Entertainment
From music to movies and TV shows, Techpoint Africa brings you the latest news and insights on how technology is shaping the entertainment industry.
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Wyclef Jean, a Grammy-winning musician, has partnered with the Plateau State government to build a tech hub in the state. This move will support efforts by players such as Aduna Capital and Nasir El-Rufai to boost tech growth in Northern Nigeria.
Spotify and Orange have partnered to allow users to listen to the streaming app for free due to high data costs. Currently available in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and Mali, Spotify plans to launch this in Guinea soon.
Okada Books, a Nigerian digital publishing and bookselling platform, will close shop on November 30, 2023. This news comes at a time when Nigeria has one of the world’s lowest reading cultures, with a preference for videos over text.
After dethroning Netflix as the market leader in Africa for streaming content, Showmax will release its revamped version in February 2024.
Satellite TV provider, MultiChoice, has pulled the plug on its DStv offering in Malawi. The company will no longer accept new DStv subscriptions or reconnections in Malawi starting Wednesday, August 9, 2023.
South Africa got $125 million of the $175 million Netflix has invested in sub-Saharan Africa since 2016. Nigeria got $23 million, while figures for Kenya were not revealed.
The relationship between Nigerian filmmakers and movie streaming platforms has continued to grow stronger in the last few years. But how does it help these video-on-demand platforms.
Disney+ had earlier hinted at this collaboration in 2020 with an initial release date of 2022. The company still hasn’t revealed a launch date in Nigeria.
Amazon Prime launched in Nigeria this August, but how will the company get subscribers in the country?
Disney reported 221.1m streaming subscribers at the end of June 2022, surpassing Netflix’s 220.7m streaming subscribers. Also, it will be introducing an ad-supported plan on December 8, 2022.
Netflix reported a 970,000 drop in subscribers in its Q2 2022 earnings, beating expectations of a 2 million loss in Q1 2022. It also announced 220.67 million subscribers and expects to add 1 million in Q3.
In just five years, The Critics Company has gone from producing movies with smartphones to creating the VFX for King of Boys, a Nollywood political thriller. We spoke with them to learn what the journey has been like.
Swiping through social media, you see non-Africans vibing to Afrobeats, but this music genre did not become a global sensation overnight. It has evolved alongside technology and could someday become the world’s anthem.
From Grammy nominations to several international collaborations, the Nigerian music industry is at an exciting place right now, but what does the future hold for the growing industry?
Getting attention from music promoters can be pretty tricky for emerging artists, even with the Internet. Ex-music journalist Victor Okpala wants to eliminate this difficulty with the launch of SpinHeard.
South Africa-based animation studio @Triggerfish, announces a partnership with @Disney to produce an African-themed animated series based on ten stories from 14 African creators. The series debuts on Disney+ in 2022
Spotify has launched a clubhouse-like app, Spotify Greenroom, that allows users to join or host live audio rooms, and also convert audio conversations to podcasts, the first of such features on live audio chat apps.
Nigerian streaming platform, @uduXmusic, in partnership with @PiggyBankNG and four others, launches PopRev to help artistes build equity from fans’ investments while fans also make profits.
Netflix begins testing a feature to eliminate unauthorised password sharing. What are the likely implications for its low-income markets?
Late to the party? @Spotify is going live in 41 new African countries including Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. The pioneering music streaming platform will have present players like @AppleMusic, @youtubemusic and @audiomack to contend with on the continent.