Accessibility of Online Nollywood Films: The Place of You-Tube

In the world of today, technology has become an ordinary component of everyday living as it has influenced almost all facets of life and is no longer seen as a luxury. Its influence has been evident in most sectors of the Nigerian economy particularly in the entertainment sector. The Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood has experienced its own share of technological upheaval. Having a past dating back to over 45 years, Nollywood films were watched on television and then video cassettes, Pay TV,CD and DVD plates respectively. As time went on, technology became more sophisticated and digital movie and online series streaming platforms for viewing movies were introduced. This study therefore sought to establish the place of you-tube in accessing nollywood films online amongst the likes of Netflix, Ibaka TV, Netnaija, Iroko TV, Nollyland and others which are equally used to access online nollywood movies. What is the relevance of you-tube in the midst of these other platforms? This study was designed as a qualitative study and adopted Focus group discussion as a method of data collection. Anchored on the Technological Acceptance Model, eighteen participants who were purposively chosen were involved in the study. Findings from the study indicate that the place of You-tube platform for accessing movies is threatened mostly by the Netflix platform. Data also showed that though the you-tube platform has not lost its popularity completely for accessing nollywood films online, the audience seems to be more tilted towards Netflix for accessing current and standard nollywood films. The study therefore recommends amongst others that nollywood film producers should equally upload standard and current films to you-tube since the app is generally perceived to be more utilized by the audience for not just accessing movies online but also seeking for other relevant information on issues than other online streaming platforms which are basically for streaming and downloading movies.