Nollywood producers may leave YouTube if naira strengthens against dollar – Kunle Afolayan

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Kunle Afolayan

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Ace filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has said Nollywood producers may leave YouTube as a distribution platform if the Naira strengthens significantly against the U.S. Dollar.

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Afolayan stated this in an interview with former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, on the Nidacity Podcast, while discussing the increasing migration of Nollywood filmmakers to digital platforms.

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According to him, most filmmakers who have migrated to YouTube will abandon the platform if the exchange rate were to fall significantly.

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He argued that the financial incentive was a major reason filmmakers are moving their productions to the platform.

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The filmmaker said although YouTube offered filmmakers greater flexibility and accessibility, platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video provided better opportunities.

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“YouTube can never give you what Netflix and Prime will give you, right? Never. But it’s the most flexible. It’s for everyone. It’s like a starting point.

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“If you don’t have the strength to negotiate or if you don’t have access to the big players, then you just make your film, open an account, and put it there.

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“If people watch it, you make your money,” he said.

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He said filmmakers currently earning substantial revenue from high viewership on YouTube could lose interest in the platform if the naira strengthened significantly against the dollar.

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“But look, the reason why people now will say, ‘I’ve hit a million views, I get $10,000,’ is because of the exchange rate. If dollar drops, everybody will run away from YouTube.

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“So the attraction right now is the exchange rate because that’s what’s making it more profitable than it possibly is. So, if dollar comes to, say, N200 to $1, people will leave,” he said.

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Afolayan also described YouTube as a suitable starting point for filmmakers who lacked the resources or bargaining power to secure deals with major streaming platforms.

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The filmmaker said such producers could independently upload their films to YouTube and earn revenue based on viewership, making the platform accessible to a wider range of filmmakers.

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(NAN)

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