Broadcasting
Maya Amolo Becomes Spotify’s Inaugural Fresh Finds Africa Artist
Spotify on wednesday announced Kenyan singer Maya Amolo as its first-ever Fresh Finds Africa artist as part of its programme tailored specifically to spotlight and develop emerging independent artists from across the continent.
Centered around the Fresh Finds playlist, the programme focuses on helping emerging artists to learn and grow by giving them the tools for long-term and sustained career success. The Fresh Finds playlist serves as a launchpad for up-and-coming artists to get exposure while also catering to fans and industry tastemakers who want to discover fresh new talent.
Twenty-three-year-old Maya Amolo is an alternative R&B artist from Nairobi. She cut her teeth on SoundCloud, collaborating with internet producers to create sad boi tunes including “U Wanna” and “Where Tornados Flew”. Maya’s sugary vocals and soft harmonies quickly amassed her a dedicated listenership and grabbed the attention of local producers and musicians.
Maya headlines the inaugural Fresh Finds Africa playlist housed in Spotify’s Fresh Finds hub to showcase tracks from other up-and-coming African artists. In addition to being playlisted with the rest, she gets a one-on-one workshop on the best practices for using the Spotify platform as well as in-app and social support to help her grow her career.
“Fresh Finds’ artist selection is informed by a combination of data and editorial decision making, with our curation team choosing artists that are showing momentum both on and off Spotify,” says Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s head of music for Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Spotify has always been committed to connecting fans to up-and-coming artists and the music they love. The Fresh Finds programme is an enhanced version of that,” adds Okumu.
Since its global launch in 2016, Fresh Finds has playlisted over 25,000 artists, with their average monthly listeners increasing by 108% within a month of their songs being included in the playlists.
“For an upcoming artist like Maya, these figures promise an increased audience and opens her up to new opportunities which might not have been possible without Fresh Finds,” concludes Okumu.
Maya’s first body of work, Leave Me At The Pregame, which takes the listener through a melodious journey of self-acceptance and healing, was released in mid-2020. Maya has since gone on to establish herself as one to watch, having been covered by NPR, The Native Mag, Okay Africa and TANGAZA Magazine. She is set to release the first single from her forthcoming project on March 31.
“I am honored to be chosen as the first artist to launch Fresh Finds in Africa. This is a much needed platform for upcoming artists and I am excited for the growth that will come as a result of this,” says Maya.
Fresh Finds Africa will be a monthly programme, with a new artist selected every month by the Spotify music team, and forms part of Spotify’s continued commitment to support the African music industry, through initiatives such as EQUAL and Radar.
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
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