Rab’s World

Africa: Cinema - The Rise of Video Booths Shows There is An Untapped Audience Out There at the Right Price.

Some investment is being made in urban multiplexes and there are old single or double screen outlets left over from a previous era like Le Wouri in Akwa; Douala, Cameroon.

Photo taken by: Sebastien PERES LABOURDETTE

The evangelical Christian revival over the last two decades has meant that many cinemas have been converted into churches. Accra, Ghana is a very good case for this! ‘Video Booths’ are basic rooms which show pirated films and TV events (like concerts and football matches) and can be found in almost every African country: they illustrate that a market exists but that it is not yet being properly served. Many of these video booths started out as accompanying features to ‘rent rooms’ where clients (usually married men) could steal away with their younger girlfriends for a one or two hour sexual romp. The video booth in these rooms were private, so Porn was the requested video. After a while; these seedy establishments figured they could make money to a crowd not interested in seclusive sex. Opportunities for distribution and exhibition in Africa are far and between. Just another hustle on the most resourceful continent in the world!

Video booths are a hybrid distribution channel that has not yet made up its mind whether it is Pay-TV for poor people (as cyber-cafes are to non-PC owners) or whether it is a form of down-market cinema distribution…. All of the products shown are pirated because this is a market that simply does not fit the straightjacket of the film (and other material) rights owners.

Read the full analysis here