Ufuoma Okonoko has unveiled a strategy for Blaze Channel USA, a digital platform designed to generate revenue from Nollywood films and other Nigerian creative products in the United States.
The strategy goes beyond film streaming. It seeks to use Nollywood and Nigerian music to attract audiences to the platform, while creating opportunities to market other products from Nigeria, including fashion, food, books, arts and crafts, pharmaceuticals, tourism and technology solutions.
The proposal addresses a challenge that continues to affect Nigerian filmmakers and other creative professionals: finding reliable ways to earn from their intellectual property and reach buyers outside the country.
According to information provided by the company, Blaze Channel was officially launched in 2018 following about 10 years of development involving software engineers in the United States. The platform currently has more than 2,000 subscribers worldwide, a figure reported by the company.
Ufuoma’s plan is to build on the platform’s film and music offering by introducing a wider range of Nigerian products to its audience. The approach is intended to connect the country’s entertainment content with other areas of its creative economy.
The United States is a major market for the proposal. Ufuoma has pointed to the spending power of African-American consumers and the Nigerian diaspora as part of the commercial opportunity. However, the size of these markets should not be confused with revenue already generated by Blaze Channel.
Atlantic World Digital Communications is the Nigerian partner involved in the initiative. The company’s chairman and chief executive, Tony Abulu, is also expected to support efforts to introduce the platform to American filmmakers and businesses through partnerships and chambers of commerce.
Ufuoma has also disclosed that an application has been submitted to the Creative Economy Development Fund (CEDF). The company hopes to use the funding, if secured, to acquire additional distribution rights, increase marketing and support the transfer of revenue into Nigeria’s creative economy. The application does not mean that the funding has been approved.
For the strategy to deliver its intended results, Blaze Channel will need to secure commercially attractive content, grow its paying audience and establish effective routes for selling Nigerian products to consumers in the United States.
The initiative places Nollywood within a broader commercial plan that seeks to give Nigerian creative businesses another route to international customers.
