Vivendi’s Canal+ has acquired African film and television studio ROK for an undisclosed amount.
Founded by Mary Njoku, wife of IROKOtv CEO Jason Njoku, ROK studio was created to provide original Nollywood content for IROKOtv.
Speaking on the acquisition, Mary Njoku says:
ROK has captured the imagination of millions of movie fans, and they have truly supported us as we’ve grown the company to celebrate and enjoy our African culture. I’m excited to be taking our platform on the next stage of its journey with CANAL+ Group, who share our passion for creating original content, supporting new talent and together, we have ambitious plans for the future.
Jacques du PUY, CEO of CANAL+ International says:
Through this acquisition CANAL+ Group is very happy to develop and enhance the catalogue of Nollywood content and expand the ROK brand inside and outside the African continent.
ROK will produce thousands of more hours of Nollywood content to deliver movies and original TV series for CANAL+ Group’s audiences in FSA. CANAL+ Group will continue to collaborate with IROKO Ltd, with non-exclusive content distribution of ROK content via the IROKOtv SVOD app.
Actress and producer Mary Njoku will stay on as Director General under the Canal+ acquisition.
In a call with Techcrunch, Fabrice Faux, Canal+ Chief Content Officer said that the company was acquiring Mary’s talent. He went on to add, “We will provide administrative support, finance, and equipment, but otherwise it is our intention to give Mary maximum autonomy and creative freedom.”
Under the deal, ROK will continue to create unique content for IROKOtv, ROK’s four existing channels—three on DSTV and ROK Sky in the UK—as well as Canal+’s Africa and global channels.
This is not the first deal between Canal+ and IROKOtv. In 2015, Jason Njoku’s iROKO sealed a deal with Canal Plus Group to launch a mobile SVOD service in Francophone Africa. The amount involved in that deal was also disclosed, but the multi-million euro deal saw C+O and iROKO co-brand an app and spend the next couple of years curating some of the best content available in French speaking Africa. In 2016, Canal+ was also one of the investors along with Kinnevik when IROKO raised $19m
