Nigeria is a country that has been slow to roll out internet access for all its citizens, however as improvements are made in connectivity – some 120 million people were said to have gained access in 2019 – the rise of online streaming is only set to proliferate.
Here are three of the ways that content streaming is bringing entertainment tools and new revenue streams to Nigerians.
Music Streaming
With 60% of the continent’s population being under the age of 25, combined with the fact that mobile phone access and use is booming, means that it makes sense that music streaming is ready to explode in Nigeria.
What’s surprising is that it’s not the American giants like Apple and Amazon who are driving this shift, though, but instead Chinese firms like Boomplay as well as local players like uduX pushing things forward. The latter are particularly interesting as they understand the challenges of launching a streaming service in a country where 520 languages are spoken, and users tend to want to stick to listening to songs in their own tongue.
As the cost of data continues to drop, expect music streaming to take over from the traditional methods of sourcing music that Nigerians use such as music blogs.
Gaming and Esports Streaming
Although playing online games in Nigeria is difficult due to connection speeds lagging behind the rest of the world, there are some organisations such as the African Gaming League who are providing Nigerians with the opportunity to compete against other players from across the continent.
Away from the graphically complex games, mobile games are certainly gaining in popularity with local developers such as Gamsole and ChopUp releasing seriously good games. Then there are also those apps and sites that allow players to access casino games, some of which even feature live dealer streams. With the cost of acquiring games dropping as well as the easy availability of casino bonuses, and you can see why mobile gaming is taking off.
However, it is the watching of Esports that is really hitting new heights in Nigeria, with many viewers tuning in each day to watch their favourite gaming streamers play the likes of Counter Strike and Fortnite on platforms such as Mixer and Twitch.
Movie Streaming
Although in 2019 there were only 60,000 active Netflix users in Nigeria the company and its rivals are taking expansion seriously.
This is borne out by the fact that a record number of Nigerian movies are now available on the Netflix platform – Nollywood movies are proving popular wherever they’re watched – and that the company recently launched a Twitter handle dedicated to Nigerian film called Netflix Naija.
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