Nollywood is increasingly grabbing the attention and financing of
global entertainment brands such as French group Vivendi’s Canal+ and
Showmax, the video streaming service of South Africa’s Multichoice.
Both seek to harness Nigerian hustle and know-how to extend the
lifespan of the traditional pay-TV model, which is bleeding customers
in developed markets but still has a future in Africa.
Canal+ and MultiChoice, are using Nigeria as a testing ground for
introducing streaming platforms in African markets with poor
communications infrastructure and low-income levels.
In both cases, it’s local production are benefitting.
“Ten years ago Nollywood was very different,” Mary Njoku, whose ROK
studios was acquired by Canal+ in July, told Reuters as the film crew
worked in an abandoned hotel in Nigeria’s megacity Lagos. “Today we
shoot with better cameras… We do things differently.”
A room on the hotel’s top floor was standing in for a college dorm on
“What Are Friends For?”, a ROK comedy series that will be among new
shows aired by Canal+ in coming months.
The company first dipped its toe into Africa’s most populous country
six years ago, buying up local films, dubbing them and airing them on
a dedicated channel, Nollywood TV, to viewers in French-speaking
Africa.
That success led to the creation of a second channel.
The deal with ROK secures a steady supply of new films and series as
the firm eyes a further expansion of African content, said Fabrice
Faux, Canal+ International’s chief content officer.
