Broadcasting
Esepo, Afonja Warrior Return as GOtv Boxing Night Holds 20 August
Reigning West African Boxing Union (WABU) champion, Taiwo “Esepo” Agbaje and former national middleweight champion, Abolaji “Afonja Warrior” Rasheed, will headline the 26th edition of Nigeria’s premier boxing show, GOtv Boxing Night, on 20 August.
This was disclosed in Lagos yesterday by Flykite Productions, organisers of the show, who said the event will take place at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos. The 26th edition of the show, the statement said, will feature eight fights across weight divisions. Agbaje, a known face at GOtv Boxing Night, is presently back in Nigeria from the UK where he is managed by OHN Consultancy Limited UK.
For the first time, the show, which traditionally stages seven fights, will have eight bouts across weight divisions. Agbaje will take on Ghana’s Emmanuel “Agogo” Mensah in an international featherweight challenge bout for his return to GOtv Boxing Night.
Abolaji “Afonja Warrior” Rasheed, who had two unsuccessful attempts at the Commonwealth middleweight title, will take on the Abuja-based Jafaru “Tanko” Suleiman in a national super welterweight challenge duel. Another returnee, policeman Prince “Lion Nwoye”, will fight Funsho Moshood in a lightweight clash. The show will equally provide fans the second opportunity of seeing live, the new star Stephen “Freeman Kadima”, winner of the Mojisola Ogunsanya Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy at first attempt. He will take on Muritador Monyashau in a cruiserweight bout.
In two other lightweight duels, Samuel “African Mayweather” Adebayo will test his mettle against Bartholomew Abuchi, while the fast-rising duo of Ayobami “Latest” Azeez and Sodiq “Golden Boy” Oyakojo will go head-to-head.
The light welterweight category will see Kabiru “KB Sniper” Salawu take on Yusuf Ogunbunmi, while the super bantamweight division will see the explosive Tosin “Soja Boy” Osaigbovo duel with Tajudeen Amusa. The show will be broadcast live on Supersport in 50 African countries.
Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has announced the postponement of its maiden annual Public Relations, Reputation, Ideas, Concepts and Excellence (PRICE) Awards and Prizes to January 25, 2026.
NIPR
The event, earlier scheduled for December 7, 2025, was deferred to accommodate stakeholders whose observance of Christmas festivities had commenced earlier than expected.
Chairman of the Organising Committee, Mr. Israel Opayemi, urged stakeholders to note the new date and prepare to participate in the ceremony.
He said the awards would motivate professionals, practitioners and scholars, while enhancing Nigeria’s global competitiveness in the public relations ecosystem and strengthening brand equity for all stakeholders.
Opayemi reaffirmed the Committee’s commitment to delivering a best-in-class award administration and ceremony, describing the PRICE Awards as a credible and enduring platform to identify, celebrate and elevate outstanding individuals, campaigns and organisations shaping the public relations landscape across sectors.
The development of the PRICE Awards peaked in September 2025 when the NIPR President and Chairman, Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku, inaugurated a 12-man committee to organise the maiden edition. The inauguration followed the Council’s adoption of the report of a technical team tasked with establishing the awards.
Netflix has announced a landmark agreement to acquire Warner Bros. and HBO Max in a transaction valued at $82.7 billion, a move analysts say will reshape the global entertainment industry.
Netflix
The deal, which includes Warner Bros.’ film and television studios, HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Games, was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. Under the terms, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders will receive $23.25 in cash and $4.50 in Netflix shares for each WBD share.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos described the acquisition as “a defining moment” for the streaming giant, noting that the company intends to maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations while expanding its production capacity.
“By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies with Netflix’s culture-defining titles, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” Sarandos said.
The transaction is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, following the planned spin-off of WBD’s TV networks division, Discovery Global, in 2026. Netflix projects annual cost savings of $2–3 billion by the third year after completion and expects the deal to be accretive to earnings per share by year two.
Industry groups, including the Directors Guild of America and Cinema United, have raised concerns about the impact on movie theaters, while regulators are expected to scrutinize the deal over antitrust issues. Netflix has pledged to continue supporting theatrical releases, with Warner Bros.’ cinema commitments running through 2029.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav hailed the agreement, saying it “combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love.”
Observers note that the acquisition comes 15 years after former Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes dismissed Netflix as “the Albanian army,” underscoring the dramatic shift in the entertainment landscape.
A major shake‑up rocks viewers and subscribers of DSTV/GOTV as many channels are set to shut down and be removed on January 1, 2026.
The trigger for the upcoming shut‑down is a breakdown in negotiations between the owners of multiple global channels and the pay‑TV operator.
As of December 2025, the deal between Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and DStv/GOtv has expired and the two parties have not reached a renewal agreement.
Without a new carriage/distribution agreement, the channels belonging to WBD risk being pulled off the DStv/GOtv line‑up.
This is the most significant content cutback the service has seen in years.
The affected channels are:
Discovery Channel
TLC
Cartoonito
Cartoon Network
CNN International
Food Network
The Travel Channel
TNT
Investigation Discovery
Real Time
HGTV
Discovery Family
Lagos Launches Tele-Vet, Nigeria’s First Veterinary Call Centre
NiDCOM Launches Diaspora Startup Challenge to Boost Nigerian Talent
PromoPrint Rekindles Nigerian Resilience @ 25th Anniversary
Nigeria Lacks AI-Ready Data Centres, Trails in Capacity – Nnamani
Anambra Leads Southeast in Digital Governance Under Soludo’s ICT Agenda
Kaspersky Introduces Cyber Pathways to Support Career Development in Cybersecurity
NITDA DG Tasks Youths to Drive Africa’s Digital Transformation
Firm Urges Organizations to Check Protection of their Websites Amid Search Engine Optimisation Attack Schemes
Hackers Breach Phones of Dangote and Otedola, Demand Ransom
FCCPC Sets Deadline for Digital Lending Regulatory Compliance
General News3 days agoManufacturers Block More Ransomware, But Data Theft Surges – Sophos Report
News3 days agoPAPSS Cowry to Benefit Manufacturers, SMEs
Telecom3 days agoMTN Nigeria Launches Y’ello Data Gifting Campaign as Digital Connectivity Shapes Festive Celebrations
E-Financial3 days agoAccess Bank’s Digital Innovation Earns Top Financial Inclusion Award
E-Financial3 days agoCBN’s New Cash Policy: A Welcome Liberalisation or a Risky Retreat?
Telecom3 days agoMTN Partners with SMEDAN to Drive Digital Growth and Job Creation Nationwide
Telecom3 days agoAfrica Must Build Its Own Cybersecurity Intelligence, Says Tizel CEO At AfriTech 5.0
Broadcasting3 days agoNIPR Postpones Maiden PRICE Awards to January 25, 2026