By Mary Emmanuel
In recent news, Actress and producer Mary Njoku couldn’t hide her excitement when the deal was finalized with Canal+. The french Television company has acquired the ROK film studio from VOD company IROKOtv for an undisclosed amount. CANAL+ acquired the African film studio and international TV network, including its production, content distribution and publishing channels. As part of the transaction, IROKO Ltd will also take full control of the JV IROKO+. The move comes as CANAL+ Group looks to strengthen its content production reach in Nigeria and across Africa.
Founded by Jason Njoku in 2010—and backed by $45 million in VC—IROKOtv boasts the largest online catalog of Nollywood film content in the world. Based in Lagos, ROK film studios were incubated to create original content for IROKOtv, which can be accessed online anywhere in the world.
IROKOtv CEO Jason Njoku’s wife Mary Njoku founded ROK studios and will stay on as Director-General under the Canal+ acquisition. Owned by media conglomerate Vivendi, Canal+ looks to give Mary more production resources, without disrupting ROK’s creative chemistry.
“We are acquiring the talent of Mary,” Canal+ Chief Content Officer Fabrice Faux said in an interview. Read the full interview here Canal+ acquires Nollywood studio ROK from IROKOtv to grow African film
“We will provide administrative support, finance, and equipment, but otherwise it is our intention to give Mary maximum autonomy and creative freedom,” he said.
Mrs. Njoku’s creative work so far has led ROK to produce over 540 movies and 25 original TV series, according to company data. With the ROK acquisition, Canal+ looks to bring the Nollywood production ethos to other countries and regions of Africa.
This is great news for the actress and her company.
Congratulations to her.
Watch her appreciation video here
