There's no doubt that iROKOtv is home to films and actors that deserve to be talked more about.
iROKOtv's content library isn’t just getting bigger, it also seems to have become home to most Nollywood movies.
In 2017, most of the theatrical releases we saw were terrible, mundane and incomprehensible. A sharp contrast to cinema films, streaming platforms such has iROKOtv had more to offer, especially, storywise.
Movies such as "Jail," "Displaced," "Tiwa's Baggage," 'Ovy's Voice," "Glimpse," "Displaced," "Back Up Wife," "For my Girls" and "Bound by Tradition" were some of the good ones that were released on the site.
There may be reservations regarding the monetary worth of these medium-sized movie projects, but there's no doubt that they create gems and talents that deserve to be talked more about.
These movies do not receive heavy marketing as their cinema counterpart: If you're not paying close attention, you would miss trailers and posters.
Consider this: If "Displaced" by Charles Uwagbai was scheduled for a cinema release, you would be bombarded with trailers, posters, character posters and other marketing techniques, that you would either be enthusiastic or indifferent. Either way, you would be aware that a movie was headed to the cinema.
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In 2017, iROKOtv invested and co-produced cinema movies such as “Picture Perfect,” “Dance to My Beat,” and “Body Language,” which ended up on the streaming platform after their cinema run.
Also, high budget films such as "October 1," "Gbomo Gbomo Express," "Rebecca" and "A Trip to Jamaica" after some time end up on the site.
Meanwhile, some filmmakers simply release their films straight to the platform.
The limited time frame on cinema releases has also given streaming platforms such as iRoko TV an edge. For instance, a cash-grabbing movie or blockbuster is most likely to have a favourable run than a low budget film by an unknown filmmaker and cast.
The streaming platform also eventually becomes home to low budget films that couldn't enjoy a favorable cinema run.
A film which didn't get to last long in theatres ends up getting more exposure because of the platform's huge subscriber base.
"I just want my films to be seen by more people," a popular filmmaker who has released several movies on IrokoTV said.
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In 2017, actors such as Yvonne Jegede, Alexx Ekubo, Seun Akindele, Bimbo Ademoye, Deyemi Okanlawon and Liz Benson, who were missing on the big screen, featured in some recommendable movies available on Iroko TV.
To properly deliver the kind of content their subscribers want, the CEO Jason Njoku and Co. constantly comb the data from iROKOtv in search of popular trends in terms of genres, actors, themes. The acquired information is used to better inform their commissioning decisions.
“We produce content that will excite and entertain our customers," Njoku said to Pulse Nigeria.
Now, this doesn’t mean we just repeat the same formula ad infinitum – we want to push the boundaries creatively, to ensure we improve and build on our uncatalogued. But at the heart of every commissioning decision is what the ROK or iROKOtv customer wants.”
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Also, movie tickets often cost 1500 naira per movie, a price that is almost a whole year's access to the entire movies on IrokoTV – trash, average or great.
The affordability, convenience and the number of options platforms such as Iroko TV offer cannot be dismissed, but according to Newton Aduaka, the Artistic Director of the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), there's something special about the cinema feeling that cannot be duplicated elsewhere.
"And I think its funny because there's an inverse thing going on where cinemas are closing in Europe and America, but what's interesting is that across Africa, cinema is getting a resuscitation and there are cinemas being built here and there," he said to Pulse Nigeria.
"I hope that we [Nollywood] can take up that mantle and bring back that shared experience of sitting in a space with 200, 300 people."
While IrokoTV seems to have found quite an audience in Millennials, the cinema in its own way still has a unique experience to offer. And if the numbers are to be believed, the Nigerian cinema is on a meteoric rise.
Nevertheless, IrokoTV has over the years been home to the bad, average, and in 2017, the good.
Pulse Opinion: Does iROKOtv have better content than cinemas?
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