Chinese pay television firm, StarTimes on Thursday announced injection of an additional 200 million shillings (about 1.76 million U.S. dollars) to boost development of indigenous content in Kenya.
A statement from StarTimes released in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital said the new capital injection was inspired by the success of the company's flagship local content channel, Rembo TV.
Terry Liu, StarTimes' assistant marketing director, said the company has invested heavily in research, cast and quality of production to realize the success of a local drama series, NIA, set to premier on February 14th.
"Our premium local drama NIA, being the first local production investment this year, will set the tone on our commitment to quality local entertainment for our subscribers," Terry remarked when StarTimes unveiled its local drama series in Nairobi.
He was optimistic the NIA premium drama series will resonate with local audience even as StarTimes seek to enlarge its subscriber base in Kenya.
"We are looking forward to increasingly growing our subscriber value proposition by airing exclusive local productions at the most affordable subscription rates available in the market today," said Liu. Myke Mwai, StarTimes' content director, said the firm will forge partnership with local production houses to come up with content that appeals to subscribers from diverse cultural backgrounds.
According to Mwai, enhanced collaboration with local content developers will enable StarTimes come up with topics that can resonate with household subscribers. The AR productions based in coastal city of Mombasa has partnered with StarTimes to produce the new Kiswahili local drama series-NIA which premieres on Rembo TV from February 14th and thereafter airing a daily episode Monday to Friday starting from 8 p.m. local time.
Daudi Anguka, CEO of AR Film Productions, said a partnership with StarTimes marked a milestone in raising the visibility of cutting-edge local content, adding that NIA drama series was destined for a brighter future.
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