{"id":2000,"date":"2019-11-14T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2019-11-22T12:24:45","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T17:24:45","slug":"gold-rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/gold-rush\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Rush"},"content":{"rendered":"

Distributors eyeing Africa for future opportunities are finding a growing market with varied tastes. <\/em><\/p>\n

While African heritage and the stories of the African Diaspora often serve as markers of diversity, it would be wise to consider the diversity within<\/em> the world\u2019s second-largest continent itself. Africa is home to more than 1.2 billion people across 54 countries, observing dozens of religions and spiritualties and speaking a variety of Indigenous languages alongside those of its colonizers. Even with this admittedly rudimentary sketch of Africa\u2019s demographics, it\u2019s clear that the continent and its tastes for content cannot be painted with a single broad brushstroke.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrican countries\u2019 colonial and pre-colonial heritage is very different from country to country, and this has had an important impact on the language and culture of each nation; hence, we tackle each country like a different market,\u201d says Paloma Garc\u00eda, international sales director for Europe and Africa at Caracol Television. \u201cDoing business in Africa requires understanding that you can\u2019t see the continent as one single block or market, and this is why our content offer varies from country to country in terms of languages and storylines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caracol has sent series dubbed in French and English to such sub-Saharan African countries as Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda; series dubbed in Portuguese to Angola and Mozambique; and its Spanish-language content to Equatorial Guinea and Mauritius. The White Slave<\/em>\u2019s \u201chigh production values allow its success in sales everywhere in Africa,\u201d according to Garc\u00eda, who believes that Bol\u00edvar<\/em> will see a similar reception. (The former centers on a white woman named Victoria who is raised by an enslaved couple following the assassination of her family, while the latter tells the story of Sim\u00f3n Bol\u00edvar, a revolutionary who led the liberation of Latin American countries from the Spanish empire.)<\/p>\n

Viacom18\/IndiaCast Media Distribution has dubbed into English a number of its series that air in early prime or prime time in Africa. Balika Vadhu<\/em> (The Young Bride<\/em>) and Uttaran<\/em> (Second <\/em>Hand<\/em>) have been syndicated in sub-Saharan and Southern Africa, while the first season of the fantasy series Naagin<\/em> (The<\/em> Serpent<\/em>) has been syndicated across the continent. Debkumar Dasgupta, senior VP of syndication and the Middle East and Africa at Viacom18\/IndiaCast, says, \u201cOur drama series have proven to be extremely successful in every market that we have licensed to, especially Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Mauritius, Southern Africa, Egypt and Francophone African countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

ROOM TO GROW
\n<\/strong>Viacom18\/IndiaCast isn\u2019t stopping there. \u201cWe are looking at introducing our series in Malawi, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Morocco and others,\u201d adds Dasgupta.<\/p>\n

From the Philippines\u2019s GMA Worldwide, My Destiny<\/em>, which tells the story of two sisters who fall in love with the same man, has sold into Kenya and Zambia. \u201cThis title combines the themes of familial and romantic love that are relatable across different territories, including Africa,\u201d says Roxanne J. Barcelona, GMA Worldwide\u2019s VP. My Faithful Husband<\/em> has also sold into Kenya and Zambia. Beautiful Strangers <\/em>is available dubbed in French \u201cand has received interest from broadcasters in French-speaking countries in Africa,\u201d according to Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Record TV\u2019s latest launch into Africa has been Jezebel<\/em>, which tells the story of a Phoenician princess. According to Delmar Andrade, international sales director at the company, \u201cIn its premiere in Mozambique, Jezebel<\/em> recorded by itself the audience of all the other main TV channels together, and guaranteed for the broadcaster a share of 50 percent in the time slot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even more successful for Record TV has been Jesus<\/em>, a retelling of the Christian prophet\u2019s story. \u201cThe telenovela reached an audience record in the history of Mozambican television, reaching more than 6 million viewers in its debut, with an 87-percent share for TV Miramar,\u201d says Andrade.<\/p>\n

Calinos Entertainment entered Africa with The Girl Named Feriha<\/em>, which follows a girl stuck between the world of her humble beginnings and that of her upper-class university classmates, who include a rich and handsome playboy. \u201cThis series is very successful in all regions that we distribute in,\u201d says Ebru Mercan, sales executive for Africa at Calinos. \u201cIt is a market-opener for us, and it has proven to be a success in the African region too.\u201d Also being distributed into Africa are Calinos\u2019s Forbidden<\/em> Fruit<\/em>, Our Story<\/em> and Woman<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is still a long way to go in Africa; the audiences are just discovering Turkish content. We cannot access all African countries at the same level,\u201d says Mercan, explaining that in some countries in the region, only households with a pay-TV subscription can currently access Turkish titles.<\/p>\n

