How Showmax is Investing in Local Talents
Chiamaka Ozulumba
A look at Ghana Jollof and The Real Housewives of Lagos has brought to the fore how Showmax is investing in local talents, Chiamaka Ozulumba reports
It is only inevitable that the Nigerian movie industry will follow the route of the music industry. Over the years, Nigeria’s movie industry has grown in terms of output ultimately becoming the second largest in the world. The industry contributed 2.3 percent to the country’s GDP in 2021 which is about N730 billion ($1.8 billion).
This direction is similar to the growth of the music industry which has become a global force. From Nigerian music artistes celebrating their songs being played on Channel O and western radio in the early 2000s to now commanding global interest, topping music charts in Europe and America, headlining shows, winning international awards and competing with their foreign counterparts for airplay.
The movie industry has already shown signs of leading the continental pack. Evidence is seen in the just-concluded Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards where Nigerian movies won the highest awards.
At the heart of this renaissance is the work Showmax is doing with significant investment in local talents as seen in two great works: Ghana Jollof and The Real Housewives of Lagos.
Ghana Jollof is Showmax’s first original Nigerian comedy series that tells the hilarious story of four friends, three Nigerians and a Ghanaian. It chronicles their lives in Nigeria where they met in university to their move to Ghana where their lives dramatically intertwine in intriguing love, relationship, and of course, expected Nigeria vs Ghana humorous conflict.
Ghana Jollof made it to the top of the most-watched shows on the platform in 2021 but that’s not the only success story to be told from the series. It was a testament to the investment Showmax is putting into the local market to recognise talents, give them an opportunity and raise their status to meet global standards.
The director of the series, Diji Aderogba, a young director and film producer who was Tunde Kelani’s protegee, recently told Netng that his selection to direct Ghana Jollof was based solely on merit as he was not even aware of the project until he was contacted. Although Aderogba was an AMVCA nominee, Ghana Jollof is his biggest project yet and has raised his status in the industry.
Aderogba is just one of several people involved in the Ghana Jollof project whose meritorious selection has boosted their profile. Auditions were made public to interested Nigerian and Ghanaian actors thereby opening up opportunities for talents to be recognised and rewarded.
When The Real Housewives of Lagos premiered on Showmax in April, it broke streaming records with the highest first-day viewership on the streaming platform. The reality television series is a spinoff from the Real Housewives franchise. It focuses on the lives of six socialites in the city spotlighting their drama, conflict, shopping, and partying within their social circle.
Nigerian SInger and creative entrepreneur, Darey, whose company, Livespot360 produced the reality TV show for Showmax explained that beyond the drama, it was also “an opportunity to showcase some locally grown brands within the show.”
His experience in the production of the show provided a glimpse of the depth of investment Showmax has been willing to go in investing in local talent.
He said: “Showmax is an innovative brand that understands what the consumers in this market yearn for and is willing to take calculated risks with their content properties.”
The acceptance of this reality show has been massive as seen from its first-week record. Each installment released every Friday has superseded the previous one. The Head of Content at Showmax Africa, Candice Fangueiro, said: “The reception of the first episode of RHOLagos across Africa and the UK was beyond amazing. We knew we had a trend-setter on our hands and we are not surprised that RHOLagos is breaking records.”
The result being seen on screen is the massive investment carried out by Showmax to tell Nigerian stories by Nigerians. From the onscreen participants to the crew, it has been a largely local investment with both the Nigerian television industry and the economy being the biggest winners.
With interest in reality TV surging, Showmax has already blazed the trail with its streaming services by investing in original content exclusive to its platform making the viewing experience flexible and digital.
By focusing on local talents in the movie industry, Showmax is providing a pipeline to showcase the hundreds of thousands of talents and creatives looking for opportunities in the country and inadvertently helping to address the unemployment problem. With Showmax’s reach extending beyond the continent, these talents have a wider audience to accelerate their growth and influence. Nigeria’s creative industries employed 4.2 million people in 2021 and are projected to employ 2.7 million more by 2025. Showmax is contributing significantly to making this happen faster and the industry is well-positioned to reap this effort.
