Nollywood actress and filmmaker Iyabo Ojo has accused Ghanaian television station North East TV of illegally broadcasting her newly released movie, The Memory of You Part 2, barely 24 hours after its premiere on YouTube.
The actress expressed her disappointment in a video shared on X, claiming the station aired the final part of the movie without her approval or any licensing agreement.
According to Iyabo Ojo, she was neither contacted by the station nor approached for permission before the film was broadcast.
“I didn’t give you permission. I don’t know you,” she said, questioning why a television station would take a movie released on her official YouTube channel, air it without authorisation and benefit from content it did not invest in producing.
The filmmaker explained that producing a movie requires huge financial commitments, including paying actors, hiring production crews, securing locations, providing costumes, makeup, accommodation and other logistics.
She argued that unauthorised broadcasts affect filmmakers financially by reducing the number of viewers who would watch their content through official platforms, where creators earn revenue from their work.
Iyabo Ojo warned North East TV and other broadcasters against airing any of her productions without proper approval, stressing that filmmakers must be compensated for their intellectual property.
She has since appealed to Ghana’s National Film Authority, the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, and the President to investigate the matter and take appropriate action against television stations found guilty of copyright infringement.
The actress’s complaint has reignited discussions around copyright protection, content ownership and the unauthorised use of creative works within Ghana’s media space.
