The top five highest-earning YouTubers in Nigeria are pastors.
Pastor Jerry Eze's YouTube channel, Pastor Jerry Eze, has earned him the enviable title of Nigeria's highest-earning YouTuber.
Mr Eze is the founder of Streams of Joy International, a church with over 16 branches across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada and the United States.
This is according to a recent report by Playboard, a data curation platform that provides rankings for YouTube channels globally.
The report states that Mr Eze, the convener of the New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations (NSPPD), a popular online prayer meeting platform with over 2.12 million subscribers and over one million views daily, earns more than N7 million daily.
Mr Eze, a former Communications Specialist with The World Bank, emerged as Nigeria's highest-earning YouTuber because he is the most 'Super Chatted' content creator on YouTube in Nigeria.
Super Chat, introduced in January 2020, is a paid feature on YouTube that highlights a viewer's message at the top of a chat for a specified duration.
The longer the message (Super Chat) is pinned, the higher the cost and earnings for the YouTuber, in this case, Mr Eze. YouTubers get 70 per cent of the money earned and paid from Super Chats.
Super Chat is a significant revenue-spinner for Pastor Eze because his viewers purchase them (Super Chat) to highlight their prayer requests and testimonies during his live streams.
Playboard data showed that the Abia-born's total revenue from his content, primarily live-streamed on his YouTube page (Pastor Jerry Eze), amounts to N7.81 billion (money made during a specific period.)
YouTube earnings
On its website, Playboard said it uses a sophisticated methodology to arrive at these figures by analysing millions of data points daily. This platform, which provides data on YouTube channels worldwide, includes monitoring subscriber changes, varying the frequency of view and like checks based on the age of videos, and conducting daily checks for new content and videos with over 5,000 views.
YouTubers earn through various means, including ad revenue, sponsorships, brand deals, merchandise sales, channel memberships, Super Chats, Super Stickers, YouTube Premium revenue, affiliate marketing, and crowdfunding or donations.
During a live stream, Playboard data revealed that the History and International Relations graduate of the Abia State University (ABSU) channel had 185 512 viewers and an average viewership of 87,356 when it went live.
Pastor Jerry Eze
Mr Eze's YouTube channel, launched on 21 November 2019, has become a digital sanctuary for individuals seeking prayer in Nigeria and worldwide. Since its inception, it has accumulated 418.28 million lifetime views.
According to the 41-year-old pastor, NSPPD celebrates miraculous testimonies daily, including reports of terminal illnesses like cancer being reversed, changes in genotypes, blind eyes and deaf ears being restored, the lame walking, and even the dead being brought back to life.
As of press time, the Playboard indicated that the channel had not earned any amount on Wednesday but earned N7.64 million on Tuesday.
Jerry Eze
Mr Eze, known for the tagline, "What God Cannot do, does not exist", began his ministry in 2009 pastoring at All Saints Chapel in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.
As the lead pastor, he founded Streams of Joy International Church in Abia State in 2013. His ministry emphasises revival and healing, and he is widely recognised for the slogan, 'What God Cannot Do, Does Not Exist.'
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Eze launched the digital series 'The New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations (NSPPD)', hosted on YouTube and social media platforms.
The top five earners
PREMIUM TIMES checks showed that the top five highest-earning YouTube channels, according to Playboard, are faith-based.
They are 'Dunamis TV' of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, a Pentecostal Christian Church founded by Pastor Paul Enenche; 'Celebration TV' of Omega Fire Ministries, the media branch of Apostle Johnson Suleman's ministry; 'Rev. Sam Oye', a channel owned by Reverend Sam Oye, Founder and lead Pastor of The Transforming Church; and 'Paul S. Joshua's' Channel, founded by Paul S. Joshua, Senior Pastor of The Refiner's House Ministries.
Dunamis TV, with 643,000 subscribers and 116.48 million views, reported a total revenue of N190.82 million and daily earnings of N1.66 million.
Celebration TV, boasting 1.05 million subscribers and 173.33 million views, achieved total revenue of N415.53 million and daily earnings of N531,522.
Rev. Sam Oye's channel has 200,000 subscribers and 30.18 million views, generating total revenue of N223.46 million and daily earnings of N333,651.
Paul S. Joshua's channel features 29,200 subscribers and 6.55 million views, with a total revenue of N255.82 million and daily earnings of N175,548.
Other top-earning channels
Other top-earning channels include ACNN TV, Berekete Family, Reubby TV Official, Catholic Reflection Family, Apostle Orokpo Michael, Apostle Edu Udechukwu, Gboah TV, Harvesters TV, and Fada Ebube Muonso.
ACNN TV, the Advent Cable Network Nigeria, is the televangelism arm of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). It has 30,800 subscribers and a total viewership of N5.38 million, generating daily earnings of N106,922 and a total revenue of N107,319.
Berekete Family, an Abuja-based non-profit reality radio and television program focused on human rights, boasts 471,000 subscribers and 69.95 million views, daily earnings of N37,636, and total revenue of N8.04 million.
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Reubby TV Official, a YouTube channel dedicated to exposing false teachings and upholding the foundations of the Christian faith, has 13,899 subscribers and 1.6 million views. The channel earns N29,727 daily.
Catholic Reflection Family, run by Chiamaka Amanda Okoli, a staunch Catholic, has 517,000 subscribers and 31.64 million viewers. The channel earns N11,835 daily and has accumulated a total revenue of N65.11 million.
Apostle Orokpo Michael, a kingdom-oriented channel sharing the life of Christ through inspired messages, has 353,000 subscribers and 36.3 million views. Its daily earnings are N7,814, and its total revenue is N5.12 million.
Apostle Edu Udechukwu, the channel of the President and Founder of Revivalhub Ministries International, has 100,000 subscribers and 6.66 million views. The channel earns N6,233 daily and has a total revenue of N175,324.
Harvesters TV, a channel that belongs to the Harvesters International Christian Centre under the leadership of Pastor Bolaji Idowu, has 333,000 subscribers and 33.99 million views. The channel earns N1,931 daily and has a total revenue of N8.29 million (money made during a specific period).
Playboard provides real-time updates on its earnings, and the total and daily earnings reported reflect the status when this newspaper conducted its check; these figures may have fluctuated since then.
If this calculation is accurate, it indicates that some channels above earned one million per hour while others earned less.
