Tag Archives: NECLive

NECLive’s ninth edition set for Lagos

The ninth edition of NECLive, the annual umbrella gathering of the Nigerian entertainment and creative industries, will be held on April 27 at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos.

Ayeni Adekunle

The hybrid event will be themed ‘Sustaining the Africa Momentum’ and will explore how African creatives and entertainers can use digital media and technology as tools to build sustainable economic power for themselves, the industry and their nations.

The conference, which first took place in 2013, will feature a series of keynotes, panel sessions and live performances by African entertainers with live global broadcast across cable TV, radio and online. It will also bring together key industry players from across Africa to explore how entertainment can be used as a vehicle for driving social change on the continent.

There will be discussions focused on the cross-border opportunities available to Africa’s entertainment industry through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area when it becomes fully operational, as well as global opportunities available within diaspora communities.

NECLive convener Ayeni Adekunle said: “In the past two years, we’ve seen how powerful entertainment and pop culture can be in influencing social change and driving narratives. NECLive has been at the forefront of conversations around moving the entertainment industry forward and maximising its potentials.

“For the ninth instalment, we’re continuing with this mission by engaging relevant stakeholders in discussions that will set the tone for the future of not just the industry but our continent as a whole.”

Femi Falodun, CEO of communications and media company ID Africa, added: “Creativity, pop culture, technology and youthful energy are some of the most powerful forces that can create meaningful social and economic change in Africa today and tomorrow.

“The true potential of Africa’s creative sector will be fully unlocked when practitioners have acquired the necessary skills and tapped into the growing global interest in the unique African offering. This is why NECLive9 is bringing together key industry players from across the continent for a much-needed conversation on how to sustain the Africa momentum.”

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Mabutho rules out pay-as-you-use TV

Pay-as-you-use content cannot work in the TV world, according to Martin Mabutho, general manager of sales and marketing for pay TV giant MultiChoice Nigeria.

Martin Mabutho

Speaking at the sixth edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference last week, Mabutho addressed concerns about the lack of a pay-as-you-use option on MultiChoice-owned platform DSTV.

“There is nothing like a pay-as-you-use service on any TV service in the world,” he said. “We have stated this over and over again. Yes, there is pay-per-view but pay-as-you-use is non-existent.

“Furthermore, it can’t work because we buy rights and it will affect us if we offer a service where you switch on a channel like you are turning on a tap and, when you have no need for it, you switch it off. It can’t work like that.”

Mabutho also spoke about the launch of the DSTV Now mobile app. “150 channels can be accessed on DSTV Now, unlike years ago when DSTV Mobile could only offer 10 channels. Traditional TV is not dead but many individuals are fast preferring access on the go,” he said.

The exec’s comments came a few days after DSTV reality hit Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) had concluded, having delivered huge audiences across the previous 12 weeks.

“The next big thing after BBNaija is the World Cup,” Mabutho said. “We are official partners of [Nigerian national football team] Super Eagles and we aim to ensure that our subscribers get access to the Russia 2018 World Cup wherever and whenever they want, which is why we have created DSTV Catchup, where content can be downloaded to be viewed afterwards.”

MultiChoice is the parent company of pay TV platforms DSTV and GOtv. It is one of the leading digital television operator in Nigeria.

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Iroko TV teams with Cream

Video-on-demand (VoD) service Iroko TV is partnering with new talent platform Cream to showcase up-and-coming movie makers nationwide from this week.

Dapo Oyebanjo

In a panel discussion at the recently concluded Nigerian Entertainment Conference (NECLive), Iroko TV CEO Jason Njoku and Cream CEO Dapo Oyebanjo (aka Nigerian musician D’banj) disclosed that both platforms have formed a partnership that will help young filmmakers launch their work to the public.

According to Oyebanjo, mobile platform Cream already has more than 3.5 million subscribers for music and the company is now ready to work with the film industry to build up an audience and help fund movies.

“Cream is all about building talents and forging partnerships between brands. This is what we aim to do by partnering with Iroko TV for filmmakers on our platforms,” said Oyebanjo at NECLive.

”Every month, beginning from the month of May, we will be picking 10 scripts that we believe will interest viewers. We will take each script to the professionals and a video will be shot and produced by us.”

Launched in 2016, Cream (referring to creative, reality, entertainment, arts and music) is a platform that provides creative minds with the opportunity and space to showcase their talents and build their brand.

Iroko TV is an online TV platform. Often described as the ‘Netflix of Africa,’ it is one of Africa’s biggest mainstream online movie websites, giving subscribers instant access to more than 5,000 movies and TV series.

Iroko is already available in Nigeria and South Africa, while a French-language version launched in Senegal, Cameroon, both Congos and the Ivory Coast last year. The service recently launched in Ghana.

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BBNaija wins NET awards

Reality TV show Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) was named as the most popular event of the year at the Nigerian Entertainment Today (NET) awards.

During the sixth edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference (NECLive) last week, NET announced the winners of its second annual NET Honours People’s Choice Awards.

According to the organisers, the award aims to recognise top individuals in the entertainment industry.

Nominated alongside One Night Stand With Adekunle Gold, Rhythm Unplugged, 30 Billion Concert and Wizkid The Concert, BBNaija won a week after the final episode of the third season (Double Wahala) was aired.

BBNaija aired daily for three months and came to an end on April 22 with Miracle winning the prize of N25m (US$69,500) and a new car.

The housemates thrilled viewers with their fights, drama, make-ups and break-ups.

Organisers of the show created unexpected plot twists and exciting incidents, from multiple and sudden evictions to evicted housemates having a chance to join the show again.

Many Nigerians were intrigued with the reality show and it never stopped trending on social media. Even celebrities jumped on the bandwagon, with musician Don Jazzy rooting for Miracle and actress Juliet Ibrahim getting varied reactions when she showed support for BBNaija housemate, Cee-C.

Hosted by former housemate Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, BBNaija aired on MultiChoice-owned pay TV platform DStv and was based on the reality format owned by Endemol Shine Group.

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