There is no doubt that the rise of YouTube as a distribution channel for Nollywood productions is driven by both necessity and the opportunity for cash grabs.
Amid the current rush to produce movies and the proliferation of repetitive content, Naijaonpoint examines YouTube’s influence on the Nollywood industry in this article.
Many attributed the transformation in Nollywood to the rise of digital platforms like YouTube, which has been a game-changer, reshaping the industry.
Aside from direct revenue from ads and brand sponsorships, local filmmakers who previously relied on cinema releases and streaming deals are beginning to realise the enormous potential YouTube offers producers, enabling them to reach international audiences without the constraints of traditional distribution channels.
Interestingly, streaming giants have made some of these filmmakers sneer at YouTube as a dumping ground for Nollywood productions, which they believed were low-budget.
Over the past months, Nigerians have witnessed YouTube channels becoming a new frontier for Nollywood films following the pullback by major streaming platforms like Amazon Video and Netflix.
In a stunning turn of events, Nollywood actress cum movie producer, Omoni Oboli, took YouTube by storm with romantic love movies, especially with the success of ‘Love in Every Word’, which has recorded over 20 million views, despite a brief copyright hiccup that saw the film temporarily pulled from YouTube.
Since its release on March 7, 2025, the movie has underscored a significant shift in the film distribution landscape, redefining YouTube and changing the trajectory for Nollywood’s filmmakers.
However, its sequel fell short of expectations, as some movie critics pointed to the long running time and overflooding of brands in the movie.
Ace Nollywood actor, Saidi Balogun, in an exclusive interview with Naijaonpoint, affirms that Nollywood producers and actors are actively adapting to YouTube rules to align better with international standards.
Balogun stated that YouTube’s transformation in the industry aims to increase the volume of Nigerian films and enhance their global reach.
He said, “We’re doing our best to bend the rules so that we can get more funding and a lot of movies coming out from Nigeria. If YouTube are not even recording to the standard of film, you’re calling too many people to do things you want your own to stand up. It’s driving us there.”
Saidi Balogun also dismissed insinuations that YouTube is affecting Nollywood’s standards, either by encouraging piracy or lowering production quality, emphasising that the platform has policies that allow content owners to report and remove infringing content promptly.
He stated, “No, it is not affecting the standard of movie production. YouTube have rules; anything that goes up, you can easily tell them to drop it.”
On whether producers are being confined or “caged” by YouTube’s requirements, potentially limiting creative freedom, the movie star said the platform is not restricting movie production or creativity; instead, the competition among many filmmakers motivates producers to improve and differentiate their content.
He added, “I mean, yeah, YouTube is not dubbing down on movie production because of his creativity, it is not lowering the standard of movie production, no, no, no, no, no, it is not. That’s why I said when we are many, you want your own to stand out.”
Fast-rising actor, Funsho Davido, also corroborated Saidi Balogun’s position on the influence of YouTube in the industry, saying, “I don’t know about dumbing down, but YouTube is an enabling platform for lots of independent film makers in Nollywood with no fear of sharing profit with a distributor or an agency etc. Though the availability of this platform and easy access to funds have sort of reduced quality of story telling to dishing out quantity of many ill-properly, half baked and mediocre story which doesn’t even properly represent the industry.
“YouTube rules don’t really limit creativity. Easy to shoot, low budget, quick, quantity of quality is mostly why love stories are the best choices, plus feel-good stories usually attract fans…. Fairytale love stories have a lot of audience.”
Funsho also asserted that YouTube might be drowning the International Recognition that the industry is aggressively pursuing.
He said, “Yes, I don’t believe anyone is chasing world standards with Nollywood YouTube films, plus world standard films from other Nations don’t consider YouTube as a platform for showcasing their work. So yes, the world won’t take Nollywood seriously with all sorts of movies hitting YouTube every single day, with most of them not worth screen time.”
Asked on the way forward for the industry if YouTube might be hurting the industry, the actor said, “I don’t know if there’s a way forward from this, because as long as it’s bringing the money, Nigerians will venture, and the more people venture, the more substandard materials go out. So it’s a serious and helpless phase except if the audience now begins to demand better.”
Also speaking on YouTube’s influence on the film industry, a movie reviewer in Nigeria and West Africa, ‘CinemaPointer’ on Instagram, said, “YouTube is a good thing for Nollywood. Being a democratized platform, it’s the new frontier for movies, series & entertainment in general. And at CinemaPointer, we’re confident that Nollywood will conquer it.
“We’re already seeing a lot of promise and improvement in terms of production values, storytelling, and investment as Nollywood producers have been pushed to step up their games individually or get left behind.
“For the first time in the history of Nollywood, there are no Nigerian gatekeepers to blame for failure. On YouTube, success is largely merit-based. You either have it or you don’t have it. And “having it” also includes, not just talent to produce content, but talent to accurately read the market and deliver what the market wants.
“All in all, YouTube might be the best thing to ever happen to Nollywood because now, every Dick and Harriet can put their money where their mouth is and have their talents rewarded. In such a democratized environment, those who are unable to succeed deserve to crash and burn. And they will not be missed. Good riddance to bad rubbish!”
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