By Jerameel Kevins Owuor Odhiambo
The Kenyan film and television industry generated approximately KES 8.2 billion in 2023, yet industry stakeholders estimate that producers capture less than 30% of the potential revenue their content generates across its lifecycle. This revenue leakage stems not from lack of creativity or quality, Kenyan productions like “Country Queen” on Netflix, “Sincerely Daisy” on Showmax have demonstrated global competitiveness but from a fundamental misunderstanding of intellectual property monetization strategies.
While Kenyan filmmakers obsess over production budgets and festival accolades, they routinely surrender transformative revenue streams through poorly negotiated contracts, undefined exploitation rights, and simple ignorance of how the global content economy operates. The harsh reality is this: a single film or series represents not one product but a constellation of separately licensable rights that, when strategically exploited, can generate income for decades. From a specialized intellectual property law perspective, Kenyan producers must transition from thinking like artists to operating like rights managers, understanding that the master recording, screenplay, character likenesses, soundtrack, and even behind-the-scenes footage constitute distinct assets with independent commercial value across multiple territories, platforms, and timeframes.
First Broadcast Rights: The Foundation of Your Revenue Architecture
First broadcast rights, also called premiere or primary exhibition rights, represent the initial commercial exploitation of audio-visual content and typically command the highest fees because audiences pay premium prices for exclusivity and novelty. In Kenya’s context, these rights are negotiated with broadcasters like Citizen TV, KTN, NTV, or streaming platforms such as Showmax Africa, which acquired exclusive first broadcast rights to “The Real Housewives of Nairobi” for an estimated KES 45 million. The critical strategic error most Kenyan producers make is granting perpetual or excessively long first broadcast licenses when global standard practice limits these to 12-24 months with clearly defined territories.
A properly structured first broadcast agreement should specify: the exact territory (Kenya only, East Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, or worldwide), the duration of exclusivity (typically 18 months for television series, 6-12 months for streaming), the number of permitted broadcasts (usually 2-3 runs for linear television), the platforms covered (linear TV only, or including broadcaster’s digital platforms), and critically, the reversion timeline when rights return to the producer. International comparables demonstrate the value at stake: a quality 13-episode Kenyan drama series should command between USD 50,000-150,000 for first broadcast rights in the East African territory alone, yet producers routinely accept KES 3-5 million (approximately USD 23,000-38,000) for perpetual worldwide rights, effectively destroying 70-80% of their content’s lifetime value in a single poorly negotiated transaction.
Secondary Broadcasting Rights: The Overlooked Annuity Stream
Secondary broadcasting rights activate after first broadcast exclusivity expires and represent one of the most underdeveloped revenue streams in Kenyan content. These rights allow producers to license the same content to different broadcasters, territories, or platforms for subsequent runs, creating an annuity-like income stream that extends content profitability far beyond initial release. Consider the lifecycle: after “Crime and Justice” completed its first broadcast run on Showmax, secondary rights should enable licensing to free-to-air Kenyan broadcasters (potentially KES 8-12 million), then to West African broadcasters like Africa Magic (USD 30,000-60,000), then to airlines for in-flight entertainment (USD 5,000-15,000 annually), then to educational institutions, and eventually to ad-supported streaming platforms like Tubi or Pluto TV.
The mathematics are compelling: a series that earned KES 40 million in first broadcast rights can generate an additional KES 60-80 million over 5-7 years through strategic secondary licensing, but only if the producer retained these rights. The window strategy employed by Hollywood provides the template: theatrical release, then premium video-on-demand after 45 days, then subscription streaming after 6 months, then ad-supported platforms after 18 months, then broadcast television after 3 years, with each window priced according to exclusivity and audience reach. Kenyan producers must adopt similar windowing strategies, but reality reveals that over 80% of local production agreements either fail to define secondary rights or inadvertently assign them to the first broadcaster through vague “all media” language that courts would likely interpret against the producer.
Global Streaming Rights: Kenya’s Untapped Eight-Figure Opportunity
The explosion of global streaming platforms has created unprecedented opportunities for Kenyan content, yet most producers lack the legal infrastructure and negotiation sophistication to capitalize on this revolution. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and Paramount+ collectively spent over USD 230 billion on content globally in 2023, with African content representing less than 0.5% of acquisitions despite the continent constituting 18% of global population; a massive market inefficiency that savvy Kenyan producers can exploit.
