Broadcast News
Enrico Chiesa, associate director at IDmage is gearing-up for the launch this year of a new web portal - http://www.africafilms.tv - that will bring African films back on screen...via VOD. He is also pioneering a new way of getting cinema to viewers in a way that will pay back revenues to film-makers. Russell Southwood and Sylvain Beletre spoke to Chiesa about these two path-breaking projects.
Outside of South Africa, there is no country on the continent that has a full-service production ecology. This elusive full-service ecology is a mixture of production and post-production facilities, skills and talent that draws film and TV makers like a honey-pot. It may sound ridiculous now but Nigeria has a chance to become a contender for this role with three new production and post-production complexes opening, the latest being Hi-TV’s Paradise Studios which opens this week. Russell Southwood sees which way the wind might blow.
The Nigerian broadcasting market is one of the toughest in Africa where there is plenty of competition for tough markets. The pioneer of private broadcasting in Nigeria is Galaxy CEO Steve Ojo who runs a company that encompasses studios and a Nollywood producer and distributor. Russell Southwood spoke to Steve Ojo at DISCOP 3 in Dakar last week.
Q: What’s the range of what your company does?
Rapid Blue produces local versions of global TV formats across the African continent. Its two main markets are Nigeria and South Africa and it has production bases in both countries. In addition, it looks to create new opportunities through creating its own shows. Entertainment television in Africa is changing the traditional business model for broadcast. Russell Southwood looks at what it does and what it says about the future of production in discussion with Rapid Blue’s CEO Duncan Irvine.
As Africa’s broadcast industry moves from time-based programming to thematic channels, viewers will stop asking “What time’s the news on?” and start saying “What’s my news channel?” Thematic programming also opens up the potential for TV broadcasters to address niche markets in a way that African vernacular radio stations have done in more liberalized markets. One of this new generation of niche TV channels is Ochre Media’s Saffron TV. Russell Southwood spoke last week to Stan Joseph and Alet Bensch of Ochre Media.
As the Thema Pay TV channels in France have shown, there’s a huge appetite for news from “back home” amongst those living in the global African diaspora. Kenya’s Habari TV hopes to capitalise on this interest by providing streamed news programmes from key African broadcasters. Russell Southwood spoke to Habari TV’s Kelvin Karungu about its plans.
Tiger Aspect’s Head of Animation and Children’s Claudia Lloyd travelled to East Africa and fell in love with Tanzania’s Tinga Tinga art and the classic African childrens’ tales about the origins of animals and why they are the way they are. She first did a pilot three years ago and chose to work with Kenya’s Homeboyz director Myke Rabar. Together they set up an animation studio in Nairobi and will be ready to release the 52 x 11 minute series in January 2010. Russell Southwood spoke to Claudia Lloyd about how it all happened.