‘Ghana television channels killed our movie industry’ – Selassie Ibrahim claims

Ghanaian actress and film producer Selassie Ibrahim has criticised local television channels, squarely blaming them for the collapse of Ghana’s vibrant film industry, often dubbed "Ghallywood".

Speaking passionately during an interview on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM, Ibrahim asserted that the channels prioritise cheap foreign content over high-quality local productions, rendering the business model for Ghanaian filmmakers unsustainable.

The Unprofitable Local Content Dilemma

Selassie Ibrahim, a key figure in the industry for decades, criticized the lack of support and the low acquisition fees offered to Ghanaian producers, contrasting it sharply with the readily accepted influx of foreign movies.

She highlighted the massive disparity between production costs and acquisition fees, arguing that local channels actively force producers into debt:

This inadequate pricing structure, she argues, makes it impossible for producers to recoup their investment, leading to the current state of industry inactivity.

Prioritising Cheap Foreign Films

The producer pointed out the irony that local channels often prioritise old, amortised foreign content over brand-new Ghanaian productions.

She questioned the economic logic of this practice and accused the channels of wilfully destroying the indigenous creative economy:

Ibrahim also touched on a deeper cultural issue: the perceived Ghanaian bias against local content, which she believes is reinforced by television programming choices.

Ghana’s film industry, which thrived in the early 2000s, has seen a sharp decline in production volumes since 2015.

Analysts often cite the combination of low TV licensing fees, the proliferation of cheap satellite channels, and a lack of government regulatory quotas (unlike in countries like Nigeria and South Africa) that mandate a minimum percentage of local content as the primary factors driving the economic collapse.

Ibrahim's public stance places the responsibility for the industry’s recovery directly on the regulatory bodies and the television channel owners to implement fair pricing and a supportive programming strategy.

Source: MyJoyOnline