MIP AFRICA: Aby Media co-founder Kimberley Azria talks us through the company’s development slate and production strategy and shares her thoughts on the growth of the African market – or rather, markets.

Kimberley Azria

Ivory Coast- and LA-based prodco Aby Media was launched last year by Côte Ouest Audiovisuel founder and CEO Bernard Azria and Kimberley Azria, after Bernard Azria sold his shares in Côte Ouest to France’s Mediawan.

The pair set up Aby Media to curate and develop IP for projects aimed at the markets within Africa, but also with the ambition to extend those projects across the world.

“We are strategically positioned between the Americas and the Africas – intentionally plural – and aim to develop and produce engaging and authentic content that in the first instance will speak to regional African audiences, but will also travel to different regions wthin Africa,” says Kimberley Azria, who is MD of the new prodco.

“Of course, we intend for our projects to also appeal to global audiences, as we have seen in recent years authentic content with universal themes has the potential to travel well beyond its original market.”

She notes that while Aby Media’s main focus is on drama, it also has a slate of unscripted projects. The exec says unscripted is becoming increasingly popular in Africa, while female-skewing dramas are always in demand.

“On the fiction front, we already have a premium series in development with a major media conglomerate and another with a local broadcaster in Ivory Coast. We are also in advanced discussions for other TV projects with several other major players on the continent,” she says.

Aby Media recently agreed a partnership with TV Globo in Brazil for the distribution in Africa of the scripted formats of some of its biggest hits, some of which Aby Media will produce itself. The prodco is currently working on an adaptation of Globo’s drama The Life We Lead, in addition to scripted telenovela format Lucky Break from SIC in Portugal.

“We are very aware of the increasingly competitive nature of our industry, resulting in an aversion to risk, which is naturally tied to producing originals. This is why we believe it is economically and creatively sound to adapt scripted formats,” Azria says.

Aby Media is adapting Globo drama The Life We Lead

“This will not only allow for risk mitigation but also the building of core competencies in episodic writing, which is yet to align with international standards in some regions of Africa.”

Having said that, Aby Media is also developing two original drama series developed in-house, one set in the sports world and the other a coming-of-age ecological thriller. Each is under a development deal with a different broadcaster.

In the unscripted space, Aby Media is working on adapting and distributing Canadian dating show Thunderstruck, which it is calling Blind Dating for the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) markets and Coup de Foudre for markets in the Federation of South Africa (FSA).

The company is also working on a reality show called Villa of Broken Hearts (La Villa des Cœurs Brisés), which is based on a Satisfaction format that has run for nine seasons on TFX in France, in addition to a singing competition series called Starlight.

Azria stresses that “Africa cannot be considered as a unique single market” but should be recognised for its individual nations and regions, which all have their own cultures and identities.

Reality show Villa of Broken Hearts (La Villa des Cœurs Brisés)

“French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, French-speaking North Africa, English-speaking West Africa, East Africa, Lusophone Africa, South Africa and its bordering countries, the Indian Ocean islands – they each have very different degrees of penetration of the streamers and different strengths of the private sector versus public,” she says.

“Local broadcasters have understood their strength lies in the fact they master their own very local cultures and therefore head towards hyper-localised content, including local unscripted shows that most of the time are cheaper to produce than scripted. The streamers are more focused on global and regional content to please the largest part of their subscribers.”

A big challenge for local content producers in Africa, according to Azria, is that “they have to do more with less – and faster.” She adds: “In some regions more than others, there is also a lack of or low availability of qualified and properly trained crew and talent, such as writers, directors and actors.”

However, the exec is optimistic that the TV industry in what she calls “the mother continent” has a bright future.

“We are progressively arriving in a phase where the global market realises its different diasporas are seeking content that represents them. Everyone recognises that Africa has given so much to the world and is also rich in talent and untold stories,” she says. “We truly believe it is time for African creators and voices to join the global TV marketplace.”