Streaming ‘Nollywood’ movie service iROKOtv has
announced that it is partnering with Nokia to launch the Nigerian company’s
first mobile app, exclusively on the Windows Phone platform on its Lumia range.
The deal is a way of trying to build momentum for
the struggling Finnish phone giant. Nokia which is a major brand in Nigeria has
done other content deals on its lower-spec Asha range. This tie-up with the
Lagos and London-based company is designed to build awareness for its Lumia
range.
For iROKOtv, the deal is about getting access to
Nigerian consumers, although the offer is open to any Lumia owner worldwide. A
deal in France between Paris-based streaming music service Deezer and Orange
resulted in a huge uptake in Deezer users in France. Given that the deal
targets just Lumia phones it won’t be on that scale.
Jason Njoku, CEO and Founder of iROKO Partners, said
Nokia engineers had worked with iROKOtv to help them build the app.
Mr. Njoku expected Lumia users in Nigeria, who will
get the first three months access to iROKOtv’s premium service free, mainly to
access the library of 5,000 movies over Wi-Fi networks, although “a lot done
technically with this app to make it feasible to use on 3G.”
The app will give customers extras including
interviews with Nollywood stars and additional news.
Formed in 2010 by Mr. Njoku, the company started
life as a YouTube channel before launching as a company in its own right in
2010.
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