Streaming rights negotiations differ fundamentally from traditional broadcasting because they involve: territorial scope (single country, regional, or worldwide), exclusivity levels (exclusive, non-exclusive, or holdback territories), revenue models (flat license fee versus revenue share), content promotion obligations, and term lengths typically ranging from 3-7 years. “Country Queen” provides an instructive case study: Netflix reportedly paid between USD 1.2-1.8 million for worldwide streaming rights for three years, a figure that dwarfs any domestic broadcasting deal but still represents conservative pricing compared to Nigerian productions of similar quality.
The strategic imperative is understanding Netflix’s licensing tiers: projects greenlit as Netflix Originals (where Netflix owns copyright) command higher production budgets but producers surrender ownership; licensed content (where producer retains copyright) offers lower upfront payments but preserves long-term rights exploitation. Kenyan producers must resist the temptation to sell worldwide streaming rights to a single platform for extended periods, instead creating competitive tension between platforms while carving out specific territories or stacking non-exclusive deals in different regions to maximize total licensing revenue.
Content Acquisition and Format Rights: Selling the Blueprint
Beyond licensing finished productions, Kenyan filmmakers can monetize the underlying intellectual property through format sales, remake rights, and adaptation licenses revenue streams that require virtually no additional production investment. Format rights are particularly valuable for successful series concepts: the storyline structure, character archetypes, episode templates, and production bible can be licensed to producers in different territories who create localized versions. “Makutano Junction,” Kenya’s long-running edutainment series, could theoretically license its format to West African, Southern African, or even Asian markets for USD 25,000-100,000 per territory plus backend participation in local production revenues.
Remake rights operate similarly but apply to films: if a Kenyan romantic comedy resonates locally, Nollywood producers might pay USD 50,000-200,000 for rights to create a Nigerian version with local actors, locations, and cultural context. Stage play adaptation rights represent another dimension—successful Kenyan films can be transformed into theatrical productions, with producers licensing these rights for flat fees (USD 10,000-30,000) or royalties (5-8% of box office). Book publishing rights, podcast adaptation rights, and even video game rights (for action or thriller content) complete the spectrum. The legal architecture requires careful drafting: adaptation agreements must specify which elements transfer (storyline versus characters versus dialogue), territory and term, approval rights over adaptations, credit requirements, and whether the adaptation creates a derivative work that the licensee owns or merely a limited-use license that reverts to the original producer.
Ancillary Rights: Merchandising, Characters, and Brand Extensions
Ancillary rights monetize the intellectual property universe surrounding a film or series through merchandise, character licensing, brand partnerships, and experiential events. While Hollywood studios routinely generate 30-40% of total franchise revenue from ancillary rights (Disney’s “Frozen” earned USD 1.3 billion in merchandise sales versus USD 1.28 billion in box office), Kenyan producers have barely scratched this surface. A successful Kenyan animated series like “Tinga Tinga Tales” could generate substantial income through: character merchandise licensing (toys, clothing, school supplies featuring recognizable characters), location-based entertainment (theme park attractions or museum exhibitions), consumer product collaborations (a detective series partnering with a security company, or a cooking show licensing kitchen equipment), publishing rights (novels, comic books, or children’s books based on characters), and live event experiences (character meet-and-greets, immersive theatre, or themed restaurants).
The legal framework requires trademark registration for character names and likenesses, copyright protection for visual designs, and carefully drafted licensing agreements that specify quality control standards, territory, product categories, royalty rates (typically 8-15% of wholesale price), minimum guarantees, and brand protection obligations. “Supa Strikas,” the South African-Kenyan animated football series, demonstrates the model: beyond broadcast rights, the franchise generates income from mobile games, comic books, merchandise in 15 countries, and live stadium shows, multiplying the IP’s value by 400%. Kenyan producers must view every successful property through this lens: what characters can be trademarked, what catchphrases can be licensed, what visual elements can appear on products, and what experiential extensions could engage fans beyond passive viewing.
Clip Licensing: Monetizing Content Fragments in the Digital Age
The digital content ecosystem has created robust markets for short-form clips, with platforms, advertisers, educators, and content creators paying for licensed footage, a revenue stream that requires zero additional production but demands organized rights management. Stock footage libraries like Getty Images, Shutterstock, and Pond5 enable producers to license individual shots or sequences: a beautifully filmed aerial view of Nairobi’s skyline might earn USD 50-300 per license, multiplied across hundreds of users globally; wildlife footage from a Kenyan nature documentary could generate USD 10,000-50,000 annually through stock licensing; or dramatic scenes could be licensed to news organizations illustrating stories about Kenya.
