Nigerian mobile entertainment startup Afrinolly have launched a marketplace for the distribution of Nollywood and other African films, as well as other content, aimed at increasing access to entertainment while tackling digital piracy.
Afrinolly said its marketplace was a first of its kind pay-per-view secured mobile platform for the distribution of movies, short films, series and more to GSM users in Nigeria and the rest of the world.
The startup said the Afrinolly MarketPlace was the latest in a series of iterations undergone by the Afrinolly app, and would help to assist the Nigerian film industry crack down on piracy and increase access to their content.
Through the Afrinolly MarketPlace, producers and creators will be able to offer their content via mobile phones and get paid for it without fear of piracy.
“This is an exciting moment for Nollywood and the African film industry as we launch the Afrinolly MarketPlace; an African solution to the challenge of piracy. A challenge largely ignored by established video streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Videos, YouTube Red and others. At Afrinolly, we believe African producers should be able to earn more from their contents and African entertainment enthusiasts should have access to these contents without the risk of piracy,” said Chike Maduegbuna, chief executive officer (CEO) of Afrinolly.
Users can stream content both via Afrinolly’s mobile site and via the app, with the company saying efforts had been made to keep the video viewing experience consistent regardless of device or platform used. Content protection and convenient payments are two key elements of the Afrinolly MarketPlace.
“We implemented multi-platform DRM technology and video optimisation solutions using industry standards so contents are protected on the Afrinolly platform and we introduced carrier billing (Recharge Pay) so users can pay for contents using airtime via their mobile network,” said Tope Omotunde, chief technology officer (CTO) of Afrinolly.
For NGN100 (US$0.50), users in Nigeria will be able to watch a movie, while a short film is NGN50 (US$0.25). GSM subscribers on the MTN Nigeria network can pay for content via airtime, as will Airtel subscribers in a few weeks. Users in other parts of the world pay US$0.99 for a movie via in app payment systems.
