eBusiness Weekly
Africa Moyo
TELONE has announced the first local content catalogue on the Digital Entertainment on Demand (DEOD) platform, which include “Mwanasikana” 1 and 2, and “Sores of Emmanuel”.
The company said in addition to its base offering of international subscription and rental movie and series content, the addition of local Zimbabwean content was a strategic imperative.
Said TelOne managing director Chipo Mtasa: “We are excited to be launching our first local content catalogue as a key milestone in making the DEOD platform useful in promoting local productions.
“We have opened up to more local content producers and aggregators and we are confident this will strengthen the local arts industry in a big way.”
Available on a rent-per-title basis, a selection of movies from Zimbabwean aggregator and distributor Zollywood, are now accessible to citizens including the diaspora.
TelOne DEOD has partnered Zollywood as a beginning of a journey to support and showcase local content and talent.
Co-founders Tony Mliswa and Thulani Matsvimbo of Zollywood said they established it after realising there was no particular outlet for Zimbabwean films in the diaspora, which resulted in productions from other African markets dominating.
Zollywood was also formed to expose and promote the talents coming out of the Zimbabwean film industry and potentially propel recognition of the Zimbabwean film industry across the world. TelOne DEOD is happy to support Zollywood’s aim of bringing film producers together and market local films under one united umbrella while also making money to allow producers to develop and create more content.
Zollywood CEO Mliswa said they are “really excited” by the partnership with TelOne DEOD.
“We are promising exciting times ahead for Zimbabwean film lovers. This is only the beginning of bigger things to come,” said Mliswa.
TelOne DEOD was launched in October last year and had 20 000 subscribers in five months.
