The DSTV Ethiopia annual media showcase was conducted last Thursday at the Hayat Regency hotel. DSTV offers a variety of entertainment programmes to Ethiopian viewers via the MNet-owned Abol and Maaddii Abol channels, as well as Supersport’s Supersport special 1 and 2 channels. Abol TV has showcased over 130 Ethiopian film productions, with participation ranging from 20-50 individuals.
Reqiq Menged and Dagmawi, the creators of Afaf, observed Abol Television’s engagement, and various film experts shared their thoughts in a documentary.
Veteran artists, prominent figures, journalists, and other invited guests attended the media showcase. According to DSTV Metasebia Belayneh, Ethiopia’s Head of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, DSTV consistently supplies its users with new entertainment programmes and content. He mentioned that they will add new content to their current entertainment programming for viewers.
In addition to the content presented in the forum for the Ethiopian audience, new programming in the languages of Oromo and Amharic were introduced. DSTV now offers a variety of entertainment programming, through Abol TV and Abol Duka programmes, Afaf, Agarochu , Zeman Fegegta, Abol Millionaire, Dagmawi, kuchet , Geze , and others. They are believed to be launching new shows soon called Rekek Menged and Hamza.
The lead actor in Afaf, Meaza Takele, stated on stage that DSTV has given us the freedom to pursue our aspirations. The musician said, “DSTV has given us an opportunity that we lacked.” Ethiopian art has been hampered, according to the artist, by issues other than our ardour, aptitude, and calling for the arts, including money. Dr. Andualem Abate, one of the artists who shared their works on Mnet with Abol, stated that the introduction of Mnet to the Ethiopian film industry is a huge encouragement to aspiring performers, producers, and others who have ideas but lack the means to see them through to completion.
In less than two years, M-Net, the continent’s leading distributor of high-end video entertainment, has commissioned and licenced over 138 Ethiopian motion movies and television programmes. This includes 35 commissioned and 103 licenced contracts. Additionally, eight licences and eleven commissioning shows are currently under contract. Telenovelas in the Afan Oromo language make up five of the licenced content and seven of the commissioned content for the Abol Amharic and Maaddii Abol channels, respectively.