When Linda Ikeji started blogging in 2006, not many Nigerians were online, not many even knew what the Internet was. 12 years later and Linda Ikeji has become a media powerhouse.
She blogged her way to fame and became one of the most talked about Internet personalities in Africa. Now, she is facing another giant — online streaming, popularly called Linda Ikeji TV. The new platform launched Friday, June 8, 2018.
Within 3 days, the platform gained 10,000 subscribers, heralding a positive beginning and which also shows it is a different accomplishment from the social network.
Linda is never one lady who asked for much. She had from a tender age wanted to work as a TV presenter or producer. Now, she owns an online TV space.
“Getting to this point where I can own an online TV platform is one of the best feelings in the world. When we first launched, people bombarded our site, subscribing and commenting on shows I was part of 100 percent. It’s an amazing feeling to see people finally view what we have done and commend us like this,” begins Linda.
In three days, the platform garnered over 10,000 subscribers with only 10 reality shows and 21 TV shows. According to Linda, that’s just about one percent of what we want to produce. “We just wanted to launch so people can see some of what we’ve produced so far,” she says. “Right now, some of my staff are already on different locations, producing more shows, because we plan to have much more.”
This effort is a year’s worth. The team worked on these shows actively since June 2017. She had to pull herself together and learn on the job. Mistakes were made in hiring people who did not deserve the job but over time, professionals came on board and made things look better. Today, Linda TV can boast about having over 35 shows, having surmounted the challenges faced in 2017. Accordingly, for Linda, one year is not a bad time for producing 35 TV shows.
For her, the most creative aspect of her career is the generation of new ideas. “I like sitting down with my producers, going through ideas, and going over scripts – I wrote some of the scripts for the shows. I came up with 90% of the titles on the platform. I always argue with my head of programming. I say, “I don’t know how to carry cameras and lights, but when it comes to ideas, I am very creative.”
Eleven years of being a blogger has shown Linda what Nigerians want. She says she believes that Nigerians want to laugh, see drama, gossip, controversy. She “sees that the serious stuff is not as appealing to the youth as the mundane stuff, content about Bobrisky and the lighthearted things that will just make them laugh.”
Sure enough, these will also feature mostly on the online TV space. She may also provide content for children in the future. But for now, the main thing is to get the Linda Ikeji TV network going for major success.
How much did all cost?
“About half a billion naira,” Linda states, “We have so many equipment – that’s how we were able to do multiple shoots. We have a lot of cameramen, presenters, sound technicians, and editors who are in-house. We have a mini jib and a fully loaded music studio. Sometimes I think to myself, ‘Did you need to go that far?’
“We have some reality shows that have 6 cast and crew members in total. There are people in Magodo right now that I paid for them for at least two weeks. Some people have been there for a month. Some people are there for “Highway Girls,” they are going to be there for two weeks. We are shooting simultaneously and we have to pay for everything. The cost of production is capital intensive.”
Theo Ukpaa, who is amazing and has worked in the production industry for 10 years. Linda is the brain behind the creation of ideas and Theo is the brain behind the production. Both joined forces and got the right people to work with them. Succeeding meant building a team of loyal workers who love the same things that Linda and Theo love, people who really want to see the business succeed.
Top of the agenda, Linda wants the world to be able to assess content. She makes the TV content mobile friendly so everyone, especially young people can see it. This is very import because 90% of people access internet content on their phones.
LIS (Linda Ikeji Social), a previous social network by Linda did not see the light of day and it was a mess because people that made it did a poor job. Linda believes they were mediocre. They promised me heaven and earth but could not deliver.
She learned to overcome all that, saying; “So when I was doing LITV, I said I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes, I need the best hands. LITV is on a bigger scale than LIS, and will eventually be bigger than LIB. I needed the right people to do it. I didn’t want anyone to mess this up, I didn’t want anyone to mess up this dream. LIS was my dream and they messed it up. I didn’t want another person to mess this one up.”
Linda Ikeji TV intends to garner its own share of the market. 93 million Nigerians are on the internet. LITV will at the initial stage go for one per cent. One percent is like a million. Linda says she is looking for a million Nigerian internet users who will subscribe every month. That way, she will be making billions.
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