“Someone should be putting that money into the industry. And these stations have money from advertisers so that cycle [should start] rotating in the industry,” Musokwa says.

While DStv’s Africa Magic and StarTimes’ partnership with iROKOtv have done a credible job of creating spaces for African film-makers, most channels are typically happy to just broadcast donor-funded programs and cheap Latin American telenovelas. So for the TV market in east Africa, the next potential area of growth is in content creation. Nigeria’s Nollywood has shown that the market and the audience is there for locally resonant productions.

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