Tag Archives: NITV

Summit explores future of VoD

Members of the Understanding Digital Content Monetisation panel

Nigerian film makers and TV producers are constantly battling with the high rate of piracy and dubbing of online materials by viewers, Nigeria International Television (NITV) Summit delegates heard this week.

In the closing session at the NITV Summit on Wednesday, before the vote of thanks by conference founder Ijeoma Onah and cocktails, panellists tackled the topic Understanding Digital Content Monetisation & the Future of VoD in Nigeria.

Media professionals discussed the challenges they encounter with their online content as well as the various formats available to them as regards VoD.

This session was moderated by Izu Osuigwe, CEO of Forest TV, while the panellists included Chioma Ude, chairman of Envivo; Denis Pagnac, founder and CEO of Summview; movie actor Emeka Ossai; and movie producer Madu Chikwendu.

One of the issues addressed by the panel was the challenges producers face when putting their content online. Some of these include the inability to have your own channel as a producer, which can ultimately lead to failure.

Another threat to producers, according to the panel, is not creating unique content and failing to partner with telecom operators, since producers often fail if they try to monetise content online on their own.

One of the proven ways that producers can get revenue from online content is by partnering with corporations to advertise their products within that content.

The panel agreed that by targeting advertisers’ needs, producers will be able to generate revenue. “Who you are and who you know matters a lot,” said Ude, who is also the founder of the Africa International Film Festival.

Marketing is also key if you want your content to be known by the masses. Not only will you garner publicity and viewers but it will also promote you as a producer.

Delegates also heard how Envivo offers content providers the opportunity to showcase their videos, which are subsequently translated into different video formats.

The panel concluded that if producers are sensitive enough to know the direction the television industry and the world is headed, they will surely not be left behind.

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Animators speak out at NITV

Somto Ajuluchukwu, Ayodele Elegba and Kola Olarewaju at the animation roundtable

Animation is an often-neglected part of Nigeria’s media industry but this is beginning to change, delegates at Nigeria International Television (NITV) Summit heard.

In a roundtable discussion at the Wednesday event, studio heads and animators discussed the uniqueness of the animation industry as well as the challenges.

Mbuotidem Johnson

Speakers included Mbuotidem Johnson, CEO of Basement Animation; Ayodele Elegba, CEO of Spoof Animation; Kola Olarewaju, CEO at Komotion Studios; and Niyi Akinmolayan, CEO of Anthill Studios. The session was moderated by Somto Ajuluchukwu, MD of C3 African Network.

Highlighting the challenges facing the industry, panelists agreed that one of the major issues is electrical power, saying that the use of high-powered computers and other technology necessitates constant light, which is costly in Nigeria.

According to Akinmolayan, talent is also difficult to come by because there are no training schools in Nigeria, so it falls on the animation studios to train animators, which is a long and costly process.

“Finding the right person to do your job is not easy because there are no qualified people and no training schools. Therefore, that responsibility lies on us, so we train and do the job simultaneously because that is the best tactic,” he said.

Agreeing with this, Johnson, who is also the founder of trade body Animation Nigeria, said: “I came from a background of 3D animation but as I considered my options, I switched to 2D. With 2D I can finish a project and train faster. Within a month a trained person can execute 2D renderings well enough, but 3D takes about five to six months of training and you’ve hardly begun.

“Finding investors is also one of the hardest thing to do. So to stay in this industry you have to do things in unusual ways.”

For Akinmolayan, director of The Wedding Party, the right approach to sustaining an animation studio is to get other jobs to keep the cash flowing.

“Do something on the side. I make money as a film director. If you call me to do wedding videos, I will do it. Anything to keep the money flowing in, because animation is a long-term investment and I’m not giving up.”

Olarewaju highlighted the issue of religion and animation. “When we did [short film] Sango, many people said it was fetish. They liked it but would badmouth it because of their religion. They do not see it as a work of art but as something fetish, which is mostly how Nigerians react to something out of the norm,” he said.

“The audience demand in the international market and here in Nigeria varies. Animation in the international market is often created for younger audiences, for under-nines, or nine- to 13-year-olds. However, here it appeals more to adults, so to break the market in Nigeria we are often forced to create content for adults, which is kind of restricting,” said Johnson.

Elegba, also founder of Lagos Comic Con (LCC), advised on the right strategy for getting investors. “If you are only thinking of how good your content is, you will run down,” he said. “You have to think of the business side – think distribution, coproduction, and more.”

