Discop

What Discop does

Discop (legally Basic Lead Inc) operates a B2B marketplace for film, television, and digital content distribution and co-production with a focused geographic remit in Sub-Saharan Africa. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the company runs an annual flagship market event — its 25th edition was held in Kigali, Rwanda in December 2021 — that has rotated across African host cities including Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, and South Africa. The marketplace serves two primary sides: content distributors and producers on the supply side, and acquisition and coproduction executives representing broadcasters, premium cable channels, pay-TV operators, mobile networks, streaming platforms, and major production companies on the demand side.

The company's core product is the DISCOP Africa market event, which delivers scheduled virtual and in-person meetings between delegates. This is complemented by a set of digital platform modules — DISBOOK (a B2B marketplace for booking), SHOWROOM (a digital content showcase), and DISCOVER (a research and matchmaking service) — designed to extend engagement beyond the annual event. The underlying technology is described as customized research and matchmaking services, though the technical architecture, algorithmic components, and platform infrastructure are not disclosed in available materials.

Discop's revenue model is centered on transaction fees from its B2B market events, with pricing not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, venture capital funding, or M&A activity. The management team is not publicly listed, and the company's website displays a 2020 copyright notice. The organization operates from a single Los Angeles office and appears to be a bootstrapped, owner-operated business with a niche but long-established position in the Sub-Saharan African content trade.

Name

Discop

Legal name

Basic Lead Inc

Website

https://discop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Discop (legally Basic Lead Inc) operates a B2B marketplace for film, television, and digital content distribution and co-production in Sub-Saharan Africa, connecting content distributors and producers with acquisition executives through annual market events and year-round matchmaking services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Content Distribution Markets

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms (BPAMAGAD)

Keywords

• B2B content marketplace
• TV distribution markets
• African media markets
• Content matchmaking services
• Film co-production events

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. B2B Market Event: Revenue generated from hosting annual B2B market events for film, television, and digital content distribution and co-production business in Sub-Saharan Africa. The market brings together content distributors/producers and acquisition/coproduction executives for scheduled meetings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Discop runs annual B2B market events (Discop Africa) and provides customized research and matchmaking services that connect international film, television, and digital content buyers with Sub-Saharan African content producers, distributors, and broadcasters. It also operates Disbook, a B2B marketplace, and Showroom, a digital content presentation platform, to extend deal-making beyond the live events.

Product overview

Discop operates as a unified platform with multiple interconnected services centered around the DISCOP Africa B2B market for film, television, and digital content distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa. The core product is the DISCOP Africa market (celebrating its 25th edition in 2021), complemented by DISBOOK for booking and marketplace functionality, SHOWROOM for content showcase, and customized research and matchmaking services that reinforce delegate engagement throughout the year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Discop Africa Annual B2B market event connecting international film, TV, and digital content distributors and producers with Sub-Saharan African broadcasters, pay-TV operators, streaming platforms, and local production/distribution companies for licensing and co-production deals.
• Customized Research and Matchmaking Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Well-matched, well-prepared meetings between content distributors/producers and acquisition/coproduction executives

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Content London: International content market and conference held annually in London, covering distribution, production, and financing of scripted and unscripted content. Directly comparable to Discop as a curated B2B marketplace for content acquisition and co-production partnerships.
• American Film Market (AFM): Annual film production and distribution market held in Las Vegas by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA). Comparable to Discop as a B2B film and television content market facilitating rights trading between producers/distributors and buyers, although focused on independent film globally rather than African content.
• Banff World Media Festival: Canadian-based international media festival and content market with a strong co-production matchmaking focus. Comparable to Discop as a curated B2B content event connecting creators, distributors, and acquisition executives for co-production deals.
• NATPE: Long-running North American content market and conference for the global television industry, hosting buyers, sellers, and producers for scripted and unscripted programming. Directly comparable to Discop as a B2B content distribution event organizer serving acquisition and co-production executives.
• Ventana Sur: Latin American film and TV content market jointly organized by the Instituto Nacional de Cine y Audiovisual (INCAA) and Marché du Film. Most directly comparable regional B2B content market to Discop, designed to connect regional producers/distributors with international buyers in an emerging content market.
• MIPCOM / MIPTV (RX France): The flagship global content markets for film and television distribution, organized in Cannes by RX (formerly Reed MIDEM). Directly comparable to Discop as a B2B matchmaking market connecting content sellers with global acquisition executives, though at a much larger global scale rather than Sub-Saharan-focused.
• Sunny Side of the Doc: Annual documentary-focused content market held in La Rochelle, France, connecting documentary producers and distributors with acquisition executives worldwide. Comparable to Discop as a B2B content distribution and co-production market with curated matchmaking services.
• Series Mania Forum: International series-focused content market and co-production forum held in Lille, France, bringing together series producers, distributors, and acquisition executives. Directly comparable to Discop's co-production matchmaking focus, though centered on European and global scripted series rather than Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Asia TV Forum & Market: Asia's leading international content market for television, film, and digital content held alongside ATF in Singapore. Comparable to Discop as a B2B content distribution and co-production market matching regional producers with global buyers.

Regional players

• AfricaCom: Africa's largest telecom, media, and digital services event held in Cape Town, addressing broadband, mobile, and digital content infrastructure for the African market. A regional peer to Discop in that it gathers African content and distribution stakeholders, but with a broader telco/tech focus rather than Discop's pure content distribution matchmaking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Discop