Here are 5 takeaways as Mo Abudu chairs 47th International Emmys

The news is coming six months after she was accepted as a member of the select group of directors of the International Academy of Television, Arts & Sciences.

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, IATAS, is saddled with the responsibility of staging the International Emmy Awards.

ALSO READ: Mo Abudu gets gold membership card ahead of 2019 Emmy awards

As the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences kicks off preparation, on Tuesday night, June 18 in New York. Here are four takeaways.

Mo Abudu has scored a first as she chairs the 47th International Emmy Awards Gala. [Instagram/iemmys] Mo Abudu [Instagram/iemmys] Pulse Nigeria

1. First African to Chair International Emmys

Mo Abudu has made a historic statement as the first African to chair the International Emmys award gala. The 54-year-old media mogul achieved this laudable achievement barely six years after her EbonyLife TV began broadcasting. Mo joins a long list of accomplished media moguls to chair the International Emmys award gala, a separate organisation which is related to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). Past chairman of the International Emmys include Adriana Cisneros, the Venezuelan CEO of Grupo Cisneros who chaired the 31st edition; Elisabeth Murdoch, media executive and second daughter of Rupert Murdoch, who chaired the 36th edition; Charo Santos-Concio, Chief Executive Officer of ABS-CBN, who chaired the 43rd edition; and Andy Kaplan, ex-president of Sony Pictures Television Networks and chairman of the 45th edition.

2. The early signs

Mo Abudu joins several international TV CEOs that were awarded with the Médailles d’Honneur by MIPTV [ Twitter/MoAbudu] Mo Abudu joins three international TV CEOs that were awarded with the Médailles d’Honneur by MIPTV [ Twitter/MoAbudu] Pulse Nigeria

In 2017 summer, Mo Abudu had hinted on some of her plans for the future when she decided to take the summer school film directors course at the London Film School. She became busy with the biggest project her film studio embarked on in 2018, ‘Chief Daddy.’ In October 2018, Mo Abudu, alongside boxing champion Anthony Joshua, actor John Boyega and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex were announced as new additions to the 2018 UK ‘100 Black Powerlist’. After the release of the film in December 2018, Mo joined the select group of directors of the International Academy of Television, Arts & Sciences. Two months after, she received her gold membership card ahead of awards ceremony scheduled for November 25, 2019, in New York. Barely two months before the big news from International Emmys, Mo Abudu emerged first African to win Médailles d’Honneur.

3. The Prolific producer

According to a press statement from MIPTV, Mo Abudu is one of the most prolific producers in Africa, who was described by Forbes as “Africa’s Most Successful Woman”. Within six years of creating EbonyLife TV in 2013, she has produced over 1,000 hours of original programming each year.

Mo Abudu joins Andy Kaplan, ex-president of Sony Pictures Television Networks, as chairperson for International Emmys. [ Twitter/MoAbudu] Mo Abudu was recently awarded with the Médailles d’Honneur by MIPTV [ Twitter/MoAbudu] Pulse Nigeria

4. Breaking boundaries

MIPTV further noted that Abudu took the plunge into filmmaking and broke boundaries with the creation of EbonyLife Films. Abudu has made a landmark achievement as an Executive Producer of four of Nigeria’s highest grossing films of all time - ‘Fifty’ (2015), ‘The Wedding Party’ (2016), ‘The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai’ (2017), and ‘Chief Daddy’ (2018), the third-highest grossing Nigerian film.

5. International Partnership and Collaboration

Mo Abudu has emerged the first African and Nigerian TV CEO to be awarded the Médailles d’Honneur by MIPTV. For her giant strides in forging international partnerships and collaborations, Mo Abudu earned her place in history as the first African to win the MIPTV Médailles d’Honneur. In March 2018, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) announced a three-project deal with EbonyLifeTV, the first of its kind between SPT and a Nigerian television company. In March 2019, EbonyLife films announced a collaboration with the world's biggest streaming platform, Netflix. The film studio’s latest offering, ‘Chief Daddy’ made its way to the streaming platform on March 15, 2019. With her emergence as the chairperson of International Emmys, Mo Abudu will be playing on the international field with a view to taking the Nigerian television and film to the global stage.