Jason Njoku, the Chief Executive Officer of IrokoTV, has opened up about the struggles his company faced in the Nigerian movie streaming industry, describing their $100 million investment as a hard lesson learned.
Speaking in a Facebook interview with media personality Chukwudi Iwuchukwu, Njoku said the platform’s efforts to thrive in Nigeria were met with significant obstacles, and ultimately, the company had to pull out of the market after years of financial strain.
Founded in 2011 and officially launched in 2015, IrokoTV operated under difficult conditions for over a decade. According to Njoku, the company spent its first ten years in what he described as “full survival mode,” trying to stay afloat in an increasingly competitive landscape.
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He disclosed that IrokoTV struggled to gain ground against international streaming heavyweights like Netflix, Amazon, Showmax, and Iflix. Despite generating revenue and raising $35 million in venture capital, Njoku revealed the company burned through a total of $100 million in its bid to dominate the market.
“Between revenue and capital raised, we easily spent $100 million trying to win,” he said. “But we weren’t winning or losing — we were just stuck in survival mode, dealing with incredibly tough market conditions.”
Njoku explained that the local Nigerian market eventually collapsed, but instead of pulling back, the company doubled down on its investment—an approach he now sees as misguided. By 2023, the reality became clear: there was no viable market for paid premium streaming services in Nigeria.
“We haven’t processed any Naira payments in nearly two years,” he stated, confirming their exit from the Nigerian market.
He also emphasized that the streaming model didn’t align with Nollywood’s realities in Nigeria. Instead, he identified ROK Studios—IrokoTV’s production and distribution arm—as the company’s most successful and profitable venture.
Looking back, Njoku admitted the lessons came at a high cost. He now believes that the same conclusions could have been reached with a much smaller investment.
“With the knowledge I have today, we could have arrived at this point with $5–10 million instead of over $100 million,” he said. “Streaming wasn’t the answer. Content creation, distribution, and linear channels were far more sustainable.”
He added that in 2018, the company could have cut its losses—then around $5 million annually—and either listed the profitable arm or built a leaner, stronger business. Now, Njoku uses his experience to caution other startup founders against raising excessive funding.
“My lessons were expensive,” he said, “which is why I always tell founders: don’t over-raise.”
