ABSTRACT
Since the reduction in sales of CDs and DVDs in the Nigerian film industry (Nollywood hereafter) owing to piracy and saturation, and the heralding of online distribution, the nature of the viewing audience and the medium through which Nigerian films are accessed have arguably remained understudied. The growth of video-on-demand (VOD) platforms for Nollywood films suggests alternative viewing spaces for which scholarship is required given that YouTube, iROKOtv and Netflix have changed the sites and modes of spectatorship in dynamic ways. A key objective of this chapter is to address the influences, preferences and contestations of Nigerian film audiences on internet-based platforms through the lens of digital delivery and on-demand culture. With TV channels airing Nollywood content, high YouTube subscription, flexible data plans and smarter mobile devices, the decision to go online as might be expected is neither straightforward nor predictable. Multiple factors contrive to retain or push viewers away from the internet. These factors vary according to the social class of audiences and the shifting patterns of online consumption. Unpacking them will contribute to our understanding of digital delivery and on-demand culture in an African context. Using online surveys and semi-structured interviews, these digital spaces are explored to determine their (un)popularity among the audiences they converge.
