Nigeria’s Got Talent only ran for two seasons between 2012 and 2014, with many people in the country wondering why it never lasted. After all, this is a nation packed full of talent in all areas of entertainment, and it deserves to be celebrated.

There were plans for a revival announced in 2024, but it never materialised. This is arguably the perfect time to reboot it, though, as there’s now a global audience seeking Nigerian entertainment.

Britain’s Got Talent provides a winning blueprint

Nigerian television producers should be looking at Britain’s Got Talent and wondering why they don’t have a similar show. The UK’s version of the talent show has become one of the nation’s favourite television shows, running for 19 seasons since 2007. It offers the perfect blueprint for Nigeria to ensure that the series always remains fresh and exciting.

One of the key things that BGT gets right is variety. There’s always a risk that talent shows like this can lean too heavily towards singers, but the Simon Cowell-led offering always manages to feature a balanced array of comedians, dancers, magicians, and acrobats. There are also often various surprise acts that throw up something completely unexpected. The judges’ panel is sometimes freshened up as well, with the stars selected to represent different demographics.

On top of all that, the BGT franchise has branched out into other areas of entertainment to make sure it always has a lot of attention. For example, there are Britain’s Got Talent bingo games that give players a different way to enjoy the show’s themes. As for the BGT mobile app, it allows viewers to play along with the show using a digital red buzzer.

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Nigeria’s entertainment industry now has a global audience

A reboot of Nigeria’s Got Talent now would be faced with a completely different entertainment landscape to the program’s original run over ten years ago. Now, there’s a huge global audience out there for Nigerian content, suggesting that the series could have international appeal.

In the years since the talent show last aired, Afrobeats, Nollywood, and online comedy from Nigeria have managed to amass a lot of interest abroad. Netflix and YouTube have helped a lot with that by commissioning and releasing a lot of Nigerian content. Examples from the streaming giant include Blood Sisters, Ijakumo: The Born Again Stripper, ot To Kill a Monkey.

This worldwide interest could give Nigeria’s Got Talent much greater commercial potential than it previously had. It could even be distributed through traditional Nigerian television channels and a streaming service, allowing it to reach domestic and international viewers. On top of that, it could replicate the Britain’s Got Talent model and branch out into other forms of entertainment such as gaming.

With all the talented Nigerians out there currently trying to make a name for themselves, it would make sense for Nigeria’s Got Talent to return and give emerging performers a major platform. A reboot would have a much greater chance of success than the original run, as there’s now a lot of interest in Nigerian performances around the world.