Mobile entertainment gives Nollywood global leverage

Photograph courtesy of informationnigeria.org

Nollywood’s penchant for huge volume of movie releases in a jumbled manner has often made decisions on new movies to watch very complicated. Nearly every Nollywood buff in the country has had to endure sitting through movie productions that are a hybrid of dissimilar genres such as horror and comedy plots combined. This is because there is very limited access to adequate information such as movie release date, director and producer’s pedigree, cast list, plot summaries and reviews by critics.    

All that is about to change, thanks to the strong leverage technology is affording the entertainment industry, especially through mobile phones that are embedded with new accoutrements such as mobile TV broadcaster, YouTube and mobile video players. These which accessories provide movie buffs with access to adequate entertainment information on the move are now being fully utilised in Nigeria, especially with the recent launch of YouTube Nigeria, by Google. This will have significant impact on the movie consumption and production landscape in Nollywood, a burgeoning movie industry where best-selling productions rarely sell up to a million copies.

With the ascendancy of mobile entertainment, award winning movie productions of the ilk of Figurine by Kunle Afolayan will gross more money at the cinemas and also sell millions of copies because movie buffs now have relevant information to guide their big screen choice, DVD purchases and movie rentals. One of the key drivers of this new trend in Nollywood is the MTN Afrinolly mobile entertainment application. The unique Nollywood-centric application which was recently deployed by MTN Nigeria will ensure that movie buffs in the country and beyond will never miss a must-see movie again. It brings adequate information on local movie productions to mobile devices in a market where investments in local content such as online directories, maps, movies, music and games, are still in short supply.

Even though, concerted efforts at boosting local content, especially as it relates to mobile entertainment have become a priority for mobile operators in Nigeria, MTN Nigeria has continuously shown exemplary commitment. In 2011, MTN, the leading telecommunications company inaugurated a quarterly networking and ideas generating session for local mobile applications developers in the country, as part of efforts to stimulate and grow local content in the telecommunications sector. The inaugural edition of the forum tagged ‘MTN Ideas Forum,’ brought together local mobile application developers, mobile device manufacturers, leading internet business players and telecoms equipment suppliers.

MTN Afrinolly which was developed in 2011 is a first of its kind mobile application developed for Nigerians, Africans and lovers of African entertainment worldwide. The application aggregates the latest information on African movie entertainment, giving mobile phone users access to latest African movie trailers, music videos, comedy and more.

Available for free to Blackberry, Android and Nokia phone users, MTN Afrinolly enables users to read entertainment news and gossip, track celebrities, listen to music and share it with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.

In addition, it provides mobile access to exclusive MTN content through the Y’ello Centre; a multi-media portal with a variety of downloadable local content, including videos and music from Kulture Fest and Project Fame, amongst others.

Wale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria, emphasized the dynamism of the Nigerian mobile market, pointing out that MTN as the market leader is on top of trends within the industry. According to him, learning, entertainment, social networking, health services and financial services are all going mobile, and as such, applications have emerged as a fundamental enabler of lifestyle and productivity as consumers want to access relevant content on the go on their mobile devices.

MTN Afrinolly is exclusively branded for MTN customers who love Nigerian and African entertainment. MTN invested in the creation of a premium version of the app for its customers offering unfettered access to all its features, especially the unique Y’ello Centre, which is a special part of the app that allows them access to entertainment content from MTN such as downloadable music videos from Project Fame and other MTN sponsored entertainment related programmes.

Non-MTN subscribers can only have access to the basic model of the app, which is limited to five content segments. The availability of the basic version of the MTN Afrinolly app to all Nigerians, irrespective of mobile phone network is increasing mobile application consciousness in the Nigeria, thereby stimulating local content development.

With a plush yellow background, incorporating a touch of black and grey colours, the mobile phone based MTN Afrinolly app has a great user interface. In spite of its heavy graphical content, the app is easy and fast to download, compared to other apps in its category. Its unique selling point is that it makes it easy to access local and relevant content as it relates to movies, music videos, celebrity news and social media platforms. The app also serves as a platform for promoting user-generated content such as movie reviews and ratings, thus empowering users to express their opinions about movies, music videos, or favourite celebrities.