Dagbanli Cinema Launches an Online Dagbanli Movie Streaming Platform

September 29, 2021 Kumtili Dikpong

Dagbanli Cinema – DC is an online Dagbanli movie streaming site that comes in the form of both a website www.dagbanlicinema.com and a mobile app. The mobile app is currently available on the DC website. It will be available on Google Play Store soon.

The website www.dagbanlicinema.com and App is a video-on-demand solution that allows users to conveniently stream the most current Dagbanli movies on their mobile smart phones. Payment for the movies may be made with MTN Mobile Money or any other electronic payment service.

READ MORE : The History Of Mole Dagbon State

Film-making is a tough business. It requires a lot of capital yet comes with significant uncertainty in terms of profitability even among the best of producers. But in a developing industry like that of Ghana, fraught with challenges of inadequate capital, copyright infringement, and piracy, the ability to make profits is even dimmer.

Across the globe, the film industry has proven to be a major contributor to economic development of many countries. The American film and television industry for instance paid out $49 billion to local businesses across the country and supported 2.1 million jobs in 2016 according to data from Motion Picture Association of America.

In Africa, Nigeria’s Film industry, Nollywood, is recognised as one of the largest film producers in the world. The Industry has been identified as one of the priority sectors in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan for the West African Federal State with a planned US$1 billion revenue in 2020 according to a PWC report on “Perspectives from the Global Media and Entertainment Outlook 2017-2021.

The Genesis Of Dagbanli Cinema

Speaking to Dr. Maliha Abubakari, CEO of Dagbanli Cinema on why she created the platform she said “The idea of Dagbanli Cinema began in August 2020 during the height of the Covid-19. I realized that most movie premiers had moved online and also the patronage of movie streaming sites soared astronomically.

However, I nursed this idea long before Covid-19 when I was pursuing my Ph.D. abroad. Myself and friends used to stream Dagbanli movies on Youtube where the video quality was poor and there were times you would find part 1 of a movie and cannot access the other parts.

There were even times you would watch from somebody’s screen. I thought a site for Dagbanli movies will resolve all these challenges. Covid-19 was more or less a catalyst in making the implementing the idea.

I contacted Alhassan Muaz, the PRO of Northern Drama and Film Makers Association – NORDRAFIM who also doubles as my senior from senior high school about the idea. He was excited about it and mentioned that has been a dream of the industry for some time now. He immediately contacted the President of NORDRAFIM and the executives of the Film Producers Association of Ghana – FIPAG about the project and they bought into the idea.

NORDRAFIM and FIPAG were ready to support the team in every way they could. They saw it as a panacea to the challenges of the industry – the illegal uploads of their movies on Youtube which deprives them of fully enjoying the fruits of their labour. They also wanted their customers abroad to have easy access to Dagbani movies.

The platform began streaming on September 1^st, 2021, and was launched on September 25^th, 2021. The public can access the movies by first subscribing to the platform. Subscribers in Ghana pay GHC 20.00 and those abroad pay GHC 40.00 per month.

It is the long-term vision of DC to premier movies on the platform and even acquires exclusive rights for some movies in the near future. It is also our plan to establish a development fund to support producers make quality movies and to provide incentives to actors in the industry.

We express our profound gratitude to NORDRAFIM and FIPAG for their confidence in the DC team.