Why Netflix is Everywhere But in Nigeria

#netflixeverywhere hashtag took the internet by storm when Netflix opened its domain to international markets in 2016. The internet meme succinctly explains the vision of the media streaming platform to be available globally. Founded in 1997 in Scotts Valley, California by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, the outfit was run as a DVD rental service before it commenced its streaming service in 2007. That dream to become a global leader in media has turned to reality with its 148 million active users strewn across 190 countries.

That same year it announced his global penetration, Nigeria for the first time was introduced to the streaming service, although it is not the first streaming service to berth in Nigeria. In 2011, irokotv, a web platform that provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand made its debut, leaving a noticeable impact in terms of subscriber numbers.

Achieving Netflix’s aim of stretching its reach is directly tied to its provision of original content, done either through acquired rights or through projects they fund from scratch.  This exclusivity card played by Netflix affords them the aesthetics that attract subscribers. With 126 original titles to its name in 2016, it surpassed major television networks and film studios with the most content that year alone.

As part of its plan to roll out its services in 2016, countries like Nigeria earned the privilege of using the platform. Though it does not have a physical presence in Nigeria, it surely  penetrated the African market using partnership deals like it did with Genevieve Nnaji’s Lionheart.  With these impressive advancements to achieve set goals, the real question remains if Netflix will become a major streaming platform among Nigerians, even though irokotv has a higher stake but thrives with limited titles sourced from Nollywood alone.

Comparing Netflix with its current competitors like irokotv who have painstakingly gained a physical presence in Nigeria goes to prove a bleak future for the international streaming platform in Nigeria. To encourage subscribers to hop onto its platform, irokotv dramatically reduced its subscription rate, and partly solved the problem of data consumption that comes with streaming with their app. However, that plan has not made streaming a norm. Juxtaposing both platforms is a fair comparison considering irokotv offers just Nollywood materials on its platform. In contrast, Netflix renders more eclectic offerings that cover various genres and promote different world cultures but comes with higher subscription and no palliatives for expensive data cost.

Of course, shelling out close to 4,000 naira for the lowest Netflix package may not be a problem for an average working class person who earns within the range of 30,000 to 50,000 naira as monthly income; nonetheless, there is a hidden caveat. The $7.99 – $10.99 monthly fees only grants one access on the Netflix platform. Albeit granted access, the need for mobile data subscription stays paramount. Depending on video quality setting that ranges from 240p to UltraHD (4K) resolutions, the consumer is plagued with the limitation of data management. The higher the video resolution, the more data is expended.  At its highest resolution settings, an hour of stream easily consumes around three to seven gigabytes using 4k resolution, and 360 megabytes using 240p resolution. Putting that into perspective, a monthly data subscription of 1 gigabyte, which goes for a thousand naira on the MTN platform is barely enough; hence, creating additional cost than one bargained for. Also, there are plans by Netflix to increase its subscription fees in subsequent months. It already did in the US.

Netflix might be a giant in the eyes of many today, but getting to earn that status required them taking a lot of risks by way of experimenting with the market to see where interest leans. For the Nigerian market, that experiment is Lionheart. Banking on the large population that Nigeria has, the investment made by Netflix through acquisition of the flick is more of a litmus test to ascertain how the Nigerian market behaves.

 It will be safe to state that the number of people who have seen Lionheart (except through cinema) eclipses the actual numbers of native subscribers in Nigeria, and there is a reason for this – piracy. While Netflix covered production cost, it gained little to nothing in terms of subscriber number surge, therefore, failing to achieve this primary aim at this point.

Binging is popular among Netflix users, hence Netflix is fondly remembered by the phrase ‘Netflix and Chill’.  The binge culture is one Netflix promotes aggressively by allowing its users see all episodes of a show at one go. It avoids the traditional television broadcast method of spacing episodes between weeks. While this has its perks of satisfying the immediate need of the consumer, and keeps them spending more time on Netflix, it leaves more room for digital piracy. The availability of Netflix’s entire catalogues on bootleg sites makes it harder for the platform to realise any set goal through disarming potential subscribers with original content that leaves them no other option than to get a paid subscription plan.

As of October 2018, Netflix announced that it has plans to raise $2 billion in debt to further the creation of new content on its platform worldwide. Prior to that, in 2017, its debt figures rose from $16.8 billion to $21.6 billion. In a sense, these numbers don’t matter to investors as long the platform keeps acquiring new subscribers. Narrowing it down to the Nigerian market, can the numbers they have achieved here help them save face?

Nollywood is poorly funded and fantastically pirated. Netflix’s influence will go far through funding, but certainly, it won’t rewire the industry instantly considering Nollywood’s poor talent sourcing and management style. If the weight becomes heavier than imagined, Netflix is likely to move to more thriving market to make gains off their investments.

While original content remains its strong suit, Netflix failed to retain a couple of its partnership with film studios like DreamWorks and Warner Bros, thus implying a decrease in number of titles. Nonetheless, Netflix is bent on acquiring more partnerships in order to fill these loopholes that come with reduced content. However, for them to gain any sort of sustainable presence here (Nigeria), they are left with the option of replicating the partnership deal made with iQiYi, China’s traditional streaming platform. Being that Netflix isn’t granted the privilege of coming in as a foreign, standalone streaming service that would pose as competition to China’s indigenous streaming companies, Netflix entered a licensing deal with the Baidu owned streaming platform to place its content on their platform. This, in a business sense helps Netflix gain monetary benefits from the deal. This move also has helped it to passively penetrate the market without being perceived as a competition, but rather as an ally

Coalescing with irokotv and other up-and-coming streaming brands in Nigeria, Netflix stands a chance of establishing their presence by providing premium contents; it can even go as far as buying these companies and absorbing it into itself. Also, partnering with Multichoice will avail them the needed numbers through the DSTV Box Office service. That way, Netflix will introduce some of their original contents through third party, entice viewers and lured them into their world.

Until these points are considered and reviewed, ‘Netflix and chill’ will remain an alien phrase within streaming communities in Nigeria. Surely, Netflix has a long way to go to be truly ‘everywhere’.