Until recently, church services were primarily characterised by physical gatherings where congregants could come together to worship and build a sense of community. However, as digital technology continues to become more ingrained in our everyday lives, churches have embraced online platforms to extend their reach beyond the walls of the sanctuaries.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of this virtual system as many religious institutions were forced to close and seek alternatives, exploring different platforms.
Amid the rush to transition online, Mixlr, a London-based audio streaming service, emerged as a key player within Nigeria’s religious communities.
What started as a temporary solution soon turned into a long-term digital strategy. Even after in-person services resumed, many churches continued using Mixlr to reach homebound members, travellers, and those exploring their faith from afar.
The rise of Mixlr in Nigeria
Before Mixlr came into play, most churches relied on recordings and getting them to circulate to as many people as possible.
Tobechukwu, a church media team lead, says, “What we had were clips and audio CDs; at some point, we moved up to the point of recording to be downloaded. There wasn’t a popular brand back then until we found Mixlr.”
Some churches also leveraged streaming services like Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and SoundCloud for online worship.
Fenwa Folaranmi, a tech-media personnel from Harvesters International Christian Center, says these were once his go-to platforms.
“However, these platforms were not audio-specific, and churches often faced issues like video buffering, high data usage, and potential platform restrictions,” he says.
Although Facebook Live and YouTube still dominate globally, Mixlr has quietly carved a niche for itself among Nigeria’s religious institutions.
Unlike video streaming services, Mixlr focuses solely on live audio, making it an attractive option; its user-friendly interface and audio-centric features have made it particularly appealing to Nigerian religious institutions.
Founded in 2010 by Greg Lloyd and Rob Watson, Mixlr was initially designed for live audio broadcasting. Over time, the platform evolved, allowing users to create custom URLs, host live events, and interact with audiences through live chats.
According to analysis by Semrush, by February 2025, Nigeria had become Mixlr’s largest user base, accounting for 24.05% of its total web traffic, surpassing even the US.
In 2017, Mixlr announced that the US had the highest user data; however, in 2025, Nigeria leads in web traffic, accounting for 94.53% of the platform’s 3.7 million mobile users in February 2025.
Statistics from Similarweb indicate that the largest group of visitors falls within the 25- to 34-year-old age range, showing strong adoption among young adults. The category of Faith and Beliefs contributes 3.09% of the referral web traffic.
The most searched organic non-branded terms included RCCG Radio and NSPPD Live. Some key search terms in Nigeria were Koinonia, Covenant, and RCCG Radio, all of which are Nigerian religion-related terms.
While Mixlr is more commonly used by Christian organisations, some Muslim institutions also use it for streaming their audio content and services. A Muslim user told Techpoint Africa that she primarily uses YouTube, as Mixlr has yet to gain widespread adoption within the Muslim community. However, there are groups, like Salafi Nigeria, that have embraced it for streaming religious activities.
Similarly, Mariam Oyewunmi prefers YouTube for streaming but expressed interest in Mixlr.
“If it is a platform that simplifies audio streaming, where I can just click a link and join without signing up or logging in, then I would be open to using it. Provided it offers the content I need,” she says.
Several Islamic activities are already being streamed on Mixlr, including Masjid Umar Live broadcast, Dourous-Islamiyya, Hikmah Institute, DaarutTawheed, and Masjid DarusSalaam.
Why did Nigerians choose Mixlr?
A company representative stated that Mixlr’s growth in Nigeria occurred organically rather than as a deliberate strategy to target this market.
“Our growth in Nigeria has been largely driven by word of mouth. We’ve been very fortunate that Mixlr has resonated with users who find it easy to use and effective in solving their needs,” Mixlr’s Enterprise Account Manager, Laura Lloyd, told Techpoint Africa.
Many media personnel received recommendations from church media teams that had used the platform, and they subsequently recommended it to other churches.
“I discovered Mixlr through recommendations from other church media teams who were already leveraging it for their audio broadcasts,” Taiwo Salisu, a church media personnel, confirms.
“Some churches experimented with online radio services and podcast platforms, but these lacked the real-time engagement that Mixlr offers. With Mixlr, churches found a dedicated, no-fuss solution for live audio transmission, allowing them to maintain consistency in their digital outreach while keeping their audience engaged without the limitations of video streaming.”
Unlike traditional video streaming, it removes distractions and enables listeners to worship while multitasking, whether at work, on the road, or at home.
”Mixlr provides a space to listen even when occupied with work, on the road, or during leisure,” one user told Techpoint Africa. “The platform allows live audio broadcasts without the complexities associated with video streaming. There is no interference from ads, and you can live chat when streaming.”
The platform allows churches to embed Mixlr players on their websites and share direct links across social media and messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Users can click a link and join a live session without needing account sign-ups or app installations (when using the web player).
According to Shedrack Isakhue, a media professional, “Everybody is looking for what is easy, convenient, and not too expensive to set up and run. From a consumer point of view, you just need something you can easily go to and not have difficulty navigating. That is one of the reasons for adoption. It’s the same reason why every customer would adopt a new product: convenience, ease, and doesn’t need much technical knowledge to set up.”
“There were options of hosting services and streams on Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom, but if you have a platform that allows you to get your audio streams out there, allows people to participate, and not have to go through third-party platforms to download the audio, why not give it a try?”
Isakhue believes this is what made Mixlr the go-to platform across many churches in Nigeria.
What sets Mixlr apart?
Compared to platforms like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces, which focus on interactive conversations, or Audiomack, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, which cater to on-demand and pre-recorded content, Mixlr is tailored for live audio broadcasting with minimal setup requirements, making it ideal for real-time prayer sessions and worship experiences.
This makes it extremely convenient for mass participation in programmes like the Hallelujah Challenge and NLP prayers, where thousands of worshippers can join daily. Furthermore, churches can archive past sessions for on-demand listening.
“The platform’s simplicity, intuitive user experience, affordability, and built-in virality have all played a major role in expanding our user base,” Lloyd stated. “We’ve designed our pricing to be flexible so that there’s a plan to suit everyone, which has further contributed to its widespread adoption.”
Mixlr allows congregations to easily access sermons and services, even with limited Internet bandwidth. Audio streaming uses less data than video, making it a more cost-effective option for churches and their listeners.
Several churches have already adopted Mixlr’s service.
Churches like The Lighthouse Apostolic Centre (TLAC) and the Global Impact Church have integrated Mixlr services into their operations.
The platform hosts events like Nathaniel Bassey’s Hallelujah Challenge, which was streamed for 21 days in February 2025; NSPPD prayers; The Covenant Nation; and many others.
Folaranmi noted that these events use Mixlr since it is specifically designed for lower data consumption, fewer technical hassles, and seamless engagements.
He says Mixlr is optimised for live broadcasts with minimal lag, unlike some social media platforms where streaming might be affected by heavy traffic or restrictions.
On the other hand, Tobechukwu says he hasn’t been looking out for streaming platforms because Mixlr gives him what he wants in terms of service delivery and cost.
“For churches like mine that stream, there are subscriptions for a preferred tier, ranging from the $70 monthly to the $720 yearly package, although you could listen to the live sessions for free,” he adds.
Beyond religious services, Mixlr is also a budding framework for radio content and podcasting. “These days, there is a high level of podcast consumption, which also contributes to the platform’s growth,” Isakhue notes.
Rather than replacing traditional methods, this is an example of technology enhancing the church’s core mission: to build community, spread hope, and share the message of faith.
