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Global streaming giant Netflix announced on Friday that from 2016 to 2022, it will have funded N9 billion in the Nigerian film sector.
This information was presented by Shola Sanni, Netflix's Director of Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, during the second Nigeria Digital Content Regulation Conference in Lagos.
Stakeholders in domestic and foreign streaming services, independent producers, Free-To-Air, Pay TV Operators, Telcos, content providers, and other film industry operators were present for the two-day event.
According to Ms. Sanni, this was accomplished through local film title conversion, industry infrastructure development, and capacity training.
She pointed out that Netflix had co-produced and commissioned original film content in addition to investing in more than 200 locally licenced titles.
According to her, 125 films and TV series are available on Netflix as of November 2022.
The Netflix official said the streaming service was investing heavily to ensure that all subscribers across the world enjoyed the same content at will.
“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.
“We are poised to tell stories that are not only interesting in Nigeria, but in other 189 countries where Netflix is present,” she said.
In his welcome address, Executive Director, National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Adedayo Thomas, said the conference was an avenue to discuss regulations in the film industry, with focus on streaming services.
He stated that the conference which started in 2021, was geared toward beginning balance and equity to the ecosystem especially with the disruption of the digital era.
“The overall goal of this conference is to create a platform for robust dialogue between the government, through the regulator and the Video-on-Demand (VOD) platforms.
“This is led by the Over-The-Top Streamers, as the government strives to oversee, monitor, moderate and balance the digital phenomenon for all players.
“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,” he said.
In his goodwill message, Sunday Ododo, General Manager /CEO, National Arts Theatre, commended Mr Thomas’ push for a robust awareness on what the industry is doing .
Mr Ododo said that the massive ongoing construction of over 100 million dollars at the National Theatre was geared toward making the venue super exotic for performances and exhibitions.
“Work has reached an advanced stage, and part of the facility ready. We will do test run between Nov. 14 and Nov. 18, 2022,” he said.
(NAN)