Irokotv

Last updated

irokotv
Irokotv updated logo.jpg
Type of business Limited company
Founded1 December 2011;12 years ago (2011-12-01)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Founder(s) Jason Njoku
CEOJason Njoku
Products Nigerian Nollywood movies
Services Provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand (online streaming)
URL irokotv.com
Launched1st December, 2011
Current statusActive

irokotv is a web platform that provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand. It is one of Africa's first mainstream online movie streaming websites, providing access to over 5,000 Nollywood film titles. [1] irokotv is a part of iROKO Limited, which is one of Africa's entertainment companies. [2] [3]

Contents

irokotv was launched on 1 December 2011. Its parent company, iROKO Partners, was founded by Jason Njoku and Bastian Gotter in December 2010, [4] with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. irokotv is one of the world's legal digital distributors of African movies. [5] [6]

Whilst living in London, iroko's co-founder, Jason Njoku, realised how popular African movies had become. Despite a growing worldwide demand, there was no legal option to watch movies from his home country. He therefore decided to take matters into his own hands and negotiate licensing deals with local Nigerian producers. [7]

History

The irokotv website was launched on 1 December 2011 by iROKO Partners, who are the licensors and distributors of Nollywood movies. [8] Jason Njoku, the company's CEO and Bastian Gotter, now COO, met whilst students together at the University of Manchester together. [9]

Njoku made several attempts to set up his own companies in the immediate years after university, but failed on each attempt. [10] Njoku was inspired to start the company when he found it difficult to obtain Nollywood movies online for his mother, who he was living with at the time. [7] Having researched the Nollywood industry, and noting the lack of infrastructure in place for international distribution of the movies, Njoku flew to Lagos, Nigeria, and purchased the online licenses of Nollywood movies directly from the producers. Having struck a deal with YouTube in Germany, he used the Google-owned platform to stream the licensed Nollywood movies, for free, on his channel, Nollywoodlove. [11] The channel became hugely popular and was profitable in a short period of time [12] and was the focus of a number of press features in international press, including CNBC , CNN and Techcrunch. The success of Nollywoodlove led to a successful investment from US-based hedge fund Tiger Global Management, who led a two-round investment totalling US$8 million, [13] making it one of the investments into a West African Dot-com venture. A further investment round of $2m, led by Swedish-based hedge fund Kinnevik, followed in July 2012. [14] [15] The company has, in total, raised $25m of investment, making it one of the funded West African internet companies. [16]

irokotv works with most of Nollywood's top film production houses and purchases the exclusive online licenses to their films, In an attempt to distribute Nollywood films to a global audience. The company's audience is predominantly in the Diaspora, with top five countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, (Germany) and Italy. [14] Njoku is known as a pioneer in African tech start-ups. [17]

Platforms

Services

irokotv operates a subscription business model where users can access Nollywood movies via an Android App in Africa, and via an app or online in the West. [18] In June 2015, iROKOtv CEO and co-founder, Jason Njoku announced that the company will be shutting down the website and streaming service in Africa, and shifting to mobile only from July that year. [19]

Offices

In 2012, the company opened offices in London and New York [20] and in 2013, the company added a further office in Johannesburg. [21]

Distribution

irokotv's main offering is an internet video streaming platform of selected Nollywood titles (both English and Yoruba films). The platform currently has around 5,000 movies on the platform, which equals approx 10,000 hours of content. [22] The company has also forged partnerships with leading global technology firms, including Nokia, who launched the irokotv App on the Nokia Lumia in January 2013. [23]

Since 2014, the company has also moved into global offline distribution, and supplies a number of airlines with Nollywood content, including British Airways, South African Airways, Emirates, Kenya Airways and United Airlines [24]

irokotv maintains content distribution deals with YouTube, Dailymotion, iTunes, Amazon and Vimeo. [25] [26] The company also has content partnership deals with Tigo, Nollywood Movies, The Africa Channel and Nollywood TV. In March 2015, iROKOtv launched a new feature that will enable subscribers download movies for later offline viewing. [27]

In April 2015, iROKO began to move some of its content offline and launched two new TV channels, [28] iROKO Play and iROKO Plus on Africa's StarTimes, [29] to which Jason Njoku commented "We're known primarily for leading OTT content delivery across Africa through irokotv.com, but with digital migration spreading rapidly throughout the continent, now is the right time for us to diversify our distribution model and expand into the Linear TV market." [30]

Awards and nominations

In 2017, iROKO TV won the 'Online Television With Best Movie Content Award' at the City People Movie Awards. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funke Akindele</span> Nigerian actress and producer (born 1977)

Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele popularly known as Funke Akindele or Jenifa, is a Nigerian filmmaker, actress, director, producer and politician. Akindele starred in the sitcom I Need to Know from 1998 to 2002 and in 2009, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, for her role in Jenifa, which brought her to fame. Akindele reprised the role in 2011 sequel The Return of Jenifa and 2015 soft reboot television series titled Jenifa's Diary, for which she was named the Best Actress in a Comedy at the 2016 and 2017 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards. Akindele won the same award in 2020 and 2022, making it her fifth win for the Best Actress in a Comedy category. Akindele is the most nominated actress/filmmaker at the AMVCA and currently owns six wins which makes her the actress with the most wins. She is the second director to gross over a billion naira at the Nigeria box office and currently the Highest grossing Nigerian Director in Nigerian Box Office with a total Gross of over ₦2.9 billion.

iROKO Partners is an online media distribution company focused on the Nigerian entertainment industry. The company was established in September 2010 and is headquartered in Lagos, with a branch in London, United Kingdom. The company is led by its co-founders Jason Njoku (CEO) and Bastian Gotter along with major investor Nazar Yasin. iROKO Partners offers a range of online media products including its movie streaming website named IROKOtv focused on Nollywood Film productions, and 'iROKING', a Nigerian music streaming platform. Other web brands are NollywoodLove and YorubaLove which operate on the YouTube video platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justus Esiri</span> Nigerian actor (1942–2013)

Justus Esiri was a Nigerian actor, generally considered to be one of the pillars of Nollywood with an acting career that goes way back to the 1960s. He came into prominence for his role in the popular Nigerian Television Authority TV-series The Village Headmaster and the film adaptation of Chinua Achebe's book Things Fall Apart where he played the role of Obierika. He won Best Actor award at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards post-humously for his role in Assassins Practice and was also honored as the inaugural recipient of the "Goodluck Jonathan Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 2013 Nollywood Movies Awards. The Nigerian government honored him with several National honors with the highest being an Officer of the Order of the Niger, OON for his contribution to the development of Film-Making in Nigeria. He is the father of Mavin Records musician Dr Sid.

Teco Benson is a Nigerian film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He was nominated for Best Director at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2006 and 2008, and won Director of the Year at the 2011 Best of Nollywood Awards. In 2012, he was decorated by President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic. He started his career as an actor in 1994 before switching to producing and directing. In 2003, he made the first Sierra Leone-made film titled Blood Diamonds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monalisa Chinda</span> Nigerian actor, film producer and TV personality (born 1974)

Monalisa Chinyere Chinda is a Nigerian actress, film producer, talkshow host, television personality, humanitarian and media personality.

<i>Kamaras Tree</i> 2013 film by Desmond Elliot

Kamara's Tree is a 2013 Nigerian comedy drama film, directed by Desmond Elliot, starring Desmond Elliot, Lydia Forson, Ivie Okujaye, Tessy Abubakar, Bobby Obodo, Ginnefine Kanu, Morris K Sesay and Dabota Lawson. Set and shot in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the film tells the story of a family who gather for the wedding of one of their members, whom the rest of them have not seen for many years; each of the family members has to deal with the diverse behaviours of the others as a result.

Rok Studios is a Nigerian film production company. Its production studios is based in Anthony Village, Lagos. The company was founded in August 2013 by Mary Remmy Njoku. In addition to its numerous films, Rok Studios has produced over 12 TV series.

Poisoned Bait is a Ghanaian drama television series which debuted on IROKOtv on February 14, 2015, and Africa Magic in 2015. The 30 minute series is directed by Leila Djansi and produced by Turning Point Media and licensed to IROKOtv. It stars Gideon Okeke, Marie Humber, Mary Remmy Njoku, Adjetey Anang, John Dumelo, Ama K. Abebrese and Edward Agyekum Kufuor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blossom Chukwujekwu</span> Nigerian actor

Blossom Chukwujekwu is a Nigerian actor, who made his professional acting debut in 2009. In 2015, he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotels.ng</span> Nigerian travel websites

Hotels.ng is a Nigerian online hotels booking agency which was launched in 2013. The platform was founded by Mark Essien who hails from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and claims to list over 7,138 hotels from 320 cities in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Njoku</span> British entrepreneur (born 1980)

Jason Chukwuma Njoku is a British businessman. He is the co-founder and CEO of iROKOtv, a video-on-demand service for Nigerian movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emem Isong</span> Nigerian screenwriter, film producer, and director

Emem Isong is a Nigerian screenwriter, film producer, and film director. She has become known primarily for films in the English language, and is a dominant figure in the Nollywood industry. Her second directed feature, Code of Silence, which deals with rape in Nigeria, was released in 2015.

Mark Anthony Essien is a Nigerian entrepreneur, software developer and startup investor. He is the founder and CEO of Hotels.ng, one of the first online hotel booking websites in Nigeria. Before he founded Hotels.ng in 2013,Essien had previously built a file sharing software called Gnumm, followed by a language learning startup called Ingolingo.

