Let’s make use of this opportunity

Last week, a new video streaming service was launched and unlike others similar to it, iFlix is seeking to give local content producers an opportunity to produce movies and television series. This will be broadcast across its various markets.

According to managers of the service, they have already acquired some content from the producers and will commission more in the days ahead.

This is certainly great news considering the state of our local industry. The movie scene is already in slump which may be difficult to recover from anytime soon and there isn’t enough local content on television screens these days with the influx of Mexican and Indian soaps.

Things have not always been this way. We can remember great television series like ‘Inspector Bediako, ‘TV Theatre’ series, ‘Ultimate Paradise’, ‘Osofo Dadzie’, ‘Villa Kakalika’ among others which drew big audiences.

Unfortunately, the desire of local content producers to sometimes milk television stations off too much money, lack of original content and unprofessionalism are some of the reasons why we are where we are.

Copying itself isn’t bad but we need to improve what we copy and make them distinctly ours. The situation is not entirely hopeless Showbiz believes and with the right structures, we know that the industry will come back strong.

We hope IFlix will not abandon its support for the local industry along the way and we urge the local content producers to take advantage of this opportunity to tell original and thought provoking stories that will not only make Ghana proud but gain them international recognition.