FILM DISTRIBUTION IN NIGERIA: A SYSTEMATIC SYNTHESIS OF OVER-THE-TOP (OTT) AND SOCIAL MEDIA ECOSYSTEMS

Abstract

Nigeria's film industry, widely known as Nollywood, has undergone significant changes in its distribution practices following the emergence of digital and online platforms. While existing scholarship has examined different aspects of this transition, including the decline of physical distribution networks, the promotional use of social media, the emergence of international streaming services and the persistence of digital piracy, these discussions have remained largely fragmented. Limited integrated synthesis exists on the differentiated roles of social media platforms, direct digital delivery channels and Over-the-Top (OTT) services within Nigeria's contemporary film distribution ecosystem, particularly in relation to the structural challenges facing filmmakers and the socioeconomic conditions shaping audience access. The gaps are addressed through a qualitative secondary research design using a narrative synthesis approach. Guided by Technological Determinism Theory and Diffusion of Innovations Theory, the study examines, among others the shift from traditional to digital distribution in Nigeria as well as the strategic roles of different digital platform categories. Findings, among others, indicate that Nigerian film distribution has undergone a substantial structural transformation driven by digital technology. Different platform categories, promotional social media, YouTube as a dual promotional and delivery channel, Telegram as an informal and legally complex channel, and commercially structured OTT services, perform distinct functions within the ecosystem and are not equally accessible to all filmmakers. It concludes that Nigeria's digital film distribution ecosystem is best understood not as a completed technological transition but as an ongoing and uneven process of structural change and differentiated adoption.