Ghana’s National Film Authority is considering revoking broadcasting licences of television stations caught downloading and airing Nollywood films from YouTube without authorisation or payment, following a public complaint by Nigerian filmmaker Uchenna Mbunabo.
Ghanaian television stations that have been helping themselves to Nollywood content may soon pay a very steep price.
The National Film Authority (NFA) of Ghana is weighing licence revocations against broadcasters caught airing Nigerian movies without permission — a crackdown triggered by complaints from Nigerian filmmaker Uchenna Mbunabo, who accused Ghanaian TV stations of systematically downloading Nollywood films from YouTube and broadcasting them to audiences without obtaining rights or making any payment to producers.
Mbunabo was blunt in his assessment. “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?”
PM NEWS reports that James Gardiner, Ghanaian actor and deputy executive secretary of the NFA, did not dispute the allegation. He admitted that copyright infringement had become a persistent and entrenched problem within Ghana’s broadcasting industry — and said the authority was now moving to address it through coordinated regulatory action.
Gardiner disclosed that the NFA was working alongside the Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority, and the National Media Commission to strengthen enforcement mechanisms and introduce stiffer penalties for defaulting broadcasters, including the potential withdrawal of broadcasting licences.
The proposed crackdown signals a toughening stance on intellectual property violations in West Africa’s broadcasting landscape, where the unauthorised use of Nollywood content — one of the world’s most prolific film industries — has long been a source of frustration for Nigerian producers and distributors who receive no compensation despite their content reaching wide audiences across the continent.
The NFA has not yet announced a timeline for implementing the new sanctions framework.
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