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Ibaka Kicks Off Initiative To Boost Local Movies, New System Of Film Distribution

By Eniola Daniel

11 December 2022   |   7:16 am

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Online TV platform, Ibaka TV, has introduced a new system of movie distribution and a unique experience in downloads and streaming, aimed at deepening the dis- distribution of Nollywood movies. Unveiling the initiative in Lagos, Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of Ibaka TV, Blessed Idomigie, said the platform had come up with ways and…

Online TV platform, Ibaka TV, has introduced a new system of movie distribution and a unique experience in downloads and streaming, aimed at deepening the dis- distribution of Nollywood movies.
Unveiling the initiative in Lagos, Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of Ibaka TV, Blessed Idomigie, said the platform had come up with ways and technology, which would make it easier for customers to access movie downloads and streaming easily and cheaper.

Idomigie said: “For customers to access movies on platforms like ours, they need access to the Internet and they also need a subscription from us, which is the online platform. We observed, over time, that a lot of customers find it difficult to stream movies because of the cost of content consumption. So, for that reason, we have been having this conversation.

“One of the biggest challenges is that Nollywood is called the biggest in the aspect of content generation, but that has not translated into 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 a 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, he said, “So we came up with an innovation with a 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. This data is unrestricted meaning that they can use it to watch movies and as well surf the internet. They have 100 percent control over the data. This is the new initiative we are introducing into the market. We believe that this will drive more penetration into the Nollywood movie market.”

“Our N700 plan before now does not come with data and gives access for seven days. But with the new initiative, our N700 plan gives access to seven days and 3 GB of unrestricted data. The data comes directly into your device and you can use it for anything. We also have a monthly plan of N2,000 which gives access for 30 days and the customer will get 3.9 GB of free data. We have a quarterly plan, which is N5000. Customers will have access for three months and will get about 12.6 GB of data for free. We have a bi-yearly plan, which gives access to customers for six months. It goes for N12,000 and comes with about 25 GB of data for free. We also have the yearly plan, which gives access for customers to watch content for 12 months and it comes with 50 GB of data for free.”

Also speaking, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Ibaka Tv, Kazeem Adeoti listed a line-up of movies set for release on Ibaka Tv to test-run the new product. These include, “Dream Job” produced by Kayode Peters,” Special Assistant”, and “JBo” produced by Mercy Aigbe and directed by one of the big directors in Nollywood, Adebayo Tijani.

“Another star-studded film to be released this week is “Beautiful Scar” in partnership with Frederick Leonard all the movies boast of a starstudded cast like Williams Uchemba, Bimbo Ninalowo, Funny Bone, Bimbo Ademoye.

“Ibaka TV also informed that from the first to the second quarter of 2023, the Platform will liaise with top film-makers and producers like Kunle Afolayan. Mr Macaroni, Shaggy, and others, to create original content that will make the cinemas as well as enrich our platform.