Netflix laid off about 1,000 employees, roughly 6% of its workforce, and replaced chief content officer Bela Bajaria with former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice last week. Though the changes do not directly affect Nigeria, there exist problems Nigerian subscribers and filmmakers already know.
Netflix is losing viewing time to YouTube. In the first half of 2026, the total viewing on Netflix grew only 2% while YouTube took a record 14.2% of U.S. TV viewing time in July, while Netflix fell to 7.8%. Netflix reports third-quarter results today after the market closes.
The same pull shows in Nigeria. On October 1st, My 30th Wedding, a film by Bimbo Ademoye, passed 3 million views within 16 hours of release. It was approaching 17 million views in its first week. It currently sits at 25 million views. Kazeem Adeoti, co-founder of the iBAKATV YouTube channel, said the number of full-length movies on the platform has since grown sharply. YouTube costs nothing to watch. Meanwhile, Netflix charges ₦2,500 for Mobile, ₦4,000 for Basic, ₦6,500 for Standard and ₦8,500 for Premium each month, unchanged since the increase on July 4, 2025. However, inflation and naira devaluation put the fee out of reach for many Nigerians. Netflix does not publish subscriber numbers by country.
In November 2024, Netflix scaled back original productions in Nigeria. A Netflix spokesperson responded: “We are not exiting Nigeria.” Since 2016, Netflix has invested more than $23 million in Nigeria’s film industry and supported over 250 titles.
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The company now mostly buys finished films. At least one licensed Nigerian film has reached the platform almost every month since March 2026, and Netflix released second seasons of AnÃkúlápó and Blood Sisters. Industry sources say Netflix now prefers films that complete a cinema or other commercial release before it considers a licence. Behind the Scenes arrived in April, and Oversabi Aunty followed on October 2. Many licensed titles stream only in Africa.
Rice’s role still matters here. He will lead Netflix’s global content organisation, including scripted and unscripted series, film and live events across all regions. His first decisions on regional spending will show whether Nigerian titles stay on the buying list.
