Stakeholders in the 2nd edition of the Nigeria Digital Content Regulation Conference say the nation’s film industry holds opportunities for practitioners, especially with the evolution of streaming services.
They stated this during the conference held in Lagos state
“As the shift from traditional to digital content consumption and the operations of local and international Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming services continue to impact on the growth of the local film industry in Nigeria, it has become imperative to convene the second edition of this conference,” Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director/CEO, National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) said.
The conference builds on the first edition which brought various players together to brainstorm on opportunities thrown up by the rising influence of digital media in the consumption of media content in Nigeria.
“We have to take advantage of our strengths and synergize to be able to take advantage of global opportunities that are open to us as an industry,” Victor Okhai, a filmmaker and National President of the Director’s Guild of Nigeria, told Voice of Nigeria.
Okhai said the world was interested in what’s happening in Nigeria and that means opportunities for content makers, especially with the low barrier of entry provided by digital platforms.
According to the Digital Economy for Africa (DE4A) initiative, an African Union initiative supported by the World Bank Group, Nigeria could take a bigger bite of the global digital economy – worth an estimated $11.5 trillion in 2016 – by strengthening its digital infrastructure, unlocking investment and boosting skills training for its youth population.
“Nigeria currently boasts of being Africa’s largest mobile phone market with millions of subscribers connected online. That’s a huge opportunity for content makers to reach millions of off people looking for relevant content in the region.”
Okhai said lack of understanding among stakeholders has been a major problem adding that clear communication among industry players would go a long way in maximizing opportunities in the media content industry in Nigeria.
“When we understand ourselves and we can talk to each other, I think a major barrier would have been broken,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s film industry continues to attract investments as global streaming service, Netflix, said it had invested nine billion naira in the country’s film industry from year 2016 to 2022.
Ms Shola Sanni, Director of Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, Netflix, said the investments showed strong belief in Nigeria’s growing film market.
“We love Nigeria and believe in it and that is why we are investing in the Nigeria film industry to entertain Nigerians and the world, with the best-in-class stories from the country,” she added.
PIAK
