Officials of NFVCB and Netflix at the second Digital Content Regulation Conference held in Lagos
By Rukayat Adeyemi
Global streaming service, Netflix, on Friday said it had invested nine billion naira in the Nigeria film industry from year 2016 to 2022.
Ms Shola Sanni, Director of Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, Netflix, made this known at the second Nigeria Digital Content Regulation Conference held in Lagos.
The two-day event had in attendance stakeholders in the local and international streaming services, independent producers, Free-To-Air, Pay TV Operators, Telcos, content creators and other operators in the film industry.
Sanni stated that this was done through converting local film titles, capacity building and infrastructure development in the industry.
She noted that Netflix had invested in over 200 local licensed titles, co-produced and commissioned original film content.
According to her, 125 films and TV series are available on Netflix as at 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), Alh. Adedayo Thomas, said the conference was an avenue to discuss regulations in the film industry, with focus on streaming services.
Thomas stated that the conference which started in 2021, was geared toward beinging 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.
The NFVCB boss lauded its partners and sponsors, led by NETFLIX, for extending a hand of partnership to the industry.
In his goodwill message, Prof. Sunday Ododo, General Manager /CEO, National Arts Theatre, Nigeria, commended Thomas for his tenacity in pushing for a robust awareness on what the industry is doing .
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)
