UCC''s directive on local TV content will not stifle industry

By Nathan Magoola

I am writing to respond to Tony Glencross’ commentary in the New Vision of May 28, 2013, “The 70% TV local content directive will stifle industry”.

While he makes a very good argument, it is sad that he is basing it on a wrong premise. Tony laces his argument with lots of numbers and terms, which have left my head spinning.

That he is New Vision’s Chief Commercial Officer that makes him a numbers guy. I get it. However, in this case, it didn’t need to get that far. Basic arithmetic would suffice.

I am not sure if Tony and I read the same UCC directive. The one I read in the New Vision calls for free to air TV stations to air 70% of local content during prime time, that is during the hours of 6:00pm to 11:00pm.

Basically, it is five hours between 6:00pm and 11:00pm. 70% of that is 3.5 hours.

Now most free to air TV stations have both a Luganda and English news bulletin during prime time each lasting on average 30 minutes. So that is another hour off 3.5hours. Which comes down to 2.5hours a day.

Truth is, the consequences of the TV local content quota are not as dire as Tony would want us to believe. On the other hand, the local content quota is a welcome gesture to the creative industry in Uganda and the audience that is yearning for local content. It is long overdue.

In the short run, local content may seem expensive compared to international content, where economies of scale reduce the cost. But it is also impossible to enjoy economies of scale on nothing.

To enjoy these economies of scale, we need to produce content first. After say, an independent producer creates a season of a drama series, he can then consider charging a local station less for broadcast rights of subsequent seasons after he sells the first season to pay TV operators like DStv, Zuku TV and other foreign stations like NTV Kenya and Canal France International (CFI).

I have always thought that the problem with Uganda’s TV programming is not entirely about money, but foresight and decision-making. And this could be settled by strategic alliances between TV stations and the creative community.

TV stations have structural inefficiencies when it comes to production of certain content. There are TV stations that have taken the initiative to produce their own drama series but the results have been short of disastrous.

The problem is that these stations have relied on their own in house resources. The trouble with that is in recruitment ads for TV programming and production jobs, usually the requirement is a degree or postgraduate qualifications in Mass Communications or Journalism. Now these recruits can serve well in the news departments, but they don’t exactly have the kind of expertise needed to deliver a decent drama series.

A colleague of mine was involved in the production of a drama on one of the private TV’s in Kampala as an independent contractor. He informed me that before the series got into production, there were pre-production false starts and over sh20m was wasted before even a single frame of footage was shot.

So when it was eventually produced and aired, it ended up having cost way more than it should have.

The irony is that when this same colleague approached this TV station with a proposal to deliver a 13 episode drama series at sh2.5m, they declined meaning they are more comfortable losing over sh20 million on nothing than getting a season of a local drama series for sh32.5m.

No doubt, the quota directive has a considerable negative implication on the operations of smaller TV stations but on the other hand, it is a shame for the market leaders to use that as a basis to speak against an initiative that has positive impact on the creative industry.

I remember watching an episode featuring the 2011 Christmas party for one TV staff, their former general manager was thankful to the staff because that year the TV’s profits had risen 300% that year from the previous one. 2.5 hours of local programming a day is not going to bring this TV to its knees.

I would imagine that in his position, Tony can appreciate the benefits of local content production and programming. Because it mostly airs local content, in a relatively short time of existence Bukedde TV has become a major force in the TV field that they had to open a second Bukedde TV channel. Now that is not exactly evidence of a struggling TV station, in fact it re-emphasises the benefits and prospects of local content.

On the question of whether Uganda’s local content industry can deliver 1,000 hours of content per month, let alone the full quota, Tony is in doubt. He reasons that 11 TV stations require 1,848 hours of local programming a month.

The fact is that with the 70% local content quota, each station needs only 2.5 hours of local content so the 11 stations would require a total of 825 hours of content a month.

Yes, local producers can generate 825 hours of content a month even though the UCC directive requires TV stations to only buy 40% of the local content from independent producers. I know for a fact that there lots of producers out there (myself inclusive) sitting on scripts and treatments because they lack the money to produce them.

Those who actually have the money don’t have incentive to produce because they don’t see a return on their investment in the present environment.

Many creative people with TV ideas can’t navigate the politics and economics involved in putting a TV show on air and have resorted to covering weddings and introduction (kwanjula) ceremonies for a living. So yeah with the financial backing and incentives, the local content industry can generate the required 825 hours of content required for the quota.

Talking about advertisers, I make my living writing adverts. I know that audience numbers are a major consideration for advertisers. So a station with a popular show will dictate the cost of airtime during that show and advertisers wont have a choice, if they need to reach that audience.

I am sure when TV stations work together with the creative community; we will come up with a position that is mutually beneficial to all.

The writer is an independent film producer and advertising copywriter based in Kampala.

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