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As Africans celebrated a decade of Pan African Content at the Discop conference recently held in Sandton Johannesburg, calls were made for a stronger focus on the further development of the local content industry.
At the conference that gathered content producers across the continent, pay-television operator Multichoice Africa, a key partner of the conference with a presence in over 50 countries in the continent and its adjacent islands, applauded content producers for their contribution and commitment to producing quality local content in the continent. Through its AfricaMagic channels, MultiChoice Africa believes that telling authentic African stories should be a key driver to Africa’s growth story.
“As MultiChoice Africa we believe that Africans deserve only the best television viewing experience. With digital migration on the horizon, we are fully geared up to ensure everyone from all walks of life has access to digital television. Our GOtv offering available now in 8 countries features great family entertainment at a price that everyone can afford with a selection of local channels made in Africa for Africa,” says Nico Meyer, CEO of Multichoice Africa.
“As the industry grows and as new platforms open up, we expect to see content evolving – finding innovative ways to appeal to viewers anywhere anytime. In this way there will be increased capacity to flight more local content thereby creating more opportunities for local producers,” he said.
At the conference, producers called for more filming opportunities, budgets and most importantly, greater investment in the development of local talent through skills transfer, training and innovative technologies. A strong emphasis was put on reflecting African values in particular amongst children and educational programming with one delegate stating, “we need to create cartoons for the African child, reflecting African values”. The conference affirmed that this is Africa’s time with panelist revealing the continent’s vast appetite for Ghanaian, Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan content throughout Africa.
