By Lauren Mwanga
The shift of mass media production to direct consumer content has shown creatives that change is a part of life. This has also been proved by the current COVID-19 situation where change, adaptation and planning should be the creatives slogan of the moment. The current global pandemic has had both positive and negative impacts on the entertainment industry where streaming websites and many of the online platforms are gradually growing as a whole but the movie theaters, premieres, awards, and concerts are suffering a recession. Content consumption habits have evolved drastically with the advent of “Netflix and chill” and the culture of binging has become the norm. The consumption is varied from the already existing content (audio, video and gaming) before the pandemic to COVID-19 related content. Short form content production is at an all-time high with a growing number of short form content competitions and festivals. The production and exhibition of long form content like feature films, series and documentaries took a massive hit due to stringent quarantine regulations. There has recently been a return to production but under strict measures. The opportunity for short form content is great and the platforms that exhibit this content are growing in number.
Streaming websites — read Online Video Platforms — have played an important role in the entertainment industry with the most significant contribution being the curbing of piracy for the last 6 years in Africa. Netflix one of the world’s premiere streaming platforms that have grown to serve the purpose of film production, distribution, and television production at a more affordable price than its major competitors. Netflix has always tried to fit in different countries’ available resources to make sure they have a larger audience. In Africa due to the many challenges we are facing in the entertainment industry, the platform has made efforts to adapt to the different ways to work with the current state of our film and has now started to experiment with cheaper, mobile-only subscriptions to engage a larger audience. According to BBC business news, Disney+, the American subscription video on-demand streaming service owned and operated by the Direct-to-Consumer & International subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company had originally projected to hit 60 to 90 million subscribers by 2024. They have hit 50 million paid subscribers and only 5 months into their launch.
In Africa, IROKO TV which was first and the leading video on demand service to be launched in 2011 and was dubbed as Africa’s Netflix. IROKO TV raised a total of $30 million in funding over the years with strategic partners like CANAL+, StarTimes and even ISP providers. Apart from partnerships, IROKO TV grew due to having a growth focused team and being data driven which upcoming platforms should emulate. Earlier this year with the pandemic, IROKO TV reported their state as being unprofitable and had to undertake drastic measures such as pay cuts to all its workers and 150 layoffs. Also due to COVID-19 and its effects to the devaluation of the Naira, the company has paused its Africa strategy to focus on international business which accounts for the larger percentage of their revenue due to the higher Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) that they achieve from Diaspora subscribers.
Showmax is also an amazing step from Naspers (parent company to Multichoice Africa) to grow streaming in Africa. It seemed in the beginning that Showmax were to take a different approach and focus on the local content and distribution strategy. They were quick to capitalise on their long history of licensing international content and populated their catalogue with popular shows such as Game of Thrones, Billions, Peaky Blinders and the like. Showmax during the pandemic also experimented with different revenue models to grow and sustain their paid and new subscribers. They decided to cap their streaming resolution on their mobile apps. They also added live streaming of news, sports and had amazing offers in Kenya such as a 3-month subscription for the price of one.
There are other upcoming streaming platforms such as Kenya’s Vumi Central and MymoviesAfrica, and other Afrocentric platforms such nVivo TV, Afroland TV and Kweli TV which are among the sprouting platforms that are producing and licensing amazing content. These as well as the more established players still have to content with continental challenges.The Internet is a young technology in Africa and according to World internet statistics in early 2020, only about 23% of the continent has experienced infrastructure development in this area.
One must consider that Africa has always been portrayed as a very conservative continent with strong religious (Christianity and Islam) values. Since independence, many strict guidelines have been placed on many productions due to various reasons such as political influence or lack of moral values. Over the years with many advancements, there have been many changes economically and even socially which are stories to be told. However, censorship in many countries leads to films being banned to due sexual or erotic scenes. A good case in point is the first Kenyan to go to the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, Rafiki (Friend) an amazing Kenyan inspired film due to its lesbian overtones and Inxeba (The Wound) which was also banned in South Africa for the same reason. Both of these films which were R-rated within their countries won multiple awards internationally.
With such strict guidelines, many producers are showcasing their African Films outside to a more recipient audience abroad. To the ones who find it expensive, they are making locally available content of day to day relatable activities and having clean productions which are not that exciting to many viewers but allowed by the laws.
Piracy is another issue facing the African Film industry. With the DVD and CD era, pirates took the profits of many filmmakers due to the many cheap re-productions of the films that flooded the market. Producers are trying to overcome piracy by taking it back to the cinemas where their films premiere. Going the digital route is another way that content creators are challenging piracy by showcasing their content on streaming platforms while others are starting African based platforms which are more affordable to many than cinema visits.
With the various challenges the entertainment industry is facing in Africa, the space for growth is also available. Collaboration is one of the ways the challenge of expenses can be overcome and ideas can be better executed. This will lead to amazing productions such as the Netflix produced, Queen Sono. Being aware of the available film grants that are present in Africa is also one of the ways the content can be shared. Creators should also find different ways to share their content to increase their chances of having their work seen by a larger audience
If the trend of cord cutting in the USA and the Western world is anything to go by, traditional TV is on a decline and with the growth of internet penetration, digital platforms will be the way to go. The costs of smartphones is ever decreasing and has become a preferred device of choice for content consumption. Google and Orange Telecom announced the launch of the Sanza 4G smartphone which will cost $30. This signals a death knell for the traditional broadcasters. It is only a matter of time before they fade away into the ether of the internet, unable to capitalise on the ever-changing landscape It is time to adapt or die!