also feature some of Uganda's ‘biggest and best' in the entertainment and sports world. There will be live performances from musicians, dance troupes and comedians, as well as special reports from BBC reporters in Gabon for the Africa Cup of Nations. The BBC teams will join Ugandan fans for the Cranes' final group match against Mali.