In addition to South Africa, Mauritius, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Nigeria have been big markets for Italy-based Mondo TV\u2019s output. The CGI-animated comedy-adventure series Robot Trains<\/em> has sold into Portuguese-speaking Africa, Mauritius and South Africa; Sissi the Young Empress<\/em>, which centers on a free-spirited princess and her many animal friends, has also sold into Portuguese-speaking Africa as well as French-speaking regions. The Netflix original YooHoo to the Rescue<\/em>, about a crew of magical forest creatures fighting threats to nature and wildlife on Earth, is available in most territories.<\/p>\n

BROAD APPEAL
\n<\/strong>\u201cThanks to our large catalog of classic series and movies and strong background in distribution, we have done a lot of business with countries north and south of the Sahara over a long time,\u201d says Theo Kouroglou, international content sales manager for Mondo TV. \u201cToday, we have solid long-term relationships with several broadcasters in the region, established for over ten years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among Mondo TV\u2019s forthcoming releases is MeteoHeroes<\/em>, which the company expects will fare well in African markets.<\/p>\n

When it comes to genre, the titles that are selling well across Africa\u2019s landscape are those that already appeal to diverse audiences. As Kouroglou puts it, \u201cIn many ways, this market is not massively different from any other,\u201d adding that the types of kids\u2019 content the company offers\u2014adventure stories, magic and romance, fantasy for preschoolers and tween drama with music at its core\u2014can all find their place.<\/p>\n

For more mature audiences on the continent, human stories are winning the day. \u201cTraditional melodramas with themes of familial and romantic love are popular among the African audience,\u201d says GMA\u2019s Barcelona.<\/p>\n

The series that Viacom18\/IndiaCast has dubbed into English and sent to Africa, according to Dasgupta, \u201care a perfect blend of emotion, romance, family and socially relevant issues that will immediately resonate with the mainstream audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calinos\u2019s Mercan has found that \u201clove stories are always the most preferred.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Caracol\u2019s Garc\u00eda likewise observes the consistent selling power of a good love story, the company is also looking to bring action and comedy and other universal themes to local markets in Africa.<\/p>\n

Record TV sees the universality in its catalog of biblical telenovelas. \u201cThe telenovelas based on the biblical stories, apart from religiosity, collaborate to understand a vision of the world in which we live,\u201d says Andrade. \u201cThat is part of the success achieved by these super productions in Brazil and around the world. On Record TV, we continue along this path with biblical stories that also include all the ingredients that a telenovela must have: passion, hatred, envy and solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Latin America and India, Turkey, the Philippines and Italy, these series find common ground in their commitment to internationally appealing themes and genres while also being rooted in the unique heritage of the lands from whence they came.<\/p>\n

\u201cFilipino dramas promote the values of hard work, courage and persistence against adversity, which are also values of the African audience,\u201d says Barcelona of the ethos that\u2019s foundational to the dramas in GMA\u2019s library.<\/p>\n

The themes at the center of Calinos\u2019s Turkish titles \u201care both unique and similar to the African audiences,\u201d says Mercan. \u201cUnique because of the way that acting, lifestyles and landscapes are all very different. Similar because love, family and conflicts are very much the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Record TV, Andrade credits \u201cthe ability to speak with love, passion, action and all the necessary requirements for a good telenovela\u201d as well as offering \u201cthe public what can make them think and arouse a deep interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Indian-ness\u2019 appeals magnificently across Africa, and we seek to captivate audiences from all walks of life\u2014in India and overseas\u2014with our compelling storytelling,\u201d says Viacom18\/IndiaCast\u2019s Dasgupta. \u201cOur series are a perfect blend of emotion, drama and variety, which are synonymous [with] almost all cultures in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garc\u00eda of Caracol says that the company\u2019s \u201cstories show strong women who fight to get ahead in their lives, which we think is a positive message that resonates among African female audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

