Although he wouldn’t disclose how much was involved in the deal in an interview with Showbiz last Friday, CEO of GP Productions, organisers of the award scheme said he didn’t sell it cheaply.

“ I have sold Ghana Movie Awards to Zylofon Media and I made very good money”, he said.

Zylofon Media announced last year that it had taken over the organisation of the Ghana Movie Awards and reports indicate that for the next 10 years, they would be handling everything to do with the event.

The media group was a partner for the 2016 edition of the awards held at the Kempinski Hotel and according to Phred Nuamah, it was no difficulty selling them the franchise.

“You can say this is a perfect arrangement. Zylofon Media came in at a time when no one was helping the Ghana Movie Awards brand.

They announced their presence onto the media landscape in a big way and showed a lot of potential so I thought it was better to have a ‘marriage’ with them. You could say we approached each other and the terms were mutally satisfactory.

“Zylofon Media is doing very well for themselves in the media space; apart from its management of artists, it also has TV and radio stations and can push the franchise far, so they are a great fit for it,” he said.

Although some reports indicate GP Productions, headed by Mr Nuamah would have nothing to do with the awards, he told Showbiz he still has a say in how the organisation of the event would go.

Last year was the first time the Ghana Movie Awards could not come off since its inception in 2010. He explained that their inability to get a venue for last year was a major factor.

“This year it would come off in March for the calendar year of 2017. Zylofon is putting up a big auditorium and would want to launch it with the Ghana Movie Awards,” Fred Nuamah said.

The award scheme seeks to honour players in the industry who have excelled in the year under review. Although it has received a lot of backlash for what critics say is a lack of transparency, it has managed to draw some of the biggest names in the film industry in Ghana and Nigeria.

There is also the Ghana TV Series Awards which was also initiated by the Ghana Movie Awards Foundation. Held in tandem with the Movie Awards, this year, it will be held separately and is expected to come off in February.