Social media platforms offer another dimension: producers can monetize clips through YouTube’s Content ID system (claiming advertising revenue when others use your content), TikTok’s Commercial Music Library (licensing soundtrack moments), or Instagram’s licensing partnerships. Educational licensing represents particularly lucrative opportunities: universities, training organizations, and corporate learning platforms pay USD 500-5,000 to license film clips for educational purposes under Section 26 of Kenya’s Copyright Act exemptions, though these require explicit licensing beyond fair dealing provisions.
News and documentary producers frequently need archival footage of historical events, cultural practices, or urban development that narrative films capture incidentally; a producer whose 2015 drama includes street scenes from Nairobi’s CBD could license that footage to a 2024 documentary about urban transformation for USD 1,000-3,000 per minute of usage. The operational requirement is maintaining a searchable clip library with metadata describing each scene’s content, location, date, and rights clearances, then registering with clip licensing platforms or hiring specialized agencies that represent footage libraries to broadcasters, production companies, and corporate clients globally.
Soundtrack Sales and Music Synchronization: The Audio Revenue Layer
Music represents a distinct revenue stream within audio-visual productions, and sophisticated producers negotiate soundtrack rights separately to maximize monetization. Every film or series contains two copyright layers: the audio-visual copyright (the images and edited sequence) and the musical copyright (underlying compositions and sound recordings), and each can be exploited independently. Soundtrack albums from successful Kenyan productions can generate income through: digital distribution on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Boomplay (earning USD 0.003-0.005 per stream, potentially reaching USD 10,000-50,000 for popular soundtracks), physical CD sales at film screenings or cultural events, vinyl pressings for collectors, and compilation licenses where individual songs appear on themed albums.
Synchronization rights, licensing the film’s music for use in advertisements, other films, video games, or corporate videos can be particularly lucrative if the producer retained publishing rights, with sync fees ranging from USD 1,000-20,000 per placement depending on usage scope. The legal complexity requires understanding: who owns the underlying musical composition (songwriter/publisher), who owns the sound recording (typically the producer who paid for recording), whether performers have neighbouring rights that must be cleared, and whether traditional songs or samples carry additional clearance requirements. “Nairobi Half Life” provides a cautionary tale: the film’s critically acclaimed soundtrack generated substantial streaming revenue, but because music rights weren’t clearly allocated in production agreements, disputes emerged about revenue sharing that ultimately required litigation. Best practice dictates that producers either commission original scores with work-for-hire agreements (composer transfers all rights to producer for flat fee), or negotiate clear splits where composers retain publishing but producers hold master recording rights, enabling both parties to monetize their respective copyrights while coordinating on licensing opportunities that require both musical composition and recorded performance.
Stage and Live Performance Adaptations: From Screen to Theatre
The transformation of successful screen content into live theatrical productions creates an entirely separate revenue stream that leverages existing IP recognition while addressing audiences who prefer live entertainment. Kenya’s vibrant theatre scene, centered around institutions like Kenya National Theatre, Alliance Françoise, and Phoenix Players, provides ready infrastructure for screen-to-stage adaptations. Producers can monetize these rights through: exclusive licensing to theatre companies (flat fees of KES 500,000-2 million for a 6-12 month run), royalty arrangements (5-10% of box office revenues), or self-production where the film producer directly mounts the stage production and captures full revenues. “Nairobi Half Life” could theoretically be adapted into a stage musical, licensing rights to a theatre company for KES 1.5 million upfront plus 8% of ticket sales, potentially generating total revenues of KES 3-5 million over a year-long run.
The legal considerations include: defining what elements transfer (storyline, characters, and dialogue versus just the core concept), specifying approval rights over the adaptation to protect the original work’s integrity, determining whether the stage play creates a derivative work owned by the theatre company or remains licensed content, negotiating billing and attribution requirements, and addressing whether successful stage adaptations can themselves be filmed for broadcast (requiring a separate license back to the original producer).
Concert films and stand-up comedy specials present related opportunities: a live performance can be filmed and exploited as screen content, then licenses for subsequent live performances create recurring revenue, effectively cross-pollinating between screen and stage rights. The strategic advantage is that stage productions provide marketing value for the original screen property, a successful theatrical run can drive renewed interest in streaming the original film, creating a virtuous cycle where each medium amplifies the other’s commercial performance.
