‘Policy, Infrastructure, Business Models Critical To Shape Audience Behaviour’

The founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Afiatv, Emeka Mba, has said that beyond trends, policy, infrastructure, and business models play a fundamental role in shaping audience behaviour.

Speaking on the topic, ‘The New Viewers: Trends in Taste and Psychology,’ while addressing participants of the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP-4) at Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Mba said, unclear regulations remain one of the biggest threats to business growth in Nigeria, adding that, ‘anything you cannot define, do not regulate. This is one advice I always give regulators; vague policies often create confusion and hinder industry progress.”

Using Nigeria’s local content revolution as a case study, Mba explained how policies by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from the 1990s helped transform the African media landscape. He pointed to requirements on local and foreign content, which compelled foreign programming to align with the cultural relevance of Nigerian citizens.

He further highlighted the contributions of the creative industry, stating that, the film sector accounted for 2.3 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2021, while the music industry generates about $2 billion annually.

Mba also urged policymakers to benchmark Nigeria’s local content regulations with those of other countries, such as; Canada, France, and South Korea, to evaluate differences in outcomes. He posed a critical question on infrastructure: should Africa prioritise rolling out 5G or focus on expanding 4G access to rural areas.

On business models, he asked whether mobile-streaming services from Africa could scale globally while stressing the importance of balancing cultural impact—enabling local content creation while preserving consumer choice.

He noted that a key shift in today’s media ecosystem is the move from media to content authority, where digital platforms have erased traditional barriers of production and distribution. ‘In a digital marketplace, media brand image is one of the most valuable assets. It has become a source of credibility and prestige for digital content,’ he said.

Emphasising the psychology of new viewers, Mba urged media practitioners to adopt an audience-first approach rather than a platform-first mindset, advising them to embrace hybrid content formats, builds trust and authenticity, roots content in local relevance with global appeal, and innovates around sustainability and monetisation.

He also underscored generational shifts in media consumption, noting that Gen Z is carving out niches on platforms such as TikTok and Twitter.

“Viewers’ behaviour can be engineered, not accidental. Trends matter, but they depend on structures. For sustainable growth, we must align smart regulation, stronger infrastructure, and locally attuned business models,” he said.