OTT AHEAD
\n<\/strong>A nascent streaming sector is presenting a wave of opportunities, as is a still-growing base of pay-TV subs. GMA Worldwide is already reaping the benefits of the growth of Africa\u2019s television market. \u201cWe increased our revenue in this territory by more than 50 percent versus last year,\u201d says Barcelona. All of GMA\u2019s current clients in Africa are linear channels\u2014free and pay TV\u2014packaged with VOD rights for their owned-and-operated platforms. That could change, though, in the near future as nonlinear platforms establish more of a presence across the continent.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs in most places in the world, we expect nonlinear platforms to continue growing as the internet becomes increasingly accessible,\u201d says Caracol\u2019s Garc\u00eda.<\/p>\n

Calinos\u2019s Mercan echoes this forward-looking viewpoint. \u201cCurrently we are discussing some of our programs with nonlinear platforms as well. This year, or next year at the latest, we plan to make good sales.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mondo TV is also keeping an eye on Africa\u2019s nonlinear platforms. \u201cOTT, in particular, offers opportunities for mobile platforms, although [access to affordable data packages], which varies from market to market and which may affect the reach of OTT, is key to take-up,\u201d says Kouroglou. \u201cHowever, nonlinear does seem to be a strong future business trend in this part of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The internet\u2019s lack of ubiquity in Africa at present is unquestionably among the challenges of establishing a foothold on the continent. As Mercan explains, \u201cthe technological infrastructure is not very good in most of the African countries.\u201d There\u2019s also the matter of prices, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike any other territory, Africa has its own ups and downs,\u201d says Viacom18\/IndiaCast\u2019s Dasgupta. \u201cThere are issues with remittances, differing deals due to budgetary issues from a few countries, but overall, there has been a healthy trend in our syndication business.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Mondo TV, Kouroglou also sees reasons to be optimistic for the maturation of the market as certain conditions improve. \u201cViewing habits will be interesting,\u201d he says. \u201cOne wonders if the region will have more strongly nonlinear viewing behaviors than many others that have access to fixed-line communications.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sorts of challenges that establishing sales across Africa currently present are, by the observation of industry execs, the kind that foretell a future of greater opportunity.<\/p>\n

Viacom18\/IndiaCast now syndicates content to more than 25 African countries across three languages that are dubbed or subtitled either in English or the local language, and that\u2019s just the start, according to Dasgupta. \u201cWe strongly believe our content has enormous potential in Africa, and we look forward to introducing our latest offering in fiction categories to a larger audience base,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Kouroglou believes that Mondo TV\u2019s \u201cdiverse output and its strength in entertainment production, distribution and licensing to children, tweens, teens and families\u201d will give the company opportunities among many age groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are confident our experience and expertise will continue placing us amongst Africa\u2019s preferred content providers,\u201d says Caracol\u2019s Garc\u00eda, who sees further opportunity in the region in co-productions. \u201cWe are starting to explore cooperation opportunities with local content producers as we believe that there is high potential in co-producing with local players. A mix of finished-production sales and cooperation with local players is key for our plans on the African continent.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the greatest opportunity, according to Calinos\u2019s Mercan, is \u201cbuilding bridges between continents. This sector opens the ways for other sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Distributors eyeing Africa for future opportunities are finding a growing market with varied tastes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1033,"featured_media":2001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,69],"tags":[453],"class_list":["post-2000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-discop-johannesburg-2019"],"yoast_head":"\nGold Rush - TVMEA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Distributors eyeing Africa for future opportunities are finding a growing market with varied tastes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/gold-rush\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gold Rush - TVMEA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Distributors eyeing Africa for future opportunities are finding a growing market with varied tastes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/gold-rush\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVMEA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-14T13:00:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-11-22T17:24:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2017\/07\/Jezebel-RECORD-TV-1019.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chelsea Regan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chelsea Regan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/gold-rush\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/gold-rush\/\",\"name\":\"Gold Rush - TVMEA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-14T13:00:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-22T17:24:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/#\/schema\/person\/2a2c6d8fb3c7c8b4220b8877ecffb79a\"},\"description\":\"Distributors eyeing Africa for future opportunities are finding a growing market with varied tastes.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/gold-rush\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/gold-rush\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/gold-rush\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gold Rush\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/\",\"name\":\"TVMEA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvmiddleeastafrica\/#\/schema\/person\/2a2c6d8fb3c7c8b4220b8877ecffb79a\",\"name\":\"Chelsea Regan\",\"description\":\"Chelsea Regan is the managing editor of World Screen. 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