Aliya-Jasmine "AJ" Sovani (born November 18, 1981) is a television broadcaster and producer, initially known for her work on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. She is currently working as a host for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Career

Before working at

, Sovani was a producer at

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

, and has worked in front of and behind the camera at BPM:TV,

Star! The current incarnation of E! is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Based on the American cable network of the same name, E! is devoted to entertainment programming including news, film, television, celebrities ...

, and

FashionTelevision ''FashionTelevision'', also known as ''FT'', is a Canadian-produced special interest show focusing on fashion. The show, created by Jay Levine in 1985, was last hosted by Jeanne Beker. Production of the broadcast ended on April 11, 2012. The pr ...

as well as a freelance writer and professional speaker. She also worked as the Whistler Reporter for CTV's ''Olympic Morning'' show during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada. Over the past decade, Sovani has been a reporter at the Vancouver Winter Olympics for CTV's Olympic Morning Show, was on the ground in Haiti after the devastating earthquake alongside actor Jared Leto for the Discovery channel, was an NHL playoffs reporter for the Stanley Cup countdown, and hosted the ESPYS red carpet with Cabbie on TSN. She was on one seven on-air personalities that launched MTV Canada in 2006 and appeared regularly on the flagship show MTV Live. She soon expanded her role and was involved with several other programs on the network. She is best known for having produced & hosted her on Sports/PopCulture series on MTV called "PLAY with AJ". She also anchored

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

, was a regularly contributor to MTV Movie Night and hosted the talk show ''

1 Girl 5 Gays ''1 Girl 5 Gays'', sometimes abbreviated as ''1g5g'', was a Canadian talk show that premiered on October 14, 2009, on MTV Canada. In October 2010, gay-interest sister network Logo picked up the program, and started airing it in the United States. ...

'' (a.k.a. "1g5g") on

MTV (Canada) MTV is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media with the name and branding used under a licensing agreement with Paramount Global. The channel is devoted to talk, lifestyle and documentary programming, and also airs some ...

and

Logo (TV channel) Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...

in the USA. Sovani was the 2012 face of the NFL's women's apparel campaign launched by ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and photographed by French photographer

Patrick Demarchelier Patrick Demarchelier (; 21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022) was a French fashion photographer. Early life and education Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, Demarchelier spent his childhood in Le Havre, Normandy, with his mother and four ...

in New York City's meat packing district. She recently collaborated with the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

to design a women's sweatshirt for the 2014 Grey Cup.

Personal life

Sovani was born on November 18, 1981, in Ottawa; she is of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

descent. She received international attention from various media outlets including '' The View'', ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', and ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' for a

breast cancer awareness Breast cancer awareness is an effort to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of breast cancer through education on symptoms and treatment. Supporters hope that greater knowledge will lead to earlier detection of breast cancer, which is associ ...

video she wrote, and directed that went viral called "Save the Boobs". In 2010, she was selected as one of ''HELLO!'' Magazine's 50 most beautiful Canadians and the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' newspaper's "Worthy-30 to watch" lists. She has her Social Media & Digital Marketing certificate from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and her BA degree in Broadcast Communications from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

References

External links

Aliya Jasmine SovaniCast biographies of ''1 Girl 5 Gays'' on mtv.caAliya's Facebook site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sovani, Aliya Jasmine Living people Canadian television producers Canadian women television producers People from Ottawa Canadian people of Iranian descent Canadian people of Indian descent 1982 births