How foreign content is shaping Kenya

Opinion and Analysis

 

 

By Bitange Ndemo

We are slowly drifting away from our cultural foundations to “nirvana” as foreign content begins to dictate what we watch on television.

New platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV and India’s WWiTV are leveraging on availability of high Internet speeds to fight it out with our traditional providers.

 

The convergence of broadcast and telecommunications is not just causing a revolution but changing television enterprise models for ever.

These on-demand Internet streaming media available to viewers in North and South America, the Caribbean, India and parts of Europe are spreading across the world like wild fire.

Even in countries where these new platforms have not set up, people are already hooked to them through reseller agents using addresses in host countries. Some of the content available on these platforms is in contravention of our legal and moral fundamentals.

As technology advances, the media industry will change and grow with new business models. It is not prophesy that media industry in Africa will expand in the next few years and escalate foreign content.

Consumers will be spoilt for quality choices and as a result, Kenyan content is bound to gradually decline in fascination.

Whilst the rest of the world is busy aggregating content, building distribution networks and developing specialty channels and first class content, Africa is mired in petty non-productive wars of who controls what in analogue broadcast.

But not all is lost. There is increasing home-grown African content that is making its debut into the global stage through MultiChoice Africa and locally established Zuku.

So far, Zuku has seven branded channels and started venturing into local production in 2012. One of Zuku’s flagship project features Kenyan chef and restaurateur, Kiran Jethwa.

Its producer, Quite Bright Films gave distribution rights to Off the Fence and the series’ pay-TV rights were acquired by Fox International Channels.

MultiChoice Africa has put up modern studios in Nairobi in readiness to start local productions.

However, much of its content is largely foreign and for African content to excite the international community, we must begin to invest in quality, better distribution networks and access to multiple platforms.

The African story is yet to be told. The hidden treasure in our creative economy has not been revealed. In this treasure lies the opportunity for employment and poverty reduction. Yet our talented youth rummage for opportunity to showcase their flair.

Recently, Star Times broke the grounds where its new studios will be built in Karen. They plan to dub their Chinese content into local languages while at the same time developing local content for distribution throughout its global networks.