The Nigerian creative industry has been dealt another blow as major international streaming platforms, including Netflix and Amazon, reportedly pull out from the local market.
According to respected Nollywood filmmaker Niyi Akinmolayan, this exit was triggered by the sharp fall of the naira, following recent economic reforms.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Youth Forum during a panel on pressing issues affecting Nigerian youth, Akinmolayan shared how the devaluation of the naira had made Nigeria unattractive to global content distributors.
He explained that the removal of the fuel subsidy and the merging of multiple exchange rates under the Importer and Exporter (I\&E) window caused a steep fall in the naira’s value.
According to Akinmolayan, this policy change is directly linked to the streaming giants’ decision to exit the market.
“When the big streamers pulled out Netflix, Amazon we, the filmmakers, just woke up to emails and were shocked,” Akinmolayan said.
“These aren’t just random companies. The government taxes them.
So how is it possible that the government wasn’t even aware of these changes? Their exit drastically changed how we now approach production.”
This development is heartbreaking for many creatives.
It is no longer easy to earn or reach global viewers, as it once was.
Nigerian filmmakers had come to rely on licensing deals with platforms like Netflix and Amazon for a major part of their income.
That hope, however, has now disappeared.
“The reason they left is largely because of the naira devaluation. It no longer made financial sense for them to continue paying licensing fees at the previous scale,” Akinmolayan noted.
“And sadly, the government didn’t do anything to cushion the impact.”
Moreover, he expressed his concern over the lack of dialogue between the government and the industry’s key players.
There has been no strategy or support from policymakers to help the entertainment sector adjust to the change.
“The government has not engaged with industry creators to understand their needs or offer support for sustainable growth,” he said.
Furthermore, the ripple effect is already being felt across the sector.
Fewer productions are being greenlit, less funding is available and opportunities to showcase Nigerian stories to a global audience have become limited.
Meanwhile, many young creatives who once dreamed of thriving in Nollywood now face the harsh reality of a shrinking platform.
This is serious.