How Streaming is Boosting A New Era of Entertainment in Nigeria

By Calista Oyeoba Posted / June 20, 2025

The global technological advancement has created a corresponding mix of development in Africa, accentuated by a rapidly growing population and rising internet usage, resulting in a huge demand for streaming channels in Nigeria, especially among the youth demographics. The country, with its large and vibrant population, is leading the way in this digital shift.

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Generally, streaming in Africa is full of potentials, but also, comes with challenges in how content is made, shared, and enjoyed. These possibilities in the emerging creative arts industry is endless. The future of propelled by excitement, curiosity, steady growth offering multi-level access points. With more people across demographic compartmentalization getting more internet access, streaming is correspondingly becoming a popular way to enjoy entertainment.

In Nigeria and other African countries, local streaming platforms like IrokoTV and Showmax were challenged by the streaming dominance of Neflix and forayed into the market offering mainly alternative content that resonates with African people. International platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime had already tapped into the market leveraging their huge financial backbone to control the marketplace and the local platforms were seriously short-circuited in operations, leading to abrupt exit of the market.

For instance, in a recent disturbing X-ray of streaming in Africa in an article titled: “Streaming In Nigeria, Did the Market Win? by Jason Njoku, the founder of iROKOtv, wrote on his Website ‘Njoku.org’, sharing his experience running iROKOtv and trying to make it profitable in Nigeria and disclosed that the company invested over $100 million in the local market, which he termed a costly mistake.

According to the irokoTv boss, he said the platform, which was founded in 2011 and launched in 2015, was operating in “full survival mode” in the first ten years, saying they were faced with several obstacles and struggled against competitors like Netflix, Amazon, Showmax, and Iflix.

“During that period, we often had tense board meetings about why iROKOtv wasn’t succeeding; it was challenging to feel that all my hard work and dedication were constantly reduced to ‘you’re not doing enough’.

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“We have been, and remain, the most aggressive in trying to distribute content across Nigeria—deploying hundreds of manned kiosks, teams of outbound contact centre agents, creating agency networks, adjusting our product to prioritise Android downloads, and pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing.

“At one point, it dawned on me, and I finally shot back in a board meeting: if iROKOtv was losing, could they point to someone who was beating us? In the startup world, that’s usually the outcome of underperformance.

“You are simply being out-executed by a better-capitalised or higher-performing startup. In this case, there simply wasn’t anything anyone could point to establish that.

“In 2023, we finally accepted there was no market for paid premium services and exited Nigeria. We haven’t processed any Naira payments there in almost two years.

“As I humbly survey the wreckage of the last 15 years of streaming in Nigeria and Africa, it’s clear our (then $2k GDP per capita) was too small to support even a $5/more product. It’s clear this wasn’t even a question of capital.

“Showmax alone continues to pour tens, if not hundreds, of millions to make it work. But the global giants tapped out last year; their costs (content and marketing) were clearly unsustainably high, and their product needed to be localised to make sense and actually work; it’s just not how platforms sustainably scale.

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“So, I wasn’t surprised when either Amazon or Netflix rolled back their considerable investments in Nigeria. $5/mo is a luxury I doubt even 250k can reliably afford in Nigeria.

“You can see the impact of what GOtv and DStv are suffering at the hands of the market. It’s okay that we tried and failed. It’s okay that we accept the limitations in the domestic market we find ourselves in. Did it need $1B+ to figure this out?

The foregoing scenario highlights that in order for the streaming platforms to succeed, they need to offer content that is relevant to African cultures, ethos and languages. In addition, they need to find ways to make their services affordable for people with different income levels.

Without doubt, technology is helping to improve streaming quality and user experience with variegated content, good delivery and innovations like artificial intelligence, making it possible for people to stream high quality content even on low bandwidth networks.

However, studies together with comments from stakeholders, reveal that streaming in Africa face challenges like high data costs, unreliable electricity, and piracy. Despite these challenges, the future of streaming in Africa looks promising.

Overall, streaming platforms can promote African stories, culture and create new opportunities for content creators and entrepreneurs. With collaboration between governments, tech companies, and content creators, the industry can overcome its challenges and thrive.

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The futuristic outlook point in the direction of steady growth, as streaming platforms are likely to become vital part of Africa’s entertainment landscape, transforming how people consume content and connect with each other.

NOTE: Calista is a Trainee-journalist who contributes regularly to DDNEWSONLINE.COM from the Department of Mass Communication, Ekocity Polytechnic, Lagos