Broadcasting
Digital Migration: Border Towns Risk Frequency Interference
Nigerian towns sharing boundaries with some countries may experience frequency interferences from June following inability of Nigeria to meet next month’s deadline for all analogue broadcast to migrate to digital, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.
Nigeria shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the south and it borders Lake Chad to the northeast.
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has ruled out any deadline extension for countries that will fail to meet the June 17, 2015 to migrate to digital broadcast.
By implication, ITU will stop protecting analogue broadcasting from any interference in countries that have not migrated to digital on June 17.
Worse, the setback will result in the delayed adoption of wireless broadband technology.
In Nigeria, Emeka Mba, director general, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), admitted that the June deadline to switch over from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting is not feasible in the country.
He added that Nigeria will be able to switch over from analogue to digital in the next 18 months.
‘With the pace the commission is going, by December 2016, we should be where we want to be,” he said.
Austin Nwaulune, director, Spectrum Administration, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), stated that in the event that the country fails to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting by June 17, this year, analogue transmission will not be protected from interference by International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as the protection would have been removed.
Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and chief executive officer, CNSSL, explained that “Only communities in Nigeria sharing border with countries that have migrated to digital broadcasting will be experiencing interference.
The inference is possible if such frequency has been allocated to other uses outside of broadcasting,” he noted.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that ITU had earlier set June 2013 as deadline for migration but extended it by two years to allow countries that were not ready to prepare themselves.
For countries that have migrated and those still in the process of migrating, the technological change in television viewing is warranting proper explanations to the consumers, who are directly affected by the change. Hence, experts and broadcast regulators globally have continued to raise awareness level such that every consumer is able to know what to do in the new regime.
To pick a digital broadcast signal, one needs to have a digital TV. Digital TV is any TV that has a digital tuner.
However, if one still has an analogue TV, one needs to get a digital receiver in form of a set-top box (also referred to as a decoder). A set-top box is a device which converts the signals from a digital television broadcast into a form which can be viewed on the traditional television set.
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
Paramount Africa is officially shutting down at the end of December 2025, drawing the curtain on more than two decades of operations in South Africa and Nigeria.
The company, which once reached over 100 million viewers across 52 African territories, confirmed it will close its doors as part of a massive global restructuring at its parent company, Paramount Global.
This is the same Paramount Africa behind channels like BET, MTV, MTV Base, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and more.
Its digital footprint has also been significant, with millions of monthly page views, social media engagements, and content partnerships across Africa.
But despite that scale, rising costs and a global strategic reset have caught up with the business.
Paramount’s retrenchment has been building for months.
Earlier this year, plans to launch a standalone Paramount+ app in South Africa were quietly shelved.
Then in August, the company said its content would remain available only via DStv and Showmax.
And last month, MultiChoice confirmed that BET Africa and MTV Base will disappear from DStv and GOtv on January 1, 2026, as Paramount Africa winds down entirely.
The shutdown is tied to aggressive cost-cutting after Paramount’s merger with Skydance. The company is targeting a 15% reduction in global staff and $3 billion in savings.
International divisions, including Africa, have taken the hardest hit as the business pivots away from linear TV and doubles down on a more streamlined streaming-first model.
At the same time, the global media landscape is being shaken by Warner Bros. Discovery’s chaotic auction. Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast have all submitted fresh bids for WBD, with some offers reportedly focusing on the studios-and-streaming division, home to HBO, HBO Max, DC, and Warner Bros. Pictures.
Analysts say the crown jewel bundle could go for as much as $70 billion, a deal that would reshape Hollywood and accelerate the decline of traditional TV.
DStv subscribers may lose access to 12 major Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) channels, including CNN International, Discovery Channel, TLC, and Cartoon Network, from Jan. 1, 2026, if MultiChoice and WBD fail to conclude a new distribution agreement.
DStv
MultiChoice, now owned by Canal+, issued a notice to customers on Monday, warning that its current carriage deal with WBD will expire on Dec. 31, 2025, and negotiations to renew the contract remain inconclusive.
“While discussions between the parties continue, no agreement has been reached at this stage. If this remains unchanged, several Warner Bros. Discovery channels may no longer be available on DStv from Jan. 1, 2026,” the company said.
The channels at risk include Discovery Channel, CNN International, TLC, Discovery Family, Real Time, TNT Africa, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, and Travel Channel.
The development comes amid subscriber losses for MultiChoice, which has shed 2.8 million active linear subscribers over the last two financial years.
This includes 1.2 million customers lost in 2025 alone, representing an 8 per cent decline across South Africa and the rest of Africa.
In Nigeria, MultiChoice has lost 1.4 million subscribers in the past two years, largely due to repeated subscription price increases, according to Nairametrics.
The broadcaster is also set to lose additional content in the coming months. Paramount Africa will discontinue BET Africa and MTV Base from Jan. 1, 2026, while CBS Reality and CBS Justice will cease operations on Dec. 31, 2025.
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