ADEPETU'S MEDIA STRIDES By Isaac Asabor -

Tajuddeen Adepetu is a prominent Nigerian media tycoon, entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of the media conglomerate Group8 (formerly known as Consolidated Media Associates (CMA)). The conglomerate comprises several free-to-air and direct-to-home television channels and radio stations, including Africa’s well-known music channels Urban TV and radio, SoundCity TV and radio, Televista, OnMax, Spice TV, OnTV, Correct TV, and radio.

Tajuddeen Adepetu was brought up in Jos, Plateau State. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Film and Television from the University of Jos before advancing to the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) College, where he received training in scriptwriting.

Adepetu’s media journey commenced in radio shortly after graduating from the University of Jos in the early 1990s with the launch of his company, Consolidated Media Associates. His initial project involved producing radio jingles in Fulfulde dialect for a Veterinary Research Institute. He relocated to Lagos in 1995 to pursue media opportunities. Upon arrival, Adepetu recognized the expanding Nollywood and television sectors and shifted from radio scriptwriting to movie and television program scripting. His debut TV drama script Family Circle was met with critical praise, and he subsequently produced the popular sports game show The Hard Tackle on local TV, the award-winning series Everyday People, and Critical Assignment featuring Michael Power.

Adepetu founded Consolidated Media Associates in 1990, focusing on print media, broadcasting, and event management. CMA’s subsidiaries include Alphavision Multimedia and General Media Production, with a presence in Terrestrial Television, Cable, Digital, and Satellite. CMA owns several free-to-air and direct-to-home television channels and radio networks in Nigeria and Kenya, such as SoundCity TV, Trybe TV, Televista TV, Spice TV, ONTV Nigeria, Correct TV, ONMAX, VillageSquare TV, Urban96 Radio Network, Access 24, SoundCity Radio Network, and Correct FM.

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In 2020, Adepetu rebranded CMA as Group8, a holding company aimed at consolidating all his media channels, events, and technology assets under a unified brand for easier recognition. Following feedback from staff about the difficulty in identifying his various media channels, events, and tech assets under multiple names, he grouped all TV channels as Cre8, radio channels as Radi8, event projects as Activ8, and tech properties as Innov8, forming Group8.