Major players in the African mobile video market weigh in on how producers can
capitalise on this new, fast developing distribution channel.
With the continent on the brink of a mobile boom and demand for African content at
an all-time high, distribution opportunities and potential revenue channels available
to content creators are expanding exponentially.
Though industry pioneers will admit that the business is in its infancy and that there
is much to learn in the way of monetisation and collaboration, one thing is
unanimous: Mobile in Africa has bountiful potential; and there are ample pieces of
profit pie waiting to be savoured.
Pierre van der Hoven, owner of South African-based Tuluntulu, a free app which
streams niche African content via curated and created channels, remarks, “There is
an incredible demand for African content and for Africans to tell the African story –
not through the eyes of some international reporter, but from sharing their own
narratives. The future is bright for content creators; the elephant in the room is
monetisation. The industry is in its early stages and so everyone needs to adapt and
contribute to its growth.’
From a content creator point of view, the message may be to resist sacrificing the
potential for long term success in this new medium, by clinging to short term
solutions and methodologies soon to be out-of-date. It also means that the
definition of “quality content’ is being redefined by the end user: proven demand is
the new litmus test. Afrinolly’s Jane Maduegbuna, based in Nigeria, says, “If you
feel confident enough about getting an audience for your content, get it out there –
even if it’s crazy. I’ve seen crazy sell. I’ve seen some films or videos that have a
huge following on YouTube and thought: “Seriously, people watch this?’ And they do.
Everyone has different likes and tastes and it’s for them to decide what they want
to watch.’
Though the parameters differ among popular platforms such as iROKOtv, Afrinolly,
Tuluntulu and Buni.tv, an established audience or significant, measurable interest is
undoubtedly what gets their ears pricked up.
Van der Hoven says the kind of content he is looking to acquire should be in line
with this. This content could be archive footage or in Standard Definition as long as
it has proven viewership or the potential to speak to a niche market as part of a
channel. “We don’t have piles of money but we are looking for African content in
niches. If you have 60 hours of motorbike scrambling content, that’s fantastic,’ he
explains. Tuluntulu acquires content with sufficient quality for a channel, by means
of a net-revenue share model, based on video traffic and advertiser interest. Van
der Hoven adds, “In the future we definitely want to start commissioning content
but for now we are mostly interested in talking to content rights holders.’
The issue of rights is another aspect to consider when entering an agreement with
mobile platforms. Although registration is not a pre-requisite for subsistence of
copyright in a film, Emmie de Kock, managing director of entertainment law firm
De Kock Attorneys advises, “Content owners should assess if they are assigning or
merely licensing their rights. It is best they also look at remuneration and the
scope of use and that they have an attorney review this. Content owners must read
the fine print, and all terms and conditions.’
As exclusivity is not a primary concern for most platforms, such as Tuluntulu,
Afrinolly and Buni.tv, there is no real issue for producers who wish to retain the
rights to their works. iROKOtv, which is a subscription-based online streaming
platform, has certain exclusive deals with its content contributors as CEO Jason
Njoku explains, “With our Nollywood content especially, almost every piece of
content is exclusive to iROKOtv.com and this is one of our main selling points.’
In most cases iROKOtv acquires content through non-exclusive licence agreements,
offering a filmmaker a once-off remuneration which could range between $5000 and
$20,000. This again, all depends on demand. “Our purchasing decisions are
influenced by our subscribers – we have a team in New York who spend their whole
working week poring over viewer data to analyse what was popular (and what
wasn’t). At the moment, we only purchase around 12% of the Nollywood films we
see – we have a team dedicated to selecting the best content out there, content that
we know our fans will love,’ says Njoku.
Afrinolly, another free app, has until now mostly curated online African content, but
by March/April 2015 will launch Afrinolly Marketplace – a paid-for service which
allows filmmakers to keep tabs on their content. “On the new platform users will be
able to access the backend and view their content’s traction as well as revenue, and
the share between them and Afrinolly.’ says Maduegbuna. “We are creating a
system where users can upload content themselves for us to review, approve and
issue a suitable contract for.’
Kenya-based Buni.tv, an online platform and free app which offers content
contributors a 50/50 revenue share or in some cases small minimum guarantees,
recently launched an embeddable player and affiliate program. This allows content
producers an increased stake in profits, explains CEO Marie Lora-Mungai,
“Filmmakers can now embed the Buni.tv player directly on their own website.
Payment takes place inside the player and Buni.tv continues to support all
bandwidth and streaming costs but the filmmaker earns an extra 10% as an
affiliate, bringing their share of the revenue to 60%.’ Buni.tv is currently looking to
license recent, high-quality African content.
Among all of the distributers, the apparent common objective is to gather and
deliver African content in a way which satisfies the end user, and fairly rewards the
content owner. The landscape of mobile video, albeit young and ever-changing, is
one which seeks to empower both parties with a new powerful tool: choice.
– Carly Barnes
