The first African broadcast film and convergence conference was held in Nairobi against a backdrop of heightened activities around investment in media in Kenya and elsewhere in Eastern Africa and the promise to put Africa on the information economy map.
The event brought together over 300 industry leaders and stakeholders as well as more than 20 exhibitors from across the
globe.
KFC CEO, David Maingi (Above) giving the key address at the Broadcasters Conference.
This is the first of its kind event to be held in Africa and the response from the industry was overwhelming.
The Kenya Film Commission which was one of the major supporters of the Conference hosted a stand at the exhibition as well as sponsor lunch for all delegates during the three day forum.
Over the last five years, Kenya has witnessed the growth of FM radio stations, television stations and film production. Indeed according to CCK, the growth in this sector has been and is expected to continue to grow into the future. The conference also explored the co-existence of pay TV, cable news networks, and the film production market among a host of the different industries in telecommunication sector.
The conference was officially opened by the Kenyan Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Dr. Raila Odinga, who underscored the need for press freedom in a growing economy such as Kenya.
Is Kenya a leading film destination? Posed David Maingi, the Chief Executive of Kenya Film Commission. Kenya has for along time lost out to Southern Africa on lucrative filming opportunities. However Mr Maingi avers that this will be a thing of the past since the government is playing its key role of providing the incentives for film production so as to attract the big global players in this industry to Kenya.
This was however with caution that a shift of focus was needed if the film industry was to survive a turbulent growth period. The issue of access to locally produced television programmes with the language barrier posing the greatest risk for cross-border trade of locally produced television content. Maingi said it was only through the diversification of the film industry that its growth could be guaranteed.
There is however a silver lining with the growth of the animation industry which will offer opportunities for Kenya with its abundance of youthful talent.
The key messages from the conference were as follows.
- African broadcasters want joint production facilities to cut costs
- There is a need to supply equipment that is adoptable to African conditions.
- The high cost of transmitting live matches denies viewers chances to watch their favourite teams.
- Citizen journalism could be a source of the much needed local content for the broadcast industry.
- The impending migration from analog to digital broadcasting poses challenges to broadcasters as well as audiences.