LCC, of which Content Nigeria is a media partner, takes place at the Landmark Centre, VI, Lagos on September 15.

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Pay TV in focus at NITV

Emeka Mba, Bamidele Adetunji, Funmi Adenaike, Zachary Wazara & Lindsey Oliver

The first panel session at the Nigeria International Television (NITV) Summit focused on the challenges and opportunities facing the country’s pay TV industry.

Addressing the issue of sustainability and growth in the pay TV business in Nigeria, panelists discussed the challenges and ways in which these can be overcome.

Panelists included Funmi Adenaike, general manager of Play TV; Emeka Mba, former NBC director general and now CEO of Questechmedia Consulting; Bamidele Adetunji, CEO at Montage Media Group; and Zachary Wazara, CEO of Kwese TV. The session was moderated by Lindsey Oliver, CEO of Yanga TV.

The conversation kicked off with an evaluation of the industry as a whole and how it has evolved so far. Panelists agreed that rapid development of technology poses a challenge for pay TV platforms.

“The internet is changing consumer behaviour and business models,” said Wazara.

Meanwhile, despite agreeing that other industries are threatening the growth of the TV industry, Adetunji stated that the challenge to sustainability is a lack of proper recording technology and archiving.

“There was time I wanted to produce an epic Nigerian movie but was told it was unavailable because a recording had been done over the master recording, which basically means it no longer exists.

“And this leads me to ask, who has the rights to TV series like [classic Nigerian drama] Village Headmaster? Where are our formats? Where are our records? There are no local formats, yet international formats still exist,” said Adetunji.

Addressing the issue of telcos encroaching on the TV industry, Mba stated: “There are no level playing fields in an industry that is hugely dependent on technology and data to operate.”

Buttressing his point, Adenaike added: “There are enormous challenges in the industry and some pay TV companies are forced to deliver certain kinds of content because they are working with what is available, which is not much.”

Speaking about the way forward, Adetunji suggested that Nigeria should establish a commercial satellite platform so local pay TV channels don’t have to form partnerships with international satellites and pay “astronomical” amounts to air content. This is especially true when consumers do not understand a pay TV channel’s need for high prices because all they want is content at a low cost.

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NITV heads to France

The Nigerian International TV Summit (NITV) is scheduled to hold a number of industry events in France next month, including a conference in Cannes and another in Paris.

Between April 9 and 10, there will be a two-day event in Cannes called the Creative Africa Pavilion, as part of the MipTV conference. The Pavilion will house panel sessions between 4pm and 6pm, aimed at exploring ways African companies can work with international ones.

On April 12, NITV will host a roundtable discussion in Paris to explore how French and Nigerian companies can work together. This forum will bring together producers and distributors to highlight and develop content cooperation and exports.

At NITV’s events in France there will be roundtable discussions centred on the Nigerian TV business landscape, the opportunities available within the Nigerian audio-visual and TV ecosystem, film funding and production in Nigeria as well as other related TV topics.

There will also be specialised sessions on understanding coproduction with Nigeria, commissioning and discovering new projects from Nigeria, and networking opportunities.

Some new Nigerian TV series in development for international coproduction will be revealed in an effort to show that the best TV content can be found in Nigeria and also to create international visibility for Nigerian independent TV producers.

These projects include True Blue by Charles Novia, founder of November Productions; Broken by Agatha Amata, CEO of RaveTV; Maskers by Victor Okpala, CEO of Dope 7 Media; and The Mystic River by CEO Native Media, Rogers Ofime.

Other highlights include Kosi by Izu Osuigwe, CEO of Forest Media; The Masters Plan by Blessing Egbe, CEO of B’Concept Productions; The Redemption by Kingsley Omoefe, CEO of Golden Heritage; Hunted Heart by Emeka Ossai, CEO, Golden Pyramids Productions; Sinking Sand by Jerry Isichei, CEO, Daches Multimedia; Darker Shade of Black by Greg Odutayo, CEO, Royal Roots Communication; The Prenup by Paul Igwe, CEO, Whitestone Cinemas; and Princes and Paupers by Ariyike Oladipo, CEO, Apreel Ventures.

As well as NITV’s French events, the company is planning its NITV Summit in Lagos in September and another event in Los Angeles in November.

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