‘Policy, Infrastructure, Business Models Critical To Shape Audience Behaviour’

The laminitis and main enforcement serviceman (CEO) of Afiatv, Emeka Mba, has said that beyond trends, policy, infrastructure, and concern models play a cardinal relation successful shaping assemblage behaviour.

Speaking connected the topic, ‘The New Viewers: Trends successful Taste and Psychology,’ portion addressing participants of the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP-4) astatine Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Mba said, unclear regulations stay 1 of the biggest threats to concern maturation successful Nigeria, adding that, ‘anything you cannot define, bash not regulate. This is 1 proposal I ever springiness regulators; vague policies often make disorder and hinder manufacture progress.”

Using Nigeria’s section contented gyration arsenic a lawsuit study, Mba explained however policies by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from the 1990s helped alteration the African media landscape. He pointed to requirements connected section and overseas content, which compelled overseas programming to align with the taste relevance of Nigerian citizens.

He further highlighted the contributions of the originative industry, stating that, the movie assemblage accounted for 2.3 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP successful 2021, portion the euphony manufacture generates astir $2 cardinal annually.

Mba besides urged policymakers to benchmark Nigeria’s section contented regulations with those of different countries, specified as; Canada, France, and South Korea, to measure differences successful outcomes. He posed a captious question connected infrastructure: should Africa prioritise rolling retired 5G oregon absorption connected expanding 4G entree to agrarian areas.

On concern models, helium asked whether mobile-streaming services from Africa could standard globally portion stressing the value of balancing taste impact—enabling section contented instauration portion preserving user choice.

He noted that a cardinal displacement successful today’s media ecosystem is the determination from media to contented authority, wherever integer platforms person erased accepted barriers of accumulation and distribution. ‘In a integer marketplace, media marque representation is 1 of the astir invaluable assets. It has go a root of credibility and prestige for integer content,’ helium said.

Emphasising the science of caller viewers, Mba urged media practitioners to follow an audience-first attack alternatively than a platform-first mindset, advising them to clasp hybrid contented formats, builds spot and authenticity, roots contented successful section relevance with planetary appeal, and innovates astir sustainability and monetisation.

He besides underscored generational shifts successful media consumption, noting that Gen Z is carving retired niches connected platforms specified arsenic TikTok and Twitter.

“Viewers’ behaviour tin beryllium engineered, not accidental. Trends matter, but they beryllium connected structures. For sustainable growth, we indispensable align astute regulation, stronger infrastructure, and locally attuned concern models,” helium said.