Film lovers are in for a good time. Contrary to what obtained in the past, they will now have easy access to movie downloads and streaming at a cheaper rate.
Introducing this new system of movie marketing is online television platform, Ibaka TV, which according to its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Blessed Idomigie, is aimed at deepening the distribution of Nollywood movies.
He explained further: “For customers to access movies on movie platforms like Ibaka TV, they need access to Internet and they also need subscription from us. We observed over time that a lot of customers find it difficult to stream movies because of the cost of content consumption. The issue is not the cost of subscription, but the cost of consuming the content. So, for that reason, we have been having this conversation. One of the biggest challenges we found out is that Nollywood is called the biggest in the aspect of content generation, but that has not translated in high revenue for the industry.
“Looking at the size of the market, it will surprise you to know that even the highest grossing movie in the cinema has not reached up to one percent of the Nigerian population, and this is because of lack of market penetration. We took our time to know that until we have robust market penetration, the industry will not fare well enough in terms of revenue generation.
We found out that the main reason Nollywood movies have not penetrated the market is the cost of affording the content, and that has to do with data consumption.”
Continuing, Idomigie said, “So, we came up with an innovation with partnership with Globacom and MTN. The innovation is the new product we have just launched into the market. If you get any of our subscription packages, the subscription comes with unlimited free data. Now, the data that comes with our package is the added value we are offering. We didn’t change our subscription packages, but we are adding more value to what we give our customer. The data we are offering customer does not have to go through any particular or designated hotspot to access it. Wherever they are in Nigeria as far as there is Glo or MTN network, they can access it, as far as they subscribe on our platform. This data is unrestricted, meaning that the customer can use it to watch movies and as well surf the Internet. They have 100 percent control over the data.”
Meanwhile, Ibaka TV has introduced another innovation, Ibaka TV reseller app, which affords filmmakers, producers and actors to promote Ibaka TV movies and make money by selling vouchers.
Already, some movies are set for release to test-run the new distribution system from Ibaka TV. They include Dream Job, Special Assistant, JBo, and Beautiful Scar among others.