Key questions:
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Netflix reports it has invested $23.6 million in Nigeria so far. Can the Nigerian market provide Netflix and other Subscription video-on-demand services with a return on their investment?
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New amendments to laws will give Nigerian regulators more power over on-demand video platforms. How will these changes affect the platforms and their user base in Nigeria?
On April 6th, Gangs of Lagos, the emotion-stirring Amazon original crime thriller, premiered in a colourful event in Victoria Island, Lagos. A week later, Netflix released its impact report, telling the world it had invested $23.6 million in Nigeria between 2016 and 2022.
All this has been received with mixed reactions. From outcries against cultural misrepresentation to various takes comparing Netflix's investment in Nigeria and South Africa. The activity and reception point to something more salient—the increased influence of video-on-demand (VOD) platforms on Nigerian storytelling, popular culture, and the economy. We have gone