Jason Njoku, founder of African video streaming service iROKOtv, has announced the company is ending its free ad-based service to entirely focus on providing subscription-based video-on-demand services.
In a blog post, Njoku said: “After spending the best part of 2.5 years building a multi-million dollar freemium service with 95 per cent free and five per cent paid for at S$5 (3-month commitments), we are going to spend the rest of 2014 dismantling it. We are basically going to kill iROKOtv Free.”
He described the decision as the most dramatic action he has ever been part of.
“Advertising as a business model, which generated several million dollars of revenue last year and has been the heart of the company since inception, will be swiftly put to the sword. This will definitely be the most dramatic thing I have ever been part of. Scary and exciting at the same time. We are currently generating revenue in 170 countries, in 140 countries [classified as ROW] the average revenue per free viewer is US$0.15 per month versus a paid viewer stands at US$6,” he said.
He also announced the company is already migrating 140 countries to a subscription only service and is offering them value proposition with a 14-day free access to over 10,000 hours of the best Nigerian movies content without adverts.
“Everyone is being asked to contribute if they truly value Nollywood content. The 140 countries represent around 400,000 uniques per month. We are about to go conversion crazy. I am literally betting the entire company and millions of dollars of revenue on a dramatic shift to a paid only model,” he said.
“I have waxed lyrical about my love for the subscription economy. The last three months have only increased that love. We start with 140 countries but expect to migrate everything over in the near future. Some have speculated about the success of our subscription business. We just keep on building and moving.”
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