Nigerian actress and filmmaker Omoni Oboli has revealed plans to release seven movies during the Christmas season, saying she hopes to spread the festive mood through her productions.
The films were unveiled on Tuesday at the MTN x Omoni Oboli TV Christmas Movie Mixer, held at the MTN Rooftop Event Centre in Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos. The event attracted actors, filmmakers, content creators and other players in the creative industry.
Oboli disclosed that the movies would begin streaming in the second week of November, with the first set to premiere on November 13.
She also explained her decision to keep the movie titles secret until their release dates, accusing some YouTube channels of exploiting titles announced by filmmakers to mislead audiences.
“We do not release our movie titles until the day the movie is coming out. It is deliberate because there are some weird channels on YouTube,” she said.
“They are not really creators’ channels; they are just roaches.”
“Once you release your title, they are just going to change one of their movie titles to that title, and people start looking for your movie later.”
She said the seven-film project had been in development for about four to five months, with scriptwriters working on different stories.
Omoni also revealed that the value of her partnership with MTN also lies in making the finished films accessible to more people.
She said MTN’s YouTube data bundles help reduce the cost of streaming, allowing audiences to enjoy films without having to spend excessively on data.
“With MTN bundles, you can watch a whole film with just a few hundred naira. That makes me happy because I can tell my audience that we have a movie out, and they don’t have to break the bank to watch it,” she said.
She explained that wider access to content also has a direct impact on the livelihoods of people working in the film industry. Since creators earn revenue from views and advertising on YouTube, increased viewership creates opportunities to grow their businesses, employ more actors and engage other production professionals.
“The more people watch, the more money the creators make, and the more money the creators make, the more people we can empower. I can have more actors in my films. So, I’m also empowering other people,” Oboli said.
She described filmmaking as a serious business that supports the livelihoods of many people, noting that the success of a production often extends beyond the filmmaker to the actors and other professionals whose income depends on the industry.
Speaking at the event, Idowu Adesokan, general manager, consumer segments at MTN Nigeria, said the partnership reflects the company’s commitment to supporting the creative economy and its potential to create jobs, build businesses and take Nigerian stories to wider audiences.
He noted that the collaboration with Omoni Oboli TV, alongside MTN’s strategic partnership with YouTube, is part of the company’s efforts to create opportunities for local talent and connect audiences with Nigerian content.
“At MTN, we recognise that connectivity goes beyond access to the internet. It is an enabler of creativity, innovation and economic opportunity. We believe Nigeria’s creative industry has enormous potential to entertain, create jobs, build businesses and take our stories to the world,” he said.
Also speaking, Berene Jankovich-Besan, YouTube consultant, highlighted the importance of partnerships in growing digital content consumption in Nigeria.
She also identified affordability and access to suitable devices as some of the factors influencing digital adoption, adding that collaborations with telecommunications companies such as MTN can help address barriers to accessing online content.
Jankovich-Besan explained that YouTube’s partnership with MTN involves using content from creators’ channels in marketing campaigns to introduce their work to wider audiences.
She said the approach deliberately identifies the creators and their channels in promotional materials, helping viewers find and follow them on the platform.
“We want to make sure that the channel name is there so we can drive traffic to the creator channels on YouTube. Ultimately, success for us would be if those channels keep growing and have more subscribers,” she said.
