EbonyLife CEO Mo Abudu to Launch New Streamer for Pan-African Series, Movies, Talk Shows and Lifestyle Content (EXCLUSIVE)

EbonyLife Media CEO Mo Abudu isn’t done pushing international boundaries for African storytellers and creators.

One of Africa’s preeminent media moguls, the resourceful London-born Abudu is getting ready to expand the scope of her Lagos-based company with EbonyLife on Plus, a new kind of membership-based streaming service that will feature pan-African series, movies, talk shows and lifestyle content.

EbonyLife was initially created as an upscale TV network in 2012 and successfully moved into feature film and series production, scoring deals with Sony Pictures Television and Netflix, among others.

The launch of EbonyLife on Plus comes at a critical time for the African filmmaking and creative community, which has been in limbo since global streamers shifted course in the last 18 months after short-lived commitments in the region: Netflix reportedly pulled the plug on its Nigerian Originals, while Amazon Prime Video abruptly exited the African market altogether last year.

“There’s a whole continent that needs to have a voice, their stories need to be told and they are producing but they no longer have a home for their productions,” she says, noting that “a lot of people are turning to YouTube as an option” which she says “shouldn’t be the only place.”

In an interview with Variety outlining plans for EbonyLife on Plus, Abudu says the streamer’s rollout will be a natural evolution of her work and mantra. “I’ve been in this industry for the past 20 years, and my primary focus now is on building a thriving ecosystem — one that encompasses production, distribution, and capacity building, both across the continent and in the diaspora,” she says.

EbonyLife has achieved a topnotch track record in scripted, notably with the thriller miniseries “Blood Sisters,” a Netflix original that garnered over 11 million hours viewed in its first week alone; “Òlòtūré,” a dark-edged thriller movie and series about human trafficking; and “A Sunday Affair,” a romantic dramedy film. The banner also entered the festival circuit with “Death and the King’s Horseman,” a film adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s acclaimed anti-colonial stage play by the same name which played at Toronto in 2022.

Abudu hasn’t conceived EbonyLife on Plus as another global streamer, she says, but rather a platform that will be bringing together a community around shared interests “rooted in purpose, identity and connection.”

“Do I have the budgets of Netflix and Amazon? Of course I don’t, and that’s why we’re being a little bit creative on the types of content that we are bringing to the platform,” says Abudu, who ventured into directing with the short films “Her Perfect Life” and “Iyawo Mi” in 2023. She says she isn’t looking to “compete with the Netflixes,” or become like a small-scale Amazon or YouTube platform.

Besides showcasing films and series, EbonyLife on Plus will boast a healthy volume of reality and lifestyle content skewing younger (18 and up) female demographics, including e-commerce.

“We’ll be curating African fashion, so if you’re looking for the latest designer outfit from Nigeria, you may find it on our portal,” Abudu says, stressing that “it won’t be a self publishing platform — we want it to be highly curated and by invitation.”

Abudu, who rose to fame in the 2000s with her popular daytime talk show “Moments With Mo,” will deliver a masterclass every month exclusively for EbonyLife on Plus. She’ll also bring in a podcast adapted from “Moments With Mo,” along with another podcast titled “What Do Women Really Think?”

Aiming to appeal to younger subscribers, Abudu says “the new TikTok generation is looking for more exciting things than just the next drama,” which is why EbonyLife on Plus is “leaning toward looking at Nigerian creators on YouTube.” The service has already partnered with three YouTube creators to have them create content for EbonyLife on Plus in-house as writers and producers. She notes that “even Netflix and all of these guys are now looking to YouTube and bringing the biggest creators on YouTube to their platforms.”

The inaugural slate of EbonyLife on Plus will include the company’s existing library, along with a catalogue of Nollywood Gold classics which the company recently acquired, and a collection of films from Sony Pictures that feature prominent Black talent. There will also be some original scripted films and shows which she says will be “tightly scripted, with a limited cost and locations that we can afford as we start this journey.”

Anticipated scripted highlights on EbonyLife on Plus include “Hallelujah,” a family drama set a powerful Largos church starring Uzor Arukwe and Bolaji Ogunmola, and an untitled film featuring Omoni Oboli as a beloved media star whose picture-perfect life unravels. Other scripted content will star Bolaji Ogunmola, Uche Jombo, Nancy Isime and Daniel Effiong. There will also be some lifestyle-driven specials celebrating African identity, such as a show hosted by Nigeria’s dance icon Kaffy leads high-energy masterclasses in Afro dance styles.

EbonyLife on Plus will have a soft launch in September (priced at $10/year in Nigeria and $30/year internationally), and Abudu says she’s currently talking to investors and working with a financial advisory company in Nigeria on a capital raise.

While streamers have pulled out or scaled back investments across the continent, Abudu believes there is still a global audience for shows and movies produced in Africa, as “Baby Farm” recently proved.

“Our co-production ‘Baby Farm’ has been extremely successful in Africa and Netflix then decided to distribute it to English-speaking countries, where it performed exceptionally well, breaking into the
Top 10 Netflix charts in key markets including the U.K., U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines, among others. That tells you there is a big market and that people are ready to listen to our stories,” she said, adding that “Baby Farm” will also launch on EbonyLife on Plus outside of Africa.

The prolific entrepreneur is also upbeat about the longer-term perspectives for the continent. She sees the upcoming takeover of South African pay-TV giant MultiChoice by Canal+ Group as a positive signal.

“I think Canal + sees the future in Africa and they’re right, because by the year 2050, one in five people in the world is going to be an African. We have the youngest youth demographic on the globe. So this is the future. They’re thinking long term,” says Abudu.

Aside from the streamer’s launch, EbonyLife is in the process of opening a cinema for African films in South London, in the district of Wandsworth. Abudu reveals that she just hosted the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, during his visit to Nigeria. “He’s excited about the fact that we are doing the first African cinema in the U.K.,” she says.

Elsewhere, EbonyLife is continuing to work with a wide range of international players. Abudu says she’s got projects in the pipeline with Idris Elba, Starz and Lionsgate as well as Westbrook and IFC, among others.

Credit: Variety.com