Content business - why are Kenyan channels so dead boring?

[Nefertiti]

• Tweet

So many okay movies even on free YouTube. So much filming and acting talent. Why haven't these local guys invested in proper content production 5 years into digital migration? I attempted to watch Citizen and was dozing in minutes  Surely SK Macharias can afford it. As streaming becomes ever so cheap they will continue to be knocked out of business.

There should be many kinds of Dr House or Gray's Anatomy shows by now. Or Mutua Cobra Squad.

[Nefertiti]

Pundit your startup should be beaming CSI Nairobi by now - instead of endless trolls about Ruto.

[RV Pundit]

Don't expect kenya to compete with US on anything except long distance running

[Nefertiti]

I see some awesome Kenyan films on Netflix or Hulu - by Kenyan actors, directors and producers - it's not ability or skill lacking but vision and ambition by SKs.

Sincerely Daisy
Directed by              Nick Mutuma
Produced by             Nick Mutuma
Screenplay by          Natasha Likimani
Starring                   Ella Maina
                              Brian Abejah
                              Sam Psenjen
                              Mbeki Mwalimu
Music by                  Timothy Rimbui
Production company Giraffe Africa Productions
Distributed by          Netflix
Release date            9 October 2020
Running time           87 minutes
Country                   Kenya
Language                 English

[Nefertiti]

This too was awesome. This Nick Mutuma bloke has talent

[gout]

Even Macharia makes money from Mexican, Indian and Naija movies. Content production is very expensive.

Not sure how Viusasa streaming is working. Youtube is a double edged sword for content production.

The 40% local content was a good push but like everything else there is need for visionaries and serious dollar injection.

Plus it goes back to poverty, pirate movies on USB is 10 shillings and is shareable to 100+. Bundles to youtube are crazy. Leave alone movies tickets. 

[Nefertiti]

Even Macharia makes money from Mexican, Indian and Naija movies. Content production is very expensive.

Not sure how Viusasa streaming is working. Youtube is a double edged sword for content production.

The 40% local content was a good push but like everything else there is need for visionaries and serious dollar injection.

Plus it goes back to poverty, pirate movies on USB is 10 shillings and is shareable to 100+. Bundles to youtube are crazy. Leave alone movies tickets.

Citizen or VoK tv is cable so it should be cheaper. You beam free and sell averts - good old model. The extreme boring nature of local tv makes me wonder how they sustain their business. That old crew of Ken Mijungu and The Gang is so deadbeat it pores out of their eyes. To attract the working and middle classes- the real spenders - it would be sensible to invest in those cheap 1m usd types. Nairobi Half Life was 500k usd if i recall. This is not Jumanji blockbuster meant for VVIP cinema. The masses that tolerate those garbage on Kenyan tv cannot sustain the journalistic lifestyle of JFK... that ride G-Class. So you have the deadbeat Joe Ageyos.

[Georgesoros]

Even Macharia makes money from Mexican, Indian and Naija movies. Content production is very expensive.

Not sure how Viusasa streaming is working. Youtube is a double edged sword for content production.

The 40% local content was a good push but like everything else there is need for visionaries and serious dollar injection.

Plus it goes back to poverty, pirate movies on USB is 10 shillings and is shareable to 100+. Bundles to youtube are crazy. Leave alone movies tickets.

Citizen or VoK tv is cable so it should be cheaper. You beam free and sell averts - good old model. The extreme boring nature of local tv makes me wonder how they sustain their business. That old crew of Ken Mijungu and The Gang is so deadbeat it pores out of their eyes. To attract the working and middle classes- the real spenders - it would be sensible to invest in those cheap 1m usd types. Nairobi Half Life was 500k usd if i recall. This is not Jumanji blockbuster meant for VVIP cinema. The masses that tolerate those garbage on Kenyan tv cannot sustain the journalistic lifestyle of JFK... that ride G-Class. So you have the deadbeat Joe Ageyos.

Send Rhonda, Robina. She will do justice

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

Netflix has some good content from Africa

So many okay movies even on free YouTube. So much filming and acting talent. Why haven't these local guys invested in proper content production 5 years into digital migration? I attempted to watch Citizen and was dozing in minutes  Surely SK Macharias can afford it. As streaming becomes ever so cheap they will continue to be knocked out of business.

There should be many kinds of Dr House or Gray's Anatomy shows by now. Or Mutua Cobra Squad.

It's because Kenyan local talent has not been nurtured.  I have watched some decent shows from Naija and Mzansi, that from the look of it could also be done in Kenya.  But Kenya has no reputable story tellers.

[Nefertiti]

bitmask - Kenya and Africa generally have great art talent. I see it as lack of vision/ambition - what you may call corporate leadership - from media owners. MTV Shuga for instance was/is trendsetting. Easily rivals Empire or Star topnotch Hollywood stuff. MTV Shuga of course was state-NGO sponsored non-profit big budget. So it's an unfair comparison. In the end it's business and has to be profitable to be sustainable. But I don't even find a knock-off like K24 Nairobi Diaries to be that bad either.

Empire really minted millions and yet is a purely hyped showbiz sitcom. MTV shouldn't have to do charity.

[Nefertiti]

MTV Shuga Ep2 Morning After