The Cinematic Infrastructure Deficit in Nigeria
Traditionally, cinemas are the default distribution channel for generating revenue from film production. However, among the list of infrastructure deficits experienced by Nigerians is the limitation placed by the availability of few cinemas. The available cinemas are in major cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Besides, going to the cinema is a luxury most Nigerians cannot afford. A 2021 UNESCO report states that there is 1 cinema screen for every 843,881 people. This has led to a situation where the laws of demand and supply in effect make cinemas a luxury for movie lovers and expensive for filmmakers who would love to exhibit and distribute their films in cinemas.
Early Memories of Nigerian Cinema: TV Shows and Broadcasts
One of my earliest memories of Nigerian cinema was watching TV shows like New Masquerade, Hotel D Jordan, Hot Cash (Wilie Wilie), Checkmate, Supple Blues, Ripples, Tales by Moon Light, and other TV series by different NTA state stations. You had to wait for the day when this program was going to air. For example, I still remember that Checkmate aired every Thursday at 8:00 pm, while Supple Blues was on Sundays. These days you can watch anything on demand! Most of these TV shows were commissioned by the NTA and revenue was generated from sponsorship and advertisement.
The Rise of Home Videos and VHS Revolution
Then came the era of home videos, as they were called then. Home videos were made popular by the affordability of VHS players and color TVs. A middle-income family could afford one back then. Most of the films we saw in the 1990s were distributed on VHS tapes popularly referred to as “cassettes” then. I cannot recall any cinema house in Benin City where I grew up and lived up till 2009. But we sure did have a lot of fun watching these home videos. From Living in Bondage (a film in Igbo language but subtitled in English), to Glamour Girls, Rattle Snake, and the likes of them.
A Simple Business Model: Filmmaker and Marketer Partnerships
The direct-to-video business model used by these filmmakers made it easy for them to recoup their investment and even earn a reasonable profit. All a filmmaker needed then was to partner with a film marketer and provide the master tape which would be dubbed into multiple copies and sold to the viewers. The more copies that were sold, the more money that was made for both the filmmaker and the film marketer. Say if you sold 20,000 copies at #50 per copy, you made #1m. That was a lot of money between 1992 to 1998.
The Golden Era: Profit and Popularity of VHS Home Videos
Quite a straightforward business model, right? Yea right! Until everyone got greedy. Trust Nigerians to jump at any new opportunity to make money. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie. New filmmakers emerged, and this created lots of new jobs for artists, crew members, etc. But the film marketers held all the aces; they controlled the distribution, they became the major investors that financed the duplication of the VHS tapes, then latter VCDs/DVDs, and the printing of the artworks. At some point film marketers started financing film production, and in effect became movie producers.
Piracy: The Dark Side of Nigerian Home Video Industry
Because there was no strong enforcement of intellectual property laws, filmmakers had no control over the number of duplications made from the original master copy, or even the number of VHS tapes (and later on VCD/DVD) sold. To date, no filmmaker who produced a film during that era can accurately say how many copies of their movies were sold.
Duplicating VHS tapes was easy if you had the right equipment; a duplicating machine, and a printer for printing covers. You had these two pieces of equipment in 1994, you had hit a goldmine. You could profit from someone’s intellectual property and the heavens would not fall.
Technological Evolution: From VHS to VCDs and DVDs
Even when the technology evolved from VHS tapes to VCDs and later DVDs, the piracy situation became worse. Anyone with a desktop computer that had a CD/DVD drive was a prospective pirate. CD/DVD duplication machines were more accessible, and color printers for printing covers became cheaper (unlike in the VHS tape era). In short, the barrier to entry for a career in film piracy came down like the wall of Jericho. It became an all-comers affair.
The Downfall: How Easy Duplication Fuelled Rampant Piracy
As the technology for duplication became more accessible, the prevalence of piracy surged. The ease with which DVDs could be copied meant that filmmakers and marketers lost control over their products. The market became flooded with pirated copies, significantly reducing the revenue potential for original content creators. This rampant piracy eroded trust in the distribution system and made it difficult for genuine filmmakers to thrive.
The Present and Future: Adapting to Modern Distribution Challenges
Today, the landscape of film distribution in Nigeria continues to evolve. With the limitations of traditional cinema infrastructure and the pervasive issue of piracy, filmmakers are increasingly turning to digital platforms and on-demand services to reach their audiences. This shift not only provides more control over distribution but also offers new opportunities for revenue generation. As Nigeria continues to develop its digital infrastructure, there is hope that the future of Nigerian cinema will overcome these historical challenges and usher in a new era of accessibility and innovation.