Kehinde Olorunyomi is a Nigerian actress and screenwriter, and filmmaker notable for her role in the defunct soap opera DOMINO and several screenplays.

ibakatv

ibakatv is a Video on demand platform for Nollywood movies; it has over 15,000 hours of movie and TV content streamed on-demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Igwe</span> Nigerian film director

Paul Igwe is a Nigerian television director, writer, producer, and creator, and CEO of Whitestone Cinema Limited. He produced popular Soap like "Clinic Matters", "The Benjamins", "Ojays", and "Asunder".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Njoku</span> Nigerian actress (born 1985)

Mary Remmy Njoku(born 20 March 1985) is a Nigerian actress, producer, content creator and founder of the ROK TV Channels and CEO of ROK Studios, which she founded in 2013. With a catalogue of over three thousand (3000) hours of original content produced, that includes movies and TV series, ROK has in a short span become a leading producer of family friendly content and entertainment.

Ndani TV is a web-based channel owned by GTBank.

Chinonso Ukah is a Nigerian actress, comedian, and influencer, known by her stage name Nons Miraj or Ada Jesus.

Odera Olivia Orji is a Nigerian actress, film director and producer.

References

  1. ↑ Omega, Tori (2020), "The Performative Digital Africa: iROKOtv, Nollywood Televisuals, and Community Building in the African Digital Diaspora", The SAGE Handbook of Media and Migration, SAGE Publications, pp. 207–219, doi:10.4135/9781526476982.n25, ISBN   978-1-5264-4721-0, S2CID   213390713
  2. ↑ Zwelling, Jeff (20 March 2012). "IrokoTV Raises $8 Million to Bring Nollywood to the World". PandoDaily. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "French media channel, Canal+ acquires Nigerian film studio, ROK" . Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "Making a fortune by distributing Nigerian films online". BBC News. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "iROKOtv launches subscription service". Bizcommunity.com. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "IROKO TV to go public on London Stock Exchange". 11 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  7. 1 2 "'Netflix of Africa' brings Nollywood to world". CNN. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Nigeria: Iroko TV to Go Public On London Stock Exchange - allAfrica.com". Archived from the original on 14 February 2021.
  9. ↑ Law™, Africa Music (30 January 2017). "IrokoTV Co-founder Bastian Gotter leaves company he built with Jason Njoku". Africa Music Law™. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  10. ↑ Boafo, Obed (16 October 2012). "Jason Njoku – Njoku: Projecting Nollywood – Howzit MSN Africa". MSN. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "'Nollywood Love': Nigerian blockbusters for the internet generation". CNN. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "Nollywood Pulls in the Dollars". Newafricanmagazine.com. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "iROKOtv, the "Netflix of Africa", reaches 500,000 subscribers in less than six months". balancingact-africa.com. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  14. 1 2 Adegoke, Yinka (16 July 2012). "African Web video service Iroko raises more funds, targets cable TV | Analysis & Opinion". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Nigerian Internet Millionaire Raises $2 Million More For 'Netflix of Africa'". Forbes. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Nollywood Pulls in the Dollars". Ventures Africa. 17 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "The 50 most influential Africans: Jason Njoku | West Africa". Theafricareport.com. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  18. ↑ ".Com. Goodbye". Jason.com.ng. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  19. ↑ "iROKOtv.com is Shutting Down". techpoint.ng. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  20. ↑ "iROKOtv Celebrates First Year As Nollywood Goes Global". Ventures Africa. 1 December 2012. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  21. ↑ "iROKO Partners opens in S/Africa – Vanguard News". Vanguardngr.com. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  22. ↑ Obenson, Tambay A. "iROKOtv.com Expands – World's Largest Online Distributor of African Content Adds American Titles" . Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  23. ↑ "Nokia Signs Lumia Deal with Nigerian Movie Service – Tech Europe – WSJ". The Wall Street Journal. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  24. ↑ "Partners". iROKO.ng.
  25. ↑ "Nollywood bolsters Nigeria's economy". African Business Review. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  26. ↑ "Interview With CEO Jason Njoku iRoko Partners | Africa's Netflix Set To Disrupt US TV & Cable Market | TechZuluTechZulu". Techzulu.com. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  27. ↑ "You Can Download Movies For Offline Viewing on iROKOtv". techpoint.ng. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  28. ↑ space, Woman in Tech Taking the African tech; tips, one step after another Send; Releases, Press (13 April 2015). "IrokoTV Signs Exclusive Deal, Launches Two New TV Channels With Startimes". Techpoint.ng. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  29. ↑ "IROKOtv secures StarTimes channels". Broadband TV News. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  30. ↑ "IROKOtv, StarTimes sign exclusive channel deal". Vanguard News. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  31. ↑ "Full List Of Winners At The 2017 City People Movie Awards | City People Magazine". City People Magazine. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.