CNS offers ‘mutual learning’ opportunity
With the Creative Nigeria Summit (CNS) underway, Content Nigeria speaks to C21Media editorial director Ed Waller, who is moderating today’s panel discussions, to get his insight into the event and the wider industry.
Having kicked off earlier with a welcome speech from the Nigeria minister of information and culture Lai Mohammed, the CNS will include panel discussions covering how Nigeria can crack the international TV market, gameshows and audience engagement. Other sessions will include masterclasses on scriptwriting and broadcasting.
You will be moderating a number of sessions today. What can you tell us about what you’re expecting to hear about?
I’m hoping to hear a lot about exciting new content coming up in Nigeria. There are a lot of countries trying to crack the international market, and some of them have done so successfully, like Turkey, Israel and South Korea.
Today we’ll be hearing how Nigeria producers are strategising to do the same. I look forward to hearing about interesting content that has domestic success as well as international appeal – high-quality shows that meet the demand of the world market and audiences. Nigerians can bring a whole new approach to drama with high-quality production.
Take a look at Netflix, for instance. They have a strategy for making local shows in a global market. They don’t shy away from making local content but they make it in such a way that you don’t have to be in the country to understand or enjoy it.
Also, on the unscripted side, Nigerians are at a stage where they are licensing formats from the international market. Those kinds of stories have been reported on Content Nigeria.
The country can see these deals as a nursery slope of getting to a point of original development. With this summit, I believe Nigerians can learn how a format is created and how to execute and produce viable formats successfully. That’s a step to developing your own ideas – ideas so good that they become a hit in Nigeria and worldwide.
So, it’s a well-trodden path and Nigeria is learning as they go. They need to have ratings and measurements to establish these things.
Coming from London, what impact do you suppose the summit will have on the Nigerian market?
I think it’s about mutual learning. There are international producers on the panels who are here to learn about the companies in Nigeria that are creative, that have the juice to create a format or a show they can pick up and distribute around the world. Also, Nigerians will learn what they need to do to make their content appealing. It’s mutual.
Don’t underestimate the need for fresh ideas in the world market. There are so many channels that produce and so many platforms for distribution, whether it’s telcos, cable channels, satellite channels or digital media.
Follow @Content_Nigeria on Twitter for more live updates of #CNS2018. C21Media is a partner in Content Nigeria with Think Tank Advertising & Media.
tagged in: C21Media, Creative Nigeria Summit, Ed Waller