IrokoTV is, with no doubt the Netflix of Nollywood or if you prefer, the biggest distributor of Nigerian movies to the world. In this article, you will find all you need to know about the platform, iRokoTV subscription, how to download and install the iRoko TV mobile app and much more.
Apart from Hollywood, Nollywood is the biggest global producers of movies. Beyond just the numbers, each year the Nigerian movie industry is coming up with much better movies than previous years in both the story line and the production.
The two problems that have always faced Nollywood are the problems of piracy and the distribution platforms which will help people from all over the world to consume movies produced in the country. These are among the problems that iRokoTV was created in 2011 to solve. Presently the largest web platform for Nigerian movies, it had over 5,000 movies as at 2014 but has since then grown much bigger.
Here are the top things to know about iRokoTV
You can only watch on one screen at a time
Before now, with your iRoko TV Subscription, you can be watching something else while your friend may be watching another, and your family members different other things all with the same subscription. Since 2017, that has stopped when the streaming company decided to change the policy to allow only one screen to use an account at a time.
This means that before your friend or sibling can use your subscription, you must log out from your device. The hope now is that just as Netflix, Spotify, and other streaming services have family plans, iROKOtv may also provide a plan for multiple users with one account.
Data-free downloads
One of the big problems that Nigerians have using streaming services most especially when it comes to things like movies is that data is very expensive and not all networks are very good in various places.
In order to take care of this problem, iROKOtv has made it possible for people to subscribe and have their movies without necessarily using any data. The streaming service has created kiosks in different parts of Lagos where you can go and get movies using your subscription without having to use your data in downloading them.
Availability
The platform makes it possible for people all over the world to be able to be able to download Nollywood movies all over the world. Apart from in Nigeria, people in the United States, and all other countries can get the movies.
You can easily get and downloaded over 10 thousand movies on the platform at the moment including the most recent releases and much older movies. More so, apart from English movies, you will also find movies in other major Nigerian languages including Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo.
iRokoTV Subscription options
There have been reports that the iRokoTV subscription will be made available to for daily and weekly plans, but for now, that has not been implemented.
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The available subscription that is the best, for now, is the Three thousand Naira subscription that gives you up to a year of use. You also have the 3-month subscription that costs a thousand naira. More so, in the American market, you have the one-month, 3-month and a full year subscription. There, a year subscription is $60.
For the method of payment, you can do that either through your debit card or other means available on the website registration page.
What you should know after subscription
After you are done with the subscription, you can change your payment method information or even decide to cancel your account if you do not want it to automatically renew the iRokoTV subscription without any notice. If you do not have sufficient funds in your account, the subscription will be canceled and then you will be informed.
Mobile app
There is also the mobile app of iRokoTv for those who want movies on the go or are not always able to access a computer.
How to download the iRokoTV and make the iRokoTV Subscription
- Go to Google Play and search for iRokoTV
- Download the app and install it
- Once you have downloaded the app, launch it and then select I am a new member so as to continue with your registration.
- Select your country and put in your phone number
- You will receive a code which you will need to input for confirmation. The code may delay and so you may have to request for a pin which will be given to you through a call from a customer agent. This may take from 10 to 30 minutes.
- From here you can select your subscription and then make the payments
Note
While the iRokoTV app is not the worst out there, it is definitely far from the worst. Downloading and installing it is rather straightforward but from then on, you may have some challenges with verifying your number and the app may sometimes not move smoothly even on a very good phone.
Hence, what we would want to see from iRokoTV is a further work on the app to be more friendly and easy to use.
Other similar platforms
While iRokoTV remains the most popular for Nigerian movies, there are also other platforms that allow for one to subscribe and stream movies both in the country and globally:
- Netflix: There is now also Netflix Nigeria but then, it will have a long way to go before it can get the market from iRoko.
- LindaIkeji TV
- Show Max
- Ibaka TV
- Afrinolly
- Nollyland
- MyFilmhouse
- VideoMoja
- Solo View
Quick facts about iRokoTV
iRokoTV was founded in 2010 by Jason Njoku with his friend, Bastian Gotter investing in the company. The idea of the company when it was founded was to come up with a platform to sell sell African movies online. Both men met when they were students at the University of Manchester.
While Njoku remained as the CEO of the company, Bastian Gotter was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) until he left the company in 2017 to continue investing in other parts of Africa.
The company has offices in Lagos, Johannesburg, London, and New York.
