BBC unveils mobile cinema initiative in Tanzania

BBC unveils mobile cinema initiative in Tanzania

MUMBAI: Two million movie lovers in Tanzania will see a BBC World Service ad filmed in Tanzania, when a mobile cinema visits their region.

The advertisement promoting the availability of BBC programmes through partner station Radio Free Africa will play for three months from 3 May 2006. Mobile cinemas carrying the advertisement will visit areas around Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Morogoro and Tanga reaching approximately 2.5 million people.

BBC Swahili head Tido Mhando said, "We value our audiences and we are always looking for new ways to reach them. A significant number of our audiences live in the rural areas so reaching them through mobile cinemas seemed like the obvious choice.

"The advertisement was first shown on domestic channel Star TV in 2005 and proved to be very successful, now rural audiences, with limited access to television, can enjoy them too."

The advertising space was booked through Kenyan advertising agency, Skyfire East Africa. BBC Swahili ofers a window to Africa and the world bringing information to listeners in East and Central Africa with news and current affairs, sports, entertainment and features seven days a week.