Endemol: "African broadcasters are in the early adoption phase of cross-platform broadcasting"...

Sivan Pillay, Managing Director of content house Endemol South Africa, on the new shows his company has produced recently for the African market, and African appetite for global hit formats.

What activities has Endemol undertaken in opening new markets in Africa recently?
From a TV production perspective, Endemol  has recently produced new shows for Cameroon, Ghana, Ruanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Tanzania, in addition to Kenya Nigeria and South Africa. Each of the shows features cross-platform opportunities on both mobile and television.

How has Endemol started adapting to major changes in an increasingly competitive international market?
With regards to the Endemol business in Africa, there are three key areas that are vital to competitiveness: creativity, pricing and production delivery. Endemol is well skilled in each of these areas and has learned to adapt to the diverse needs of the African market.

How can content companies more effectively deliver targeted content for the African market?
Content companies can potentially achieve this by understanding the broadcast platforms, the needs of the market, having better relationships and having a general passion for not just selling, but also for developing content specific to the needs of the market.

How do you believe broadcasting has changed in Africa in the past 1-2 years?
The key changes seen are the increased appetite for new content, both local and national. Also, global hit formats attract much attention in Africa and audience expectations favour local versions.
In addition to this, broadcasters are starting to look at the future technical platform for broadcasting (DTT) which will create huge requirements for the acquisition of new, fresh, diverse and specific content for their broadcast territories.

What remains to be seen is,if broadcasters are actually prepared to make the necessary investments to ensure successful DTT channels. Also, broadcasters are in the early adoption phase of cross-platform broadcasting which will include mobile and tablet.

Sivan will be speaking at the AfricaCast 2012 event, taking place in Cape Town on 14th-15th November. For more information and to register please visit http://africacast-event.com/