Yes! Ghanaian movies in the air
For many Ghanaian travelers, there’s been such a paradigm shift in the last couple of months; a very monumental change that is being experienced in the skies.
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That experience is watching Ghanaian-made movies on flight – something that has not been witnessed since the first ever international flight operated in Ghana in the 1950s.
Not even the state-owned Ghana Airways which started operations in the 6Os ever showed Ghanaian movies on its flights.
Big step:
My first time of watching a Ghanaian movie on an international flight was two months ago on a KLM flight to Amsterdam en route to the USA.
Celebrity blogger, Ameyaw Debrah has also confirmed a similar experience on one of his travels on the same airline.
Another blogger, Obed Boafo with EIB Network watched another Sparrow Production flick on Ethiopian Airline.
Showing Ghanaian movies on these airlines is a gargantuan step for Ghanaian movie-makers, the industry and of course the entertainment-loving Ghanaian traveler, who has had no choice but to watch other international movies, including Nigerian and South African movies for so long.
What it means to have movies shown in-flight:
Aviation business is on the rise, with millions of travelers ‘flying’ to and from Ghana with many international flights.
There’s a 57 percent chance that 60 percent of passengers on a flight are likely to watch your movie, which means – thousands would have viewed the movie in just a month. A double to triple fold would have viewed it in six months.
Good movies leave good impressions on the minds of travelers which propel some to follow-up on other productions on other flights and even when they are not flying.
There’s also that possibility of travelers not completing the watching of such movies in-flight, making them go out to patronise the movie (s) when on ground.
There’s money to be made in the skies:
The largest international airlines sometimes pay more than $90,000 for a licence to show one movie over a period of two or three months. These airlines usually feature up to 100 movies at once.
Elsewhere, airlines pay a flat fee every time the movie is watched by a passenger. Some airlines spend up to $20 million per year on content.
Aviation experts claim that the amount airlines spent on their entertainment offerings in 2012 hit nearly $3 billion and that figure is forecast to rise to about $10 billion in 2030.
More Ghanaian movies must show:
Thus far, it is only Shirley Frimpong-Manso and her Sparrow Production unit that are making a big claim for Ghanaian movies in the skies.
If Sparrow Productions could find its way through a link of sales agents to in-flight distributors to content service providers (CSPs) before hitting that 6x4-inch seatback screen – so can the other Ghanaian movie producers.
How to get there:
All we need to do; is to improve the quality of the productions and add some class and finesse to the packaging.
Manna stopped falling from heaven in the ADs, so, agents and in-flight distributors would also not be coming always. Productions houses must make a move; look out for the agents and the distributors and walk to the Airlines and ask relevant questions.
In the midst of ‘dumsor’, a crippled industry and a dwindling patronage of Ghanaian movies, producers can now look to the skies for reprieve.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ArnoldBaidoo
