After Nigerian Producers’ Complaints, Ghana Moves Against TV Piracy of Nollywood Films

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

The relationship between Nigerian and Ghanaian film industries, dubbed Nollywood for Nigeria, and Ghallywood for Ghana, is a dynamic mix of massive collaboration, cultural exchange, and occasional rivalry. While the two West African powerhouses have birthed acclaimed blockbuster features, the partnership has frequently fluctuated due to economic policies and personal egos within the film industries.

For instance, in the late 1990s and 2000s, the industries experienced a massive boom in cross-border casting to appeal to the broader West African audience and the global diaspora. Nigerian producers regularly traveled to Ghana to film, while Ghanaian actors—such as Majid Michel, Jackie Appiah, and Van Vicker—became household names in Nigeria.  This era produced numerous cross-cultural classics and fostered a united West African entertainment front.

By the early 2010s, the relationship began to strain. Unhealthy rivalries and nationalistic policies created friction. For instance, Ghana implemented strict regulations and high fees for foreign actors and production crews working in the country, causing many Nigerian producers to withdraw. Industry insiders noted that personal egos, politics, and emotional reactions to these regulations caused the once-organic collaborations to stall.

At the moment, there seems to be some unhealthy creative practice observed from the Nigerian end, which Ghana’s National Film Authority (NFA) has announced plans to crack down television stations that broadcast Nigerian movies without authorization. It threatened to revoke the broadcasting licenses of local TV stations caught airing stolen Nollywood films. The development has further gained reports in the media.

Following complaints from Nigerian producers, the authority stated that all broadcasting licenses in the country could be revoked and reissued under stricter terms by 2027 to curb copyright infringement. The Ghanaian film authority is treating the issue as a major priority as it seeks to foster fair collaboration and protect filmmakers’ rights.

The Ghana’s National Film Authority, along with the Ministry of Communications, the National Media Commission (NMC), and the National Communications Authority (NCA), are implementing stricter regulations to combat intellectual property theft. With the outcome most likely, all television stations in Ghana may be required to reapply for their broadcast licenses by 2027 to ensure compliance with copyright laws.

In recent times, Nigerian filmmakers, including Omoni Oboli, Ruth Kadiri, Bimbo Ademoye, and Uchenna Mbunabo, have actively called out stations for downloading their films from YouTube and broadcasting them without paying royalties. The illegal practice of broadcasting Nigerian movies deprives creators of rightful earnings and has drawn sharp criticism from stakeholders across the West African entertainment industry.

One of the Nigerian producers, Mbunabo didn’t hold back. A leading Nollywood player on the digital streaming platform, Mbunabo called out several Ghanaian television stations for airing Nollywood films without permission, and he’s calling on Ghana’s National Film Authority (NFA) to enforce the country’s copyright laws rather than letting the practice slide.

He raised the issue directly with James Gardiner, the NFA’s Deputy CEO, during a recent conversation. His claim is specific: some Ghanaian stations, he says, have been grabbing newly released Nollywood films straight off YouTube and airing them without ever contacting the producers, cutting off a revenue stream those films rely on.

He also pointed out that he’d never seen Nigerian stations do the same thing to Ghanaian content, and charged Gardiner on what Ghana was actually doing to protect filmmakers’ work. He wanted to know how it could be legal for TV stations to pull Nigerian films off YouTube and broadcast them for free. “I noticed that Ghanaian TV stations, the way they are stealing our films and showing them for free with impunity,” he said.

“Is it legalised in your country for TV stations to go on YouTube, download people’s sweat and show it for free?” Gardiner didn’t deny it. He admitted the problem is real and said the NFA has already started talking to other regulators, the Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority, and the National Media Commission, about tightening up copyright enforcement. 

The trouble, he explained, is that a lot of these stations barely exist in any physical sense anymore.

“There are copyright laws, but they are not effective because a lot of the TV stations don’t have offices,” Gardiner said. “Most of them are now digital, so they operate from anywhere. They can even have a Ghanaian TV station but be operating from Austria simply because it is digital.”

To get a handle on that, Gardiner said regulators are looking to roll out a new licensing framework — one that would require broadcasters to go through a fresh licensing process, making it easier to track who’s operating and hold them accountable.

Stations caught airing pirated content would have to pay compensation to the affected producers, he said, and repeat offenders would risk having their licences suspended. A third strike, he added, could mean losing the licence altogether.

Gardiner stopped short of giving an exact timeline, but said the reforms are already in motion and he’s hopeful there’ll be real progress within the year.

Mbunabo welcomed the plan but pushed for it to move faster, pointing out that every day this continues is another day filmmakers lose ground on recovering their production costs through legitimate channels like YouTube. He was also quick to clarify that this wasn’t an attack on Ghana’s film industry as a whole; he’s worked with plenty of Ghanaian actors over the years. He remains firmly in favour of Nollywood and Ghallywood working together.