Case Studies: Three Kenyan Success Models and Monetization Blueprints
Case Study One: “Country Queen” on Netflix demonstrates sophisticated global streaming monetization paired with retained ancillary rights. The producers reportedly structured the Netflix deal to grant exclusive streaming rights for three years across specific territories while carving out: broadcast television rights in Kenya (which they subsequently licensed to a local broadcaster for an estimated KES 15 million), airline and in-flight entertainment rights (generating approximately USD 25,000 annually), educational licensing for film studies programs (KES 2 million over three years), and importantly, format rights enabling potential remakes in other African countries. By understanding that Netflix’s primary interest was streaming exclusivity rather than total rights ownership, producers negotiated a deal estimated at USD 1.5 million for streaming while preserving an additional USD 300,000-500,000 in parallel revenue streams; a master class in rights unbundling that Kenyan producers should emulate.
Case Study Two: “Supa Strikas” (though South African-Kenyan co-production) illustrates maximum exploitation across all revenue categories. Beyond broadcast rights on African television networks and international channels, the franchise generates: merchandise revenue from toys, clothing, and school supplies in 15 countries; mobile game licensing fees and in-app purchase revenue sharing; comic book publishing deals across African markets; YouTube advertising revenue from official clips and episodes (over 500 million views generating an estimated USD 800,000-1.2 million); live events and stadium shows during major football tournaments; and even educational licensing where schools use episodes to teach children about sportsmanship and teamwork. Industry estimates suggest total franchise value exceeding USD 20 million, with broadcast rights representing less than 30% of total revenue demonstrating how character-driven content with trademark protection can generate annuity-like income across decades through comprehensive rights exploitation.
Case Study Three: “The Real Housewives of Nairobi” represents the reality television model where format recognition drives valuation. Showmax’s acquisition for first broadcast rights (estimated at KES 45 million for Season 1) was premised partly on the “Real Housewives” franchise recognition, but producers retained valuable secondary rights including: clip licensing for news organizations and entertainment shows covering cast controversies (generating approximately KES 3-5 million annually), social media monetization where cast members’ viral moments drive traffic and sponsorships, potential spin-off rights where individual cast members could anchor their own shows (each worth KES 8-12 million), international format sales where the concept could be licensed to other African cities, and merchandise opportunities around cast members’ businesses and catchphrases. The program’s success demonstrates that reality content, often viewed as disposable, actually creates particularly valuable IP because it generates continuous news cycles, social media engagement, and audience identification with real people whose ongoing lives create sequel potential without additional scripting costs—provided producers structure initial agreements to retain these downstream rights rather than surrendering them for marginally higher upfront payments.
Conclusion: Building Kenya’s IP-Centric Film Economy
The transformation of Kenya’s film and television industry from subsistence to sustainability requires a fundamental reorientation: producers must become intellectual property portfolio managers who view each production as a 15-20 year revenue-generating asset rather than a one-time project. This demands investing in proper legal infrastructure; engaging specialized entertainment lawyers during development rather than after disputes arise, registering copyrights with the Kenya Copyright Board before distribution, trademarking character names and show titles internationally, and maintaining meticulous rights databases that track what has been licensed to whom, for what territories, through what dates.
It requires rejecting the predatory contract practices that currently dominate: broadcasters demanding perpetual worldwide rights, streaming platforms offering take-it-or-leave-it deals without negotiation, and foreign distributors exploiting Kenyan producers’ lack of market intelligence to acquire valuable rights for fractions of fair market value. It necessitates collective action through industry associations that can establish minimum rights standards, share market intelligence about prevailing rates, and potentially create collective licensing mechanisms that give individual producers negotiating leverage against large platforms.
Most fundamentally, it requires education; film schools must teach IP law alongside cinematography, industry workshops must dissect actual licensing agreements rather than just discussing craft, and successful producers must mentor emerging filmmakers on business structures that protect rights rather than surrendering them for illusory promises. The financial stakes are existential: Kenya currently produces approximately 200-300 hours of scripted content annually with total production budgets around KES 3 billion, yet comprehensive rights exploitation could transform this into KES 10-15 billion in total lifetime revenues, the difference between an industry that barely sustains its practitioners and one that creates generational wealth, funds increasingly ambitious productions, and ultimately exports Kenyan stories globally on terms that benefit Kenyan creators rather than merely enriching foreign platforms that recognized the value our own producers overlooked.
The writer is a legal writer and researcher
