The role of electronic media in promoting Ugandan cinema: a case study of NTV and Bukedde Television

Abstract

Cinema was introduced in Uganda way back in 1930s but has remained critically underdeveloped in the home-grown context. The factors that previous researchers have identified to explain this scenario do not include the role of the electronic media. This led to my interest to understand this role, particularly in promoting this cinema. This study examined this role by investigating the extent to which electronic media gave publicity to Ugandan cinema, the challenges faced in giving this publicity, and ways this media could use to give better publicity to this cinema. The study was guided by the Agenda Setting Theory supplemented by the Uses and Gratification Theory. It was designed as a multiple case study using Bukedde TV and NTV; and it employed a mixed methods strategy. Its sample was made of 266 respondents who included purposively selected senior management officials of the two TV stations and Ugandan theatrical filmmakers as well as the TVs’ employees and club fans selected using simple random sampling. Qualitative data was collected from the officials and filmmakers using interviews, and from the selected TVs’ relevant programs using qualitative content analysis. Interview data was analysed using directed qualitative content analysis while data from the programs was analysed using quantitative content analysis. Quantitative data was collected using survey questionnaires administered to the TVs’ employees and club fans, and quantitative content analysis of the recordings of TVs’ relevant programs and talk shows. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and Chi Square methods of analysis, aided by SPSS (Version 25). The key findings indicate that the two TVs promoted Ugandan cinema by giving it publicity through mentions, updates, unpaid reporting, and pre-reviewing of the theatrical films by interviewing their producers on the most popular entertainment and current affairs programs and talk shows. The TVs informed and persuaded viewers to attend the films’ premieres on a paid-up basis. However, television advertising was hardly used, which resulted into giving moderate publicity to Ugandan cinema. The challenges the TVs faced included underfunding of filmmakers who would have advertised, the perception that television advertising was expensive, the low-quality of theatrical films produced by Ugandans, dealing with filmmakers individually due to the absence of promotional organisations, and stiff competition from other media outlets, particularly social media. The different ways of affordable advertising that the two TVs could use to give better publicity to Ugandan cinema were identified, after concluding the study by emphasising the need to adopt them, were recommended to these TVs to improve publicity they gave to this cinema in order to increase its visibility. The study recommended to the government to establish a national film school and increase funding to Ugandan filmmakers in order to improve the quality of theatrical films. This would, in turn, encourage the commercial TVs to publicise the films, as the TV operators would become partners with the government, and subsidise their advertising rates. This would be affordable for the filmmakers, and in the process change their perception about advertising the premieres of their theatrical films. The study also recommended further research on the formula that the TV operators can use to reduce their advertising rate in a commercially viable manner; and on the specific filming skills that Ugandan filmmakers need in order to improve the budgeting for and quality of the theatrical films they produce.