MTN Says New ‘One TV’ Platform Will Be a Game Changer for Ghana’s Creative Economy

Kelvin Ashie, Manager for Digital Commercialisation at MTN Ghana, says the company’s upcoming ‘MTN One TV’ streaming platform is set to transform how Ghanaian creators scale, monetise and distribute their content across Africa.

Speaking at the Creative Economy Summit at the Google AI Community Center, Mr. Ashie described the pan‑African service as a strategic push to strengthen Ghana’s creative economy.

“MTN, by leveraging its vast network, is currently working on a groundbreaking project known as MTN One TV. The reason we’re doing this is to basically support and drive the local creative economy,” he said.

He explained that the platform will feature a mix of local African series and movies, live TV channels, and international programming, giving creators a wider audience and more revenue opportunities.

With MTN’s footprint of over 300 million users across its markets, Mr. Ashie said the platform represents a “vast untapped opportunity” for Ghanaian creatives. The service will host both short and long‑form content across multiple verticals and is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of this year.

He revealed that MTN is in “huge conversations with a lot of partners” to secure content distribution deals, stressing that Africa’s digital ecosystem requires homegrown models, not imported Western frameworks.

“We can’t import the models from the West and expect them to work. We need to understand the ecosystem we are in. There’s someone who will only be able to buy 500 megabytes of data at a time and will not be able to pay for a certain subscription to watch content. How do we bundle that with great hyperlocal content? And that is what we’re looking to do,” he noted.

Mr. Ashie said the evolution of storytelling demands that creatives pay attention to cultural nuances, producing locally authentic stories that still appeal globally. He added that Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a major opportunity to amplify talent and lower barriers for emerging creators — but warned that ethical use must be prioritised.

On intellectual property, he urged creators to protect their assets and negotiate licensing deals rather than giving away rights “in perpetuity.” He also encouraged both local and international distributors to continue investing in content that is authentically Ghanaian yet globally relevant, noting that the diaspora remains a powerful “force multiplier” for Ghana’s creative output.

By Prince Fiifi Yorke