French television company Canal+ has acquired ROK Studios from video-on-demand company IROKOtv for an undisclosed amount.
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.
Nollywood is a movie genre popularized in Nigeria that has become Africa’s de facto film industry and one of the largest globally (by production volume). Based in Lagos, ROK Studios was incubated to create original content for IROKOtv, which can be accessed online anywhere in the world.
Actress and producer Mary Njoku — IROKOtv CEO Jason Njoku’s wife — 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.
