MOBILE VIDEO CONTENT FOR SUB- SAHARAN AFRICA

An exploratory study on what the content, the structure, consumption and the execution of videos being created for the

mobile platform in Sub-Saharan Africa is.

AFDA HONOURS RESEARCH BY TULANANA BOHELASTUDENT NO: 514561

INTRODUCTION and CONTEXT

• Africa leads in mobile-broadband growth globally

• The new “talking drums “of the continent .• Africa is fast becoming a mobile-first continent.• Ericsson Mobility Report quoted Africa holding a

quarter of global new mobile subscriptions. That’s 20 MILLION new mobile subscriptions by the 2nd Quarter of the year 2014. (Ericsson, 2014, p. 3)

WHO IS THE AFRICAN MOBILE INTERNET CONSUMER?

INTRO &CONTEXT MALE MIDDLE CLASS 18-24 years EDUCATED DISPODABLE INCOME- -Mobile Internet Consumer Report

LITERATURE REVIEW

“Mobile video content is differentiated from TV by its non-linear, non-live character.”.(Mintel,2011)

Key Players: content creators, mobile network operators, content distributors, app developers& marketing and advertising agencies

These new partnerships being formed are defined by the following:

LITERATURE REVIEW

• No. smartphones and tablet devices• Extension of 3G and 4G mobile network

technology• the choice of different viewing models

including ad supported and subscription ad free services

• the availability of more and better content

LITERATURE REVIEW

• Who is watching? We don’t know exactly.

• Despite this unknown,. According to Susan Wojcick CEO of Youtube50% of the video sites views come from mobile phones and tablets. (Sikupela, (2014),October)

LITERATURE REVIEW

• Strategic Challenges to Mobile Video • -For the Sub-Saharan region= infrastructure. • Mobile-broadband penetration levels=• Europe (64%) ,the Americas (59%), (CIS)

(49%), the Arab States (25%), Asia-Pacific (23%) and Africa (19%).

LITERATURE REVIEW

• Value Chain=relationship between mobile operators and content developers is unbalanced.

• Mobile operator takes 70-80% of the gross revenues, leaving the balance to be shared by the video aggregator and the content owner

LIT. REVIEW CONCLUSION

• There is a gap of adequate research and industry experience on content and delivery strategies to attract and retain an audience.

RESEARCH PROBLEM• “ What is the content, the structure, the

consumption and the execution of videos being created for the mobile platform in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Limitations:of Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa Most advanced markets for mobile data usage

RESEARCH PROBLEM

• The research has targeted key players in the field of African content generation and distribution.

• Respondents: Bozza (South Africa) and Buni TV (Kenya ) and What’s up Africa (Nigeria). Digital Media Strategists and Producers.

RESEARCH PROBLEM• How is mobile platform shaping the creation of

new or existing content in communication?• What are the parameters of content structure

for the mobile platform?• How does the business model change from TV

to mobile?• Is there value in repurposing content compared

to creating new content for mobile?• Is mobile one of the solutions for the Africa

video content distribution challenges?

METHODOLOGY

Qualitative research method via interviews. The countries selected for this research are

Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, which as mentioned before in this paper, have the largest mobile markets

METHODOLOGY

Data collection methods: Video and audio with Note taking.

The problem question does not wish to draw comparison from one region to another but merely understand how the content providers are reacting to this new medium of broadcast, there fore interview is best.

KEY FINDINGSFinding 1. Content: Harnessing humour

KEY FINDINGS

• Finding 1. Content: Harnessing humour• . Ikenna Azuike is the presenter and producer

of What’s up Africa, a political satire show on that attracts African viewers on the continent and in the diaspora.

• Subscribers: 10, 939• Videos:185• Total views: 2,421,860

KEY FINDINGS

Finding 2. Structure: Brief Captivating Narrative.•The duration = one to ten minutes.• Size of the video </= 30Megabytes•The pixel size = 320p to 480p for better fit on the small screens of mobile and tablets.

KEY FINDINGS

• Finding 2. Structure: Brief Captivating Narrative

• Arguements against:• The mobile is a communication tool, therefore

one cannot prescribe a parameter to it.• The most powerful thing is narrative;

Finding 2. Structure: Brief Captivating Narrative

• My deduction is that short duration; smart editing and captivating narrative are a strong combination in capturing mobile video audience attention.

• Effective through social media video platforms such as Vine and Instagram.

Finding 3. Consumption: Democratic Viewing

• The charts below show the description of the African mobile viewing audience.

Finding 3. Consumption: Democratic Viewing

• The male demographic are the biggest consumers of content. This could be as a result of their perceived interest in new technology and adventurous approach to interaction.

Finding 3. Consumption: Democratic Viewing

• Classic segmentation does not consider that people of the same age, location or culture can have different tastes.

• The real marriage takes place between relevant content and the audiences creating niche content for micro-communities.

Finding 3. Consumption: Democratic Viewing

• Business model is different from TV ;• Downloading more popular than streaming• Mobile model gives consumers more power of

choice. TV requires producers to follow a brief set by the broadcaster

• Downloading gives more choice to the audience

• Cost of data and latency make streaming undesirable

Finding 3. Consumption: Deduction

• Mobile content should not be treated in the same way traditional media audiences are treated.

• The environments are different and should be catered to as such.

Finding 4. Execution: Strong Infrastructure and Demand are crucial

• Mobile operator isn’t providing enough bandwidth

• Gross revenues from the value chain of developer, operator and consumer need to favor the developer in order to make valuable content.

• Expensive studios and equipment are no longer sustainable.

Finding 4. Execution: Strong Infrastructure and Demand are crucial• Value Chain needs to benefit all players.• Headway-Youtube and Safaricom• they launched a free bundle service that

mobile users can subscribe to everyday, giving them access 40 megabytes of video content

RECOMMENDATIONS

• The African mobile consumer always on the go. Content should reflect this and be captivating and direct with sufficient visual aids to assist viewing.

• Developers, operators,distributors should forge alliances that are mutually beneficial to them and the consumer.

RECOMMENDATIONS• The next step from finding out what

audiences consume is WHY they consume it.

• More studies on the platform in film, media and journalism schools on the continent.

•  Inidividual countries in sub-Sahara should initiate nation-wide research to observe and gain further insight into the decided research.

CONCLUSION

• African producers are right on the cusp of an explosion of viewership, hungry for content. The continued evolution of mobile content and its distribution will initially complement traditional African broadcasting and surpass it in the coming years