Producers cry over low returns

The Managing Director at Farmhouse Productions Limited, Ivan Quashigah, has revealed that the high cost of content production in Ghana is the reason many producers are pulling out of the industry, noting that it is a disservice to most of them.

According to him, the high cost is inimical to the growth of the sector considering the low returns content producers get after investing much.

“Production of local content is capital intensive as producers will require the right equipment and personnel yet the returns does not match up,” Quashigah stated.

The situation, he observed is compounded with the proliferation of foreign content, citing the numerous Mexican operas that have gained notoriety in various television channels in the country.

“I have been creating productions over the years and they are currently on the shelves gathering dust because the cost of airing them is a major challenge,” he said on the Starr Drive, Tuesday.

He observed that unlike other foreign countries where owners of TV stations chase and pay producers in order to air contents, the situation in Ghana is the reverse, noting that it was the reason the local content is being relegated to the background.

Speaking to Starr Entertainment with Anita Erskine, he noted that producers can do better if owners of television channels dedicate time for local content, expressing hope that the Broadcasting Bill when passed, will aid in this regard.

He, however, called on various producers to consider pooling resources as well as technical know-how together to deliver quality content to reap the full benefits of their production and also reduce the high cost of production in the film industry.